Picking between 2 MBP

[simmi99]

I am have bought two MacBook pro's for my daughter, and plan to only keep one. She is upgrading from a 2015 MBP and could use the increased specs. She is in graduate school as a strength and conditioning coach and needs the upgrade to help work on programs for her athletes. She will be using video and some editing, but I don't think it will be hardcore. Both machines I bought from Best Buy within the last week. One is a 2019 13" MBP, 2.4GHz quad i5, 512 storage, 8GB ram for $999 and the other is the 2020 13"MBP, 1.4GHz quad i5, 512storage and 8GB ram for $899, open box excellent certified. I just picked up the later online today and both orders can be cancelled. Any thoughts on which one is better. Of course I'm leaning towards the 2020, less cost but I know the process might not be as fast. Plus 4 ports vs. 2. Full specs below:

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications

Touch Bar

• Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor

Finish

• Silver
• Space Gray

Display

• Retina display
• 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
• Supported scaled resolutions:
  • 1680 by 1050
  • 1440 by 900
  • 1024 by 640
• 500 nits brightness
• Wide color (P3)
• True Tone technology

Processor

• 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM
• Configurable to 2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.7GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM

Storage1

• 256GB
• 256GB SSD
• Configurable to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD
• 512GB
• 512GB SSD
• Configurable to 1TB or 2TB SSD

Memory

• 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
• Configurable to 16GB of memory

Graphics

• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655

Charging and Expansion


Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports with support for:

• Charging
• DisplayPort
• Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Keyboard and Trackpad

• Full-size backlit keyboard with:
  • 64 (U.S.) or 65 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys
  • Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Wireless

• Wi-Fi
• 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
• Bluetooth
• Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

Camera

• 720p FaceTime HD camera

Video Support


Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:

• One display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors
• Up to two displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors
• Up to two displays with 3840-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors

Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

• Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
• VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

Audio

• Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
• Three microphones
• 3.5 mm headphone jack

Battery and Power2

• Up to 10 hours wireless web
• Up to 10 hours iTunes movie playback
• Up to 30 days of standby time
• Built-in 58.0-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 61W USB-C Power Adapter

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) - Technical Specifications

Finish

• Silver
• Space Gray

Display

• Retina display
• 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
• Supported scaled resolutions:
  • 1680 by 1050
  • 1440 by 900
  • 1024 by 640
• 500 nits brightness
• Wide color (P3)
• True Tone technology

Processor

• 1.4GHz quad-core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM
• Configurable to 1.7GHz quad-core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM

Storage1

• 256GB SSD
• Configurable to 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB SSD
• 512GB SSD
• Configurable to 1TB or 2TB SSD

Memory

• 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
• Configurable to 16GB of memory

Graphics

• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645

Charging and Expansion


Two Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports with support for:

• Charging
• DisplayPort
• Thunderbolt (up to 40Gb/s)
• USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gb/s)

Keyboard and Trackpad

• Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 65 (U.S.) or 66 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys in an inverted‑T arrangement
  • Touch Bar
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Wireless

• Wi-Fi
• 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
• Bluetooth
• Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology

Camera

• 720p FaceTime HD camera

Video Support


Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of colors and:

• One external 5K display with 5120-by-2880 resolution at 60Hz at over a billion colors, or
• Up to two external 4K displays with 4096-by-2304 resolution at 60Hz at millions of colors

Thunderbolt 3 digital video output

• Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C
• VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

Audio

• Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
• Wide stereo sound
• Support for Dolby Atmos playback
• Three-mic array with directional beamforming
• 3.5 mm headphone jack

Battery and Power2

• Up to 10 hours wireless web
• Up to 10 hours Apple TV app movie playback
• Up to 30 days of standby time
• Built-in 58.2-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 61W USB-C Power Adapter

 

[0128672]

Unless there's a reason she must have an Intel chip machine, I would spend $100 more at Best Buy and get her the 2020 MacBook Air M1 8GB RAM, 512GB hard drive for $1099. There are also MBP M1 open box excellent for similar savings.

 

[simmi99]

Thanks. I don't know if she does or not and I guess that is why i'm leaning towards intel. Plus i'm thinking at the $899 price point she could upgrade soon. I will check out the Air's though as i didn't do that. Best Buy will love me if I return all these machines

 

[0128672]

Thanks. I don't know if she does or not and I guess that is why i'm leaning towards intel. Plus i'm thinking at the $899 price point she could upgrade soon. I will check out the Air's though as i didn't do that. Best Buy will love me if I return all these machines

OK, so hang on a second then. If you're not sure of the graduate school's requirements, that's something to find out. Are there specific apps she needs to use that require an Intel machine? Is this going to be a surprise gift? If not, I'd ask her what her preferences are. Getting an M1 MacBook Air or Pro would mean she doesn't have to upgrade soon (so less money spent in the short-term). You may want to factor in the cost of Applecare+, and she may be eligible for the education discounts too.

 

[posguy99]

Not necessarily speaking to the benefits of either machine, but never buy anything open-box from BestBuy. There is no re-certification or anything else on those, it's just chuck-it-back-in-the-box and put it on the shelf.

Apple has excellent refurbished machines.

 

[simmi99]

Thanks WildSky. It's not a gift so I can ask her if she knows as I don't know what the requirements will be. And Thanks posguy99. The machine from BB is under "certified". I definitely appreciate the concern have bought iPads open box iPads before and they were fine. I've bought Apple refurbished too and they are always fine. $600 off of last years price makes it intriguing. I'm an elite member so I have 45 days to return so it buys me some time.

 

[0128672]

I've had good experiences too with BB Open Box certified excellent and excellent conditions. I wouldn't buy lesser conditions though.

Apple Refurbs are such a deal most of the time; I'm pretty stuck on them as my first choice. Speaking of which, there are M1 MBPs and MBAs in the Refurb Store, although the savings aren't much different than BB's.

 

[jz0309]

since it is for your daughter you could also buy from the Apple education store, not sure if they still run the free AirPod promo…

 

[simmi99]

WildSky, I did ask her and they do plan to add some new sports related software/tech to their program in the near future, so not sure if that will be a problem or not. I guess that's why I'm leaning towards just sticking with Intel for now. Yes the education discount is still good and so are the AirPods. As a parent I'm eligible to use the discount too. I think its only on the new M1's though.

 

[0128672]

WildSky, I did ask her and they do plan to add some new sports related software/tech to their program in the near future, so not sure if that will be a problem or not. I guess that's why I'm leaning towards just sticking with Intel for now. Yes the education discount is still good and so are the AirPods. As a parent I'm eligible to use the discount too. I think its only on the new M1's though.

Let us know what the outcome when it's all sorted.

 

[VaruLV]

Intel Macbooks are, imho, currently waste of money. Unless she knows that she must have one with Intel CPU, which isnt likely?

 

[posguy99]

Thanks WildSky. It's not a gift so I can ask her if she knows as I don't know what the requirements will be. And Thanks posguy99. The machine from BB is under "certified".

Which is meaningless. "Certified" by whom? You can't trust BestBuy.

 

[0128672]

Which is meaningless. "Certified" by whom? You can't trust BestBuy.

BB is an Apple authorized service provider as well as a reseller. I agree the open box excellent-certified might not carry as much weight as an Apple refurb, but some of us trust Best Buy with good reason.

 

[dizmonk]

I'd ditch both and go buy something a M1 from the Apple refurb store.

 

[simmi99]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm going to look at the Air as a possibility too.