It checks today's price at every store, compares the alternatives and answers in about a minute.
The 2012 15-inch pre-Retina MacBook Pro is the last Apple laptop you can open up and upgrade yourself. It pairs a quad-core 2.3 GHz Core i7 with the NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M and a 15.4-inch 1440x900 matte-style LED display. The draw is the chassis: two RAM slots, a standard 2.5-inch drive bay, a built-in SuperDrive, FireWire 800, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, SDXC and Ethernet. It suits tinkerers, retro Mac fans and anyone who needs an optical drive and wired ports. Against later Retina models it is thicker, heavier and far lower resolution, and it runs older macOS only, so treat it as a capable classic rather than a modern workhorse.
In stock
Availability unknown
Lowest price we've seen: $499.00 on Nov 5 at Wellbots; highest $549.00 on Nov 7. Tracked across 1 store since Nov 5.
Owners of this generation consistently praise its repairability and port selection, and many keep them running years past their prime. The common complaints are the dated display, weight and the fact that newer macOS releases no longer support it.
This is a renewed 2012 MacBook Pro 15" (pre-Retina) with a 2.3 GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor that turbos up to 3.3 GHz. It has NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M graphics alongside Intel HD Graphics 4000. It is the last 15-inch MacBook Pro with fully upgradeable parts.
The RAM and SSD are user-replaceable. A built-in SuperDrive reads CDs and DVDs. The 15.4-inch LED-backlit display has a 1440x900 resolution.
Each unit is tested, fully functional and professionally renewed. It goes through a 34-point hardware inspection covering the CPU and GPU, logic board, RAM, SSD, display, keyboard, speakers, ports, and battery health and cycle count. The data is securely wiped and macOS is freshly installed. Units are graded Good, Great or Excellent for cosmetic condition, and cosmetic signs vary by grade.
