Kinda crazy how cheap Intel Macs are becoming, but are they cheap enough to justify buying one over Apple Silicon? What do you think?

Some neighbors threw out their "broken" Mac Mini from 2011. I took it home to tinker with it. And it booted right up. It is fully featured with i5, 16 gigs of RAM, SSD and HDD. Rather impressive for a free Mac.

"Looks like Intel happened" is the BEST quote I've heard in the past 6 months.

I understand the effect. Especially if you lived through the PPC to Intel transition, you know that Apple has no problem with quickly forgetting about the old. The performance doesn’t even have to be all that bad, but when software support is pulled, quality of life with these machines goes down significantly.

I was very close to selling my 16" MBP. Then I changed my mind. It does what I need it do, and I don't want to get caught up in the "get the latest hardware" hype.

Can't wait how the price of the 2020/2021 27" Intel iMacs or even Mac Pros are going to be when the Apple Silicon Versions are out for a while!

I recently watched some of your older content, it's amazing how much you have improved and how much better your videos look now compared to 2 years or so ago. Keep up the good work!

I was waiting for this kind of video from you. I also noticed the decrease of prices for all intel macs on ebay. Looked through that after a couple of days after the presentation and now it is what it is.

As a developer I know there are still some specific workloads which run either much slower or not al all on Apple silicon. Docker comes to mind as an example. For those cases an intel mac with good specs is still a must have. Seeing these prices so low really is good news for anyone still needing an intel and looking for an upgrade. Great video!

Amen. We rarely hear “just because a new product came out, doesn’t mean the old one is suddenly not good any more”. But you also support those words by your actions. 👍👍

There are always use cases for Intel MACs. Running x86 Windows for Virtualization, Bootcamp, mission critical apps that hasn't been ported to ARM, etc ... If the price is right, it makes perfect sense. Intel Mac still has it's uses in the years to come.

Luke, in one of your upcoming videos on the 14 inch model, please address palm comfort. I had a 13 inch 2013 Macbook Pro for years and gave it up because the sharp edge below the trackpad always dug into my palms or wrists and made the unit uncomfortable. Is the new model more rounded? Is the deck longer so that this is no longer an issue? I don't live where I can go check one out.

Love all the content lately. So happy the tech drought of 2021 is finally over! My question is do you think a similar thing is likely to happen with intel the Mac mini if Apple comes out with a beefed up M1Pro/Max Mac mini?

Thanks Luke, been waiting for this video to come out and already wondering if you have updated your thoughts as of today in terms of the secondary market. As someone who never buys new and is on a budget this is really helpful info.

Great video mate. Really interesting

The 16" is a good machine. Really. Doesn't become worthless because Apple Silicon is so darned good. Glad to hear you say this.

ebay filtering advice is the best advice for someone looking there for a deal on a used macbook. Thanks!

very glad i basically swapped my 2019 16" for a M1 Air as soon as i could last November. I even ended up with $1000 AUD in the pocket. You could see straight away it was the right move, even the M1 benchmarks were about on par for half the price.

Preordered my first Mac! 14” MacBook Pro, 10 core CPU, 16 core GPU, and 1TB of storage-aka the second configuration option for the 14”. Super excited to finally get into the Mac ecosystem with one of the most powerful machines they made!

Those are my favorite Luke's videos

This is really good Luke! Having the intel macs to at more achievable price a mere mortal can get. A worker or a student that wants to get a mac in general.

I bought 13” 2016 MBPr on 2017 when 2017 MBP was released at few hundred dollars off ( I DIY upgraded from 128gb to 1Tb). It is still working perfectly fine for me and serves what I need. Many of us want to get the latest device which makes us vulnerable.

Watching this in a Mid 2014 fully spec 15" macbook pro working flawlessly

The battery life of the Apple Silicon MBP 16” sounds great! I am keeping the Intel 16” as it still a very good machine for my work.

Thank you this was the video I’ve been wanting to hear about that I pinged u on Twitter. I guess I can finally upgrade my 10 year old MacBook Pro after I save up a bit more next year for a 2020 Intel MacBook Pro!

not here in India though… the fully speced M1 Max costs almost like a brand new mid size sedan

Essentially what to take away from this video: M1 kills resell value for all intel macs

I was so happy to see that there were i9 MacBook Pro 16s on eBay with great condition for under $1400.

I could see this as a big win for small businesses that use macs. I mean all of my work is done on a MBP 15 from 2016 and it still works just as it did when I got it (after free battery and keyboard replacement) I could definitely see people picking up a 2019 16 inch and being able to use it for a while. Could also just get mac mini's or airs, they are great machines for cheap prices considering the cost of everything else.

Luke please tell me what is your view on the new MacBook pro i9. Is it worth investing on it ?

These kind of videos I love course I mean I love all your videos anyway but these are the kind of videos that made me subscribe to your channel. Made a passion for learning the insides of my computer and realizing that at the time I couldn’t afford a brand new Mac but how you could make a older model feel new again. Not everyone can afford a brand new M1 or Max computer right now. But in time you could get the next best thing and buy That it still has a lot of value and after all it’s a Mac. Thank you for the informative and insightful data. I have a 2017 iMac and I’m in love with it I bought it for $340 and all the bells and whistle‘s already put in it a 1 TB SSD and it has Big Sur On it with 16 GB of RAM it’s perfect for me. I can do my game development search the web download the apps I love and be up-to-date. There is nothing to be ashamed about having an older Mac

I told my 2018 13" MBP last month in preparation of a price drop after new model announcements.

Is it better to keep using your Intel MacBooks? Mines late 2018, MacBook Pro 15 inch, 32 GB ram, 1 TB SSD with Radeon Pro Vega 20 4 GB. How long will intel Macs be supported with updates and how long would applications get updated?

Do you have 15' mac to compare it with 14' and 16' size wise? I have an old 15' MBP and not sure on which size to get, 16' looks bulky to me from the videos! Great content, keep it up.

I’m looking at apple refurbished store and a 2020 13” MacBook Pro intel I-core 5 with 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD cost $1699 whereas M1 with 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD cost $1609. I picked the M1 due to being faster, cheaper, able to run iOS apps, and doesn’t have loud fan noise when the cpu is running maximum speed. It is a no brainer.

It's def an exciting time for Mac buying! I've got my eye on a new MacBook just not sure which yet. I can't use a 13" so the air and M1 pro were not for me. 16 would be amazing. I'll wait for reviews of the actual thing from you and others before making my decision! Even the lowest spec'd of the new Macbooks will be more powerful than any laptop I've ever had.

I ordered a base model 14" to replace my maxed out 2014 15" and I can't wait to try the Apple Silicon experience! I know I don't need that much performance, but I do need MagSafe and HDMI, soooo... Plus, 14" has to be the perfect display size for me! I find my 15" to be a bit to big to carry around and 13" is just a bit too small for me!

I rolled back from a base M1 Mac mini to a 2020 Intel i5/16GB/512GB (open box model on eBay). I got better specs at a much lower price and I can run Boot Camp, a necessity currently. Eventually I'll go back to Apple silicon but at the moment, as good as it is, the M1 just didn't meet all of my needs.

Thanks to you I just find my new favorite MacBook Pro thank you for the video

I still love my MBP 16 i9 from 2020. It has a black spot on previous display and the replacement screen is also has some minor uneven color spots. I use it primarily for my 4k video editing for my small KZfaq channel. It's still working great. May be after M3Max or whatever they name it come out then I will buy the new or used M1Max MBP. ^_^

Dude tell me about it, I was able to sell my 16 for 2.3! paid my whole 14in' with some to spare! Really happy to have gotten lucky to sell before the STEEP price drop

I'm a pro music composer and waited for the new mac PRO (tower) to come out before getting the old trash can cylinder!! Bought two 1Tb d500 128GB 12 core cylinders for $1300 each! Like you say regarding laptops, the power of them doesn't change just because a more powerful machine just came out.

I just had a look at the Australian eBay entries in a similar way you did. There's a lot of dreaming going on there. I got a 15" 2019 base model for AUD2700 six months after they discontinued from a Deals site new in box, they retailed AUD3499. People think they can get AUD2300+ for 1-2yo ones! I've had a keyboard replacement in 12 months so got a new battery and essentially new lower case. I suppose my only hope is a keyboard failure in the last year of the replacement program and they say "Look we can't find any replacement cases for a 15" 2019 here's a 14" 2023 M2 Pro base model".

Guh I hate that OS 2021 crap on Ebay! I wish that was prohibited, sellers can make it deliberately tricky to find out the year. That's why i do prefer searching model numbers.

That's funny. That listing with the screen issue on that 2015 for 300.00 is still on ebay 8 months later

I have a 2020 fully loaded iMac which was bought late last year. It is used exclusively for music production and it was bought as a stop gap. There is a case for Intel in the music community still. Rosetta goes a long way but not far enough. And there are vendors who just don't officially support the Rosetta solution for their products. Things move rather quickly in our world. Even the largest vendors (here's looking at you Native Instruments) haven't made much progress towards native Apple Silicon support. I also have a M1 Mini and I have to say this kind of embarrasses the 2020 Intel iMac a bit (especially when you consider the respective price points) in terms of performance for my use case. Selling the iMac was always the plan but I have money to throw around so I kind of don't care what I get for it in the end (And it's intended purpose will have been served and the cost of that was/is understood). One thing that would be nice though, and I would rather this, is for Apple to re-enable target display mode so I can use this thing as a display. I think the best thing about the 2020 iMac is the screen (mine has nano textured glass which is I must I think).

New subscriber great content bro

Luke are u gonna do an unboxing livestream to open your new 5 MacBook pros?

This is exactly the video I came to see. I’m about to get a 2019 16” i9 because as much as I want the new ones, they’re just not ready for prime time in my line of work and I’d rather get something that I can use now and then resell when the new ones are compatible.

True. I got 2020 Macbook pro 13' 16RAM, 516GM for $1,111 on ebay back in April. Computer engineering students need x86-64 based CPU for their studies.

I was recently shopping for a used M1. Seems the hype for the (then) rumoured Pro models caused the used prices of the 13" to drop to just a little more than a similarly specced Air. I eventually bought a NEW 13" M1 Pro for £500 off, just a few hundred more than a used Air!

I’ve never had a MacBook before, will be buying next year, and now I’m confused as to which one I should go for. The only preference I have is that I like the 16” model better. Any helpful tips for a newbie?

Hi Luke, I love this video. This is the first time I felt I can justify swapping from PC to Mac. The moment they announced the very first M1 I thought Intel and AMD would have to play catch up. If I could give you a little bit of feedback, for people like me who don't know every single model name, it would be great to highlight the Mac you are reviewing in your charts. I'd change the colour of the bar and try to keep it in the same place, unless you order them by performance. It would make it much easier to grasp the chart. Thanks!

I always keep an eye on what should I get if my MacBook Adorable kicks the bucket, and right now, my best option would be to just get another one. I would be tempted to splurge on M1 iMac or M2 MacBook though…

I had a quick look and whilst the UK isn’t as large a market as the US there were loads of i9 32GB 2TB 8GB GPU 16 inchers for £2000 - £2500 in good condition because in 2019 no one knew Apple would make there own silicon based shiny things. PS love the ending music, super chill.

My concerns with an intel Mac and I owned two … is will they run Windows 11 ? I have a 2018 Mac mini with a 6 core i7 and I wonder which OS will abandon me first ? When will apple stop providing OS updates for me ? What about Windows 11 ? Can the t2 chip be use for theTPM 2.0 specification ? Will Apple update boot camp with Mac OS Monterey ?

I am kind of in this situation right now. Typing this on my 16GB M1 MacBook Air that I absolutely love. I have a 2019 15" MBP with an i9/16gb/512gb SSD and I'm trying to decide if I should sell or trade it before the value drops drastically. I know it's a powerful laptop but there are other things I am interested in now that I have the M1 Air. I still have my upgraded late 2012 MBP 13" too. I bought the 15" MBP at at a great price so I'm not losing too much if I get rid of it now. Is it worth it though? I don't want to shell out too much cash for another machine but the options are very tempting. New 14" M1 Pro? Refurbed 27" 5K iMac from Apple (always wanted one of these)? Trade it and wait for the upgraded Mac mini to come out? Not sure. I am currently using my M1 Air as a daily driver even though I know that it's capable of so much more. I am a musician that will be using Studio One 5 and possibly Pro Tools on these machines as well as photo and some light video editing. I am also coming from the BYOPC camp and last night I watched Luke's video where he gutted the old 27" iMac and put an M1 mini inside of it. My mind is now blown as I never though you could even work on these newer iMac machines. I am really digging this channel and all of the new and old content.

Yep, that's my daily driver MacBook and I'm typing on it right now. 16" 2019 a2141 i9 with 32GB and 1TB. The price drop really hurts to see.

finally, i can afford a 15" touchbar macbook pro, 5 years after i wanted one

These videos are very informative. I do video editing on Final Cut Pro. I am trying to decide if I should trade in my 2019 16' Mac Book Pro for the new MacBook Pro, or wait for the updated Mac mini? Will I see a huge performance difference when editing in Final Cut? I paid 3,400 for Intel Mac in May of 2020 ouch!! Apple is only offering 1,400 for trade in

Almost bought intel mbp 16 last year. I’m glad I waited…

Will the price of M1 MacBooks go down after the launch of new ones coz I am looking forward to buy 2020 macbook

I recently bought a 2019 MacBook Pro 13” (a2159) off eBay with the i5 (1.4ghz), 500gb ssd, 16gb ram for $450 after tax.. 💻

All of these systems can be used with Ubuntu/Linux in the future instead of MacOS so amazingly well. They have better battery life than many windows laptop too

Just 3 weeks ago I managed to sell off my 2020 Macbook Pro 13 with the 10th gen Intel i5, 16GB, 512MB SSD for slightly over $1000.... and based on what's happening now, I'm glad I did so even if it meant going for several weeks without a Pro Macbook. Just glad the replacement will be arriving in

I got a base-model 15" Macbook Pro (2015) last month for £302. It was missing a key, and had some cosmetic damage to the screen, and I later found out one of the speakers was blown out. But since my need for portability has diminished during lockdown, I bought it mostly just to use as a desktop, and it cost considerably less than an equivalently specced Mac Mini. And need I remind you, this is a machine that would have cost £1600 only six years ago! The storage spec is pretty bad, but the SD card slot allows you to add an entire terabyte. And since it is basically just a desktop, you can add more for even cheaper with a USB drive.

This is perfect I've been waiting for the price of the 16 inch MacBook Pro to go down. I want to get it for school, I'm already seeing some nice specs for just £1200

I would. The reason being is that I still use a 15" 2015 i7 2tb as my office computer. I am a CFO by day, and all I am really required to do is MS Office, and web apps to Accounting software. So, if I found a 16" i9 maxed out, I would consider it because it would not be a waste of technology. As I have mentioned on other posts, I will get a 16" maxed out M1 Max for my photography & video post-production needs.

I'm so conflicted but will probably stay with my 16" 5600M because I'm sure I'll need Windows for my studies in Software Engineering. It's also nice to have one machine that I can use for gaming as well (not all games are on Apple Silicon). It sucks seeing the resale value drop so much because it was an expensive machine, I just hope it doesn't drop too much or that it maybe increases or something due to the shortages.

running with a 27 iMac from 2014. I bought it new, it still does what I need it to do. I don't render video and if I did I would put the kettle on and make a tea. Photoshop and Lightroom run as smooth as ever. Be lucky stay safe.

You just gave me the idea Luke to look into this. I have a 2011 MacBook Pro and 2013 iMac both aging now. I want something new, but might need windows/intel for 3D printing I’ve been debating just trying a Mac mini but this… may well solve my problem. Edit: yeah these prices aren’t happening in Australia..

just upgraded mine mid 2010 on 16GB ram and 512GB SSD, quite good for a long time MacBook models.

Still happy with my MPB 15” 2018. Don’t need more power for my computer needs right now.

I’ll be honest. I just got a 2019 intel 16 in 1TB SSD, 8GB VRAM, and 16GB RAM. It literally got here the day before. Reason: for software development reasons, I need the intel chip, and will be getting an M1 in the next 1-2 years to start transitioning everything. Important side note: I didn’t purchase it, it was purchased using government funds. I started the process in February, and only just now got it. And I did everything in my power to try to get them to save money, but they ended up not listening. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you are going to get an intel Mac, either get it used, or have someone cut the check, cause yes, there were over priced.

An important video for PC users. I like this channel for doing PC videos too

16 inch 2019 MBP is an awesome and capable machine. If you can get it cheap - don't even hesitate (unless you have one of course)

This is not what I like to hear when I'm about to sell my 16" tonight 😆

I bought a 16” last year right before the new m1 macs 😑 Should I sell and get an m1 pro Mac, or keep using it as long as I can?

My buddy just picked up a 2015 13” Pro on FB Marketplace for $200, the only issue was the display delaminating. Apple is supposedly still doing free replacements for it, but even if they’re not it’s easy to just remove that layer so I’d say that was a solid deal!

I've been hunting around too and I haven't really seen them get enough cheaper that I wouldn't jump to M1 instead. Maybe it's because anything from the US tacks on an import fee in Canada and the local market isn't as large here. Unless you want to sell me one of yours if it's near mint lol

I will never buy an intel PC / Mac ever. My M1 has been life changing

Sold my 2019 15” MBP 8 core i9 to Mac of All Trades for $1400 two months ago to get ahead of the influx of used Intel Macs.

I'm actually looking for an intel MacBook so I can carry a full Mac OS and Windows computer in a single machine for the next few years.

Sry, but I respectfully *disagree.* Especially when it comes to eBay and _especially_ when it comes to Apple... there are too many people on this site who have no freakin' clue how much anything is actually still even worth. - I've seen it time and time again that stuff is sold (and bought) there for way too much money imo, sometimes even for more than the new item in a good deal would cost, because these people don't seem to check *ANYTHING* else for prices.

A week ago I bought a 2017 13" MacBook Pro Non-Touchbar model from a friend for $200 Canadian Dollars. I love it.

Resale value on apple silicon value will maintain until the planned obsolescence period looks to be due - if the laptops are designed to die in 60 months, then they'll drop in value after 48 months - just look at iPhone 7 and iPad Pro 1st gen. You can't give these things away because next year they will probably be paperweights.

Amazing content as always, Luke! I'd like to share my own story of selling my old gen MBP. I was able to sell my 2017 MBP Non-touchbar 256gb for $800 after claiming all the repairs and warranties from my local authorized apple dealer. They replaced everything from the screen all the way to the bottom case. Afaik, only the motherboard wasn't replaced. It was like brand new after all repairs but I really wanted to go M1, so I got myself a Mac Mini with the money I got :))

This video is the truth. I just bought a 2017 MacBook Pro 13” with 256gb non Touch Bar for $400 and it has a new top case done by apple it’s a shop in Chicago that sells them. I talked him down from $700 it has a new battery and all. Love the content bro

Luke, i'd like to see windows 11 installed on one of those 2019 MBP i9's. If it worked good it would make a great inexpensive windows dev and test machine and a decent gaming laptop. Thoughts?

I'm still using a 2015 retina macbook pro for most things and I still absolutely love it. Sorry I am not a rushy rushy speed demon when it comes to newest and greatest. But I do have a 2020 macbook pro with Touch Bar also, and TBH I prefer my 2015 Retina macbook to it for MOST things.

I remember a long time ago there was something that looked like a keyboard that connect to a TV, it functioned like a computer and it had a game on it with a guy swinging, model 300 or something. A Tandy.

A good topic would be is it still with buying a cheaper second hand intel MacBook 16 inch or are you wasting your money? I mean I saw a 2019 16 inch i9 32gb 2tb sell for 2500. Almost half the new price.

I remember how quickly my PowerBook became obsolete after the switch to intel. I wouldn’t touch any of these unless I was happy running windows. I’d be interested to know if/how the existing M1 prices have been affected though. Might be a good entry point for people.

I am excited! I just bought a 2011 MacBook Pro used. They are now cheaper to buy than PC with great specs.

Luke, I really appreciate your videos about perspective of various Apple products! Do you have any sort of thoughts about concept of next baseline model of Macbook Pro (low-tier model)? Thank you! P.S. My guess is: 1) no full redisign, but new pro keyboard; 2) m1 pro chip with low-tier specs (8 CPU, 12/14 GPU cores; 3) 8 gb RAM; 256 SSD at base 4) 1299 $ and I think this update may be in the same time than we see next generation of high-tier Pro models with new M2 chip, because otherwise it may cause a decline of high-tier sales.

Totally Right here, I got a 2018 Mac Mini with 512GB SSD and 32GB Ram with the 6 Core i5 for $500! Best price to drive three 1080p 144hz monitors with zero lag.

Used market hasn't got the idea where I live yet. Still seeing "2010 i5 13" models trying to be sold for $600-700. I'm staying on my 2016 13" until it dies, then I'm most likely moving away until a newer or similar one pops up cheap ish. Never seems to change though, people here just think it's worth $1000 because they paid $1200 5 years ago.

the 5600m was a beast, and if you mined with it, it was THE BEST mining GPU because of that HBM2e, it was basically a 5700XT with a lower power target, but MUCH faster RAM, this actually made it faster in quite a few use cases, unfortunately mining was one of those so it probably drives the prices way too high

Ok, I am actually waiting for some of the used M1 Macbook Airs and Pros at crazy low prices in our local market in Bangladesh.

The problem with the 16" 2019 Macbook Pro's could be the fan noise.