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lasloduncan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
547
32
what does the membership say might be the top three used mbp to buy for home use and why..either with ssd or able to be upgraded thank you all

currently have a 2012 mbp/catalina/disk slot...but looking to move up with reliability upgradeability and so on used one owner low miles etc...thanks for your experience...and effort
 

JustAnExpat

macrumors 65816
Nov 27, 2019
1,009
1,012
I don't know exactly what you're asking.

- What will you use the machine for?
- What features are important to you?
- What cost? Is there a maximum price?
- Mx or Intel?
 
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MBAir2010

macrumors 604
May 30, 2018
6,975
6,354
there
currently have a 2012 mbp/catalina/disk slot...but looking to move up with reliability upgradeability and so on used one owner low miles etc...thanks for your experience...and effort
I have the same MacBook Pro and these past 3 months I
installed a second drive running Mojave, took out the DVD player.
upgrade from Catalina to OCLP Monterey
added 4 more GB or RAM

this MacBook has a great enough graphics card to use in 2023.
Most YouTubers marvel at the MacBook we have which can be productive in 2023.

Im typing this on a MacBook Air m1 2010 8GB and never witness a spinning ball
these new silicon MacBook are worth the sam price as th intel one related 13 years ago today.

I don know if I answered your question but I covered everything, I hope....
 

lasloduncan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
547
32
yah I like it fine...it is a backup to my two imacs old guy here so bigger is better ...dispaly etc.also lots of hassle too much stuff contantly getting changed updated new hidden data harvesting etc so almont always trying to readjust after skype and the other morons do their deal....... i have read some guys took that drive out and the mother board did not have the horse power to handle the extra load------I am getting tired of these Imacs wearing my down so was thinking of using one of them in conjunction with an additional mbp for a display

.I have catalina on my 2012 mbp I think that is it for that year.....but ok with me like these new cars who needs or wants all that **** ..stuff is glitchy just as macos is thank you for your trouble

btw I put in a new battery and a 500gb ssd and used the old spinner for time machine ....wasnt quick but i did it-
 

lasloduncan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
547
32
note it does seem to run hot at time usually when cam is on but I also run a small fan on it when I hear the fans come on....just seems to me they should not have the fans on for an extended time when little use.??
 

MrCheeto

Suspended
Nov 2, 2008
3,531
353
I agree with your philosophy entirely. I am using Leopard as much as I can (released 2007) and drive a car with features like power windows and automatic climate control. Give me simplicity and stop changing stuff every day.

Whatever you do, avoid the Touchbar and Butterfly switch keyboards. At this point I’m done with Intel. Ancient technology. Leave it in the past if at all possible.
 

lasloduncan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
547
32
avoid the Touchbar and Butterfly switch keyboards.


\ya got that for sure thanks to this and other users forums thank you for your trouble.....
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,242
13,315
Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!

DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.

Also:
MacBook Pro 14" or 16" -- 2021
 
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lasloduncan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 2, 2015
547
32
Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!

DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.

Also:
MacBook Pro 14" or 16" -- 2021
Thank you fish---until I finally rescheach it more ...looking 2014 15----15inch but we will see ...again thanks all-- lots and lots of stuff to sift through you all can save me a day or two...thanks again--stay safe- it is not over yet my neighbor lady has it .....safe and effective hocus pocus......
 

arw

macrumors 65816
Aug 31, 2010
1,236
979
I was looking for a used (& affordable) MacBook as well but finally the choice was very easy - a Mid 2015 15" MacBook Pro:
- It’s the last generation before the butterfly keyboard.
- But it’s the first MacBook to support an external 5K display via Dual-Displayport (needs higher CPU config with AMD R9 M370X GPU).

I got the top 4-core 2,8 GHz i7-4980HQ with 16GB of RAM, 512GB SSD and 87% battery health.
Single and Multicore is on par with my 2020 13" base i5 Intel MBP but it has double the RAM and 50% more GPU power (and a larger screen).
Given its great condition, I found 350€ a fair price.

EDIT: And it has physical keys for volume and brightness etc - gosh, I detest the TouchBar.
 
Last edited:

padams35

macrumors 6502a
Nov 10, 2016
502
348
For 13-inch:
#1 - M1 Apple silicon. Those will be the future.
#2 - 2015 MBP/MBA. The good keyboard, last/fastest model with upgradable SSD storage.
#3 - 2020. TB3, quad-core cpus, and return of the good keyboard. So much faster than 2015… and so much slower than M1.
 
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