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iamMacPerson

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 12, 2011
3,488
1,927
AZ/10.0.1.1
So a friend purchased a MacBook Pro a few months back and ended up reverting back to his Alienware machine. He's looking to get rid of this (minus the box which was trashed) for $1400. This would be the $2000 15" model (2.2GHz Quad Haswell, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, Iris Pro). I know it would be enough machine for me for Final Cut, however I'm wondering if it's worth it with the new model right around the corner. It's literally almost a third off and a great machine.
 
Go for it. Given Apple's track record lately, a new machine is only going to be an incremental upgrade at best. Apple seems to be winding down their computer business. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.
 
Speculating leads to bad decisions. If they released a new one today, would you still be willing to buy this one for $1400? If so, it's a good buy. Otherwise you may have buyer's remorse later.

This one hasn't seen a lot of use, which is good. Somehow people on here like to ignore the issue wear and tear, which is prevalent on laptops given the lack of replaceable keyboards and the cost of replacing batteries or chargers.

My suggestion is to buy it only if you would still buy it over a newly released model. Somehow I doubt you really need a new one today. It sounds more like a concern of perceived value.
 
The price is fair...depends on your need. Even if the new model comes out today its more than 1400...alot more :)
 
i just bought a "new" macbook pro 15 on monday and will have it tomorrow. After many months of research (was going to go with an iMac), i finally decided on the current 15" 2.5GHZ 512SSD and 2GB card. the machine has applecare until feb 2019 and has like 70 battery cycles. I paid $2000 shipped - no tax. I looked at apple.com, and with tax, the apple care and computer, it would have been close to $3000. To me, that is worth it. the computer will last me at least 5 years (as my iMac has).

even if i had the dough to upgrade every two years, i doubt i would. i am using it for photography. the new machine is at least twice as fast as my iMac, and i really don't have any issues with my iMac other than it is outdated - as far as USB and TB ports go. I can't utilize usb 3,0 on all my external drives, which is faster than my FW800 drives.

if you can wait, used machines will get cheaper by a bit. if you cannot wait, price out that machine on apple.com and see if the savings are worth it to you. Also check eBay. there are some great deals there - just have to be careful/
 
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