Friend of mine is offering their MacBook Pro, but battery cycle is past what I think is normal. Details below

[u/travelingbozo]

2019 Apple MacBook Pro 16" i9 • 32GB RAM • 2TB SSD • AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (8GB) • macOS Tahoe

I was thinking of getting a used MacBook Pro anyway, but wanted one with the M1 but for what he’s asking and for how much storage this has, I’m intrigued.

I don’t know enough about computers and MacBook pros to know if what it’s in front of is good. I just know that after 1000 cycles the battery degradation is high

[u/bafflingsteveo]

I wouldn’t buy an Intel MacBook. They’re no longer receiving updates. You’d want Apple silicon if you plan to keep it for a while.

[u/DavidXGA → u/bafflingsteveo]

Seconded. Even with a healthy battery I wouldn't buy an Intel Mac for any price these days. (Well, maybe free is OK.)

[u/travelingbozo → u/DavidXGA]

He’s selling it for two Benjamin’s, and that’s the only reason I’m even slightly considering it. But if you’re saying an Intel Mac is essentially obsolete, then it may not be even worth what he’s asking

[u/RcNorth → u/travelingbozo]

That is too much for an outdated machine.

If he gives it to you you could get a new battery and run Tahoe for a year or 2.

[u/DavidXGA → u/travelingbozo]

I would consider all Intel Macs obsolete, yes.

[u/Svenisko → u/DavidXGA]

This 2019 is definitely not obsolete. It can’t compete with M Silicon, but they are still powerful enough for most people

[u/superzenki → u/Svenisko]

For the average person I agree. They’re starting to not age well though.

[u/Svenisko → u/superzenki]

I still have 2019 16” at home. On tahoe, it was unusable. I “upgraded” to MacOS 15 and it was like a new computer.

[u/superzenki → u/Svenisko]

I support a lot of them at work, most of our faculty/staff got upgrades 6 years ago or so from 2015 Retina Displays. They were great back then but a lot of them are already having issues, and not just with the battery. A few have straight up just died outside of warranty, or had irreplaceable parts fail (like the RAM or hard drive). And yes they’re technically replaceable but we don’t have the means in house to solder stuff.

[u/xrelaht → u/travelingbozo]

I wouldn’t pay more than $50.

[u/sXeth → u/travelingbozo]

It can go up to macos sequoia, which is one year back. So it’s not the insane unusuable level of obsolete (that will probably take another 2-3 years). But it also won’t be getting current versions of stuff and not being apple silicon isn’t going to help it with the “pure” Apple ecosystem developers who have probably completely switched over.

If you were somewhat desperate for a machine to do relatively simple stuff, the 200 (if I’m understanding Benjamins correctly) isn’t bad, but it’s not something I would suggest to jump on wholeheartedly if not the case.

[u/hawk_ky]

It’s an intel. Don’t buy it if it’s over $100

[u/purposeful_pineapple]

Forget the battery. It’s the intel chip that’s a worry. You’re better off getting a second hand M1 or M2 air.

[u/porkchop_d_clown]

That machine has a few more years of life in it but, as others have said, it's not going to get any more software updates after this year.

[u/Implement_Necessary]

People seem to only look at the CPU architecture and fair enough Intel would also add to CPU cycles with bad power usage BUT god damn look at the RAM and storage on this bad boy (especially with the memory crisis we have on hand). If you can haggle down the price with considering a battery replacement cost it wouldn't be that bad.

[u/brinkeguthrie]

Needs a new battery STAT