Is there a go-to older MBP to buy?

[Savage]

I was just looking at my sister's MPB. If I remember correctly, it's a 2015 model. Specs were something like 2.7Ghz, i5, 256GB SSD. It has every port you could need, HDMI and SD card reader included. This MBP seems better than a 2020 to me.

Is there a known older model that maximizes performance and features like hers seems to? If so, is there a decent website to buy like-new or above average condition for them?

 

[r6mile]

Do you mean older than that one? The one you refer to is the one my sister has (following my recommendation), and it's great. The last MBP with regular USB ports, and without the 'butterfly' keyboard.

MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.7 13" Early 2015 Specs (Retina Early 2015 13", MF839LL/A*, MacBookPro12,1, A1502, 2835): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.7 13" Early 2015. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

Older than that, there is the last non-retina 2012 Macbook Pro, which has reached mythical status because it's the last one where you can upgrade the RAM and the SSD, and you can get it with an i7 CPU.

MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.9 13" Mid-2012 Specs (Mid-2012 13", MD102LL/A, MacBookPro9,2, A1278, 2554*): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.9 13" Mid-2012. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

 

[Savage]

Do you mean older than that one? The one you refer to is the one my sister has (following my recommendation), and it's great. The last MBP with regular USB ports, and without a butterfly keyboard.

Not older than that one. That one is one I would buy. I'm thinking any model that used to have ports and perform well. I suppose older than 2017 might make sense.
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I just found this website which seems to have many options. I'm not sure what the "best" model was, but I still feel like the one she has is probably awesome.

MacBook Pro 13" (2015) - QWERTY - English (US) Retina - Core i5 - 2.7 GHz - SSD 128 GB - RAM 8GB | Back Market

MacBook Apple MacBook Pro 13" (2015) - QWERTY - English (US) Retina - Core i5 - 2.7 GHz - SSD 128 GB - RAM 8GB ✌ Up to 70% off compared to new ✅ Free delivery ✅ Cheap MacBook Pro ✅ 1 year warranty ✅ 30 days to change your mind

www.backmarket.com

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This is the cheapest one I see in their "mint condition" category:

MacBook Pro Retina 13.3-inch (Mid-2014) - Core i5 - 8GB - SSD 128 GB

Refurbished MacBook Pro Retina 13.3-inch (Mid-2014) - Core i5 - 8GB - SSD 128 GB ✔ Low-priced Apple MacBook Pro ✔ Like new ✔ Up to 45% cheaper. High-Tech MacBook Pro at the best prices, and including: ✔ Money back guarantee ✔ Minimum 1-Year warranty ✔ 2 day shipping ✔ Secure payments ✌ Back...

www.backmarket.com

 

[retta283]

2015 model was the last one with that wide range of ports. 15 inch model will be more powerful, much better GPU options.

 

[Savage]

2015 model was the last one with that wide range of ports. 15 inch model will be more powerful, much better GPU options.

Cool. That is the model I'm most interested in then, if not a 2014 to save more money, which I linked above. Seems like it might be pretty similar to the 2015.
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Can the 2014-2015 storage and RAM be upgraded?

 

[justashooter]

The 2015 is the one to get, the 15 inch will be faster, but the 13 inch is nice too. The good keyboard, lots of ports, etc. The ram can not be upgraded, it is soldered in. The storage can be upgraded, but it is much easier to just buy it with the storage you need. Check out Other World Computing for used MacBook Pros.

 

[Savage]

The 2015 is the one to get, the 15 inch will be faster, but the 13 inch is nice too. The good keyboard, lots of ports, etc. The ram can not be upgraded, it is soldered in. The storage can be upgraded, but it is much easier to just buy it with the storage you need. Check out Other World Computing for used MacBook Pros.

Perfect, thanks!

 

[magbarn]

The 2015 Macbook Pro 15 is awesome, particularly if you can find one with iGPU only as the Intel Iris Pro is super reliable and is much much quicker than the crappy HD 630 junk we get even on the MBP 16 that you use mostly when on battery. In other words, the 2015 MBP 15 is SMOOTHER when running off battery intel GPU vs the MBP 16.

Also, the 2015 MBP 15 is the only one of that generation that supports NVME SSD's natively. So with an adapter you drop in any NVME (except Samsung for some reason) and have much better performance and capacity than stock Apple drives while saving tons of money.

 

[Savage]

The 2015 Macbook Pro 15 is awesome, particularly if you can find one with iGPU only as the Intel Iris Pro is super reliable and is much much quicker than the crappy HD 630 junk we get even on the MBP 16 that you use mostly when on battery. In other words, the 2015 MBP 15 is SMOOTHER when running off battery intel GPU vs the MBP 16.

Also, the 2015 MBP 15 is the only one of that generation that supports NVME SSD's natively. So with an adapter you drop in any NVME (except Samsung for some reason) and have much better performance and capacity than stock Apple drives while saving tons of money.

I LOVE the idea of getting a 2015. I’m glad I thought of this before getting a 2020. The two websites in this thread look really nice and trustworthy, too.