Is It Safe To Buy A Refurbished Retina MBP and A Few Questions?

[gregpod9]

I currently have an early 2011 base 13" MBP that I upgraded to a 256 GB SSD and 8 GB of memory, which I plan to sell. I'm thinking of buying a refurbished Retina MBP from apple.com. I will be buying either the base model 15" rMBP or the midrange 13" rMBP (256 GB SSD). I'm not sure which one I should choice? I quit playing pc games a couple of years ago and it will be nice to have the 15" version.

I have a few questions on the rMBP.
1. If I buy the refurbished base model 15" rMBP, what are the chances of it having the Samsung display on it? I read the majority of LG retina displays have IR.

2. I will be installing Windows 7 on either machine with Parallels 8 or Bootcamp. Out of Bootcamp and Parallels 8, which is better for Windows 7 to scale the Retina display to a readable text size without getting fuzzy? I know that Windows 7 can't support HIDPI displays.

3. Who makes the screen for the 13" rMBP?

4. Where does Apple ship the rMBP from?

5. Is the 15" refurbished rMBP worth the extra money from the midrange 13" rMBP?

 

[large farva]

I don't have answers for some of your questions but I can answer one of them. Which display are you more likely to end up with if you buy a Refurbished Retina MBP? You will more than likely wind up with a Samsung display. I've talked to quite a few people who have purchased refurbished Retina MBPs, and they have ALL been Samsung displays. My reasoning for this is that the majority of Retina MBP's being returned, are being returned because of Image Retention. Apple knows this, so when they refurb the MBP, they throw a Samsung display in there and boom, problem solved.

 

[jterp7]

I currently have an early 2011 base 13" MBP that I upgraded to a 256 GB SSD and 8 GB of memory, which I plan to sell. I'm thinking of buying a refurbished Retina MBP from apple.com. I will be buying either the base model 15" rMBP or the midrange 13" rMBP (256 GB SSD). I'm not sure which one I should choice? I quit playing pc games a couple of years ago and it will be nice to have the 15" version.

I have a few questions on the rMBP.
1. If I buy the refurbished base model 15" rMBP, what are the chances of it having the Samsung display on it? I read the majority of LG retina displays have IR.

2. I will be installing Windows 7 on either machine with Parallels 8 or Bootcamp. Out of Bootcamp and Parallels 8, which is better for Windows 7 to scale the Retina display to a readable text size without getting fuzzy? I know that Windows 7 can't support HIDPI displays.

3. Who makes the screen for the 13" rMBP?

4. Where does Apple ship the rMBP from?

5. Is the 15" refurbished rMBP worth the extra money from the midrange 13" rMBP?

I have the LG 15" rmbp and its fine.

 

[KPOM]

I have a few questions on the rMBP.
1. If I buy the refurbished base model 15" rMBP, what are the chances of it having the Samsung display on it? I read the majority of LG retina displays have IR.

2. I will be installing Windows 7 on either machine with Parallels 8 or Bootcamp. Out of Bootcamp and Parallels 8, which is better for Windows 7 to scale the Retina display to a readable text size without getting fuzzy? I know that Windows 7 can't support HIDPI displays.

3. Who makes the screen for the 13" rMBP?

4. Where does Apple ship the rMBP from?

5. Is the 15" refurbished rMBP worth the extra money from the midrange 13" rMBP?

1) Probably 50/50. I wouldn't worry about it. If IR becomes a serious issue you can have the screen replaced.

2) Parallels attempts to replicate the "Retina" effect, but note that it isn't perfect. Essentially it applies 199% scaling available in Windows 7.

3) The script to identify manufacturers doesn't work in the 13" model, but presumably it is still LG and Samsung.

4) Don't know (I ordered a refurb once, but that was a few years ago)

5) It depends. For $200 more than the 13" rMBP with 256GB SSD, you get a quad-core processor and a discrete GPU on the 15". On the other hand, it weighs about 0.9 pounds more. A lot of people find the 15" rMBP to be a better value for the money, but if the dual-core i5 is already overkill for what you need it for, then it comes down to other preferences.

 

[swerve147]

1) I originally purchased a base refurb rMBP, then recently exchanged it for a midrange refurb rMBP. Both have Samsung screens.

4) Both refurbs came from a US Apple service center (I would assume where they recondition the refurbs) in PA. I chose Ship to Store both times and both were available the next day following. You should get it within 1-2 days of ordering it if you're in the NY/NJ/PA area (this is all assuming you're ordering in the US).

Overall I'm extremely pleased with buying refurbished. Both machines were/are in excellent condition overall. I don't think you have anything to worry about going this route. Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[gregpod9]

I ordered the midrange 13" refurbished rMBP. It was between a new 13" MBA i5/8G/256GB GB SSD, or the base refurbished 15" rMBP.

I decided against the base 15" refurbished rMBP, because I don't play pc games, I have no use for the quad core processors because I will not take advantage of them.

I decided against the 13" MBA i5/8GB/256GB SSD because it was not in the refurbished section of on Apple website, it cost about $100 less than the refurbished 13" midrange rMBP, and it has a weaker cpu.

I hope that the refurbished 13" midrange rMBP runs perfectly smooth, arrives with no damage, and hopefully is better than my base model 2011 13" MBP.