2nd hand 1st Mac opinions please

[Monty84]

Hi all this is my first post and straight in with some consumer advice please.

I have been looking at the Mac format for sometime, I am sick of windows new format and my win 7 laptop has died, I have been looking at spending the same money I would spend on a new windows laptop on a second hand Mac book pro.

I want to use it to edit go pro videos, dslr images for personal use and dabble with GarageBand as I currently do with my guitar and ipad. Browse the web, occasional word processing.

I have found the following item is this enough to do what I want to?
To me as a novice it seems upgraded enough to get me thorough, I have dabbled with a G4 power Mac in the past so not completely new to the concept of Apple but fairly inexperienced.


2.3HGz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 3MB shared level 3 cache
16GB of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
120GB Solid State SSD, 6GB/s
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display: 1280 by 800 pixels
Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory
Built-in FaceTime HD camera
8x slot-loading SuperDrive
DVD+R DL/DVD+RW/CD-RW
Thunderbolt port supports high-speed I/O and Mini DisplayPort devices
SDXC card slot, Firewire 800 port, two USB 2.0 ports
Optical digital audio output/analog line out, stereo speakers
10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet
802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Backlit keyboard and ambient light sensor

 

[quackers82]

Why not just get a brand new Mac and run Windows on it either via Parallels Desktop or Bootcamp for when you need Windows based Applications?

 

[firedept]

I believe that is a 2011 model. It should do the job just fine. IT has plenty of RAM and a SSD, which will make it a pretty quick machine. You will most likely have to get an external drive to store the videos you want to edit as they will take up a lot of room on that SSD in a short period of time. For the most part the machine will do what you need it to do.

I have a 2010 MBP that is similar and still does most of what you plan to do. That 2011 will give you a few good years. Hopefully you are getting it at a fair price.

 

[imaccooper]

That 2011 will give you a few good years. Hopefully you are getting it at a fair price.

I agree. The machine looks decent but the price depends a lot. If you have checked apple refurb store as well as discounts from normal retailers such as best buy etc. then you should have a good grasp on the price point.

As I said, the machine looks just fine, but if you could find an i series processor (i5 probably) for not much more then I would recommend the upgrade as it will probably add a couple years of potential life to your computer (but there is no doubt this computer will be great for 2 or 3 years especially with the ssd).

 

[Monty84]

Just to let you guys know what i finished up doing. i bought the mac book pro,

2.3ghz, i5, 16GB, 120 Solid state running latest version of yosemite, fresh install.

I don't see a need to dual boot as mentioned above, The only windows styled program i require is office, i am a office 360 subscriber so installed it immediately. job jobbed. i am a novice user but i am picking it up pretty quick. great machine in really good order, i suppose when a machine costs a grand up wards to buy initially, the owner looks after it the best he/she can.

 

[firedept]

Well glad to hear. They really are a nice machine. I have three of them (2010 model) in my household plus a couple of iMacs. Bought all my MBP's second hand and have never been disappointed. All mine have had the RAM upgraded and the drives changed to SSD's, so they are pretty quick.

Well enjoy that new toy and here is a helpful tip on keyboard shortcuts.

 

[EdDuPlessis]

Stay away from dual core or i5. Operating system upgrades tend to drop support for the low end processors too soon.

 

[Altemose]

Stay away from dual core or i5. Operating system upgrades tend to drop support for the low end processors too soon.

Apple supports most fully 64 bit capable Macs in Yosemite still. I am not sure where this statement came from.

 

[Spink10]

Just to let you guys know what i finished up doing. i bought the mac book pro,

2.3ghz, i5, 16GB, 120 Solid state running latest version of yosemite, fresh install.

I don't see a need to dual boot as mentioned above, The only windows styled program i require is office, i am a office 360 subscriber so installed it immediately. job jobbed. i am a novice user but i am picking it up pretty quick. great machine in really good order, i suppose when a machine costs a grand up wards to buy initially, the owner looks after it the best he/she can.

Congrats - Welcome to the Mac world!