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Is MBP Retina i5 2.5GHz 8GB RAM 128GB SSD 13 good for college student?

coolbreeze2

coolbreeze2

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Sep 24, 2009
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On some very reputable sites on the internet, I'm seeing some very affordable deals on refurbished MBP Retina i5 2.5GHz 8GB RAM. I'm trying to figure out if this will meet the needs of a college student (my son). His primary usage will be class work in Microsoft Office. However, he loves surfing YouTube and sometimes watches Netflix and other streaming services. He is a musician but the budget simply won't allow him to buy a multimedia computer to record and produce in a DAW. Nonetheless, on the rare occasion he would like use Logic Pro X to record and edit a song. He realizes 128 GB is not much he (actually me, lol) we will also buy an affordable external drive. Will this laptop meet his needs?

MacBook Pro Retina Core i5 2.5GHz 8GB RAM 128GB SSD 13 - MD212LL/A​

 
Is there a computer lab on campus where he could work on music or other more intensive projects?

I think he could get by on this, especially if he’s doing all of the office work in the cloud. One thing is that the battery will probably be iffy. I wonder how an older Mac Mini and cheap monitor compare price wise.
 
Absolutely not, for that price, the seller is looking for a sucker to buy it instead of dumping it into the e-waste bin. The 10 year old MacBook barely meets the requirements for blurring the background in Zoom.

For $350, he would need to look at Craigslist posts and take risks. Unless he absolutely needs a MacBook, he should be looking at a new Windows notebook because at that price, he can easily find an up to date i3 or Ryzen 3 with 8GB/256GB.
 
Yeah, I don’t think you need something amazing spec wise for standard college classes, but you do need something that works. You don’t want to be fighting the myriad of things that can potentially go wrong with a 10 yo laptop when you’re trying to complete a term paper. A well functioning computer is a good college investment. I had a few friends get by with computer lab machines when I was in school 15 years ago (eek!) but that’s probably less ideal now with more things remote. I wonder if the school or state has any programs that help college kids get computers.
 
Don't get it. I had a MBP 13" in college for only 1 semester and immediately sold it during the summer. Battery life is terrible and it wasn't worth keep it longer (resale value would plummet). I would buy a MBP 15', 2015 though. 512/16 model...just replace the battery.
If you don't mind Windows, you can get a windows laptop, new with far better specs. Check slickdeals.net for new or refurbished deals from reputable brands or stores.

Look at Facebook Marketplace for Macbooks too.
 
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We gonna increase the budget to $500 and find something. He wants to stick with Apple macbooks. I’m so proud of him. He makes great grades and on scholarship at Baylor. I’ll just kick in some cash.
 
I can easily find a used MBA M1, base model (8/256) on FB marketplace (I'm from the Bay Area) for $700. That's $200 off the target..But if that's beyond the budget, I still think the Macbook 2015, 15' with the upgraded (Radeon R9 370x) is the best Macbook out there for that price range. Probably the last great Macbook Pro since a few years ago that was released. Maybe others here who know more about Macs can chime in and recommend something different. I have the non-upgraded GPU MBP 2015, 15" and bought it to use for college and to replace the 13' MBP, Intel from 2013 (I hated the 13' MBP). It was well worth the upgrade. Very nice to type and work on.
I kept using it for work after graduating until Last month when I got the MBP 14" from Costco (1,599 deal). I like the M2 MBA Better but ...yeah, that's another topic for another day..

The MBP 15' is great. It's easy to type on, has a bright enough and big enough screen. Has some useful ports and can be upgraded to Monterey. Battery life, bulk, thermals, and fan noise are probably some cons but it is to be expected. It's 7 years old.

I didn't think much of it or think it was a great laptop...I didn't care about specs. It just did the job. Was easy to type on and to play games on. So I kept it and will keep it until I give it away. Looking at some reviews..it was considered one of the Best macbooks that Apple ever made. Who knew? Not me.


check out this thread:

You can find it on Ebay. Maybe FB.
 
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coolbreeze2 said:
We gonna increase the budget to $500 and find something. He wants to stick with Apple macbooks. I’m so proud of him. He makes great grades and on scholarship at Baylor. I’ll just kick in some cash.
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I know it’s a lot of money, but you can find the M1 MacBook Air, which is very very new and will last a very very long time, for around $800.
It will absolutely breeze through logic pro, it has an absolute tank of a battery, it should last a good 5 to 7 years after purchase, and the good thing is, it’s still so new that if anything goes wrong with it it’s easy to get fixed.
I know it’s a steep investment, but buying a brand new $800 computer Today that’ll last 5-7 years is a lot better than buying a $300-500 5-10 year old computer That’ll last six months and already can’t run the latest version of macOS.
 
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Lounge vibes 05 said:
I know it’s a lot of money, but you can find the M1 MacBook Air, which is very very new and will last a very very long time, for around $800.
It will absolutely breeze through logic pro, it has an absolute tank of a battery, it should last a good 5 to 7 years after purchase, and the good thing is, it’s still so new that if anything goes wrong with it it’s easy to get fixed.
I know it’s a steep investment, but buying a brand new $800 computer Today that’ll last 5-7 years is a lot better than buying a $300-500 5-10 year old computer That’ll last six months and already can’t run the latest version of macOS.
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I agree, 100%. The Apple Store has the MBA M1, base model for $899 + $150 GC. I would go that route.
 
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JPack said:
Absolutely not, for that price, the seller is looking for a sucker to buy it instead of dumping it into the e-waste bin. The 10 year old MacBook barely meets the requirements for blurring the background in Zoom.

For $350, he would need to look at Craigslist posts and take risks. Unless he absolutely needs a MacBook, he should be looking at a new Windows notebook because at that price, he can easily find an up to date i3 or Ryzen 3 with 8GB/256GB.
Click to expand...
I have to agree with this assessment. At a $350 budget, a Mac should not even be within the equation.
 
Even a $329 iPad is a better investment.
Don’t even know if a 2012 MBP can download the latest version of Logic
 
I've been using the MBP 14" for 2 weeks now and it's a huge upgrade over my MBP 2015. I would just get any M1/M2 Macbook.
 
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