OS and Software > All Things Macintosh > Looking at a used Macbook Pro - what should I look out for?

Looking at a used Macbook Pro - what should I look out for?

Don't buy a Core Duo. An early Core 2 Duo MBP should go for around the same price at this point (basically, a Gen 2 MBP or newer).

Core Duos are 32-bit and are no longer supported going forward for Apple.
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University of Southern California - Fight On!

reply to Thinkdiff

reply to Thinkdiff
Even at $500?

Yes. Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros are also ~$500. The 17" ones may be slightly more, but I'd rather have 15" and C2D than 17" with CD (and I think most people would agree). But then again, I would always prefer 15".

reply to Midak
My MB is CD and I ran into that - I can't upgrade to lion, and it sounds like a rocket ship is taking off when I watch youtube (not sure if all MB's heat up like crazy on YT or just the older ones).
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Blame it on the C2H5OH

reply to Midak

reply to Thinkdiff
Ok, my brain is on slow today. I missed the diff betwene cd and c2d - and I should know better. Ok, so any suggestions on where I can get a decent used one or a refurb? She needs it for school but school is only research and writting papers. I just do not want to get another Dell and the one she has is fading fast, screen is shot, reformating did nothing for me speed wise. New one is just not in the budget right now.

My suggestion would be a black Core 2 Duo MacBook (non-pro) or a 15" MacBook Pro C2D. There's not a whole lot of benefit from the MBP in terms of specs for paper writing. If she needs more room than a 13" or 15" screen, get a cheap external monitor to supplement it. I find 2 smaller screens is a lot more useful than 1 large screen when doing research/writing - papers on one screen, Word on the other.

The portability factor of the MacBook (or even 15" MBP) over the 17" MBP makes it much more enjoyable to use. The 17" laptops are beasts.

eBay or Craigslist would probably be your only option for a circa-2006/7 laptop at this point. I don't think there are any refurbs left to go around.

While you'll spend a little more for the C2D versions, you'll get support through Lion and hopefully into 10.8 as well.
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University of Southern California - Fight On!

reply to Midak
For me, personally....i don't buy _anything_ used.

Save your money.
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I work hard. I play hard. I stay hard.

How is it saving his money if he's having to pay more for performance he doesn't need?
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Blame it on the C2H5OH

reply to Midak
I use an MBP Core Duo in my daily work and while it does everything I need it to do — and I work it pretty hard — there are drawbacks, mainly the inability to go beyond 2GB of RAM. The one you are looking at comes with just 1 GB RAM, so you'd be looking at needing an upgrade there right away to have anything beyond bare functionality.

Another issue is the hard drive which is smallish by today's standards. I'd like a bigger one in mine but replacement is a PITA from what I have read, especially compared with newer models.

Then there's no Lion (or iCloud or any of that stuff) for the old CD.

So it's not too old, but it's rapidly getting there. It's got to be what, five or six years old? If it has been in a box all these years, then fine, but if it has been in regular use it must surely show some signs of it. Wouldn't want to buy it sight unseen.

I don't know how you'd determine if it is stolen, but the fact that you'd wonder about that makes me think maybe you don't have full confidence in the seller.

reply to Midak
My kids are using my October 2006 purchased 15" MBP core2 duo (2.16 GHz), its been upgraded with a 120GB SSD and its like a new MBA but bigger/heavier and slightly faster CPU when transcoding videos. I had to replace the LCD after dropping it, but otherwise its still a workhorse for Word/PPT/YouTube/surfing and the kids boot to WinXP when dealing with a website required by Biology class (IE/ActiveX only content).

I'd rather have them on a 13" MBA because of weight and battery, but the MBP is still mechanically solid and plenty of life left.

reply to Cody

Can't install Lion on Core Duo.

Good point, Lion and 64 bit is leaving older CPU's in the dust just like System 7 did years ago..

reply to Midak
I did not know that about the core duo.. and lion almost like ppc over again but this time 64 bit world :P

all the current used models are too much for me now anyways.. maybe in like 2-3 years they should be a decent price.

reply to macsierra

said by macsierra:

said by Cody:

How is it saving his money if he's having to pay more for performance he doesn't need?

Go back 10 or 12 years, find a good old laptop from year 2000 or so. Go online with it, try a few games and tell us how the BIOS (open firmware) does.. Then get back to us here...

reply to Midak
Just a little update. Going with a Macbook Air now and getting her the 2TB Time Capsule (more for my iMac .) I was looking at macmall.com and the price is alsmost $200 less, even with the student discount on the Apple Store. Any reason not to go with Mac Mall?