Used MacBook Pro

Used MacBook Pro – Second Hand MacBook Pro Guide

For a long time the MacBook Pro was the reserve of high-end buyers with big budgets. It dwarfed its little 13-inch MacBook brother, coming in a 15-inch form factor as standard. Recently Apple added a beast of a 17-inch flagship model to the range. The MacBook Pro has always benefited from an all aluminium body long before Apple re-branded the higher end 13-inch MacBooks and bringing them into the Pro range with unibody construction.

There are therefore 2 types of used MacBook Pro’s to consider. The original ‘discrete’ case which carried over the old PowerBook G4 from 2006 or the new unibody MacBook Pro.

The great news is all of the MacBook Pro range uses Intel processors. The original release used an Intel Core Duo. This is what’s known as a ‘Dual Core’ processor – simply imagine 2 processors stuck together and you’re basically there – meaning that applications can utilise both cores at once. (If you were to buy one new you would get Intel’s latest quad Core i5 or Core i7 chips). This is a great processor that has enough ‘umph’ for encoding your MP4’s in iTunes without destroying your battery life. (Our experience here at UsedMac is that Apple’s laptops generally give better battery performance than their PC equivalents).

If you want to work with video on the move then you absolutely want the higher end MacBook Pro in your life for one reason alone: it has proper Firewire 800, meaning Digital Video transfers wont take a whole lifetime.

So which used MacBook Pro should you consider? It’s our view that the main reason to go for a Pro over a normal MacBook is a greater screen size and more grunt for Graphics work. If you want a 15-inch Apple laptop it has to be a Pro. Go for the post 2007 revised model as this got a Backlit Keyboard and better onboard graphics.

Since then in 2008 the Pro gained the current thinner Unibody aluminium case with a high gloss screen. Controversially the battery is no longer removable, with Apple opting to fill the case more efficiently with battery cells in order to claim a five hour battery life. The larger 17 inch model claims 10 hours. Most recently Apple have added it’s Thunderbolt port to the latest Pro’s. This is a next generation connection for high performance connections and cinema displays.

What are the downsides? Well as it’s Apple you may find that HDD and RAM sizes seem a bit paltry compared to their PC equivalents. Luckily though it’s very easy to upgrade yourself and most importantly cheap with low 2.5” laptop hard drive prices from online stores such as ebuyer.com or cheap RAM from Crucial.com

Used Mac’s best buy: Post 2007 Macbook Pro 15" with Backlit Keyboard and Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT onboard graphics. As always pick one with as much RAM and HDD as you can afford.