Advice on intel 16" purchase

[DMG35]

I have a corporate discount available on a pretty high end 16" MacBook Pro. I need a new machine pretty bad as my 2014 is really starting to struggle. My company has a new 16" MacBook Pro that is for available right now for $2400. This is the 2.4GHz model with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. This seems like a great value to me for a machine that ought to last me a long time. I know its intel and that M1X or whatever is coming soon but this almost seems to good to pass up. It doesn't come with its box, only the charger, but I've looked at it and it is in flawless condition with only 2 battery cycles. Its also less than 10 days old so AppleCare is available.

Should I go ahead an pull the trigger here? Its definitely more than I need but I only want the larger screen MacBook Pro's and buying this one is less expensive than buying a base model through Apple. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[immortal21god]

If you really need it then go for it but you haven'y described specifically what you're going to use the laptop for. If it's for basic office work such as web browsing, emails, video calls then you'd rather get the M1 Mac.

 

[velocityg4]

As you only want a larger screen MacBook Pro. That's certainly a better deal than you'll find anywhere for those specs in that condition. Basically new condition.

If I was in a position where
- I need a new laptop now
- I only want a Mac
- I only want the larger screen model

I'd definitely take that deal. Then give Applecare+ consideration. The nice thing with Applecare+. It may be a horrible value on base models. But the price doesn't change as you up the specs. Giving it a better relative value.

 

[DMG35]

If you really need it then go for it but you haven'y described specifically what you're going to use the laptop for. If it's for basic office work such as web browsing, emails, video calls then you'd rather get the M1 Mac.

I really only want the larger screen. The 13" just doesn't provide me with the screen real estate that I want. I do a lot of office work with speadsheets, salesforce, outlook, safari, adobe acrobat, and a few others constantly open. I really want the screen real estate as I use a split screen often and the 13" model is just too small for me. I also do some audio and video work as its something I really enjoy. Its not for a living but having that extra power sure is tempting.

As far as power, yes its more than I need but I do love the idea of having so much storage as I keep all of my files local on an external and keeping them on the Mac would be even more convenient.

 

[DMG35]

As you only want a larger screen MacBook Pro. That's certainly a better deal than you'll find anywhere for those specs in that condition. Basically new condition.

If I was in a position where
- I need a new laptop now
- I only want a Mac
- I only want the larger screen model

I'd definitely take that deal. Then give Applecare+ consideration. The nice thing with Applecare+. It may be a horrible value on base models. But the price doesn't change as you up the specs. Giving it a better relative value.

Thank you for the advice here.

 

[GumaRodak]

Take the one with 5600 gpu

 

[DMG35]

Take the one with 5600 gpu

Unfortunately they don’t have that one. Not that I’d really need it but I get it that it does make it more powerful.

 

[GumaRodak]

Best benefit its not causing overheating blamed by many ppls here in other tread when used with external monitors etc..

 

[DMG35]

Best benefit its not causing overheating blamed by many ppls here in other tread when used with external monitors etc..

Ah I see. I don't ever use an external monitor but that's good to know.

 

[Jamalien]

I bought an M1 macbook pro to try out vs. my macbook pro 16 and honestly there isn't that much difference. I do like how the M1 mac stays cool and its battery endurance, but since I spend most of my time plugged in, there really aren't that many real world benefits to the M1 mac that make giving up the screen real estate and typing comfort with large palm rests worth it.

 

[SkyRom]

DMG: I hear what you're saying and here are my honest thoughts.

I'm sure you will love the 16" MacBook Pro. It has the improved Magic Keyboard with 1 mm travel. It has the largest screen offered in a MacBook since your last upgrade. It will be blazing fast for office work and get excellent battery life, probably the best you've ever seen in a machine of this size. It's light, thin, it will work for years, and is overall an incredible machine compared to almost anything else on the market.

To me, the biggest questions are:

1. Can you live with the Touch Bar? Because it's definitely still there until this new redesign happens. I've been "stuck on" a Touch Bar Mac myself or the last couple of years, and while I hate it, I can't say it hurts my productivity too much. I love the Touch ID for logging into websites and unlocking the machine (which can also be done with your Apple Watch). The good news is on the 16" they at least returned a real Escape key so you don't have to look down all the time when you need it.

2. Are you going to be kicking yourself when Apple inevitably releases something amazing with the rumored return of real ports and no touch bar in something like 2-16 weeks? I personally hate the dongle life of 4-USB-C only ports, and the rumors suggest the return of a USB port, SD card reader, HDMI port and MagSafe, all excellent for families and business users. The rumored M1X processor will probably be measurably faster in specs, but I never met anyone who felt like an i7 or i9 Intel processor with 6+ cores was slow. Which brings me to...

3. Are you running any arcane, older or specific apps that might require Windows or run better on an Intel infrastructure than the Apple M1 line? I run a real estate office, and watching some of my coworkers battling Excel, Google Earth Pro and ArcGIS crashes since shifting some of them to M1 Mac Mini's has been tough. Big Sur doesn't seem as stable to me as previous releases, which is probably why Apple is releasing Monterrey so quickly. Ultimately I have to think any serious business user values up-time and stability over raw power. Also, you can't install Windows through Boot Camp (yet) on a Mac processor based computer (as far as I know,) which means your only option would be a virtual machine through Parallels or something similar. Windows also has good Apple firmware available to install drivers so the Touch Bar works in Windows as well, btw.

If it were me, I would wait the 1-4 months and see what Apple releases. My gut tells me you'll still have a great corporate discount available on this or another machine then, so price isn't necessarily the #1 issue. The Dell XPS/Precision or Latitude would also be great for you, or the Microsoft Surface 4 or Surface Book 3 (or 4 if they release it this fall). Though I'm sure you will love the 16" if you end up getting it, I just feel like... if I waited 7 years to upgrade, I wouldn't jump the gun 3 months before the biggest redesign of the MacBook Pro chassis in 5-10 years by Apple.

 

[DMG35]

DMG: I hear what you're saying and here are my honest thoughts.

I'm sure you will love the 16" MacBook Pro. It has the improved Magic Keyboard with 1 mm travel. It has the largest screen offered in a MacBook since your last upgrade. It will be blazing fast for office work and get excellent battery life, probably the best you've ever seen in a machine of this size. It's light, thin, it will work for years, and is overall an incredible machine compared to almost anything else on the market.

To me, the biggest questions are:

1. Can you live with the Touch Bar? Because it's definitely still there until this new redesign happens. I've been "stuck on" a Touch Bar Mac myself or the last couple of years, and while I hate it, I can't say it hurts my productivity too much. I love the Touch ID for logging into websites and unlocking the machine (which can also be done with your Apple Watch). The good news is on the 16" they at least returned a real Escape key so you don't have to look down all the time when you need it.

2. Are you going to be kicking yourself when Apple inevitably releases something amazing with the rumored return of real ports and no touch bar in something like 2-16 weeks? I personally hate the dongle life of 4-USB-C only ports, and the rumors suggest the return of a USB port, SD card reader, HDMI port and MagSafe, all excellent for families and business users. The rumored M1X processor will probably be measurably faster in specs, but I never met anyone who felt like an i7 or i9 Intel processor with 6+ cores was slow. Which brings me to...

3. Are you running any arcane, older or specific apps that might require Windows or run better on an Intel infrastructure than the Apple M1 line? I run a real estate office, and watching some of my coworkers battling Excel, Google Earth Pro and ArcGIS crashes since shifting some of them to M1 Mac Mini's has been tough. Big Sur doesn't seem as stable to me as previous releases, which is probably why Apple is releasing Monterrey so quickly. Ultimately I have to think any serious business user values up-time and stability over raw power. Also, you can't install Windows through Boot Camp (yet) on a Mac processor based computer (as far as I know,) which means your only option would be a virtual machine through Parallels or something similar. Windows also has good Apple firmware available to install drivers so the Touch Bar works in Windows as well, btw.

If it were me, I would wait the 1-4 months and see what Apple releases. My gut tells me you'll still have a great corporate discount available on this or another machine then, so price isn't necessarily the #1 issue. The Dell XPS/Precision or Latitude would also be great for you, or the Microsoft Surface 4 or Surface Book 3 (or 4 if they release it this fall). Though I'm sure you will love the 16" if you end up getting it, I just feel like... if I waited 7 years to upgrade, I wouldn't jump the gun 3 months before the biggest redesign of the MacBook Pro chassis in 5-10 years by Apple.

Yeah that's a great point. My only thing with that is that when the M1 is released I absolutely won't be able to get a corporate discount on one. They most likely won't even deploy them as running Windows is required by almost all field reps for some applications.

 

[jaduffy007]

I have a corporate discount available on a pretty high end 16" MacBook Pro. I need a new machine pretty bad as my 2014 is really starting to struggle. My company has a new 16" MacBook Pro that is for available right now for $2400. This is the 2.4GHz model with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. This seems like a great value to me for a machine that ought to last me a long time. I know its intel and that M1X or whatever is coming soon but this almost seems to good to pass up. It doesn't come with its box, only the charger, but I've looked at it and it is in flawless condition with only 2 battery cycles. Its also less than 10 days old so AppleCare is available.

Should I go ahead an pull the trigger here? Its definitely more than I need but I only want the larger screen MacBook Pro's and buying this one is less expensive than buying a base model through Apple. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

As a former 16" 2019 MBP owner... I would strongly advise to avoid it at all costs. It's a heat / noise producing, kernel attacking nightmare. If you really must buy something now (vs waiting for the upcoming 16" ), then I would suggest buying a used 16" 2018 or 2019 that you can turn around and sell for what you paid for it...and replace it with the Apple Silicon 16" when you can.

 

[cardfan]

I have a corporate discount available on a pretty high end 16" MacBook Pro. I need a new machine pretty bad as my 2014 is really starting to struggle. My company has a new 16" MacBook Pro that is for available right now for $2400. This is the 2.4GHz model with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. This seems like a great value to me for a machine that ought to last me a long time. I know its intel and that M1X or whatever is coming soon but this almost seems to good to pass up. It doesn't come with its box, only the charger, but I've looked at it and it is in flawless condition with only 2 battery cycles. Its also less than 10 days old so AppleCare is available.

Should I go ahead an pull the trigger here? Its definitely more than I need but I only want the larger screen MacBook Pro's and buying this one is less expensive than buying a base model through Apple. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Sounds like a good deal. You won’t get anything near that price for a 16” 32gb and 2tb ssd later. This will last you years. It’s a solid laptop. Killer speakers. Great screen. Runs windows and egpu if you ever needed it.

 

[rawweb]

As a former 16" 2019 MBP owner... I would strongly advise to avoid it at all costs. It's a heat / noise producing, kernel attacking nightmare. If you really must buy something now (vs waiting for the upcoming 16" ), then I would suggest buying a used 16" 2018 or 2019 that you can turn around and sell for what you paid for it...and replace it with the Apple Silicon 16" when you can.

For whatever it's worth to the OP, I haven't experienced any of the kernel or excessive noise issues you describe with my 16", 2.4GHz i9, 64GB Ram, 2TB SSD, and 5600M graphics attached to a Pro Display XDR at 6k. I do fairly intense 4k video editing and compositing work with mine. Does it heat up? From time to time...it does what it's designed to do, cool itself off. From what I read around here, I suspect most people want their computer to be whisper silent 100% of the time. In reality with these systems, that's just not possible. It's not something I ever expected out of it. I switched from a 2013 Mac Pro which never made a peep. It doesn't really tend to bother me like it does some, I guess. I love the screen and am always beyond impressed with the sound quality this thing is capable of.

With that said, I'm quite impressed with the M1. For $600 bucks a M1 MacMini matches and in some cases bests my 4k 8-Core i9 on the bench. The graphics just aren't there yet. I wish Apple had allowed external graphics. I think I would consider replacing my 16" intel machine if the M1 had allowed for eGPU. At this point in time, it looks like Apple is ditching not only intel but AMD as well as they never compiled the AMD drivers to be universal and there are no rumors about AMD graphics in future Macs.

 

[ascender]

I guess I'd give the same advice to anybody who asks this just now. Unless you absolutely need a Mac with an Intel CPU, I'd look at an M1-something. I'm in the same position as you, that I want a larger screened laptop, but I've got an M1 Air at the moment and have an external monitor on my desk.

$2400 is a good deal for that machine, but its value is only going to go down and pretty hard. What about a second-hand 16" machine if you really want that bigger screen?

The M1-powered machines are fast; responsive; silent; run cool and are pretty powerful so long as you're not looking for a beefy GPU.

We're all expecting Apple to release an updated 16" machine before the end of the year, so I'd be tempted to minimise your outlay on anything with an Intel CPU in it.

 

[skaertus]

The laptop in your description costs $3799 on Apple's website. It is a great deal at $2400. The one with the M-series chip will be better and probably with a new design, but you will have to pay the full price. And $2400 will not buy you 32 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD when Apple releases the new version. I would buy it.

 

[DMG35]

The laptop in your description costs $3799 on Apple's website. It is a great deal at $2400. The one with the M-series chip will be better and probably with a new design, but you will have to pay the full price. And $2400 will not buy you 32 GB RAM and 2 TB SSD when Apple releases the new version. I would buy it.

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on it. I have 10 days to return it if I change my mind so I have a little bit of time to try it out and see how it works for me. I just can't damage it at all or they won't take it. So I'll have to baby it for a couple of weeks and decide if I want to keep it.

Thanks everyone for the advice here, much appreciated.

 

[skaertus]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on it. I have 10 days to return it if I change my mind so I have a little bit of time to try it out and see how it works for me. I just can't damage it at all or they won't take it. So I'll have to baby it for a couple of weeks and decide if I want to keep it.

Thanks everyone for the advice here, much appreciated.

If you decide you do not want to keep it, you may still sell it at a profit. Even after Apple releases a 16-inch M-series MacBook Pro, you may still be able to sell yours for a good price. It will be one of the last Intel Mac laptops, with beefed-up specs to last for years to come, and there may be demand for this kind of computer after Apple migrates the Mac to its new processors.

 

[badsimian]

Are you planning on using external monitors frequently? If so and it isn't the 5600M then get used to the sound of fans. I used to have a 16" and loved it at first but then noticed just how hot it used to get with an external monitor and doing nothing else. Got fed up of using turbo boost disabler and worrying about noise/heat, just replaced it with an M1 MBA.

 

[DMG35]

Are you planning on using external monitors frequently? If so and it isn't the 5600M then get used to the sound of fans. I used to have a 16" and loved it at first but then noticed just how hot it used to get with an external monitor and doing nothing else. Got fed up of using turbo boost disabler and worrying about noise/heat, just replaced it with an M1 MBA.

Thanks for the advice. Fortunately I don't ever use an external monitor so I think the 5500 with 8GB of RAM will do fine for me.

I picked it up yesterday and wow what a change moving to this from my 2014. I decided to start fresh with it and not load any of the garbage off of my old machine and its running smooth as glass. Really love everything about this machine. I'm sure the new ones coming out this year will be incredible but for now this is a great upgrade for me.

 

[gammamonk]

I'm a bit confused-- is this laptop for work at the same place that's offering it? They make you buy your own laptop?

 

[nathan_reilly]

I'm a bit confused-- is this laptop for work at the same place that's offering it? They make you buy your own laptop?

I work sixteen tons, and what do I get?

 

[mzeb]

My primary concern is longevity as you kept your previous laptop for seven years (of which, I might add, you should be proud of!) and here's my thoughts with a little data:

When apple transitioned to Intel the last PPC based machine they sold rolled out of the factory in August 2006 (The Powermac G5 was replaced by the Mac Pro). Three years later, with the release of MacOS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, the Powermac G5 stopped receiving OS updates. It was possible you could have bought the machine and had it stop receiving updates before its AppleCare was out.

That cutover was pretty fast though. Apple did it in about eight months. They've said about two years for this one. With that date in mind I'll estimate we have about another year before Apple stops selling Intel Macs.

With these two data points I'll estimate that about four years from now Apple will stop releasing OS updates for Intel Macs. That puts a bit of a date on an Intel machine bought today.

Crunching the numbers further, you're getting about a 30% discount. Knock 30% off seven years and you get around four and a half. So with that large a discount the buy seems perfectly fine but you'll have to accept that you'll be buying a new machine in four years or so (to keep current with software).

I'll throw another wrench into these calculations: five years after the release of the first Intel based Macs apple stopped producing updates for them because they weren't 64-bit. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the same issue with the M1s. Not a bit bump (we'll be running 64-bit machines for a while) but some other serious change that Apple didn't quite plan for. The Core2 based Macs that came out the same year as the initial Core1 based Macs got another year and a half of updates.

With those couple data points no Mac you buy right now will get you seven years of longevity. Like I mentioned above, the Intel machine is fine if you don't mind replacing it in four years. If that's an issue, though, I'd wait for an M1X or M2 (or whatever they call it) based 16" MBP and buy that at full cost. The amortized cost of each will likely be about the same.

 

[jaduffy007]

For whatever it's worth to the OP, I haven't experienced any of the kernel or excessive noise issues you describe with my 16", 2.4GHz i9, 64GB Ram, 2TB SSD, and 5600M graphics attached to a Pro Display XDR at 6k. I do fairly intense 4k video editing and compositing work with mine. Does it heat up? From time to time...it does what it's designed to do, cool itself off. From what I read around here, I suspect most people want their computer to be whisper silent 100% of the time. In reality with these systems, that's just not possible. It's not something I ever expected out of it. I switched from a 2013 Mac Pro which never made a peep. It doesn't really tend to bother me like it does some, I guess. I love the screen and am always beyond impressed with the sound quality this thing is capable of.

With that said, I'm quite impressed with the M1. For $600 bucks a M1 MacMini matches and in some cases bests my 4k 8-Core i9 on the bench. The graphics just aren't there yet. I wish Apple had allowed external graphics. I think I would consider replacing my 16" intel machine if the M1 had allowed for eGPU. At this point in time, it looks like Apple is ditching not only intel but AMD as well as they never compiled the AMD drivers to be universal and there are no rumors about AMD graphics in future Macs.

I bet you don't and good for you...because you have the 5600M. . As I'm sure you know...the 5600M has completely different architecture than the 5500M/5300M. It's waaaaay better. If the OP has the 5600M option and that kind of $$ gpu investment makes sense to him/her...awesome. I still wouldn't invest in any Intel based machine at this point, but certainly, there are users where the Intel makes sense.