need buying advice for a used MacBook

[TrancyGoose]

Hey all.
I am looking to introduce my wives newphew to a world of Mac's.

I am thinking of getting one of the used intel models, but, looking for one that would still get updates and where I can upgrade the ram and maybe replace the thermal paste?

Or am I asking for too much?

Point is, can RAM be upgraded on 2018/2019 pro's? And thermal paste? Should we care?

 

[ASentientBot]

The newest Mac laptops with upgradeable RAM are 2012 models, which can run up to Catalina (or Monterey unofficially with OCLP).

The oldest Mac laptops that will receive Ventura are from 2017 (too early to know what will be unofficially patchable).

All Intel Macs are likely to be unsupported within 1-2 years, but decent specced ones will be usable for quite a bit longer.

Hope that helps.

 

[TrancyGoose]

The newest Mac laptops with upgradeable RAM are 2012 models, which can run up to Catalina (or Monterey unofficially with OCLP).

The oldest Mac laptops that will receive Ventura are from 2017 (too early to know what will be unofficially patchable).

All Intel Macs are likely to be unsupported within 1-2 years, but decent specced ones will be usable for quite a bit longer.

Hope that helps.

Well, that sucks! And if I were to purchase a 2019 model, will the paste on CPU be refreshable or not? Sorry for stupid question, in my understanding Intel Macs run hot, and it's a good idea to refresh it if one buys a used device.

 

[Saturn007]

I'd perhaps suggest buying a 2020 Intel one that still has Apple Care — or, much better, getting a refurbished M1 MacBook Air or a new M1 MBA with aneducation discount (if you or your nephew are eligible). Much faster, and with much better battery life, even up to 20 hours. It's a world of difference and will provide a much better experience all around than the Intel Macs.

Those 2018-2020 Intel MBAs came with butterfly keyboards that were harder to type on for many, developed all manner of glitches, and had low reliability. Apple ended up putting in an extended warranty keyboard replacement program. The 2020 had an improved butterfly keyboard, but Apple then abandoned that design entirely.

To save lots of money, but without any warranty, go back to the 2013-2017 MBA series… incredibly reliable, excellent quality. I'm still rocking a 2015 MBA. Great laptop, albeit a tad heavier and more awkward to handle than the 2019 MBA.

 

[Fishrrman]

Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!

DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.

Also:
MacBook Pro 14" or 16" -- 2021

 

[BeatCrazy]

Hey all.
I am looking to introduce my wives newphew to a world of Mac's.

I am thinking of getting one of the used intel models, but, looking for one that would still get updates and where I can upgrade the ram and maybe replace the thermal paste?

Or am I asking for too much?

Point is, can RAM be upgraded on 2018/2019 pro's? And thermal paste? Should we care?

You can basically forget about replacing RAM, unless you're going with a model 12+ years old, which of course won't get macOS support/updates.

You didn't state your budget, or the needs of the nephew? Big difference if your budget is $300 vs. $800, or if the needs are web/productivity tasks vs. actual rendering, etc.

For $300 - get a 2015 13" or 15" MacBook Pro. They'll run Monterey (although not Ventura), and get security updates for 2 more years. Excellent keyboards + force touch trackpad and retina screen.

For $800 - a bit of patience will get you a 2020 M1 MacBook Air on sale via Costco/Best Buy/Amazon. Great machine that should get macOS updates for 7-8 more years and will run pretty much anything.

 

[TrancyGoose]

You can basically forget about replacing RAM, unless you're going with a model 12+ years old, which of course won't get macOS support/updates.

You didn't state your budget, or the needs of the nephew? Big difference if your budget is $300 vs. $800, or if the needs are web/productivity tasks vs. actual rendering, etc.

For $300 - get a 2015 13" or 15" MacBook Pro. They'll run Monterey (although not Ventura), and get security updates for 2 more years. Excellent keyboards + force touch trackpad and retina screen.

For $800 - a bit of patience will get you a 2020 M1 MacBook Air on sale via Costco/Best Buy/Amazon. Great machine that should get macOS updates for 7-8 more years and will run pretty much anything.

I don't think his needs include rendering. I was thinking of spending in a neighbourhood of 700 EUR, I am in Europe.
M1 Air, seems like the best bet for now ....
I was gonna get him a Windows machine, but, i don't want him to game, but rather use his creative mind, he is studying in a vocational school, for electricians profession.

 

[TrancyGoose]

Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!

DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.

Also:
MacBook Pro 14" or 16" -- 2021

Do you mean Macbook pro 13, Intel?

 

[BeatCrazy]

I don't think his needs include rendering. I was thinking of spending in a neighbourhood of 700 EUR, I am in Europe.
M1 Air, seems like the best bet for now ....
I was gonna get him a Windows machine, but, i don't want him to game, but rather use his creative mind, he is studying in a vocational school, for electricians profession.

If you can find a base M1 MacBook Air for €700, you'd be doing great! Even if used/refurbished via Apple.