A tale of two Macs and what to do about it

[FreckledLlama]

So as much as I loved my 15 inch late 2013 Core i7 I wanted a big change and I had been saving up for a while for a new rMBP so I ended up getting 13 inch non TB 2017 which technically is the 2018 also since there is no revision rMBP and now I am stuck with 2 computers.

Pippin as I called it is still no slouch but I was just wondering if anyone else has been in this situation and how you found the use case for two MBP's?

 

[leman]

You sell the one you don't need?

 

[lnikj]

Use it as a home media server ?

 

[jerryk]

I would dump it unless you have a dedicated new purpose for the system. Sell it for beer money, or donate it to a school or youth group, etc. Having a spare machine you are not going to use means you need to deal with getting data and programs to the old machine machine if you ever need it.

I used to keep "just in case" systems as "backups", but found it was fools errand. My main systems hardly ever broke, and after a year or two, the effort to bring the spare up to date was very large. And there are components that age and fail just sitting there like batteries so the spare was only semi-usable after a year or two.

 

[Fishrrman]

One thing I much enjoy is having a nice Mac desktop AND a nice Mac laptop...

 

[SDColorado]

I would dump it unless you have a dedicated new purpose for the system. Sell it for beer money, or donate it to a school or youth group, etc. Having a spare machine you are not going to use means you need to deal with getting data and programs to the old machine machine if you ever need it.

I used to keep "just in case" systems as "backups", but found it was fools errand. My main systems hardly ever broke, and after a year or two, the effort to bring the spare up to date was very large. And there are components that age and fail just sitting there like batteries so the spare was on semi-usable after a year or two.

I did the same once. Tried a 13" once and decided I prefer the 15". But instead of selling the 13" I thought I would keep it around for a "just in case" backup system. In reality, it just sat around losing value, I should have just sold it. Instead, I allowed it to sit to where it wasn't worth much and gave it away.

 

[meson]

Keep the old machine so when the butterfly keyboard gets fussy on the new one you can work until you have time to clean it out. That 13" ntb machine is a thing of beauty, but the one supplied to me by my employer was a pain. I found myself using my personal 2012 machine just as much if not more on a daily basis.

Seriously though, blowing out the keyboard with a can of compressed air, or even blowing air through a straw generally dislodged whatever was bogging down my butterfly keyboard and I could get on with my day.

 

[elmarjazz]

Its been awhile since my usual ‘in-time’ up-grade of the past few decades, usually just kept the older around so it would be there if needed, and never was... till the 2010-2011 MBP 17” dGPU problems. Then it was back and forth with an older and newer model for repairs for a few years till that 2011 became ‘legacy’ and in need of a new logic board while APPLe would no longer support their defective hardware. I’m now on my older 2010 17” till I decide what to do as for APPLE.

If I was to get a new MBP - with all its problems - I’d be happy to have another older dependable computer around, because that 2016-2018 will be away on ‘vacation’ at some point. And... when that 4-year ‘extended - goodwill - warrenty’ on the keyboard finishes... money for nothing, more money for more repairs over time on increasingly older tech.

Been thinking of a dual [dependable] desktop and [not so dependable] laptop, but one system just seems better, what to do...?

And yes, I’d keep that older around if just for awhile.

 

[maflynn]

If you're happy with the old one, why keep the new one. Keep saving your money and wait for a revision that blows the doors off, or when your older computer no longer does what you need it to do

 

[Ploki]

Had a 2012" 15" before I got the 2018 setup, passed it on to family

 

[Sterkenburg]

As others have pointed out, a spare laptop will likely be gathering dust 98% of the time. For this reason, I usually pass my old electronics to family to extend its useful life (my parents have no reason to spend money on the latest and greatest hardware and are perfectly happy with this).

If I were in your shoes, I'd use the return window to figure out whether the new machine provided me with a much better experience than the old one. If that's the case, I'd just sell the old model, otherwise I'd return the new one.