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Refurb 13inch 2012 OR Refurb 15inch 2011 which is better?Is refurb really worth it?THOUGHTS ON REFURBISHED MBP

hey folks i am planing to buy a macbook pro after saving cash since the past 6years i want you all to help me with which product i should go for

i am 17 and need a good laptop which will last me another 5years..... i have been thinking about a refurb macbook pro 2012 13inch 2.9 i7dual core which is for about 1260 and another one refurb macbook pro 2011 15inch 2.2 i7 quad core which is again for 1350.....i would want to know which is a better option as price wise both are very close and if is the 15inch worth it and better as the 2011 does not have the usb3.0 and bluetooth 4.0 and its sandy bridge but again its quad core where as the 13inch 2012 has all the stuff but its dual core.... what is the difference between quad and dual core?....and i would want to know your thoughts on the refurb models as i said its importamt for me to spend my money wisely since i have been saving for the past 6years....does the refurb mbp as good as new?can they have cosmetic damages?is the outter shell and body replaced?and do they come with new parts and accesories? and is it like a second hand laptop which is used for a year or few months and then returnded and sold again as refurb? please let me know which is better and long lasting or else shall i go for a new one...cause if i buy a refurb mbp and the apple protection care plan the total cost is as much as a new mbp so is it better to buy a new mbp and not buy the apple protection plan? PLEASE HELP ME OUT

Thanks for your time

Toodles🙂

Links of the models:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD318LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-22ghz-quad-c ore-intel-i7#overview

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD102LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-29ghz-dual-c ore-intel-i7

ps: is a 128gb solid state drive worth replacing the 500gb or 750gb serial ata

MacBook Pro

Posted on Nov 6, 2012 5:48 AM

22 replies

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 7, 2012 9:48 AM in response to specula

As sidonsoft said, Apple is using the Samsung 830 series in their computers and it is the same model I installed in my MBP last year. I'm totally satisfied with it. Prices have dropped by 50 since I bought mine. I use a second generation Seagate hybrid on my home iMac and I've been very happy with it - it isn't quite as fast as the SSD but it is very close.

You have a year to purchase AppleCare and while I almost never buy it for a desktop I almost always do for the notebooks. First, I buy base model notebooks and usually sell within 2 years. This gives the new owner a warranty for about a year so I get top dollar for my sale and never have trouble selling. Even if you intend to keep the computer for its lifetime, the warranty could pay for itself with one repair.

sidonsoft

Level 2

275 points

Nov 7, 2012 9:58 AM in response to dwb

dwb,

do you know if the samsung 830 will have trim enabled in mountain lion like the Apple SSD SM256E? also the 840 pro series samsung is rated 15% faster than the 830.

The 830 is good value at a touch under $200, I use Kingston for my desktop SSD as they honour warranty with a salute and a smile for lifetime

Message was edited by: sidonsoft ** lifetime for their ram, only 5 years for the SSD

Nov 7, 2012 10:06 AM in response to sidonsoft

sidonsoft, if you purchase an after market SSD not sold buy by Apple, TRIM will not be enabled. I use OCZ Vertex 4 512GB in my Macbook Pro. I bought it because it has a 5 year guarantee warrantee. It tooke me less than 2 hours to complete the replacement, installing the OS, and transferring the data/applications including my multiple VMs.

specula Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 7, 2012 10:10 AM in response to dwb

how do you install the ssd and then put the os in it and all other stuff is it hard?can you do it own your own or do you have to go to apple

i ordered my refurb mbp and now m jus deciding which ssd to buy and how do you install it and if installing an outside ssd void warranty?

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 7, 2012 10:15 AM in response to sidonsoft

Trim is not enabled for 3rd party SSDs. If you Google 'trim enabler Mt Lion' you'll find a hack. I've used it - Hardware Profiler shows trim is enabled. So far I've had no trouble. Your mileage may vary.

Nov 7, 2012 10:50 AM in response to dwb

Specula, unfortunately, you can not go to Apple to have them install it since it is not covered under the Apple Care. So you will have to install it yourself. Installing/replacing any user upgradable hardware does not void the warranty unless you physically damage any connectors or other parts in theMacbook. It's really simple to do. There are plenty of websites and including Youtube to install a SSD in a Macbook. I bought the OCZ Vertex 4 512GB model. The key to a quick install is that I put Mountain Lion on a flash drive and installed it from that. Overall it took me less than 2 hours to complete everything including transferring the data and applications. No matter which SSD you decide on make sure the firmware is up to date and check the reviews on it. Some SSD's can be picky especially on a Mac.

dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Nov 7, 2012 11:44 AM in response to specula

Check out OWC for great installation movies. The easiest way to perform this operation is to purchase an external case for the drive you are removing - this makes the job fast and easy plus it gives you a backup drive when you are finished. Again, see MacSales. I installed the new drive and placed the stock drive into the external case. Then I booted with the external drive, ran Disk Utility and formatted the SSD. Then I used a program called SuperDuper! to copy the external drive to the SSD. Of course the old drive didn't have enough data to fill the SSD.

The entire process took me about 1:30 minutes.

Refurb 13inch 2012 OR Refurb 15inch 2011 which is better?Is refurb really worth it?THOUGHTS ON REFURBISHED MBP