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Just picked up a 16" Intel MBP

M

M3Stang

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 26, 2015
176
54
Hi guys,

I found this thing for a steal so I figured what the heck. I am actually thinking of selling my 13" M1/8GB/256GB (non pro/max) that I have had since summer 2021 and essentially replacing it with this. I am frequently going into swap with VMs/app dev on my M1 (the other day I had 8GB in swap lol) and I am tired of having to use an external SSD. This can also drive 3 external displays natively (I hate using the display link adapters for my 3 external displays on my M1). This particular one is an i7 6 core 2.6ghz, 16GB DDR4 and 512GB ssd with the Radeon PRO 5300M. The plus is I can natively install windows on this one and play games like valorant (this is much nicer than my "gaming" laptop). I only just got it in the mail today and set it all up, so have not had that much time to test drive it yet. The seller even has a 30 day return which is generous as far as eBay is concerned. I more or less bought it as a "burner" laptop for vacations (separate Apple ID), but already like it so much I might make the M1 the burner lol.

Has anyone else kind of "downgraded" from M1 to Intel like I am considering? I mean I have them both, but other than the loud fans and the heat, this thing is pretty nice in comparison to my M1 13". Paid $400 for it. Figure could sell the M1 for maybe $700 and get some money back or something idk. I like collecting Macs too so I will probably keep it whether I make this my new daily or not lol.

PS - I really did want to purchase one of the new M2/M3 ones, but I really wanted to be able to drive 3 external displays with a 16" built in one and spending $3,500 sounds insane for someone like myself who uses the computer for hobby and not work. I was looking forward to some great Black Friday deals on M2 Max but it seems I struck out there with a mere $200 off, no real savings with a price that large. I am thinking this Intel one may do everything I need for now.
 
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Personally would not buy an Intel Mac at any price at this point. But, for the uses you have described, it sounds like it will be fine. Though, it may get warm and I would bet money that running 3 monitors off of it will get the fans spinning up pretty high.

I know it isn't a $400 laptop, but have you considered a 16" M1 Pro or Max model instead? B&H has the fully loaded 16" M1 Max (64 GB RAM and 4 TB SDD) for $2800 as a Black Friday deal (ends in a few hours). Much better screen and will run much cooler than the Intel model. It's a bigger investment up front but will probably last you much longer. I doubt Intel Macs will get more than one more major version of MacOS support. Just my 2 cents of course!
 
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4743913 said:
$1100 is not close to $1839
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I suppose it depends on your perspective and how you amortize value over time. Assuming a person keeps a computer for 3 years or more, that's $739 over 3 years, which is 67 cents a day.
 
I bought last year a 15“ 2018 fully loaded model for cheap cos the used 16“ were still too pricey.
But honestly i don’t like it. Its slow and super hot compared to my m1 13“.

Just now i bought a 2021 16“ from ebay for 50%. Still waiting to arrive.
 
I am sure it's great for the money, obviously older hardware like that is destined to run hot and slow but you can't get a Mac with Apple Silicon for $400 new or used and your 13" obviously cannot handle your memory and display requirements.

M3Stang said:
Has anyone else kind of "downgraded" from M1 to Intel like I am considering?
Click to expand...
Back in 2021 I made the decision to get a fully loaded M1 Max MBP and immediately got rid of the Intel before the resale value dropped significantly. That dropped the price for the new purchase by more than a grand making it an easy decision.

If I had to make this decision today I'd be somewhat discouraged as the M2 and M3 versions don't have any amazing deals and selling that Intel MBP today would not amount to much either. I'd probably stay with the Intel as long as possible then and replace it with a M4 or M5 MBP. Buying another Intel now in 2023 is out of the question regardless.
 
NEPOBABY said:
The only good thing about Intel laptops is you can warm your legs with them.
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not true. I had one until last week. while you played iPhone games on your M series Mac, I was playing Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, and Ghost Recon: Wildlands wherever I was, whenever I wanted, at no additional pc cost.
 
4743913 said:
not true. I had one until last week. while you played iPhone games on your M series Mac, I was playing Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, and Ghost Recon: Wildlands wherever I was, whenever I wanted, at no additional pc cost.
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Lol true. That’s the thing if I could run windows natively on it it would be so nice. I do pay for parallels so I can use the windows visual studio and it works very well, just the issue of the bog downs with only 8GB ram. I do have a gaming pc that I only use for gaming. Would be nice to have mac that does it all. I did get resident evil village on my M1. While it’s not anywhere near the level of performance of my gaming pc, the fact that it runs as well as it does and I can do it unplugged is amazing to me. If only more devs supported AS.

Edit - I did run GeekBench 6 on both of them for fun and I am not surprised, the M1 destroyed this in the CPU test in multi-core, but only came out ever so slightly ahead in the OpenCL and Metal benchmarks. The M1 really is a nice little thing. I installed the game porting tool kit on the M1 but it runs everything I have tried terribly. Just wish that dev optimization was there.
 
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Don’t understand all the hate for Intel Macs after the M-series released. Yes, I have an M1 Pro 16” which is a really amazing computer but I also have an Intel 16” that I use sometimes. It does get a bit hot sometimes but the screen is still great, the speakers are better than my M1, and the performance is still good. I’ve had some projects/apps that I had to do on the Intel Mac and it was great, really don’t understand the hate. $400 is a great deal!
 
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Sendeky said:
Don’t understand all the hate for Intel Macs after the M-series released. Yes, I have an M1 Pro 16” which is a really amazing computer but I also have an Intel 16” that I use sometimes. It does get a bit hot sometimes but the screen is still great, the speakers are better than my M1, and the performance is still good. I’ve had some projects/apps that I had to do on the Intel Mac and it was great, really don’t understand the hate. $400 is a great deal!
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t say it’s hate. I just wouldn’t invest in an Intel machine 3 years after the transition started. These machines likely will only be supported for 1-2 more major versions of macOS and the M series laptops are just such a major jump (especially in performance per watt). But, for what the OP wants to use it for, I think it would be a fine machine for $400 (and said so in my earlier post).
 
Sendeky said:
Don’t understand all the hate for Intel Macs after the M-series released. Yes, I have an M1 Pro 16” which is a really amazing computer but I also have an Intel 16” that I use sometimes. It does get a bit hot sometimes but the screen is still great, the speakers are better than my M1, and the performance is still good. I’ve had some projects/apps that I had to do on the Intel Mac and it was great, really don’t understand the hate. $400 is a great deal!
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Question on this. Aren’t the speakers supposed to be better on the AS 16”? My understanding is it has subwoofers now as well. I do think this intel 16” sounds great though.
 
MacDevil7334 said:
I wouldn’t say it’s hate. I just wouldn’t invest in an Intel machine 3 years after the transition started. These machines likely will only be supported for 1-2 more major versions of macOS and the M series laptops are just such a major jump (especially in performance per watt). But, for what the OP wants to use it for, I think it would be a fine machine for $400 (and said so in my earlier post).
Click to expand...
I would hardly call $400 an investment :D. I think I may use the 16" as the vacation burner after all to replace my aging Mid-2010 13" MacBook Pro burner. It's pretty slow now. The 16" does get pretty hot after just using it today. I did install Windows 10 and Valorant though and it runs great so that's a fun bonus. I do really like the display though. I did get a couple of my VS Code projects running on it and wow I did not know what I was missing with the tiny 13". Maybe in the next couple years I can get a 16" M1/M2 Max for under $1,000 and have some fun with that one.
 
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M3Stang said:
Question on this. Aren’t the speakers supposed to be better on the AS 16”? My understanding is it has subwoofers now as well. I do think this intel 16” sounds great though.
Click to expand...

Both models have 'six speaker' setups, with force cancelling woofers - not quite subs as people tend to think of them. I think the Apple Silicon ones are considered a bit better as the case is thicker, but the gulf is much smaller between them than between either and an older model.


I still use that machine myself because I haven't upgraded to Apple Silicon - it does what I need it to and I can keep extending AC+ on it for now. I haven't used Boot Camp on it ever - a friend did on his and had some complaints, as the power management in Windows for the GPU is "Not Ideal", to put it mildly, but it did work for gaming until he finally just did what I did - buy a Windows gaming laptop & Steam Deck for that stuff.
 
You'll probably regret it. If it were the reverse situation and you owned an Intel MBP and had a chance to get an M1, you'd jump at the chance and probably use the same logic to make yourself feel like you made the right move. Once the feeling of having something "new" wears off, you're gonna miss your M1. I'd return it now.
 
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I was going to keep my 2019 MBP 16 i9/5500M for nostalgia and as the last great Intel MacBook. However after I had a Logic board failure (my 5th in a long history of MacBook pros with separate GPUs, I work them hard for work and gaming) on my 2019, I promptly traded it in. Notwithstanding Apple's history of abandonment, these are not going to be good long term bets. Plenty of threads on the internet with MBP 2019 MBP logic board failures, but you'll never hear the same frequency of complaints on the ones that didn't have a separate GPU like the Intel MBP 13's which are much more reliable.
 
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Kendo said:
You'll probably regret it. If it were the reverse situation and you owned an Intel MBP and had a chance to get an M1, you'd jump at the chance and probably use the same logic to make yourself feel like you made the right move. Once the feeling of having something "new" wears off, you're gonna miss your M1. I'd return it now.
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Well I was keeping the 16” either way (unless something goes wrong with it in the next 30 days/I find an issue with it). It was more about either using it as that burner like I bought it for or liking it so much it replaced my M1 daily. I think I’m going to keep the M1 as my daily.
 
M3Stang said:
Hi guys,

I found this thing for a steal so I figured what the heck. I am actually thinking of selling my 13" M1/8GB/256GB (non pro/max) that I have had since summer 2021 and essentially replacing it with this. I am frequently going into swap with VMs/app dev on my M1 (the other day I had 8GB in swap lol) and I am tired of having to use an external SSD. This can also drive 3 external displays natively (I hate using the display link adapters for my 3 external displays on my M1). This particular one is an i7 6 core 2.6ghz, 16GB DDR4 and 512GB ssd with the Radeon PRO 5300M. The plus is I can natively install windows on this one and play games like valorant (this is much nicer than my "gaming" laptop). I only just got it in the mail today and set it all up, so have not had that much time to test drive it yet. The seller even has a 30 day return which is generous as far as eBay is concerned. I more or less bought it as a "burner" laptop for vacations (separate Apple ID), but already like it so much I might make the M1 the burner lol.

Has anyone else kind of "downgraded" from M1 to Intel like I am considering? I mean I have them both, but other than the loud fans and the heat, this thing is pretty nice in comparison to my M1 13". Paid $400 for it. Figure could sell the M1 for maybe $700 and get some money back or something idk. I like collecting Macs too so I will probably keep it whether I make this my new daily or not lol.

PS - I really did want to purchase one of the new M2/M3 ones, but I really wanted to be able to drive 3 external displays with a 16" built in one and spending $3,500 sounds insane for someone like myself who uses the computer for hobby and not work. I was looking forward to some great Black Friday deals on M2 Max but it seems I struck out there with a mere $200 off, no real savings with a price that large. I am thinking this Intel one may do everything I need for now.
Click to expand...
I have the 2019 16” MBP fully spec’d processor plus 32 gb of ram and in keep it around as a spare as still some programs don’t run properly on AS.

I am doing mobile editing on an M2 Max and it’s noticeably faster.

I doubt I’ll go back to Intel anytime soon.
 
M3Stang said:
I really wanted to be able to drive 3 external displays
Click to expand...

About this specific point: the 2019 16” Intel MBP’s *really* heat up when an external display is connected.

Unless someone had a situation perhaps depending on irreplaceable Intel-based software that did not run acceptably under Rosetta, or a dependence on dual-booting to use Windows, I would not recommend this kind of “downgrade” for most people.

That said, I still use my antique 2012 non-retina 15-inch MacBook Pro for a few apps (MPEG Streamclip, for one example) that never made the jump from 32 to 64-bit and for which there’s never been any newer equivalent-or-better replacement. So I fully understand having a rationale for keeping older hardware around, but that computer is a “supplement” to much newer Macs I use for most of my tasks.

Hope that makes some sense and gives a bit of perspective.
 
Guys what’s crazy is for fun I looked at Best Buy. They will give me $675 on trade in for this thing. Imagine trading and making $275 on this lol. I wonder if I could trade both in. They’ll give $500 for the M1. Just sucks that that’s still so far off from a 16” max. Funny though, thought I’d share.
 
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M3Stang said:
Hi guys,

I found this thing for a steal so I figured what the heck. I am actually thinking of selling my 13" M1/8GB/256GB (non pro/max) that I have had since summer 2021 and essentially replacing it with this. I am frequently going into swap with VMs/app dev on my M1 (the other day I had 8GB in swap lol) and I am tired of having to use an external SSD. This can also drive 3 external displays natively (I hate using the display link adapters for my 3 external displays on my M1). This particular one is an i7 6 core 2.6ghz, 16GB DDR4 and 512GB ssd with the Radeon PRO 5300M. The plus is I can natively install windows on this one and play games like valorant (this is much nicer than my "gaming" laptop). I only just got it in the mail today and set it all up, so have not had that much time to test drive it yet. The seller even has a 30 day return which is generous as far as eBay is concerned. I more or less bought it as a "burner" laptop for vacations (separate Apple ID), but already like it so much I might make the M1 the burner lol.

Has anyone else kind of "downgraded" from M1 to Intel like I am considering? I mean I have them both, but other than the loud fans and the heat, this thing is pretty nice in comparison to my M1 13". Paid $400 for it. Figure could sell the M1 for maybe $700 and get some money back or something idk. I like collecting Macs too so I will probably keep it whether I make this my new daily or not lol.

PS - I really did want to purchase one of the new M2/M3 ones, but I really wanted to be able to drive 3 external displays with a 16" built in one and spending $3,500 sounds insane for someone like myself who uses the computer for hobby and not work. I was looking forward to some great Black Friday deals on M2 Max but it seems I struck out there with a mere $200 off, no real savings with a price that large. I am thinking this Intel one may do everything I need for now.
Click to expand...
Hopefully it will be more reliable than the i9. I had similar thoughts about a year ago. I need windows for work so when I came across a 2019 32GB, 2TB for less than 1/2 of what they sold for, I jumped at it thinking it was a great deal! I had it for 5 weeks when I encountered my first logic board failure, lucky it had AC+. Got it repaired and set back up, 3 weeks later, same thing happened. Sent it back, had it repaired again and of course a couple months later, it happened again! The last time it came back from Apple, I immediately sold it on ebay and bought a 2015. Had the 2019 for less than 1 year and it was the worst apple product I've even owned. I dont know why the machine kept having failures, I am a light user and was not "pushing" the machine by any means. I learned a good lesson, newer doesn't always mean better. I hope you have better luck with it than I did and I hope you have applecare in case you need it repaired.
 
rovostrov said:
Hopefully it will be more reliable than the i9. I had similar thoughts about a year ago. I need windows for work so when I came across a 2019 32GB, 2TB for less than 1/2 of what they sold for, I jumped at it thinking it was a great deal! I had it for 5 weeks when I encountered my first logic board failure, lucky it had AC+. Got it repaired and set back up, 3 weeks later, same thing happened. Sent it back, had it repaired again and of course a couple months later, it happened again! The last time it came back from Apple, I immediately sold it on ebay and bought a 2015. Had the 2019 for less than 1 year and it was the worst apple product I've even owned. I dont know why the machine kept having failures, I am a light user and was not "pushing" the machine by any means. I learned a good lesson, newer doesn't always mean better. I hope you have better luck with it than I did and I hope you have applecare in case you need it repaired.
Click to expand...
This one has AC+ till January 2024. At least that’s what it says in settings.
 
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