Should i Buy 2012 Macbook Pro 13inch or 2016 Macbook Pro

[coolchap]

Experts,

One of my colleague is selling 2012 Macbook Pro 13" for $1000 with following configurations:

MBP 13 Mid-2012 (covered by Apple Care through January 2018)
16GB RAM 512GB SSD and 2.9GHz i7 bought new last year(2015) from Apple.

I was initially planning to buy 2016 Macbook Pro 15" which comes to $2999 as this is first time buying the Macbook to switch from PC to Mac

I have two major requirements here and trying to fit this Mac purchase to any one of them

1. Personal Use : For Personal Emails,surfing,Financial/Monthly Expenses tracking, paying credit cards and keeping all personal sensitive/confidential information etc.,
2. Professional Purpose : I want to spin up multiple VMs to run some different flavor of OS like Linux,Ubuntu,Windows and run some heavy duty database(Oracle) and other applications as I do this on my Lenovo W510. I was even thinking of setting up ESXi servers at home to spin up multiple VMs to suffice this purpose, but it appears to be cost me around 4 to 5k.

I may be also wrong that Mac is completely safe,secure with very less maintenance unlike PC needs lots of Anti/Mal Virus Software and needs more maintenance
So, Experts like you guys need to help me with more clarity and details on Mac World.

Please post your suggestions and recommendations.
It would be great help to make a right decision as am not expert in this area

Thanks in advance
Coolchap

 

[David58117]

I wouldn't get the 2012 model, unless you're absolutely ok with a non-retina screen and an older processor..not to mention the comparatively thicker size, which apple has moved away from.

But the plus is you can upgrade the ram/ssd yourself..but that price seems like it's a better deal for him, than for you. I mean, my 2012 non-retina 15" with the same ssd size/ram sold for $1200 two years ago, and it had some warranty left too. I wouldn't take it for anything more than $500-600 or so at this point, assuming you're okay with the negatives.

Personally, I would look at a 2015 15" retina. You can upgrade the ssd to 1TB for $600 from OWC or so, and it's quad core with 16gb ram standard. It's around $2000 new, but you can find it on sale now I'm sure.

Or perhaps a mid level Mac mini on sale (I think it's $700 or so new), if you have a display already etc, and then a smaller laptop if you need portability. That way your secure info would be separate from your personal stuff. Or get his for $600 or so and use it in clamshell mode, and get the non-touchbar 13" for $1500 if you need something portable too.

Or the new one if usbc doesn't bother you and the touchbar appeals to you.

Lol but you have options..

 

[coolchap]

I wouldn't get the 2012 model, unless you're absolutely ok with a non-retina screen and an older processor..not to mention the comparatively thicker size, which apple has moved away from.

But the plus is you can upgrade the ram/ssd yourself..but that price seems like it's a better deal for him, than for you. I mean, my 2012 non-retina 15" with the same ssd size/ram sold for $1200 two years ago, and it had some warranty left too. I wouldn't take it for anything more than $500-600 or so at this point, assuming you're okay with the negatives.

Personally, I would look at a 2015 15" retina. You can upgrade the ssd to 1TB for $600 from OWC or so, and it's quad core with 16gb ram standard. It's around $2000 new, but you can find it on sale now I'm sure.

Or perhaps a mid level Mac mini on sale (I think it's $700 or so new), if you have a display already etc, and then a smaller laptop if you need portability. That way your secure info would be separate from your personal stuff. Or get his for $600 or so and use it in clamshell mode, and get the non-touchbar 13" for $1500 if you need something portable too.

Or the new one if usbc doesn't bother you and the touchbar appeals to you.

Lol but you have options..

Thankd David for your great suggestions and inputs
Could you please share or direct me where to find 2015 15" retina or Mac Mini deals?
I do have monitors at home, so, i may be happy with Mac Mini as long as its configured with high RAM and Storage.

 

[RichardC300]

Thankd David for your great suggestions and inputs
Could you please share or direct me where to find 2015 15" retina or Mac Mini deals?
I do have monitors at home, so, i may be happy with Mac Mini as long as its configured with high RAM and Storage.

http://prices.appleinsider.com/#Current_Generation