What is a good refurbished Apple notebook to get?

Hi Carol, here are the MacBooks that are upgradeable to OS 10.11.

• MacBook (13-inch Aluminum, Late 2008), (13-inch, Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (13-inch, Mid-2009 or newer), (15-inch, Mid / Late 2007 or newer), (17-inch, Late 2007 or newer)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)

Although Apple states 2GB RAM as a minimum, 4-8 GB is more realistic.

As far as the size, it's the size you are most comfortable with. What's important are the specs, RAM and Hard Drive size.

Hi Carol!

I think Apple Refurbishment is the way to go. Apple treats there Macs like brand new with new accessories. Plain shipping box instead of the fancy retail box. Here is the link to Apple Refurbishment. Same 90 warranty with 1 yr Apple Care. Priced less but I bought my MacBool Pro from Apple Refurb and I opened to new Mac. There are models to choose from upon availability. 🙂

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

Hope you find what you like!

Cheers!!

It also depends on what you intend to do with the device - if you plan to travel with it - then an Air or if you plan to primarily use it at home and work then a Pro for the greater power and potential 15" screen may be something to think about

I purchased a Refurbished MacBook Pro Mid-2012, 13-inch, Non-retina for $500

I did an upgrade with a 500gb. Samsung Evo 850 SSD and 16gb. Crucial Memory for $200

My total cost was $700.

My Macbook performs great now. I have it loaded with apps and dual boot via boot camp.

I am running El Capitan and MS-Windows-10-Pro.

I have it loaded with apps like MS-Office, Adobe CS6 suite, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, iMovie, Garageband, and Many Video and Music creation apps.

The upgraded Macbook performs great. It can render 4K video just fine and Music creation works perfect too.

It can play Videos, Blu-ray movies and 4K movies just fine.

Both operating systems run perfect on the Macbook Pro wth the upgrades.

Right now you can find the Macbook Pro 13-inch, Mid-2012 Edition, Model # MD101LL/A for cheap.

Refurbished:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VQR7MVQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_g147_i1_r?ie=UTF8&fp l=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&p…

Used:

https://www.amazon.com/Apple-MacBook-MD101LL-13-3-Inch-Laptop/dp/B0074703CM/ref= sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1466558289&sr=8-12&k…

You haven't told us how you plan to use this machine.

I wonder if you've considered an iPad ... might it meet your needs? It is less expensive than a Mac, yet has much (but not all) of the capability.

If an iPad works for you, you would have the advantage of being able to purchase today's technology for less expense. As you pose a question about a refurbished Mac, it sounds like you may end up settling for an older machine.

Anyway, if you're open to considering an iPad, start here:

https://www.apple.com/ipad/

As others have said, it depends on what you plan to do with it...

I would never go lower than 4GB RAM though. How about buying a new one, try it for a few days and return it in case it isn't what you expected? Chances are you are not going to want to give it back anyway 😉.