Kort

Q: New model or older MacBook Pro?

Looking to purchase a MacBook. I'm old-school so am leaning toward to the non-retina display upgradable version with all the ports and an optical drive. Portability and battery life are not major factors in my decision. Worth the investment?

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on May 26, 2016 2:28 PM

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Q: New model or older MacBook Pro?

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  • by steve359,

    steve359 steve359 May 26, 2016 2:37 PM in response to Kort
    Level 6 (14,032 points)
    May 26, 2016 2:37 PM in response to Kort

    My 2011 is 6 months from being not-supported by Genius Bar (works still, but no official support).

     

    Self-servicable does not necessarily equate to easy to maintain.  The newer systems are also much faster than older models because all parts (CPU, RAM, bus-paths) are all newer-generation, if not rated at faster speeds.

     

    I am not opposed to a new system, if I *needed* the faster system for heavy-cpu and heavy-graphics, but just do not have the need yet.

  • by OGELTHORPE,Solvedanswer

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE May 27, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Kort
    Level 9 (52,118 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 27, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Kort

    Kort wrote:

     

    Portability and battery life are not major factors in my decision.

    Dollar for dollar, you will get more performance from an iMac as well as a much larger display than any MBP.  Purchase a MBP only if portability is a high priority and/or space is at a premium.

     

    Ciao.

  • by macjack,

    macjack macjack May 26, 2016 4:11 PM in response to Kort
    Level 9 (55,682 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 26, 2016 4:11 PM in response to Kort

    I'm running a 2010 iMac with 16GB RAM (expandable to 32) and I'm happy for the time being. Also easy to replace a hard drive, or any component, if need be.

  • by leroydouglas,Helpful

    leroydouglas leroydouglas May 27, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Kort
    Level 7 (22,894 points)
    Notebooks
    May 27, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Kort

    I would not buy a 4 year old machine. You need to think about future proofing your purchase.

     

    You can get some sizable savings in the Refurb/Clearance link. Many of these are open boxes, returns—all go through the Apple service Test—and have the same one year warranty.  I have never been disappointed.

     

    http://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals

     

    Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured for more than 5 and less than 7 years ago. Apple has discontinued hardware service for vintage products ...with exceptions...

     

    Obsolete products are those that were discontinued more than 7 years ago. Apple has discontinued all hardware service for obsolete products with no exceptions.

     

    Vintage and obsolete products - Apple Support

  • by Kort,

    Kort Kort May 27, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Kort
    Level 3 (840 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2016 8:28 AM in response to Kort

    I have a 24" 2008 iMac which is going to need replacing soon. I was considering the MacBook (Pro) for my wife. She had a mini, but when it died, she started using an HP laptop I have. She'd love to go back to Mac though.

  • by Allan Jones,

    Allan Jones Allan Jones May 27, 2016 9:11 AM in response to Kort
    Level 8 (35,044 points)
    iPad
    May 27, 2016 9:11 AM in response to Kort

    Apple still sells a new 13-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro that allows you to access RAM and the hard drive. It also still has a DVD-drive. Even though it is technically a 2012 model, this is NOT like buying cars. If you buy new you get a newly manufactured computer with full warranty, not one that's been lying about since 2012.

     

    http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MD101LL/A&step=config

     

    My son and I both have that model and a friend has two. Based on our experiences and reports here, these are very robust computers giving people excellent service and value.

  • by Kort,

    Kort Kort May 27, 2016 11:25 AM in response to Allan Jones
    Level 3 (840 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2016 11:25 AM in response to Allan Jones

    Thanks Allan - that was kind of my thinking on this.

    I'm all for future-proofing, but less isn't always more.

  • by Kort,

    Kort Kort May 27, 2016 12:19 PM in response to leroydouglas
    Level 3 (840 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2016 12:19 PM in response to leroydouglas

    Yep, that is the one I was thinking of.

    This is for my wife who is using a 5-6 year-old HP Windows laptop currently. While it could be used by all members of the family, it would be mainly for her. Mostly internet related stuff and light graphics editing. I'm leaning towards an new iMac myself, though if $ were no object, I'd get a tricked out Mac Pro with a Cinema Display (or two).

  • by alex7375,

    alex7375 alex7375 May 30, 2016 3:17 AM in response to Kort
    Level 2 (215 points)
    Desktops
    May 30, 2016 3:17 AM in response to Kort

    The Mid-2012 Macbook Pro 13-inch with Non-retina display is Okay if you do some upgrades after purchase.

     

    The great thing about the Macbook is that you can use the bootcamp app and dual boot OS-X and MS-Windows-7 or 10.

    So you can have the best of both worlds and apps/programs.

     

    See my video on upgrades and benchmarks.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qDvPJV11Yk

  • by Kort,

    Kort Kort May 31, 2016 12:07 PM in response to alex7375
    Level 3 (840 points)
    Desktops
    May 31, 2016 12:07 PM in response to alex7375

    Thanks Alex-37751.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE May 31, 2016 12:27 PM in response to alex7375
    Level 9 (52,118 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 31, 2016 12:27 PM in response to alex7375

    As a point of information, one needs a #00 Phillips driver and a #6 Torx driver to install a HDD in a MBP.  You mention that a #7 Torx driver is to be used.  That is incorrect. 

     

    I laud you for you effort but OWC does have installation videos that are clearer and with superior sound:

     

    https://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_13_unibody_mid12/

     

    Ciao.

  • by alex7375,

    alex7375 alex7375 May 31, 2016 3:26 PM in response to OGELTHORPE
    Level 2 (215 points)
    Desktops
    May 31, 2016 3:26 PM in response to OGELTHORPE

    Yeah, That is what I thought too. T6?..However in my toolkit it ended up being a T7 driver that fit the screw of my Mid-2012 Macbook Pro 13.

     

    As for the video quality, Sorry I do not have a multi thousand dollar studio equiptment. I shot the video with an iPhone-5 and edited it with iMovie just to help people who are upgrading there Macbooks too. OWC videos are for OWC hardware specific. And they do not tell you how to software configure the devices.

  • by OGELTHORPE,

    OGELTHORPE OGELTHORPE May 31, 2016 3:41 PM in response to alex7375
    Level 9 (52,118 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 31, 2016 3:41 PM in response to alex7375

    Alex-37751 wrote:

     

    . OWC videos are for OWC hardware specific.

    OWC sells a a variety of HDDs all of which have the same form factor and their RAM is physically the same as one would find from any other vendor.  It has to be.  There is nothing specific to their hardware as for as installation is concerned.

    . And they do not tell you how to software configure the devices.

    I agree on this point.

     

    Ciao.