- Joined
- Apr 20, 2009
- Messages
- 4,301
- Reaction score
- 124
- Points
- 63
- Location
- The lonely planet
- Your Mac's Specs
- Too many...
So, I bought my new 15" MBP the other month, and I realized it's too nice to use for work
I wanted to buy something that was as cheap as possible, but still had a core i7 processor.
I first went on CraigsL and bought what was supposed to be a "MINT" 13" MBP that had "always been in a protective case" for $280. I made the mistake of trusting his words and not doing a deep inspection, as well as rushing to buy it almost at midnight. I know, right! Stupid move. After taking the case off, it was VERY clear that it had been dropped, and after turning it on, the EFI warning came on. In the end, I got my money back.
Right after that, I ordered a 15" MBP i7 on ebay for $251. This wasn't an abnormal price, and it was a featured sale item on the daily deals. It was listed in good condition with a "B" rating. I was madly disappointed to find that this B rating includes DEEP scratches, dents, and missing RAM! Quickly returned that, even though it ran fine.
I had come to the realization that I needed to re-evaluate this situation, and eliminate some models. If you ever thought choosing between a new MacBook Pro was hard, wait until you have to choose from used ones.
I tried narrowing down my decision from Macbook Pro models from 2010 to 2014.
All models that had GPU issues were of no interest(2012-early 2013 Retina, and unibody 2011)
All standard resolution models were of very little interest, unless the price was too good.
It either needed to be a retina screen or the hi-res matte screen.
It needed to have 16gb of ram.
Having a dedicated GPU was not important as long as it has 16gb, but still wanted it.
I don't care if the retina models have the anti-coating issue.(easy fix)
Listing had to have photos of actual MBP being sold. No if, ands, or buts about it.
In helping decide, I put together a spreadsheet with price, specs, performance, pricing, and general info. This helped my in deciding, and I easily learned which models sell QUICK!
I also added my 15" retina as comparison, and added a color gradient for performance as a quick visual. This allows for an interesting point of view on how performance has improved.
I wish I could add to this spreadsheet to include many more models across many more years. It's very insightful info.
I narrowed it down to either a "Late 2013" to 2014 retina 15", 2012 uni-MBP, or 2010 uni-MBP.
In the end, I bought a Late 2013 retina MacBook Pro Core i7 2.3Ghz, 16gb RAM, 500gb SSD, and Nvidia GT750M 2gb GDDR5. It's in great physical condition and cost $550! This sell FAST on ebay. I missed out on one identically specced out, so I pulled the trigger quick on this one after going through the listing with a fine comb.
I wanted to buy something that was as cheap as possible, but still had a core i7 processor.
I first went on CraigsL and bought what was supposed to be a "MINT" 13" MBP that had "always been in a protective case" for $280. I made the mistake of trusting his words and not doing a deep inspection, as well as rushing to buy it almost at midnight. I know, right! Stupid move. After taking the case off, it was VERY clear that it had been dropped, and after turning it on, the EFI warning came on. In the end, I got my money back.
Right after that, I ordered a 15" MBP i7 on ebay for $251. This wasn't an abnormal price, and it was a featured sale item on the daily deals. It was listed in good condition with a "B" rating. I was madly disappointed to find that this B rating includes DEEP scratches, dents, and missing RAM! Quickly returned that, even though it ran fine.
I had come to the realization that I needed to re-evaluate this situation, and eliminate some models. If you ever thought choosing between a new MacBook Pro was hard, wait until you have to choose from used ones.
I tried narrowing down my decision from Macbook Pro models from 2010 to 2014.
All models that had GPU issues were of no interest(2012-early 2013 Retina, and unibody 2011)
All standard resolution models were of very little interest, unless the price was too good.
It either needed to be a retina screen or the hi-res matte screen.
It needed to have 16gb of ram.
Having a dedicated GPU was not important as long as it has 16gb, but still wanted it.
I don't care if the retina models have the anti-coating issue.(easy fix)
Listing had to have photos of actual MBP being sold. No if, ands, or buts about it.
In helping decide, I put together a spreadsheet with price, specs, performance, pricing, and general info. This helped my in deciding, and I easily learned which models sell QUICK!
I also added my 15" retina as comparison, and added a color gradient for performance as a quick visual. This allows for an interesting point of view on how performance has improved.
I wish I could add to this spreadsheet to include many more models across many more years. It's very insightful info.
I narrowed it down to either a "Late 2013" to 2014 retina 15", 2012 uni-MBP, or 2010 uni-MBP.
In the end, I bought a Late 2013 retina MacBook Pro Core i7 2.3Ghz, 16gb RAM, 500gb SSD, and Nvidia GT750M 2gb GDDR5. It's in great physical condition and cost $550! This sell FAST on ebay. I missed out on one identically specced out, so I pulled the trigger quick on this one after going through the listing with a fine comb.