2017 Refurbished MBP or New 2018 MBP

[Macdaddi69]

Hello everyone!

I decided to stick to 13'' MacBook lineup but now I face another challenge...
I have an option to either buy 2017 refurbished maxed out MacBook Pro or 2018 almost maxed out MacBook Pro.

What should I get?
(maxed out) Refurbished 2017 13'' MacBook Pro 3.5 GHz i7 Turbo Boost up to 4.0 GHz 16GB 1TB SSD ($2550)
(maxed out besides ssd) 13'' 2018 MacBook Pro 2.7GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz 16GB 1TB SSD ($3100)

I have few questions:
1. Is there a big difference between 2017 and 2018 MacBook that is really worth that $
2. is buying refurbished products from apple safe?

I am going to college and I need new laptop that will be FUTURE PROOF. I would rather spend a lot of $$$ once every 8 years than upgrading every 2 years.

Thanks!

 

[Schranke]

1. Is there a big difference between 2017 and 2018 MacBook that is really worth that $

Depends on what you use your MBP for. If you uses programs which scales well with cores and is able to utilise the extra cores, the 2018 might be worth it.

2. is buying refurbished products from apple safe?

Yes it is, the machine is looked through to ensure no mistakes and you have the same warranty and can buy applecare

Both machines should be good for college, what will you be studying?

 

[Macdaddi69]

Depends on what you use your MBP for. If you uses programs which scales well with cores and is able to utilise the extra cores, the 2018 might be worth it.

Yes it is, the machine is looked through to ensure no mistakes and you have the same warranty and can buy applecare

Both machines should be good for college, what will you be studying?

I'm gonna be studying business or psychology. Haven't fully decided yet. I just want to have a lot of storage on my laptop so I don't have to using any external hard drives and I want to be able to open a lot of tabs/applications at the same time such as safari, PowerPoint , Word , etc. I am not planning to do any video editing or Photoshoping. But , I really want to get high specs laptop , so I know for a fact it will last me for a long time. I see a lot of people online get crazy about new 2018 MacBook pros and their processors and I'm wondering if it's really worth for me to get it or just save 500$ and get 2017 refurbished model?
Thanks

 

[Schranke]

I want to be able to open a lot of tabs/applications at the same time such as safari, PowerPoint , Word , etc. I am not planning to do any video editing or Photoshoping.

Then the maxed out 2017 will do well, safari uses RAM and is not CPU heavy (expect for a few sites maybe), word and power point pose no problems, so you should be able to use a 2017 for many years with that usage.

I see a lot of people online get crazy about new 2018 MacBook pros and their processors and I'm wondering if it's really worth for me to get it or just save 500$ and get 2017 refurbished model?

Many who go crazy are people who utilise the CPU for rendering and coding and other heavy task, here the 2 extra cores make a great difference in a 13" machine.

Doing a master in Business myself I have seen a lot of people using a 12" macbook and being ok with that, it is not optimal as they are often bought with 8GB RAM, but it can be done by downscaling the amount of tabs and applications open at the same time.
So a 2017 13" will be a great machine for the usage you describe.

One advice I will give you, if you get a lot of powerpoints in class, export them into PDF and have for quicklooks as they are way faster to open and does not use as much battery as opening them in powerpoint would

 

[The Mercurian]

If you go down the psychology route, you will end up doing some statistics. How far into that you go, determines how powerful a computer you would need. For my 2c, get the 2018, it has far better CPU, and will hold its value longer if you plan to sell in a few years. The 2016/2017 have a bad reputation for their keyboards. Of course, it remains to be seen what the 2018 keyboard is like in terms of reliability.

 

[GuruZac]

I’m in my last year of undergrad and hope to matriculate into medical school in 2020. My wife has now taken over my 13” late 2013 MBP. I was considering the base non touch bar refurbished 13” MBP for $1099. I will not be doing intensive tasks with the computer. I figured it is a good compliment to my 10.5” iPad Pro, and as tempting as the 2018s are, I just can not justify $700 more for the $1799 13” MBP.