Used 15 Macbook Pro (Late 2011) 2.2Ghz /i7 Quad Core/4GB/500GB

[superhrixenz]

I found this on Craiglist and the price listed is $1200. Is it a good deal? Can this machine survives in term of Apple technology for the next 3 years (OS X, processor)?

[Yebubbleman]

Originally Posted by superhrixenz

I found this on Craiglist and the price listed is $1200. Is it a good deal? Can this machine survives in term of Apple technology for the next 3 years (OS X, processor)?

That's a pretty fantastic deal. You'll want to buy 8GB of RAM for it to max it out and my guess is that the 500GB hard drive is 5400RPM (in which case you might want to up it to either a 7200RPM 750GB drive or to an SSD), but those are reasonable upgrades to perform for that machine and it is otherwise a fantastic price. Just be sure to get your hands on a copy of the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) for the machine so you can at least test to make sure that there are no blaring problems. Or agree to buy the machine on the condition that you two meet at a Genius Bar where the computer will be inspected by a third party (in this case, an Apple Genius Bar goon).

Should you buy it and it is within the one-year warranty, I'd definitely buy AppleCare.

[superhrixenz]

Originally Posted by Yebubbleman

That's a pretty fantastic deal. You'll want to buy 8GB of RAM for it to max it out and my guess is that the 500GB hard drive is 5400RPM (in which case you might want to up it to either a 7200RPM 750GB drive or to an SSD), but those are reasonable upgrades to perform for that machine and it is otherwise a fantastic price. Just be sure to get your hands on a copy of the Apple Hardware Test (AHT) for the machine so you can at least test to make sure that there are no blaring problems. Or agree to buy the machine on the condition that you two meet at a Genius Bar where the computer will be inspected by a third party (in this case, an Apple Genius Bar goon).

Should you buy it and it is within the one-year warranty, I'd definitely buy AppleCare.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. The owner said it is 7200 RPM. About the hard drive, I already have Samsung 830 SSD on my PC so I hope it will be compatible in the MBP. Where can I get the AHT?

[Yebubbleman]

Originally Posted by superhrixenz

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Thanks for the detailed explanation. The owner said it is 7200 RPM. About the hard drive, I already have Samsung 830 SSD on my PC so I hope it will be compatible in the MBP. Where can I get the AHT?

I don't see why it wouldn't be. Just be sure to transfer the pull tab and torx bolts from the stock drive to the Samsung 830 and be sure to at least save your stock drive should you need to take it in for service.

PM me your e-mail address and I'll link you to a copy of it. Thanks to being on GSX, I can nab that stuff fairly easy. The file will be 4.4MB; burn it to a CD in Disk Utility, stick that CD in the MacBook Pro's optical drive, boot from it holding the 'D' key (instead of the usual 'C')...or boot holding down the Option key and then select the CD. Do an extended test (even though that really just does a more thorough test of the RAM that you will be replacing when you buy the aftermarket 8GB RAM upgrade sticks; still, it's worth making sure that there isn't anything sketchy hardware-wise) and when it comes up clean, buy the computer from the guy and buy him a beer while you're at it because that's a stellar deal for a 15" MacBook Pro that was current just six months ago.