forum thread Posted by Dr.Wajahat • Last Tuesday
May 27, 2025 5:02 AM
Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
forum thread Posted by Dr.Wajahat • Last Tuesday
May 27, 2025 5:02 AM
Apple MacBook (Refurb): 16", M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, & More $856.99
$857
$1,600
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I mean an M1 REFURB for this price?? I get it's a pro but come on man. The normal m4 will smoke this thing.
I'd call them a "spit shine" refurbishment. Sometimes you'll get more spit than shine.
I've had refurbs of Amazon Echos and Amazon Kindle -- so-called "first party" refurbs. Where I bought 2x DOA Echos (out of 3x) and 2x Kindles with less than 30 minutes of battery life. I told them to keep the Kindles, didn't even bother with a replacement.
Now, that third Echo? No problems whatsoever. Same with the 2x Echo replacements. So it's really hit or miss. But for a ~$1000 (or more) device that's inherently complicated with multiple failure points, one that's getting on 4+ years old.... I'd be incredibly suspect if I'd get a good one. And the power supply you get might not be an original....it probably will be a counterfeit. Amazon just isn't a company you can trust.
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M4 Air (base cpu) is faster single core, about equal multi-core, and weaker in the GPU. It's also passively cooled, so it will get heat-soaked REALLY fast (especially when it comes to multi-core and GPU workloads). So for short duration single core workloads, it's fairly faster. But...you won't be able to perceive that difference under normal use conditions (simply put, you can only open an application or load a webpage so fast before its "fast enough/instant").
The M1 Pro has far better speakers + microphone + screen. Like -significantly- better. And being actively cooled with a fan, it can maintain workloads for far longer than the M4 Air.
Now if you use headphones and have it docked with an external display, that's a moot point. Likewise if you don't plan on using the machine for heavy workloads, you'd probably be better suited with a minty fresh brand new M4 Air.
And that's not to say anything bad about the M4 Air. It has an excellent screen + keyboard + trackpad + stellar performance at a sub-$1k price point. It's an amazing value and one of the best ultrabooks you can get. You'd have to spend considerably more for the closest competitor from Dell or Lenovo. For "most people", the M4 Air could be more machine they might ever need.
But "smoke this thing"...nah, not as simple as that.
I really thought I could get good value on a used m2 or m3 mb pro but I have been extremely underwhelmed at the options and prices I have seen.
No joke, on a business level, back in 2015, we prohibited general use machines having anything less than 32gb. Even then, 16gb wasn't really enough when looking forward to anticipated future use.
And you have Apple Apologists screaming "8gb is enough!"....until the new base is 16gb, then they're all "So courageous! 16gb is such a wise decision! Look at all the activities we can do!" Yeah, whodathunk?
All snark aside, I wouldn't personally recommend a machine that's intended for future use (3-5 year lifespan) unless it had 32gb/1tb in 2025. And that puts the M4 Air in the $1800-2000 range, depending on the screen size. Not such a great deal when 16" M1 Max/Pro refurbs can be found on ebay with 64gb/1-2tb for $1500 or less.
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RAM because you're ALWAYS going to need more RAM. And newest version so that you get AppleCare and the longest amount of updates possible. I'd expect in a few years, the M1 series will stop being "supported", which in itself isn't a death sentence...but within a few years of that, you'll start having incompatibilities from not installing the newest version of software. Unless you get a fire sale price on an older model (which this sale isn't), newer is sometimes better.
Screen size -- unless you're traveling or working on tiny desks, I'd go with as large of a screen as you can get. So in your case, I'd look at the 15" M4 Air w/ 32gb of ram. And no less than a 512gb ssd. With video work, I'd easily up that to a 1tb drive.