Repair 13" 2012 rMBP screen or save my pennies?

[imrazor]

My sole remaining Mac is a 13" 2012 rMBP. I primarily use it as a secondary system to my Linux desktop when I need to run stuff like MS Office and other commercial software, and as a jukebox for music and Youtube. I bought it a year or so ago for $150 with a broken screen and one dead USB port, but it functions OK as a desktop. (I've got it running two external monitors.) After I bought it I noticed that it kept thermal throttling, so I replaced the heat pipe. That helped a lot, but it still runs hot, so I installed "Macs Fan Control" to ramp up the fans and keep it cool.

In looking at repair options, I've found that Apple wants $700 to repair the screen. Most local shops want to charge a hair over $500 to fix it. I expect that future OS support for this model will be dropped next year when OS 10.15 comes out. That raises the question of whether or not it is worth it to repair this thing, or just save up over the next year for a new model.

I'm not made of money; I can swing a $500 repair bill with a little effort, but $1500 for a new MBP is out of reach at the moment. What should I do?

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Considering your limited budget, I wouldn’t spend another $1 with a machine that clearly could fail at any moment. You could:

1) wait another two weeks to see if they release a new MB air;

2) Grab a refurb MB Pro nTB which should last you many years or

3) Grab a 2015 Pro in good condition from Swappa which is also not likely to fail at any second. I’ve just checked and one in good condition is going for $750-800. I’d much rather get one of those instead of repairing an old machine only for it to fail again the next day.

EDIT: there’s also option 4, save for some time while your machine doesn’t fail completely and get a nicely specced 2018.

 

[acorntoy]

Considering your limited budget, I wouldn’t spend another $1 with a machine that clearly could fail at any moment. You could:

1) wait another two weeks to see if they release a new MB air;

2) Grab a refurb MB Pro nTB which should last you many years or

3) Grab a 2015 Pro in good condition from Swappa which is also not likely to fail at any second. I’ve just checked and one in good condition is going for $750-800. I’d much rather get one of those instead of repairing an old machine only for it to fail again the next day.

EDIT: there’s also option 4, save for some time while your machine doesn’t fail completely and get a nicely specced 2018.

Agreed.

Also with all the problems that computer has, it’s not gonna just be a screen repair, they’ll open it and find problems with the fans or the heat pipe or whatever’s causing the throttling issues and they’ll force you to fix that to fix the screen.

 

[imrazor]

2) Grab a refurb MB Pro nTB which should last you many years

Thanks for the suggestions.

By MB Pro nTB, I assume you mean non-Touch Bar. Are these unaffected by the keyboard issues of recent years?

Another option occurred to me; I've been hearing rumors of a Mac mini refresh. Any idea if or when this is going to happen, or is it all rumor and speculation?

 

[AppleHaterLover]

Thanks for the suggestions.

By MB Pro nTB, I assume you mean non-Touch Bar. Are these unaffected by the keyboard issues of recent years?

Another option occurred to me; I've been hearing rumors of a Mac mini refresh. Any idea if or when this is going to happen, or is it all rumor and speculation?

Yes, I mean the non-touch bar. It's affected, but you get a 4-year warranty from purchase date for the keyboard. Which means that if the keyboard fails, you also get a new battery and top case for free. I have one and it's a pretty good machine.


As for the Mac Mini, it's been a strong rumor but it's only a rumor. I think there'll be be an iPad event in the next 2 weeks and then we'll know.

 

[_Kiki_]

you can find used lcd (assembly) below $300 on eBay, it's not worth to install brand new screen to 6 years old laptop

 

[Fishrrman]

Not worth putting money into.
Save up for something new or at least "new-er"...