Refurbished 15" MBP Late 13 a good buy?

[ACE_350]

Hey all,

Thinking about purchasing the 15" Late 2013 model off the Apple refurb store, it's only listed at $1,399 which I think is a great deal. I was considering purchasing a 13" 2015 model for $1,499 (want the 256GB SSD), but with this I get a 15" screen. My laptop will be more or less only used in my home, and will mostly serve as a desktop replacement style, I will probably rarely ever take it out of my home, and the most it will be moved is room to room from time to time, so no serious travel here, I just figured I would rather take a 15" for more screen if I'm going to be doing so little travel with it.

I'll be mostly using it for media consumption and general computing, as well as using it as a main computer to sync my iPhone and USB devices and transfer files and folders. No gaming or any serious video editing or graphics presentation.

I'm sure I'll be fine with 8GB RAM since I won't be running any Windows or VMs or doing any super heavy multitasking. I'm sure it will be speedy enough for me, is the 2015 model with the force touch trackpads really that huge of an upgrade? I just can't justify paying that much more money for a 15" when they start at $2,000, and I really think the 15" will be better then a 13" at these price points.

My only other concern is the heat. I heard the haswell models do get pretty hot, as well as the 1st gens. Have they further improved the heating issues with the new broadwell chips?

Thanks for any input in advance.

 

[Dark Void]

If the computer meets your needs in the realms of processing power, memory, internal storage and graphics processing power - it's a fair deal. There is no way to get ripped off on the refurbished outlet - they are fixed percentages and you can't really score a better deal for the same specifications. It's not like buying used off of any old website of course. They come with a return period and warranty just as new units from Apple do as well, so no worries.

I'd say go for it. ForceTouch is probably more of a preference, or "different type" of trackpad. The general consensus is that it is great but I wouldn't call it "better" by default - and it's certainly not a reason to jump models if the less expensive refurb gets the job done for you in my opinion. It could be the greatest feature for you, however, and I've no right to inform you on how to spend your money, so my suggestion there would be to head for a store that has them on display to try out ForceTouch and see if you like it.

I wouldn't worry about heat. They operate normally just like the other models do. Some of the concerns you see around here regarding heat are genuine, unintended issues but I would argue that most are compulsive worries and not actual problems. It's an aluminum chassis that is a conductor of heat, and it's okay to monitor your temperatures every once in a while but I wouldn't worry too much about it and live on iStat Menus until it makes you want to go live off of the grid under a stick hut in a loincloth with tree bark and mud for nourishment.

I hope this helps you. Good luck with your purchase.

 

[ACE_350]

I just found out that even with the refresh the MBP 15 is still using Haswell processors. Is this true? If so the 2015 is a really minor refresh.. just force touch and the new AMD GPU?

 

[superlawyer15]

I just found out that even with the refresh the MBP 15 is still using Haswell processors. Is this true? If so the 2015 is a really minor refresh.. just force touch and the new AMD GPU?

SSD also saw a boost. A lot of what Dark Void said is true but I wouldn't underrate the force touch trackpad.
Its not really a personal preference thing, the force touch trackpad is clearly superior and has 0 downside when compared to the old trackpad.

 

[zombiecakes]

I dont know how long you expect to use it but not being able to upgrade the ram would worry me, also the SSD upgrades are extremely expensive, so if you plan on upgrading its probably cheaper to do it now

Check out Amazon because after tax you might be paying the same for a better version being sold there, I was thinking of getting the 2.2 refurb but found the 2.5ghz version as an open box (amazon warehouse deals) for the same price after tax. Still has 7 months on the warranty as well.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

That use case would be fine on an Ipad mate. Buy whatever computer you wish, with what you use it for you can't go wrong.

 

[Dark Void]

A lot of what Dark Void said is true but I wouldn't underrate the force touch trackpad. Its not really a personal preference thing, the force touch trackpad is clearly superior and has 0 downside when compared to the old trackpad.

Never underrated it in the slightest, in fact I suggested it could be the very reason the OP may want to go with the newer model and they should test out a display model before committing to a purchase.

Perhaps it's poor wording, but I find it to be a preference rather than a reason to purchase a computer, and that's just my opinion as stated. I find the trackpads on the previous notebooks to be phenomenal, so I don't need a new, updated ForceTouch one. It's just different, perhaps "better," but my perception is different within the means of finding nothing but positives with all Apple trackpads.