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Buying second-hand 2019 16" MBP: risks of failure in 2025.

As far as I know, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro is much more reliable than the 2011-2013 models, especially in terms of the GPU and cooling, and it uses an improved Magic Keyboard that solves the problem of the failure-prone "butterfly" design.
 
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Fishrrman said:
Have to agree with Salamander above.

STAY AWAY from ALL MacBook Pros with the butterfly keyboard.
The 2019 DOES NOT have the scissors ("magic") keyboard -- still has butterfly.

These will soon be declared vintage (and then obsolete) by Apple.
That means no more repairs.
So... if the butterfly keyboard fails... there will be "no fixing it".
And even if you could fix it -- the repair will cost upwards of $800, because you can't replace "the keyboard" -- the entire top case must be replaced.

Consider yourself as having been duly warned by reading this post.
Click to expand...
I have to disagree strongly with this post.
It DOES have a Magic Keyboard and it is a fairly capable machine.
We got one for the occasional Windows session, and while it does have obvious drawbacks, it’s a good laptop and probably enough for OP, as long as they don’t try to game on Windows because that’s a miserable and loud experience.
 
penelope_bk said:
As far as I know, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro is much more reliable than the 2011-2013 models, especially in terms of the GPU and cooling, and it uses an improved Magic Keyboard that solves the problem of the failure-prone "butterfly" design.
Click to expand...

I had a 2011 MacBook Pro that had discrete GPU blow on two different logic boards--first time was just days after the one-year warranty had expired. I did manage to get the board swapped basically for free by the reseller, but then that one blew 3 years later or so. It seems to me that the 2011s at the very least were far crappier than the 2019s.
 
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Fishrrman said:
Have to agree with Salamander above.

STAY AWAY from ALL MacBook Pros with the butterfly keyboard.
The 2019 DOES NOT have the scissors ("magic") keyboard -- still has butterfly.

These will soon be declared vintage (and then obsolete) by Apple.
That means no more repairs.
So... if the butterfly keyboard fails... there will be "no fixing it".
And even if you could fix it -- the repair will cost upwards of $800, because you can't replace "the keyboard" -- the entire top case must be replaced.
Also, replacing the logic board macbook pro is expensive
Consider yourself as having been duly warned by reading this post.
Click to expand...
There were also cooling issues. High loads can still cause throttling. While the cooling was improved compared to the 15" model.
And I won’t even mention Sticky keys, repeating letters, and keys that fail to register.
I had a 13-inch model and it was just hell, I spilled some water on the keyboard, literally a few drops got on the Enter button and I couldn't do anything. The button started working every other time.
 
wjdavis said:
I had a 2011 MacBook Pro that had discrete GPU blow on two different logic boards--first time was just days after the one-year warranty had expired. I did manage to get the board swapped basically for free by the reseller, but then that one blew 3 years later or so. It seems to me that the 2011s at the very least were far crappier than the 2019s.
Click to expand...
Retina MBPs from 2012 and 2013 with dedicated GPU are also problematic. I wouldn't get one unless I had BGA soldering habilities to reflow/reball their GPUs periodically. To me, the rMBP 15" 2015 without discrete GPU (base model essentially) is the new eternal 2012 13" Macbook Pro. There aren't parts which are known to fail recurrently.
 
brdeveloper said:
Retina MBPs from 2012 and 2013 with dedicated GPU are also problematic. I wouldn't get one unless I had BGA soldering habilities to reflow/reball their GPUs periodically. To me, the rMBP 15" 2015 without discrete GPU (base model essentially) is the new eternal 2012 13" Macbook Pro. There aren't parts which are known to fail recurrently.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that the dGPU on the 2015 are causing failures?

I would like to know more since I have both kinds maxed out: 2.8Ghz, 16GB RAM 1TB SSD.
 
MacHeritage said:
Are you saying that the dGPU on the 2015 are causing failures?

I would like to know more since I have both kinds maxed out: 2.8Ghz, 16GB RAM 1TB SSD.
Click to expand...
No, it's just because Apple always mess with dGPU Macs, and if I'd get a second-hand Mac I wouldn't invest on a dGPU-equipped one. When I was researching about the 2019 16" MBP, I've found some cases of GPU failure on these models, e.g., on this topic:
 
As far as I know, 2015 MBP, dGPU or not, are rock solid like a Mac Pro 2010-2012 is. There isn't much price difference between the two for a maxed out config. I paid the same for both used in my case.

2019's are different and the 5600m seems to be the one that solved a lot of the issues that the 5300m and 5500m had early on. Extra displays or gaming? 5600m was the best for this.
 
stay away from that model, stupid gpu uses 20-22 wats when connected to external display.
 
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