how to buy a used macbook pro

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how to buy a used macbook pro

I'm trying to buy a used macbook pro for a 14-year-old. I found two 2010 models. How do I determine which will be better and last longer?

One is a MacBook Pro 15: - Core i7 2.66Ghz with Glossy HD Display and also Intel Core i7 2.66Ghz+ 4GB DDR3 + 500GB HDD.

The other lists this way:

13-inch, Mid 2010, (1280 x 800)

Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

Memory: 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Hard Drive: 250GB

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB

Software: OS X 10.9.5 (13F1077) (Mavericks)

Thanks so much for any input.

Cynthia

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jul 10, 2015 9:14 PM

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Answer 1

spudnuty

Level 5

7,128 points

Jul 10, 2015 11:23 PM in response to chinch22

I would avoid the 15" MBP since there was a recall:

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010) intermittent black screen or loss of video Quality Program has ended - Apple Support

The i7 is the more desirable CPU however. Ask the seller if it went through the recall.

4 GB memory would be considered minimum for most modern OSes like Mavericks. I would bump the memory to 8 GB and install an SSD from OWC:

https://www.macsales.com/

" How do I determine which will be better and last longer?"

Overall it would take a very knowledgeable person to be able to determine this. The things I look for is over all condition, signs of abuse, especially liquid damage, but I have to remove the bottom to examine the logic board to do that.

The SSD, I feel is especially important since it will make the MBP act brand new. I did that to a late 2009 MacBook for a client. She wanted her 15 year old to use it but she refused because it was so slow. (Running 10.7.5). After I installed the SSD she said her daughter was on it all the time and now she worried about that.

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