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Secondhand Macbook Pro 16" 2.3 purchase - Oh, what have I done?

M

macrumorsnumpty

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 26, 2018
55
18
France
Just bought a secondhand Macbook Pro 16".
I initially did some superficial research, before my purchase, as I was unaware of anything other than the butterfly keyboard problems.
I went to the Apple store, played with the 13" and 16". Went online and was about to pay for a fully loaded M1 Macbook Pro. Cancelled that, then went for the M1 air, cancelled that, kept doing this for 3 straight hours.

I was buying an M1 Pro 13". That was it.
Good deals, rave reviews, thats all I was thinking about. I kept trying to tell myself that I was futureproofing my purchase, 13" was enough, I could cope with one external monitor etc, etc.

Then went onto eBay to see what was available.

16" machines at stupidly low prices. Weird.

Quick eBay cheap purchase later I now have an 8 core 2019 Mac book pro 16". Twice as much power as my 2014 Macbook Pro.

Started installing stuff, then it started to get warm, then toasty, not excessive and similar to my previous laptop. Then I did research on the machine I just bought. Read horror story after horror story, people dumping the 16" for the m1.
Lack of support in 2 years some would say, Intel is dead etc, etc, etc.
Oh, what have I done?

Then I realised I just bought a cheap, amazing laptop which, so far, seems to be working as I expected, if not amazingly better than I hoped for.
The speakers are amazing.
The screen real estate is perfect.
The lightness of the machine compared to my 15" or previous 17" is outstanding.
The machine so far has only ramped up the fan twice when exporting 4k file, but that was to be expected. It also is no hotter than my previous machine. 70 degrees.
So far 90 percent of what I have used it for, graphics, Web browsing, exporting 4k files, image editing, the fans have barely been heard and its been at 30 - 45 degrees.
Pleasantly surprised.
Admittedly I have not hooked it up to my 34" 5k display yet but, who cares, its way better than I could have hoped for and if it gets really warm, it will get really warm.
It is there to be used and abused and the price was right.
 
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As long as its working for what you need it for that's all that matters. I'm eagerly awaiting the new M1X 16" MBP, but it's only because I could really use the power boost and my work results in my laptop being scalding hot constantly. Otherwise, I couldn't care less about the M1 chip. A computer's a computer to me. I'd be happy with my 2018 for years if it were faster and didn't try to convince me that I accidentally lit it on fire all the time.
 
At the right price point, I think it is the best apple computer right now.

The M series chips are amazing but in a few years everyone will be wishing they got the M3 or something once the arm chips are mature
 
I will also say, don't get too caught up in other people's opinions. Your own experience seems to vastly differ. Don't forget a year and a half ago this computer was considered the best ever. Now all of a sudden It has problems. I found a lot of those problems extremely overrated.

YouTubers need to get their views thought I suppose
 
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nordique said:
I will also say, don't get too caught up in other people's opinions. Your own experience seems to vastly differ. Don't forget a year and a half ago this computer was considered the best ever. Now all of a sudden It has problems. I found a lot of those problems extremely overrated.

YouTubers need to get their views thought I suppose
Click to expand...
This is very true and it is up to the individual to decide if it works for them as everyone on the forum is coming from a different direction and usage.

I will say my MBP does get hot on the lap, but is fantastic as a desk laptop, and is currently being used by my contractor to smash out work that the M1 cannot do [despite those on this site who would try and argue otherwise].

Also FWIW I got a HP Zbook workstation last year and the MBP is simply a much better experience. The Zbook got extremely hot, so whatever people say on this site, Apple did a good job with the thermals. It is Intel that is the problem.
 
I do have one stupid question though.
Just got back home and plugged the laptop into a USB C 5k monitor using the supplied white cable.
There is charging but no video signal.
Is the Apple white cable that is supplied with the white brick only a charging cable?

I had a spare thunderbolt 3 cable and that charges and show video on all ports.

I also tried two separate usb c to display port cables on all ports and they work well too.
Not sure why the Apple cable is only charging.

Is that right?
 
macrumorsnumpty said:
I do have one stupid question though.
Just got back home and plugged the laptop into a USB C 5k monitor using the supplied white cable.
There is charging but no video signal.
Is the Apple white cable that is supplied with the white brick only a charging cable?
Click to expand...
Yes, the Apple cable supplied with the charger will not support video. Enjoy your new MBP 16. I've had a few of them and they all served me well.
 
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macrumorsnumpty said:
Not sure why the Apple cable is only charging.
Click to expand...

That cable can also handle data, but it's not a Thunderbolt cable. It's a pathetic USB 2.0 cable with a USB-C connector. It's only a charging cable for all practical intents and purposes.

About the Apple Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) Cable - Apple Support

Connect a device that has a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) port to a device that has a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) or USB-C port.
support.apple.com support.apple.com

I wish I knew this when I tried using that stupid cable to do a Mac to Mac migration a few weeks ago. It was so slow I had to abort and do something else.
 
My son is getting one of these for work because he has to work on x86 VMs (Windows and Linux) and has x86-only software that he has to run. There are certainly many use cases where the MBP 16 is the correct choice. Luke Miani did a video on this recently - when is the 2019 MacBook Pro 16 a good deal. He said at around $1,300 for the base model.
 
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macrumorsnumpty said:
Apple are so cheap sometimes.
They are all form and profit over practicality and function.
Click to expand...

Nobody in their right mind provides full TB cables unnecessarily. They’re actually quite expensive and would be a waste as few people buying a MBA or MBP have a monitor able to process a TB connection.
 
smirking said:
Nobody in their right mind provides full TB cables unnecessarily. They’re actually quite expensive and would be a waste as few people buying a MBA or MBP have a monitor able to process a TB connection.
Click to expand...
Interesting.
I think they are only expensive because they sell them that way.

At the very least they should provide a decent but reasonably priced data and power cable. There must be hundreds of them out there to choose from.
Given the price of a new Macbook Pro and the multiple extra things you have to buy to plug stuff into it to make it work with other stuff, the least they could do is supply a proper data and power cable.
Apple are cheap. Sorry.
 
Update: some of this is wrong. I thought all of the Apple TB3 cables were 2m long, which would have made their pricing attractive.

macrumorsnumpty said:
Interesting.
I think they are only expensive because they sell them that way.
Click to expand...

Even generic Thunderbolt 3 cables are expensive. Believe it or not, the Apple TB3 cable is actually slightly cheaper than some of the other name brands and even cheaper than some generics.

macrumorsnumpty said:
At the very least they should provide a decent but reasonably priced data and power cable. There must be hundreds of them out there to choose from.
Click to expand...

Go out and find me that bonanza of cheap 6' cables capable of driving a 5K display, handling 40Gbps of transfer, while delivering 100W of power.

macrumorsnumpty said:
Given the price of a new Macbook Pro and the multiple extra things you have to buy to plug stuff into it to make it work with other stuff, the least they could do is supply a proper data and power cable.
Click to expand...

While I do think they should have made the bundled cable a USB 3.1 g2 data cable (10Gbps, but no video), it'd be dumb for them to spend the money to give everyone a costly 6' TB3 cable. Hardly anyone would even be able to use it for anything other than charging and those costs would have gotten passed down eventually anyway.
 
Last edited:
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smirking said:
Even generic Thunderbolt 3 cables are expensive. Believe it or not, the Apple TB3 cable is actually slightly cheaper than some of the other name brands and even cheaper than some generics.
Click to expand...
Just bought x3 Thunderbolt cables all from Amazon first two were £12 each and the 2m one was £34.
smirking said:
Go out and find me that bonanza of cheap 6' cables capable of driving a 5K display, handling 40Gbps of transfer, while delivering 100W of power.
Click to expand...
Done.
smirking said:
While I do think they should have made the bundled cable a USB 3.1 g2 data cable (10Gbps, but no video), it'd be dumb for them to spend the money to give everyone a costly 6' TB3 cable.
Click to expand...
Hence me saying Apple are cheap.
smirking said:
Hardly anyone would even be able to use it for anything other than charging and those costs would have gotten passed down eventually anyway.
Click to expand...
Do you work for Apple?
 
Initially, I felt like Sean Connery in the Untouchables talking to Kevin Costner on that bridge.

But I think now, especially after your last comment, I am more the accountant guy in the lift who just got shot in the face.

Sorry.
 
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