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Buying a MBP 13"/15" 2013?
- Thread starter CM01
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Unless your funds are very limited, I wouldn't buy an 8-year-old MBP now.
A 2015? Perhaps.
My used MBP buying guide:
DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!
DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.
A 2015? Perhaps.
My used MBP buying guide:
DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!
DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.
almost anything will work for you, buy what you feel comftorable with.
an older tablet would work too?
so
consider a windows based device?
I had windows computers my entire life, and i want something fresh. I bought used base mba 2012 a few months ago but it was is terrible. Almost every animation is laggy, scrolling the webpages is laggy mess. Like something is wrong with the gpu. MBP should be better because it has better cpu and gpu, especially 15" models, right?
some of the 2013 vintage mac books had some sort of gpu issue, not all models tho. Maybe the pro units had it. The units effected had 2 gpu operating modes, one of which failed. It would get super hot.
the 2015 models were clean. Just they are getting old now. it might not take that much to change out a battery as DIY. Just the replacement battery is likely sitting on a shelf 10y somewhere just waiting for you today.
the dreaded butterfly keyboard started in late 2016. Apple dug their high heels in the dirt on the butterfly keyboard. it all landed in the courts. Apple users were complaning about the apple keyboard before the butterfly keyboard diesign. for sure the butterfly keybard models are to be avoided. All this was fodder for saturday night live skits.
Apple did a lot to damage the product name. The company, 40+ yesrs old, does not seem to be self aware.
We have a windows portable as a work at home situation that functions just fine. Just saying... costs a lot less and is only 2 years old.
the 2015 models were clean. Just they are getting old now. it might not take that much to change out a battery as DIY. Just the replacement battery is likely sitting on a shelf 10y somewhere just waiting for you today.
the dreaded butterfly keyboard started in late 2016. Apple dug their high heels in the dirt on the butterfly keyboard. it all landed in the courts. Apple users were complaning about the apple keyboard before the butterfly keyboard diesign. for sure the butterfly keybard models are to be avoided. All this was fodder for saturday night live skits.
Apple did a lot to damage the product name. The company, 40+ yesrs old, does not seem to be self aware.
We have a windows portable as a work at home situation that functions just fine. Just saying... costs a lot less and is only 2 years old.
I still use a Late 2013 15” MBP daily. I’m a graphic designer and I use Adobe and Affinity apps. It is one of the most durable computers I’ve ever had. I’ve used it a lot, it has signs of wear, never had any issues with it. It still works okay for what I do. It’s one of the base models, 8 GB of RAM and integrated graphics. Running Big Sur now. For web browsing, music and video it works fine. Watch out for the battery life. I’ve already changed the battery once, but even so it still doesn’t compare with the battery life of the newer computers.
Base 13" 2015 is not that much more expensive than from 2013 so I will probably pick that.
One more question: how is scrolling performance on modern webpages with lots of pictures and text? Is it smooth or laggy? This was the main problem with 2012 11" mba Im replacing. Scrolling on some sites would look like 10 fps with lot of microstutters in every browser. But maybe that was gpu issue.
One more question: how is scrolling performance on modern webpages with lots of pictures and text? Is it smooth or laggy? This was the main problem with 2012 11" mba Im replacing. Scrolling on some sites would look like 10 fps with lot of microstutters in every browser. But maybe that was gpu issue.