Refurb v New 13" MBP

[Vazza]

I've decided I'm going to buy a 13" MBP with touchbar after going a year without a laptop since my 2011 MBP dGPU failed but I'm not sure whether to go down the refurb route or buy new.

Looking to get one with maxed out RAM and upgraded 512GB SSD.

I can but a 2017 version for £2001 with health service discount on the Apple store or can get a 2016 version for £1729 from the refurb store. I understand the difference in real world performance between the Iris Pro 550 and the 650 in the 2017 model is fairly minimal especially for my uses, which are browsing, some light video editing, photography and photoshop mainly. Any other differences I should be aware of between 2016 and 2017 models?

Also I've heard varying things about fan noise with some saying the nTB is silent compared to the TB version...is this true?

Which would you go for...2017 or save a bit and go down the refurb route with the 2016 model? I've never bought a refurb product from Apple before so experiences would be great please.

 

[maerz001]

The refurbished units are recommended by a lot of people. It looks like new and has a new battery. And with warranty as a new unit.

Speed upgrade was not much except for a specific 4K video decoding

 

[Vazza]

The refurbished units are recommended by a lot of people. It looks like new and has a new battery. And with warranty as a new unit.

Speed upgrade was not much except for a specific 4K video decoding

Thank you for the reply, would you mind going into more detail about the 4K video decoding please?

Any other opinions?

 

[andy9l]

I recently got a 2016 13" TB MBP refurb (3.1 / 16 / 256) and it came with dead pixels.

Returned and bought a new 2017 (I scored a hefty discount via another route).

 

[Vazza]

I recently got a 2016 13" TB MBP refurb (3.1 / 16 / 256) and it came with dead pixels.

Returned and bought a new 2017 (I scored a hefty discount via another route).

Uh oh not good

So much for the blurb on the refurb store about the quality assurance process

Could be a one-off I suppose and to be fair you can get dead pixels even with a new MBP...

 

[andy9l]

Uh oh not good

So much for the blurb on the refurb store about the quality assurance process

Could be a one-off I suppose and to be fair you can get dead pixels even with a new MBP...

Yeah, it wouldn't put me off buying refurb again - deep down I knew I wanted the 2017, and the dead pixels were just the final nail in the coffin for the '16 refurb I got! Actually, I lied - they weren't "dead" they were just permanently red.

Had a couple of people email me about my discount - it's due to where I work, no secrets or underground market!

 

[Vazza]

Yeah, it wouldn't put me off buying refurb again - deep down I knew I wanted the 2017, and the dead pixels were just the final nail in the coffin for the '16 refurb I got!

Had a couple of people email me about my discount - it's due to where I work, no secrets or underground market!

Think I've decided on the 2017 model after reading about the speed bump with Kaby Lake. Thanks for sharing your experience...going to take the plunge with my health service discount
[doublepost=1501192872][/doublepost]Any problems with fan noise with the 2017 13" TB MBP?

 

[andy9l]

Think I've decided on the 2017 model after reading about the speed bump with Kaby Lake. Thanks for sharing your experience...going to take the plunge with my health service discount

I use a 4K USB-C monitor, which was the main reason I really wanted Kaby Lake. The jump between 2016 and 2017 in terms of benchmark figures is also quite surprising. What that means in real-world usage, I'm not sure.

With the multitude of discounts you can get these days, there's not much between a 2016 refurb and new 2017.