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Which second hand MacBook Pro would you go for?

F

Faded1984

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 2, 2010
86
1
Looking at picking up a second hand MBP in the coming weeks.

Have a budget of between £400 - £600.

I was hoping for advice on which model to look out for, and if there are any I should avoid.
It will be replacing an early 2011 model so one thing I would like to have is a retina screen.

Thanks for any advice.
 
Stick with your early 2011 model. Swop out your HDD with an SSD and upgrade the RAM to 16GB. You will instantly feel the speed difference and last you many more years. I own a 2011 MBP and a 2013 rMBP, honestly the retina screen resolution is not that much to shout about unless you're picky. The upgrade should cost you no more than £150 if you source for pre-owned SSD and RAM.
 
daddadc said:
Stick with your early 2011 model. Swop out your HDD with an SSD and upgrade the RAM to 16GB. You will instantly feel the speed difference and last you many more years. I own a 2011 MBP and a 2013 rMBP, honestly the retina screen resolution is not that much to shout about unless you're picky. The upgrade should cost you no more than £150 if you source for pre-owned SSD and RAM.
Click to expand...

I don't agree with this at all - I think the screen change is a massive difference, those upgrades would certainly make a difference though (I added 16 to my own 2011 MBP prior to getting rid of it)... does your budget factor in selling your old system?
 
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I have an early 2011 13" MBP, MBA 13", and rMBP 13".

The increase in picture quality is quite noticeable when moving from the non-retina MBP to the MBA to the rMBP. I find this to be especially noticeable when I have all three running side by side.
 
The reason for the upgrade is because my 2011 model is now completely battered.
The screen is cracked and so is the trackpad. Those two repairs alone would cost me between £100 - £150 and thats not adding on an SSD or additional RAM on top.
This is why I'm looking at completely replacing the laptop.
 
Faded1984 said:
Looking at picking up a second hand MBP in the coming weeks.

Have a budget of between £400 - £600.

I was hoping for advice on which model to look out for, and if there are any I should avoid.
It will be replacing an early 2011 model so one thing I would like to have is a retina screen.

Thanks for any advice.
Click to expand...

What model of MBP do you have from 2011? Is it 13" or 15", does it have 4GB/8GB/16GB RAM, what kind of storage and processor does it have?

This all matters as, being realistic, you are looking at a 2013/2014 rMBP at best...you won't get 16GB RAM, although you could get a 256GB SSD.

The best I've seen with this price bracket is a 2013 rMBP i5 8GB/256GB SSD for £525.

If spec-wise, this isn't much better than what you have, then you would be better spending your money putting more RAM and a better SSD in it.

Just seen your latest post....yes,....the model I've mentioned above is your best bet.
 
up to £600 13" Retina 8GB 128GB SSD late 2013 or mid 2014 maybe you can get even config with 256GB SSD if you like auctions
 
I see the MBP is in the usa with 58£ shipping which makes the total roughly 660 £. Not sure I would take a chance without seeing more pictures of the casing and factoring the lack of factory warranty.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-Mac...992967&hash=item1a349850fc:g:ARwAAOSwWjpZrTYM
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Audit13 said:
I see the MBP is in the usa with 58£ shipping which makes the total roughly 660 £. Not sure I would take a chance without seeing more pictures of the casing and factoring the lack of factory warranty.
Click to expand...
i got my 2015 rmbp 256gb 16gb for 900 off ebay. came with 3 year applecare too. if the product isn't as specified ebay will take care of you buy providing you with free return label. and if you pay by paypal u r covered by paypal's 180 day claim period as well as ebay's 30 day claim period.
 
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