I’m using a base 2017 MacBook Pro and don’t plan on changing it anytime soon, although I’ll admit I’ve been thinking about switching to a MacBook from an M1 or M2.
The fact is that the five-year-old MacBook Pro is assigned to almost everyone. Every day I usually use it for work, communication and entertainment.
I bought my MacBook Pro in 2018 without waiting for the updated MacBook Air. I needed an inexpensive and compact Mac, because my dawn MacBook Pro broke completely (the graphics card burned out).
At that time, among Apple laptops, I considered three models: a modern and powerful MacBook Pro, an old MacBook Air without a Retina screen, and a 12-inch MacBook – very beautiful, but useless to me.
From Air and regular MacBook will disappear immediately. In the first case, the population did not have a screen due to a decrease in resolution, and in the second, they also did not like the appearance, but because of the small diagonal. In addition, there were many questions about the performance of the latter.
As a result, I chose the base 13-inch MacBook Pro, which at that time I considered no longer as a Pro, but as an Air. It had everything I needed: a good screen, compact body, normal performance and modern design.
I’ll tell you about these pros and cons, I’ve encountered this all the time I’ve owned a laptop, and I’ll also answer the question of whether it’s worth buying an old Mac today.
The screenshot is still pleasing
MacBook displays change very infrequently. Over the past 10 years, I can only highlight two major applications: the arrival of Retina in 2012 and support for ProMotion and micro-LED in 2021. This is due to the fact that MacBook screens have always been considered and considered to be the reference. Want to get the best screen in your laptop? Buy a Macbook.
This is especially beginning to be understood when some other monitor or laptop on Windows is nearby. The difference is immediately evident, and in terms of quality, the MacBook always wins by a wide margin.
For four years of use, there have never been complaints about the screen. The image is clear, the picture is rich, saturated.
In fact, there is nothing special about the appearance, because it does not bring any problems at all. Still, despite the fact that this is a basic MacBook Pro, it is still a Pro, so the screen is excellent.
Housing almost like new
Apple has created a very durable case that is also tactilely pleasing.
For four years, the laptop has a couple of scratches on the back cover. But they were extremely inconspicuous, that I saw them only now, when examining the lid.
There are two small schools on the building. One is to the left of the trackpad. It appeared as a result of an accidental drop of an iPhone on a laptop. The second is on the outer edge, I don’t remember where it came from.
It must be understood that the laptop was used every day. On weekdays it is at least 10 hours. There are no scratches on the case. This is also the merit of the silver color, which is not only visually better than Space Grey, but also more practical.
Keyboard changed once.
My MacBook Pro has a second generation Butterfly mechanism keyboard. it very unreliable but the coolest keyboard everwhich I have ever used.
I do a lot, then the screen for the keyboard is a very important detail. Before buying a MacBook Pro, I heard about problems with the Butterfly, but naively believed that the complaints were exaggerated and everything would be fine with me. How wrong I was.
Keyboard issues first appeared in 2020. The left Command was not always pressed the first time, Escape, Backspace and the spacebar were pressed with great effort. After the repair to the service center, they dismantled and cleaned the keyboard for me under warranty for free.
This took about a year or so. Then problems with countless keys appeared again. This time the cleaning was useless because the mechanism broke.
Therefore, I had the entire top key replaced, this is the keyboard, trackpad, battery and the entire lower case, with the exception of the back cover. The timing for the repair was opportune, because the battery at that time had over 1000 recharge cycles and was long overdue for replacement.
A year and a half has passed since this repair and the keyboard still works perfectly. I really like the sounds of the navigation keys. It took just a few days to get used to, but now all the other screens look uncomfortable.
Battery life is still normal
As I said, in the middle of 2021, my lips were changed. Before this work, a maximum of 2.5 hours with my usual mode: Pixelmator Pro, iA Writer, 10-30 tabs in Safari and Chrome, Telegram, Spotify or Apple Music, Mail, Notes and all this at dawn.
After replacing the battery, autonomy doubled, but now it has decreased. The battery is in good condition, but in a year and a half the number of recharge cycles reached 597. the laptop can work for a maximum of 3.5-4 hours.
I think this is a normal result, because the not the most energy efficient 7th generation Intel Core i5 processor with a 14 nm process technology is installed inside. In addition, the MacBook Pro has never had high autonomy. Air has always been famous for this.
Performance is often lacking
Briefly about the characteristics of my MacBook Pro:
▪️ 2.3GHz Dual Core Intel Core i5 Processor
▪️ Intel Iris Plus 640 integrated graphics
▪️ 8GB LPDDR3 RAM
▪️ 128 GB Solid State Drive
Separately, I note that the write speed of the 128 GB SSD in this generation of MacBook Pro is lower than in models with a larger SSD. Common situation? Hey Macbook Air M2.
The average read speed is 2.3 Gb / s, and the write speed is 795 Mb / s. Models with 256 GB SSD and write speeds above 2 Gbps.
The 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pros without Touch Bar have a removable SSD, so you can increase its capacity and speed when it arrives. For a long time there have been SSDs that bypass all system restrictions, but I don’t want to do this at all.
For the most part, the performance of the base MacBook Pro took me. In normal use, it rarely slows down, even on macOS Ventura. It works great with my applications. Of course, machine learning in Pixelmator Pro works with a lot of delay, but you get used to it.
I even edited Full HD in Final Cut Pro X. It was a small project in 5 minutes with color correction, cuts and free inserts. It was hard, but the laptop pulled out.
The lack of performance is felt when more than 30-40 tabs are opened in Safari or Chrome. Laptop notices slowing downif both work at the same time, then the fans hum as if they are being realized for a flight to Mars.
128 GB SSD is enough for me. Right now I have 46 GB free. An external SSD is connected only when you have to download a very large movie (70-80 GB) or a season of some high-quality episode. But this happens very rarely.
I will continue to use the basic MacBook Pro
As I said, I completely occupied my MacBook Pro. It has a good screen and keyboard, but autonomy and performance are not impressive for a long time, but they are not annoying either. The critical mark has not yet been passed.
A year and a half ago, I was visited by the thought of buying a MacBook Air on the M1. It is better than my MacBook Pro in almost every way. But it looks almost exactly the same, but I want something new.
I was waiting for the MacBook Air on the M2, which is already different in appearance, and even takes it in terms of characteristics. At the moment, this is the only Mac that I have chosen to buy, but I’m not sure yet that I want to take it. It should be especially noted that in recent years, the iPad Pro has become more suspicious, and iPadOS is already much less so.
I almost forgot. The first article was unexpected should i buy an old macbook pro today? The answer is yes. It’s not the most impressive device in terms of performance, but with basic applications, web surfing and office programs extended seamlessly. It has an excellent screen, a recognizable and non-irritating design, decent sound for a five-year-old laptop, and a high-quality case.
If you were looking for a relatively inexpensive and good laptop, you can take a closer look at the used MacBook Pro 2016-2017. On Avito, they cost like a new mid-range Windows laptop. But in all respects they will be better. In addition, it is not necessary to take into account macOS, after which you will not want to return to Windows.
Source: Iphones RU
