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Thinking of buying a rMBP 15"...

L

Lexical

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 8, 2011
219
73
Hello,

I have decided that in order to get over my ex girlfriend i need to purchase myself a Retina Macbook Pro 15", as good a reason as any right?

There is actually a decent reason for it though, i currently have a MBA 13" 2011 and its just not quite doing all i want it too so it makes sense to get something with a bit more grunt.

My question is, im thinking of buying a refurb model from Apple. But im really not sure if thats a good idea? Whats peoples experience of refurbs? I've never bought one and im a bit anxious that it might not be as good as a new one.

Are you still able to return it if your not satisfied? Has anyone bought a rMBP refurb? Would love some peoples opinions and experiences on this, as it is a decent saving over buying a new one.

Should i be anxious?
 
Lexical said:
Hello,

I have decided that in order to get over my ex girlfriend i need to purchase myself a Retina Macbook Pro 15", as good a reason as any right?

There is actually a decent reason for it though, i currently have a MBA 13" 2011 and its just not quite doing all i want it too so it makes sense to get something with a bit more grunt.

My question is, im thinking of buying a refurb model from Apple. But im really not sure if thats a good idea? Whats peoples experience of refurbs? I've never bought one and im a bit anxious that it might not be as good as a new one.

Are you still able to return it if your not satisfied? Has anyone bought a rMBP refurb? Would love some peoples opinions and experiences on this, as it is a decent saving over buying a new one.

Should i be anxious?
Click to expand...

Refurb are just as good as new - some may argue that are even better because they have examined more carefully.

Same return policy

No you should not be anxious buying a refurb - only thing different is your get a generic box not the normal MBP box.
 
Order placed! Thank you sir.

Now let me hope i enjoy my purchase. Should be quite the upgrade from my 2011 MBA...
 
Congrats!! What configuration did you opt for ? :apple:

Either way, it's a huge upgrade from any MBA!
 
Congrats. I think you will be happy. For me so far it's the best computer I've ever owned, even with image retention (too lazy to get it fixed). I know you already ordered but the SSD, RAM, 2.6ghz upgrades really help. I never want to work on a hard disk again, hahah.
 
I just went for a base model. I dont really need additional SSD storage and if i do i can just get an external drive or something. I dont even use all the space on my 128Gb MBA so im sure ill be fine!

I think what sold me was the dedicated GT650M graphics, i7 CPU and of course, that gorgeous display. Played around with one in a store on the weekend and just wanted it so bad!

I do love my little MBA, its thin and light and great. But the fact of the matter is, i dont really take it many places. It just sits on my desk. So i might as well get something bigger and more powerful.
 
If your budget allows it, in my opinion, there is no other notebook comparable to the value you get with a base, or upgraded 15" rMBP.

Without a doubt, the i7, GT650M, display, speakers, all flash architecture (sans-SuperDrive), the weight, the size (the cMBP 15" was a little too heavy for me, granted I owned a 17" MBP before, what a hassle), USB3 and just overall the rMBP doesn't get anywhere near as hot as my previous 15" MBP or 17" (Hated C2D), due to no physical drive, battery, and redesigned air flow.
 
Lexical said:
I just went for a base model. I dont really need additional SSD storage and if i do i can just get an external drive or something. I dont even use all the space on my 128Gb MBA so im sure ill be fine!

I think what sold me was the dedicated GT650M graphics, i7 CPU and of course, that gorgeous display. Played around with one in a store on the weekend and just wanted it so bad!

I do love my little MBA, its thin and light and great. But the fact of the matter is, i dont really take it many places. It just sits on my desk. So i might as well get something bigger and more powerful.
Click to expand...

Beautiful piece of tech. I hope you enjoy it for many moons to come! :)
 
Lexical said:
Order placed! Thank you sir.

Now let me hope i enjoy my purchase. Should be quite the upgrade from my 2011 MBA...
Click to expand...


And I was about to introduce to you this complementary thread. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1541062/ :D

Seriously, though, you will like the rMBP. I recently purchased a 13" rMBP to replace a lost 2012 MacBook Air. Although it isn't really any faster (I had the i7 Air and replaced it with the base i5 13" rMBP), the nicer screen alone makes it worth it. The 15" you are getting adds a quad core processor and a discrete GPU.
 
Lexical said:
Hello,

I have decided that in order to get over my ex girlfriend i need to purchase myself a Retina Macbook Pro 15", as good a reason as any right?

There is actually a decent reason for it though, i currently have a MBA 13" 2011 and its just not quite doing all i want it too so it makes sense to get something with a bit more grunt.

My question is, im thinking of buying a refurb model from Apple. But im really not sure if thats a good idea? Whats peoples experience of refurbs? I've never bought one and im a bit anxious that it might not be as good as a new one.

Are you still able to return it if your not satisfied? Has anyone bought a rMBP refurb? Would love some peoples opinions and experiences on this, as it is a decent saving over buying a new one.

Should i be anxious?
Click to expand...

Must not have been too serious of a relationship... To keep things on topic, I only buy refurbs and like many state, they are usually better than new. They go thru way more quality control tests and are built with MANY new parts, including the all important screen. The only "downfall" is that they don't come in retail boxes, however, the boxes they do come in are waaaay more protective and padded than the retails. Congrats and I hope it works out.
 
I just bought a 15" MBPr refurbed. Base model. First thing I did was examine it thoroughly and I could not find the smallest sign of any previous use. Appeared brand new. Also working perfectly. Loving it, as I'm sure you will yours.
 
First things first: I wish i could purchase something as awesome as a retina macbook everytime i broke up with a girlfriend. I'd have 10 retina's laying around the house all looking at each other like "Yo..whats up. Marcus broke up with another girl again huh?", "Yeah, that's why i'm here". Perfect way to get over your woman

Secondly, i know you already bought yours, but yeah. Refurbs are awesome. After i bought my brand new one, i regretted not getting a refurb because the difference would've been non-noticable AND i would've gotten slightly better specs and double the hard drive for about the same price. As has been explained to me, with a refurb everything on it is replaced except for the logic bored. So you get a new shell and sometimes even a new screen, so the "used" part you get is something you and the original owner never even look at. The internal parts.

I had a late 2011 13 inch pro before this and thought the bigger screen might be too much. It's not. It's weird how something can be bigger and just as portable. It's hard to explain. But as weird as it sounds, whereas with my 13inch pro i mainly left it at home and barely took it anywhere, my 15inch pro goes out with me every other day. Never loved a laptop this much before. This will easily take your girlfriend's place lol come back and give us your first impressions when you get it
 
Haha...

Well she was a pretty awesome girl so i needed something to look forward to to take my mind off it. What better than a rMBP?

Looks like its just about to ship so hopefully i will get it tomorrow or the day after, delivery in the UK usually isn't too bad although i have no idea what delivery company Apple uses. (Bit odd though how it says, Ordered 11th Feb, Delivers 12th - 13th Feb - Considering its the 12th today and i only ordered it last night...!?)

Really looking forward to getting it and playing around with it! Never transferred data between Macs so hopefully thats pretty straightforward...
 
Lexical said:
Haha...

Well she was a pretty awesome girl so i needed something to look forward to to take my mind off it. What better than a rMBP?

Looks like its just about to ship so hopefully i will get it tomorrow or the day after, delivery in the UK usually isn't too bad although i have no idea what delivery company Apple uses. (Bit odd though how it says, Ordered 11th Feb, Delivers 12th - 13th Feb - Considering its the 12th today and i only ordered it last night...!?)

Really looking forward to getting it and playing around with it! Never transferred data between Macs so hopefully thats pretty straightforward...
Click to expand...

Hopefully it's as fast as here in the US. I ordered on a Thursday and chose the ship to store option (safest way to deliver an expensive notebook), and it was ready to pick up the very next day. I think the refurbs get to you a lot quicker because they aren't shipping new from China, they're coming from a local repair/service center. I can't imagine the UK being much different.
 
Lexical said:
Haha...

Well she was a pretty awesome girl so i needed something to look forward to to take my mind off it. What better than a rMBP?

Looks like its just about to ship so hopefully i will get it tomorrow or the day after, delivery in the UK usually isn't too bad although i have no idea what delivery company Apple uses. (Bit odd though how it says, Ordered 11th Feb, Delivers 12th - 13th Feb - Considering its the 12th today and i only ordered it last night...!?)

Really looking forward to getting it and playing around with it! Never transferred data between Macs so hopefully thats pretty straightforward...
Click to expand...


I understand wanting to get something to take your mind off your breakup. I'm in the middle of breaking things off with my GF of many years and it's been really hard to deal with. So of course I'm headed to Best Buy after work today to pickup Skyfall and checkout the rMBP :eek:
 
Sounds like i need to start some sort of club whereby all your problems are solved by buying a rMBP... Actually, sounds more like a cult...!

Anyway, its shipped and on its way! Will be here tomorrow, aside from the fact im working all day... But hopefully i will be able to pick up from the depot after work.

A further question - Will it ship with Mountain Lion already on it? Or will i have to download and install? I wont have to pay for it i assume? Already have ML on my MBA anyway.

Exciting times! Cant wait to see how much more grunt it has over my little MBA. Will be sad to see it go, as im naturally going to sell it after i get my new rMBP.
 
Lexical said:
Sounds like i need to start some sort of club whereby all your problems are solved by buying a rMBP... Actually, sounds more like a cult...!

Anyway, its shipped and on its way! Will be here tomorrow, aside from the fact im working all day... But hopefully i will be able to pick up from the depot after work.

A further question - Will it ship with Mountain Lion already on it? Or will i have to download and install? I wont have to pay for it i assume? Already have ML on my MBA anyway.

Exciting times! Cant wait to see how much more grunt it has over my little MBA. Will be sad to see it go, as im naturally going to sell it after i get my new rMBP.
Click to expand...

ML should already be installed (if purchased from Apple). Congrats!
 
Lexical said:
A further question - Will it ship with Mountain Lion already on it? Or will i have to download and install? I wont have to pay for it i assume? Already have ML on my MBA anyway.
Click to expand...

My refurb base rMBP that I got last week came with ML. Seems flawless with the Samsung screen.
 
Refurbs are fine BUT the 15" is getting a little long in the tooth for the asking price. If your only reason to get one is to get over a girlfriend I suggest finding a new girlfriend. Really, it's the only thing that will get you over the hump... no pun intended. Heh.

Seriously, I've had a rMBP since they first shipped. Love it, but there are issues, like momentary screen freezing, that I assume, will be fixed in the next version. I would think that model should be announced in the next couple of months. I think that will be a better use of your $.

EDIT: Well, almost as soon as I finish writing the above Apple speed bumps the rMBP. So I guess no "real" update anytime soon, so seems safe to buy. I wonder if they did any tweaking or just popped in a faster proc.
 
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Well i finally got it last night guys, after a right mess from UPS! Had to drive 30 miles to collect it!

Its an astonishing piece of kit i must admit. Beautiful and a wonderful display. You are certainly right about refurbs, looks like a brand new laptop to me!! And that display... Wow, the colours and the resolution. I think its the best display I've ever seen in any machine. Unfortunately though i didn't win a refurb lottery! Got exactly what i paid for! :(

The only thing i feel is that for some reason it doesn't feel quite as smooth as my MBA, I'm not sure maybe I'm just being paranoid. I've installed webkit and all that to make browsing all the better, but it does feel a tiny bit jolty. Not sure! Maybe just me, I'm sure my MBA did that sometimes as well.
 
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