Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Used 2011 vs refurb 2012

S

spacewhalezo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 6, 2012
12
0
I can get a used 2011 2.2 ghz 15.4 inch macbook pro with anti glare screen and 8gb of ram for 1350
whereas the refurb 2012 2.3 ghz 15.4 inch macbook from the applestore costs 1670 including tax
Is there a big difference between the two models? is the extra 300 bucks worth it?

edit : oops i noticed the typo
 
Last edited:
Your title says USED (no warranty) vs REFURB (yes warranty) but your body says otherwise, so what is it?

If no warranty vs warranty, top of my head +300 quid worth it.
 
The used macbook is off craigslist. Refurb is off applestore.

The used macbook's warranty lasts until march.

was wondering if ivy bridge and usb3 is worth the 300 bucks
 
*only* 90 days warranty from Apple? uh, OK.

Unless you know this person in GL, I personally would not do it. Computers have too many variables.

Ivy Bridge alone reports ~20% improvement, but depending what u do with it, it may not matter.

USB3 only u know. Do you have many USB external drives in the past, used often? I personally value simplicity meaning I access all my stuff wirelessly through the LAN day-in, day-out basis. Once every 3 months or so I do an image backup to my external USB2 (so I can boot from it if needed) for maintenance purposes and USB2 speed doesn't bother me since I use it so sparingly.

Ur ball.
 
USB 3 has been the future for some years already. It is only in the 2012 models are they present.

Firewire is being superseded by Thunderbolt. I'd go with 2012 model. USB 3 isn't a drop in part. It is soldered to the logicboard.
 
refurb. $300 for USB 3, Ivy Bridge, Kepler, and possibility of getting Applecare is more than worth it.
 
Spend the extra and get the refurb. It's been QA'd by technicians, has the better HW - Ivybridge, Kepler graphics, 1600MHz RAM and USB 3.0 plus 9 more months of warranty. Worth the extra 300.
 
Presumably, you'll be doing general purpose stuff with the macs you mentioned, or you would have asked which one handles (FCP, CS5, etc.) better. Likewise, if you had a necessary accessory that required, or would greatly benefit from USB 3 you wouldn't be making this inquiry.

I really don't think the 20% performance difference will necessarily result in noticeably faster real world usage. The tech world in general and Apple in particular has a bad habit of using artificial benchmarks in this regard: "New processor is 50% faster!" looks a lot better on a keynote slide than "Web pages load 3/10 of a second quicker!". The $300 difference can be invested in extended applecare, or a ram & SSD upgrade. These upgrades will make more of a performance difference than the different cpu's.

You mentioned the used MBP has high res antiglare, and presumably the 2012 refurb does not. If you require or prefer either the high res or the AG, it would probably make a bigger difference in your daily driving than the performance increase from sandy bridge to ivy bridge.

As for long term usage, does a 2009 C2D MBP really have an advantage over the 2008? Not really, both can still handle ordinary tasks reasonably well. I think the same will be said of the 2011 and 2012 models in a few years time.
 
Mrbobb said:
*only* 90 days warranty from Apple? uh, OK.

Unless you know this person in GL, I personally would not do it. Computers have too many variables.

Ur ball.
Click to expand...

Pay no mind to the CL fear-mongers. I use it all the time to both buy and sell computers. Just use your common sense and judgement and check it out thoroughly when you meet-up.

That being said, I wouldn't pay $1350 for the 2011 machine. That's a little rich for a slightly upgraded base Sandy Bridge uMBP-15, even with a few months of warranty. He might get that from someone, but if you live in a fairly populous area and keep looking, you'll get a better deal. I also wouldn't pay $1700+tax for the 2012 though. That'll work out to just about the price of a new base rMBP on student discount in a tax free state, and if you shop around I'm sure you could find a new rMBP for $1900 or so.


___
 
Another important thing when buying used laptop, you must budget in a potential battery replacement cost (a consumable item). A new battery these days lasts 800-1000 charge cycles, so u must check this and subtract.

Used GL: Am on Fear of Hassles. Battery check is one item, there are 30 more. Cosmetically sound? hinges aligned? trackpad smooth? Performance: Did the guy upgraded with cheap memory? sounds no interference? scratch? audio port not worn? WIFI in good shape? Fan works as designed to keep machine cool? blah-blah all these stuff take me a good month to go through (have a real job during the day) and the other guy is not gonna sit there while you are checking things out. If it's 50% off, maybe I 'll take the risk.
 
Last edited:
i'll be using it for logic pro. ive seen the benchmarks for both and anything more than 50 tracks is fine, but i think im gonna settle for the refurb though because i am too lazy and careless to check everything.

now eyeing the refurb rmpb, but i think im gonna stop at the cmp because i have been climbing up the 250 bucks more justification ladder from the base 13", and i think that's how apple wants us consumers to buy their products
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back