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Your favorite MacBook Pro?

J

judino28

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 29, 2008
72
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I'm typing this on my mid-2012 15inch 2.7ghz i7 with 8gb Ram and 256gb SSD. I specifically purchased this maxed out version right before it was discontinued as I knew it would be the end of an era for MacBook Pros and wanted to make sure it was the best version at the time. It's got the High Res Antiglare display, with discreet graphics card, which I love. It's also got a DVD burner, which comes in handy. It's great knowing that, if I ever need to, I can replace the battery, hard drive, RAM, and disc drive all relatively easily on my own.

I've played around with many newer MBPs but I love this MBP and have no intention of upgrading until it completely dies. Even though it's not the latest and greatest, IMHO it's plenty modern and fast and should keep up with new Macs for many years to come.

This is my favorite MBP. What's yours?
 
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I've only owned (or even used for more than 5 minutes) the mid-2010 13" (which was my main computer since its release) and the 2017 nTB 13", which I've owned for under a week. I'd rather the 2017 for its display, speakers, and performance.
 
When you say the 2012 can keep up with current ones, it is really going to depend on your use. It should be able to perform much of the same tasks, albeit at a much slower pace. If speed or portability isn't an issue then there's no need to upgrade beyond the want.

I like my 2016, it's stupidly powerful for such a small package. I'm moving around all the time so a desktop would be a nightmare, therefore I use this as a desktop and it's convenient to move when I need to. For that I love it, the screen is great, once you get used to the keyboard it's difficult to go back, and I find not being fixed with permanent dedicated ports useful too as I can adapt them to whatever my needs. None of that was really possible before, and carrying this thing around for a whole day is still a weight on your back, but they got the balance right and it's manageable without being underpowered.
 
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My 2012 rMBP has been and continues to be the best laptop I've ever owned. I'm still using it, though the battery is not what it used to be.
 
maflynn said:
My 2012 rMBP has been and continues to be the best laptop I've ever owned. I'm still using it, though the battery is not what it used to be.
Click to expand...

My mid-2012 rMBP went the way of three others in the company - back to Apple due to numerous board failures. The mid-2014 rMBP replacement is still going well.
 
Although by today's standards it wouldn't perform well, I do miss my 15" 2006 Macbook Pro because it was the last fully user serviceable MBP. I upgraded the RAM and HDD myself, and replaced the optical drive and battery when they died. Like the G5/Mac Pro it looked quite mean at the time too.

I was never a fan of the unibody MBP so switched to an Air, if I could no longer service it myself I might as well have the smallest form factor possible.
 
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I'm super fond of my maxed out 2015 15" MBP that I'm typing this on.

Feels like a supremely evolved and polished product after years of refinements, as that's exactly what it is.
 
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The best is my late 2013 13 inch it’s my only current computer brilliant.

My favourite is the 2010 13 inch with upgraded ssd a fantastic machine unmatched at the time and still going strong daily for my brother.
 
I miss my early-2015 13" rMBP. It had a better keyboard and better connectivity than my current 2016 tbMBP. Performance is no better with the 2016 model, but I don't push my machines at all (MS Office, Parallels for Visio, and Skype).
 
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My 2105 15" with dGPU is my current favorite. I am hoping the 2018 15" with dGPU can change that perception. But, unless the keyboard has more travel and the hex core CPU really is much faster, I not too hopeful.
 
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That would be my 2012 cMBP. It's in mint shape (I've replaced the keyboard) and it's still snappy (upgraded the RAM and replaced HDD to an SSD)

I'm honestly still using it mostly because my logitech G13 and G600 are USB type A. So in a way the shift to USB type C has caused me to save money.

I mean, why replace something that works perfectly fine? Sure I'll get improvements in speed but is that speed increase really worth $2,000? Not for me it isn't.

I'm glad Apple makes such quality devices, this is the longest I've had a laptop that I'm still happy with.
 
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Whichever one is closest to me or I have on me when I need a computer :p
 
My 2010 13" MBPro gave me just shy of 7 years of service, and it still looks "not that far from new". So I'd have to say that (as of right now) it's my "favorite".

I now have a 2015 13" rMBPro which I bought in Dec. 2016. It, too, is performing well. In time -- if it keeps going as it's going now -- it could supersede the 2010 as the favorite...
 
I know the intent is for everyone to be all nostalgic over machines of yesterday, but I love my new 2017 15" MBP. The SSD is just stupid fast, and it's actually possible to connect external drives and get speeds that are close to those of the internal drive. Certainly faster than internal drives of just a few years ago. Up to now the biggest pain in computing for me was large file transfers.

Also, it's completely awesome that you can get a thunderbolt dock and then connect a single wire and be connected to all of you external devices and displays as well as power. I've always liked the concept behind the docking stations I have for my Dell at work, though I hated how big and clumsy it is.

The whole USB-C thing has been way overblown in my eyes. Everyone hated the old USB-A connector, but then they all acted like it was manna from heaven once Apple ditched it. The whole episode just reeks of the iMac/floppy disk dust up in the 90's.
 
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My first MacBook Pro was the last non-Retina 13" in 2012. I really enjoyed it, and it was a great computer. It's still in the family and is used daily. Loved the ability to upgrade it with an SSD and 16 GB of RAM.

My 2015 13" rMBP is my main computer, and probably my favorite. It's a bit lighter than the 2012, and the Retina screen is a nice upgrade. I never really used the optical drive in the 2012, so I don't miss it. I also really enjoy the keyboard on the 2015. I take this computer with me whenever I need to get work done and it's great.
 
Favourite and only is the mid 2009 MBP I’m still using everyday. I maxed the ram and swapped to SSD a couple of years ago and runs fantastically still; of course it’s not great for processor intensive stuff but that’s not what I do with it, for everyday tasks and apps it’s still fast and capable.

I have very mixed feelings about replacing it. While this computer has had a long life due to its upgradeablity and easy maintenance, I know any MBP I buy next will be both more expensive AND most likely shorter lived.
 
My favorite out of the 3 that I've owned, 2011 13", 2012 15" rMBP and 2017 15" (current) is definitely the 2017... they've all been great, but the latest is the greatest - lightest, most powerful, best looking (imo), quietest, best screen, etc. This one almost never spins up the fan apart from a heaving bootcamp gaming session, the others did all the time - perhaps unsurprising given their respective ages at the time.

I anticipate having this one for a long time, I'm not too worried about the lack of upgradeability at this point - especially considering that the others had also held up pretty well for 4 and 5 years or so each... but I've also got AppleCare in case something does end up failing in the end.
 
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In a perfect world, if the Air had a good display, it would be the absolute best all-around laptop.
My favorite form all the ones I have owned (I've gone through lots of them) would be the 2014 15" MBP. More than enough processing power, good enough graphics for the CAD/CAM software that I used with it, good battery life for such a high specced laptop, outstanding display, and good amount of ports.
 
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Fancuku said:
In a perfect world, if the Air had a good display, it would be the absolute best all-around laptop.
Click to expand...

Completely agree. That's what makes Apple's insistence on "making a new Air" with the non-TB 13" and 12" rMB combo so frustrating. Neither one actually fulfills as a direct slot in for what everyone loves about the Air.

If you did nothing but add a Retina screen and bump the internal specs, that would be the #1 Apple Laptop seller, hands down. I still see people walking out of the Apple Store with "new" Airs (just 2 days ago I did).
 
It's a tie for me
  • Late-2013 Core i7 w/ discreet graphics (my current machine)
  • 12" PowerBook (2006-era)
Late-2013....it's the last of this era. For better or worse, Apple is looking forward and I think the current gen will be looked back on fondly at some point but I think it's too immature to be the flagship laptop.

Late-2013:
  • MagSafe
  • Retina
  • Solid keyboard
  • Multi-touch trackpad
  • Tons of ports

Now, I do miss some things that make me miss the era of the PowerBook and that's why the 12" was so amazing to me despite the thickness

  • Non-chicklet keyboard (full coverage of buttons)
  • dedicated aluminum power button
  • Battery charge indicator on side of unit
  • CD drive
  • tons of ports..and I get it that TB + USB-C are representing all o those ports now. I still miss having dedicated DVI along with other video ports
  • physical button on the trackpad
  • removable battery
 
Which is my favorite? It's hard to pick. My mid-2012 is very similar to yours- i7 is 2.6mhz, RAM is 16 GB and my SSD is 525 GB but that's not much different from yours, and we have the same screen. Performance is still excellent and exceeds my needs. But my Mini has become very popular with me now that it has an SSD (8GB and 2.3 Ghz i5, 2011.) It went from being a snail to being acceptable when I upgraded, and I now use it a LOT, whereas with the spinning disk, it was relegated to collecting dust in a corner for several years. And then, there is also my 2011 Air, which, while I don't use it a lot, is actually my daily driver in the sense that it is the one I carry every day for personal needs (I'm slightly disabled and have arthritis which makes writing unpleasant.) I love the Air, even if people here think they should kill the model. To me, all they need is a higher resolution screen and it is near perfect. The only one not in the running is my 2010 since it still has a spinning disk and the trackpad has suddenly gone wonky.
 
I would have to say out of all of the MacBook Pros that I use now the 2016 15" is probably my favorite, despite really, really disliking the keyboard, and the hassle of getting them replaced and worrying about the future. I can do more work on it faster than the others, though. But my 2010, 2011, and 2012 (home and work) can't even play 4k videos, and the 2016 does well and edits them just fine, too.

But looking back my favorites were probably the newest one at the time. Though I still really like that 2012 13" with an SSD and 16GB of RAM. It's just a little tank, kind of like the Mac Pro 4,1 and 5,1 (still my favorite computer case) are to desktops. I loved being able to actually upgrade and fix them myself. I just wonder what the 2016/7 could have done if they weren't made with form valued over function.

It's funny, but after using the 2016 15" how the displays on my older MBPs just look like absolute, total, complete garbage...like, eyestrainingly bad.
 
I tend to favor my mid-2012 laptops (15 inch rMBP 2.7GHz i7 with 16GB RAM / 13 inch 2.9GHz i7 with 16GB RAM / 13 inch 2.5GHz i5 with 8 GB RAM). I love that they are all easily serviceable and that I found upgrading them (especially my 13 inch laptops) were fairly painless.

My 15 inch rMBP is amazing even after all these years and is still a very good laptop although it has recently begun to get very hot while in use so I may end up taking it apart and redoing the thermal paste for the CPU heat sink. I figure while I'm there I will also change out the battery and give my laptop a fresh restart so to speak... I like to use this laptop for my photography work...

The 13 inch i7 I recently acquired for $200 from a good friend is what I prefer to use while traveling for work. It is small enough and still fairly useable computer. With a 1TB SSD and a 2TB 7200rpm HDD installed this laptop will become my primary travel computer...

That leaves my 13 inch i5 which I will still keep because it is so pristine. There is not a scratch on this laptop and the cycle count on the battery is less than 10... I find it amazing to find a laptop in this condition after all these years... of course all the other computers I have not talked about in this post and are listed below in my sig are still fully functional and I still use them...
 
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