Need Advice, Please; get a new battery or just go with a new laptop on Black Friday?

[shorem]

Hi guys, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind giving your two cents on an issue I’m having.

I got a refurbished MBP 5 years ago. I use it for watching movies, surfing online, writing, and the like. I don’t really do anything intensive with it, but I like the sturdiness of it and knowing it’s a powerful machine to run multiple programs at a time, etc. I don't know if an Air or a regular MB can handle the same.

After 5 years, the battery has started to wear, and I need to replace it.

That’s $200 right there. At the same time, the machine is 5 years old and Black Friday is around the corner.

I suppose I don’t need a MBP to replace this—just something that can do the same things I’ve been doing—and if I’m going to spend $200, I just feel as though spending a few hundred more to get a brand new system makes the most sense.

Do any of you have experience with Black Friday sales re Mac laptops? Based the the above usage info, do you have any advice as to what to do here?

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[revmacian]

I bought a mid 2019 MacBook Air a week ago - found it at Best Buy for $200 off, couldn't resist. This MBA has 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. Now, this machine works perfectly for me but I should mention that the operating system and software will use appropriately 20GB of the SSD space, with caches expanding that used space a bit over time. So, if you plan to buy a new machine you should consider SSD size, but you can always offload some things to an external SSD.

Unless a store goes crazy with Black Friday pricing, I'd say you're looking at upwards of $800 for a new Mac. However, there is always the Apple refurbished website, where you can get a really nice machine for a good price and included warranty.

So, it comes down to either keeping your current machine (with older specs) and replacing the battery, or buying a new machine and be set as far as newer specs and use for longer into the future. Replacing the battery on your current machine will be the cheaper route, but it depends on how comfortable you are with the specs on that old machine.

 

[shorem]

Thanks for your prompt reply. Are you finding any issues with your system only having 8 gigs? I have 16 now, but I was never really sure if I needed that much, not editing or doing anything that intensive.

Also, how does the Air feel? I used to use one at work and -- no insult intended at all -- it felt kind of like a toy. It was so lightweight that it felt like it wasn't really even a computer. I worried about banging it against something or the like.

Are you happy with your Air?

I bought a mid 2019 MacBook Air a week ago - found it at Best Buy for $200 off, couldn't resist. This MBA has 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. Now, this machine works perfectly for me but I should mention that the operating system and software will use appropriately 20GB of the SSD space, with caches expanding that used space a bit over time. So, if you plan to buy a new machine you should consider SSD size, but you can always offload some things to an external SSD.

Unless a store goes crazy with Black Friday pricing, I'd say you're looking at upwards of $800 for a new Mac. However, there is always the Apple refurbished website, where you can get a really nice machine for a good price and included warranty.

So, it comes down to either keeping your current machine (with older specs) and replacing the battery, or buying a new machine and be set as far as newer specs and use for longer into the future.

 

[revmacian]

Thanks for your prompt reply. Are you finding any issues with your system only having 8 gigs? I have 16 now, but I was never really sure if I needed that much, not editing or doing anything that intensive.

Also, how does the Air feel? I used to use one at work and -- no insult intended at all -- it felt kind of like a toy. It was so lightweight that it felt like it wasn't really even a computer. I worried about banging it against something or the like.

Are you happy with your Air?

Let me say something about RAM; macOS is based on BSD. In the BSD world there is a saying "unused RAM is wasted RAM". BSD will utilize all available RAM whether it actually needs it or not. So, don't listen to the folks who tell you that "I had 8GB RAM and it was always full. So I need 16GB RAM". Those folks will find that most of the 16GB RAM will be used more than they realize because that is how BSD works.

I'm very happy with the MBA.. no issues with only 8GB RAM. I use this machine for web surfing, email, notes, reminders, messages, spreadsheets, photos, calendar.. basically personal and office work. I watch movies and YouTube videos with no issues. I do edit graphics regularly but I don't see any issues with that on this machine. It is possible to edit videos in iMovie on this machine, and you'll likely to get some dropped frames, but I would recommend a MacBook Pro for someone who is going to be doing that on a regular basis.

The MBA feels like.. a lightweight note book, and that's how it was designed to feel. I used to build desktop computers so I know this machine can feel like a toy, but I assure you it isn't a toy. You can edit a 4K video in iMovie on this thing, so it's quite powerful for its size and weight. The MBA was designed, at least in my opinion, for students.. it was designed to be carried around and used to do some office work.

I had a 2017 refurbished MacBook Pro (non-Touch Bar) last year and I felt it was overkill for my needs. The MBP line are wonderful machines, but I felt it was like driving a Ferrari to the end of the driveway to check the mail.

I love this machine. But, if you're going to be doing multimedia work on a regular basis, you should look into the MacBook Pro line instead.

Edit: Before you make a decision, I highly recommend you go into an Apple store and play with the new machines for 10 minutes - specifically the keyboard. The keyboards on the MBA and MBP models have changed drastically since your current machine was released.

 

[shorem]

I was hoping for a good response and intelligent advice when I posted here, and I got it. Thank you very much for taking the time.

Let me say something about RAM; macOS is based on BSD. In the BSD world there is a saying "unused RAM is wasted RAM". BSD will utilize all available RAM whether it actually needs it or not. So, don't listen to the folks who tell you that "I had 8GB RAM and it was always full. So I need 16GB RAM". Those folks will find that most of the 16GB RAM will be used more than they realize because that is how BSD works.

I'm very happy with the MBA.. no issues with only 8GB RAM. I use this machine for web surfing, email, notes, reminders, messages, spreadsheets, photos, calendar.. basically personal and office work. I watch movies and YouTube videos with no issues. I do edit graphics regularly but I don't see any issues with that on this machine. It is possible to edit videos in iMovie on this machine, and you'll likely to get some dropped frames, but I would recommend a MacBook Pro for someone who is going to be doing that on a regular basis.

The MBA feels like.. a lightweight note book, and that's how it was designed to feel. I used to build desktop computers so I know this machine can feel like a toy, but I assure you it isn't a toy. You can edit a 4K video in iMovie on this thing, so it's quite powerful for its size and weight. The MBA was designed, at least in my opinion, for students.. it was designed to be carried around and used to do some office work.

I had a 2017 refurbished MacBook Pro (non-Touch Bar) last year and I felt it was overkill for my needs. The MBP line are wonderful machines, but I felt it was like driving a Ferrari to the end of the driveway to check the mail.

I love this machine. But, if you're going to be doing multimedia work on a regular basis, you should look into the MacBook Pro line instead.

Edit: Before you make a decision, I highly recommend you go into an Apple store and play with the new machines for 10 minutes - specifically the keyboard. The keyboards on the MBA and MBP models have changed drastically since your current machine was released.

 

[revmacian]

I was hoping for a good response and intelligent advice when I posted here, and I got it. Thank you very much for taking the time.

You're welcome and I wish you luck in this endeavor.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Do you have a 13" or 15" MBP?

If it's a 13", and that's the form factor you like, I'd wait until 2020 when the new MBP 13's come out with the improved scissors keyboard. I wouldn't buy one now, that still has the badly-conceived butterfly keyboard.

If you're going to wait, I'd suggest paying the $200 to get the battery replaced. That's really not a big "charge" when you think about it.

If you have a 15" MBP, you might take a good look at the brand-new 16" that just came out. It has the new keyboard, and looks to be very nice. No price increase, either!

 

[jterp7]

i still have my base original retina mbp from 2012 lol. I kinda want to finally upgrade to the 16", but even with all the hate on the 15"...if there is a good enough of a deal...

Best deal i missed on was that woot one where i think it was like half price (price mistake?) not sure if we'll see one of those in the next weeks or so.