Buyer’s Guide
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Drop your Mac off in the evening and pick it up the following morning.
A simplified buyer’s guide
A1278 MacBook Pro 13” Mid 2012...................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1502 MacBook Pro 13” Retina Early 2015...............(Flash drive upgradable only)
A1466 MacBook Air 13” Early 2015................(Flash drive upgradable only)
A1466 MacBook Air 13” 2017................(Flash drive upgradable only)
A1534 MacBook Retina 12” Early 2016
A1534 MacBook Retina 12” 2017
A1398 MacBook Pro 15” Retina Mid 2015...................(Flash drive upgradable only)
A1418 iMac 21.5” Late 2012.......................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1418 iMac 21.5” Early 2013.....................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1418 iMac 21.5” Late 2013...........................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1418 iMac 21.5” 4K 2017...............................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1419 iMac 21.5” 5K 2019..................................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1419 iMac 27” 5K 2017..................................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1419 iMac 27” 5K 2019..................................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1347 Mac Mini Late 2012...............................(Upgradable to a Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1289 Mac Pro5,1 Mid 2010............................(Upgradable everything)
A1289 Mac Pro5,1 Mid 2012............................(Upgradable everything)
A1989 MacBook Pro 13” Retina 2019...................T2 Chip, Order with 16GB and at least a 512GB SSD
A1990 MacBook Pro 15” Retina 2019.................T2 Chip, Order with 32GB and at least a 512GB SSD
A1862 iMac Pro 27” 5K 2017........................... T2 Chip order with at least a 1TB SSD
A1993 Mac Mini Late 2018........................T2 Chip (Upgradable Memory up to 32GB) and at least a 512GB SSD
Mac Pro 2019.............................................T2 Chip (Upgradeable everything)
A2116 iMac 21.5” 4K 2019...............................(Upgradable Solid State Drive and more memory)
A2115 iMac 27” 5K 2019...............................(Upgradable Solid State Drive and more memory)
A1932 MacBook Air Retina 13” 2019................T2 Chip, 8GB or 16GB Order with at least 512GB storage
iPad Pro 9.7” 4K (64GB or higher)
iPad Pro 10.5” 4K (64GB or higher)
iPad Pro 11” 4K
iPad Pro 12.9” 2nd Gen 4K
iPhone X 4K (64GB or 256GB)
iPhone Xs 4K
iPhone Xs Max 4K
A1278 13” MacBook Pro
We stock all parts for the A1278, from 2008 to 2012.
A more detailed buyers guide
Recommended by us in Purple
We get asked this question so many times we thought it was about time we posted a rough guide to help you decide what model to go for.
If you have lots of money then it’s a no brainer, you are going to buy new.
If like most of us your on a limited budget then this guide will be of more use to you.
All brand new Mac’s are supplied with a minimal of 8GB of Ram now,
Something to remember when buying an older Mac.
Magic year for any Mac is 2012 onwards, Why?
If you want it to remain relevant for longer and keep up with the software you should not be looking at anything older than a 2012, plus most 2012’s come with a minimal of 1GB for the Graphics memory.
But again, it’s all down to your budget.
A good reliable MacBook Pro that is easy to fix and the parts are not too expensive, it also has an optical CD/DVD drive and most importantly it’s upgradable,
look no further than the
Buy the base model with 4GB of RAM and the slow 5400RPM Hard drive
Then we can upgrade you to an OWC 120GB, 240GB, 480GB, 960GB 6G SSD (3 Year warranty)
And max out the RAM to OWC 8GB or 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 (Life time warranty)
This will transform the machine into something more useful,
Replacement parts
New Glass $150 installed
New LCD $200 installed
New Keyboard $150 installed
New Battery $140 installed
Mid 2012, will support macOS Catalina 10.15.6
USB 3.0
1600MHz RAM that can be upgraded to 16GB
1.5GB Graphics Memory
6G
A1278 used prices vary depending on specification and condition, $400 to $800
(Most come with 4GB of ram and the original 5400rpm hard drive)
Mid 2009, intel core 2 duo, 1066MHz ram, Up to 8GB, will support up to 10.11.6
Mid 2010, intel core 2 duo, 1066MHz ram, Up to 8GB, will support macOS High Sierra 10.13
Early 2011, Intel Core i5, i7, 1333MHz ram, Up to 16GB, will support macOS High Sierra 10.13
Late 2011, Intel Core i5, i7, 1333MHz ram, Up to 16GB, will support macOS High Sierra 10.13
Mid 2012, Intel Core i5, i7, 1600MHz ram, Up to 16GB, will support macOS Catalina 10.15.6
A1286 15” MacBook Pro
Mid 2009, Intel Core 2 Duo, 1066MHz, Up to 8GB, Suffer with GPU kernel panics, We can repair the board for $200
Mid 2010, Intel Core i5, i7, 1066MHz, Up to 8GB, Suffer with GPU Kernel panics, We can repair the board for $200
Early 2011, Intel Core i7, 1333MHz, Up to 16GB, GPU issues, Solution We can repair the board for $250
Late 2011, Intel Core i7, 1333MHz, Up to 16GB, GPU issues, Solution We can repair the board for $250
Apple recall now expired https://www.apple.com/ca/support/macbookpro-videoissues
Mid 2012, Intel Core i7, 1600MHz, Up to 16GB, will support macOS High Sierra 10.13.6
A1297 17” MacBook Pro
Mid 2009, Intel Core 2 Duo, 1066MHz, Up to 8GB, Suffer with GPU kernel panics, We can repair the board for $200
Mid 2010, Intel Core i5, i7, 1066MHz, Up to 8GB, Suffer with GPU Kernel panics, We can repair the board for $200
Early 2011, Intel Core i7, 1333MHz, Up to 16GB, GPU issues, Solution We can repair the board for $250
Late 2011, Intel Core i7, 1333MHz, Up to 16GB, GPU issues, Solution We can repair the board for $250
Apple recall now expired https://www.apple.com/ca/support/macbookpro-videoissues
Avoid
MacBook Pro A1150, A1211, A1212, A1226, A1229, A1260, A1261
As they all suffer with GPU issues
White MacBook’s
A1181 Pre-unibody from 2006 to Late 2008 support up to 10.7.5, it’s not worth buying, as they are so old and slow.
A1181 Pre-unibody Early 2009 to Late 2009 will support up to 10.11.6
The one to buy
A1342 13” MacBook Uni-body
Depending on condition and spec,
most have 2GB of ram and the standard 5400rpm hard drive, $200 to $300
the grey rubber coated base could be very tatty and most have cracks in the body around the hinges.
Because of the age, the battery will need replacing and the mag-safe charger could be frayed.
Late 2009, Intel core 2 duo 2.26GHz, Up to 8GB, will support macOS High Sierra 10.13
Mid 2010, Intel core 2 duo 2.4GHz, Up to 16GB, Will support macOS High Sierra 10.13
OWC 120GB SSD can be installed for better performance
Replacement parts
A1342 Keyboard / Top case $350
A1342 Track pad $120
A1342 OEM Battery $140
A1181 Generic Battery $70
OEM Mag-safe charger $90
MacBook Pro Retina’s 2012 to 2015
Ram is soldered to the Logic Board, No upgrades,
If your just surfing the net and reading emails then 8GB should be sufficient.
Retina displays are very nice to look at but they have no glass and we have seen them with holes in the LCD with the backlight shining through plus the anti-reflective coating wears off (Apple recall) http://www.staingate.org on the earlier models
A1502 13” MacBook Pro
We see many retina’s with “Service battery” so check the battery when buying 2nd hand.
Batteries are also glued in, making them very difficult to remove.
Keyboards are now riveted in, but can be removed without replacing the whole top case.
Trackpads are difficult to replace on some models as the battery is glued over them.
Replacement parts
New Battery $220 installed
New Keyboard $250 installed
New Whole screen assembly 13” $550 to $650 installed.
The best used models to buy, from $600 to $1,200+
Early 2013 A1425 13” 256GB .......Flash drive, 8GB Ram, (Wi-Fi n, Bluetooth 4.0)
Late 2013 A1502 13” 128/256GB Flash drive, 8GB Ram, (Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.0)
Mid 2014 A1502 13” 128/256GB Flash drive, 8GB Ram, (Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.0)
Early 2015 A1502 13” 128GB ........Flash drive, 8GB Ram, (Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 4.0, 1866MHz RAM)
R.I.P 2015 MacBook Pro 13” March 2015 to 5th June 2017
16GB of Ram, 2.9GHz or i7 processor’s and 256/512GB Flash drives push the values up.
A1398 15” MacBook Pro
The best used models to buy, from $900 to $1,800+
Late 2013 A1398 15”
Mid 2014 A1398 15”
Mid 2015 A1398 15”
RIP 2015 A1398 15” July 12th 2018
MacBook Pro Retina 15” Mid 2012, Early 2013, Apple Recall
https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/
Recall no longer available.
We are now able to repair these logic boards
Mid 2012
Early 2013
Late 2013
Mid 2014
$300
A few things to take into account when purchasing a used “Late 2016 MacBook Pro”
Make sure it has the Apple care extended warranty
If your upgrading from a 2011 or older MBP this would be a good decision, but if you already have a 2013/14/15 MBP Retina you would be better off purchasing the 2017 model (Faster CPU/GPU)
Both the Memory and the flash drive are now soldered to the Logic board, (On the touch bar model)
No Mag-safe or Mag-safe board,
Wi-Fi built into the logic board,
Power button, built into finger print recognition All linked to the logic board
Liquid spill, Damaged logic board, data recovery? Apple store only at the moment and they say it has to be under warranty?
Regular time machine back-ups are needed to make sure your data is safe.
2016 MacBook Pro’s
Starting to get reports of large numbers of Keyboards failing on the new 2016/2017 MacBook Pro’s
Battery replacement recall on link below
https://www.apple.com/support/13inch-macbookpro-battery-replacement/
2017 MacBook Pro’s
Updated to Kaby lake processors with a 9% to 20% increase in speed.
Remember the memory is soldered in, order with 16GB
Remember the SSD/Flash drive is soldered in, choose Capacity wisely.
Advisable to order with the Apple Care extended warranty.
2017 MacBook Pro continues to disappoint for all the reasons that the 2016 MacBook Pro does.
•Performance offers a negative value versus the 2015 model
•Performance degrades under load just like the 2016 model
•Same problematic touch bar and oversized trackpad.
•Cost more than the 2017 iMac 5K.
•Same messy dongle problems as its 2016 predecessor
•It is not a 'pro' machine, although it is sleek and good looking and has a very nice display.
•Still no 32GB memory option.
Serious laptop users looking for performance and hassle-free peripheral support have no reason to upgrade to the 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro.
2017 model year 13-inch MacBook Pro with a standard row of physical function keys
Apple has identified a specific population of MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
units requiring both solid state drives and the main logic board to be replaced when either has a functional failure.
https://www.apple.com/support/keyboard-service-program-for-macbook-and-macbook-pro/
A1466 13” MacBook Air
Nice lightweight machine, good battery life.
Ram is soldered to the logic board, No upgrades so buy with the maximum amount of ram 8GB.
(As of 20th April 2016 all New 13” MacBook Air’s come with 8GB of ram as standard)
If you crack the LCD they are very expensive to replace.
Batteries are easy to replace, just 5 screws.
Keyboards are riveted in, but can be removed without replacing the whole top case.
Replacement parts
New Battery $140 fitted
New Keyboard fitted $200
New Whole screen assembly fitted $650
The best models to buy, from $600 to $900
Early 2014 A1466 13”
Early 2015 A1466 13”
2017 A1466 13”
R.I.P 11” MacBook Air 2010 to Oct 27th 2015
2017 A1466 MacBook Air 13”
Updated processors
Avoid the 2018 A1932 MacBook Air 13”
2019 A1932 MacBook Air 13” is better
T2 Chip, 3rd gen keyboard, Not true i5 & i7 processors?
iMac’s 21.5” & 27”
From Early 2008 to Mid 2011 They all suffer with GPU issues and a new GPU fitted is roughly $650 to $1000
Late 2011 were supposed to be fine, only if they are serviced and cleaned inside, before any issues start.
We have seen a lot of Late 2009, 27” models with GPU issues, mainly because they were filthy inside and getting extremely hot.
See our iMac page for more info.
Mid 2007 to Late 2011 The glass is held on with magnets, Easy to open and service.
Late 2012 to Late 2015 the glass is held in with double sided tape.
Apple did a recall which has now expired, on the iMac 27” AMD Radeon 6970M Video card, between May 2011 and October 2012, link below
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT203787 Recall no longer available.
From Late 2009 and on, iMac’s only come in two sizes 21.5” and 27”
A1418 21.5” iMac
The best used models to buy, from $600 to $1,200
These are the ones to buy as we are able to upgrade the ram and replace the hard drive for an SSD.
21.5” Late 2012, 1600MHz, up to 16GB
21.5” Late 2013, 1600MHz, up to 16GB
New OWC x2 8GB sticks of 1600MHz =16GB of Ram
Click the below link for more details
External Optical drives available
21.5” Mid 2014, 1600MHz, Only supplied with 8GB of Memory, Memory is soldered in.
21.5” Late 2015, 1867MHz, Supplied with either 8GB or 16GB, Memory is soldered in.
21.5” Retina 4K Late 2015, 1867MHz, Supplied with either 8GB or 16GB, Memory is soldered in.
Below photo shows the memory soldered to the board of an iMac 21.5, from 2014 to 2015
2017 21.5” iMac
Upgraded processors
Upgraded Graphics cards
Memory is no longer soldered in
Memory can be upgraded by us (Mac Apple Repairs) with OWC ram if you choose to update at a later date.
A1419 27” iMac
The best one to buy, from $300 to $500, usually supplied with a slow 5400rpm hard drive and 4GB of ram.
Late 2012 (No optical drive)
USB 3.0, 1600MHz ram upgradable to 16GB and you have the option of installing two hard drives,
OWC 120GB 6G SSD for the operating system and a 500GB 7200rpm 6G 32MB Cache hard drive for data.
Mid 2011 (No optical drive)
USB 2.0, 1333MHz ram upgradable to 16GB and you have the option of installing two hard drives,
OWC 120GB 3G SSD for the operating system and a 500GB 7200rpm 3G 32MB Cache hard drive for data
External Optical drives Available
iMac 27” hinge replacement
Between Dec 2012 and July 2014
Unlike other repair extension programs Apple has not made this publicly available.
The issue is the display hinge, resulting in the screen no longer adjusting and continuously tilting forward.
Apple has determined that a very small number of 3TB hard drives used in 27-inch iMac systems, may fail under certain conditions. These systems were sold between December 2012 and September 2013
27” Late 2012, Failed GPU
27” Late 2013, Time will tell if the 2014/15 suffer with the same issue?
Random shut downs, faulty power board, bad engineering.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6176570?start=0&tstart=0
All Late 2012 and Late 2013 27” iMac’s are now experiencing random shut downs,
Apple is not acknowledging this as an issue.
The fault is the Power Supply Board plus bad engineering,
The PSB has a weak capacitor that fails, the other problem is lack of cooling.
The hard drive is a heat source and it sits directly over the power supply board neither have a fan, either blowing cool air in or sucking the hot air out, plus the new thinner design has no exhaust slots up the top like the older thicker models had.
The new models only have one fan to blow the hot air out from the heatsink that covers both the CPU and GPU, note the GPU’s are soldered to the logic boards now
2012 2013 27” iMac failed Graphics cards,
White screen with Apple logo, Progress bar loads halfway, then nothing
Unfortunately taking your iMac back to Apple for a warranty replacement power supply board isn’t going to fix the problem, it may be fine for a while and then your back to square one.
Apple supply the same Power supply board, not a re-engineered updated version of the board.
We are now offering an after market power supply board repair, see link below.
http://www.macapplerepairs.com/www.macapplerepairs.com/iMac.html
Also
Possible image burn/Ghosting on some late 2015 5K screens.Free warranty replacement
iMac 27" Late 2015 BLACK SCREEN PROBLEM
27 inch iMac all of a sudden goes to a black screen and totally unresponsive?
Eventually, the iMac won’t even turn on!! or at least the screen won’t.
2017 iMac 27”
Upgraded processors
Upgraded Graphics cards
Memory is no longer soldered in
2019 iMac 27”
Upgraded processors
Upgraded Graphics cards
Same thermal layout?
A1419 27” iMac
A1347 Mac Mini 2014
Late 2014, The memory is soldered in,
Supplied with either 4GB, 8GB,16GB of 1600MHz Ram,
Wi-Fi 802.11ac, USB 3.0, 1.5GB Graphics memory
12" 2015 A1534 MacBook EMC 2746 logic board premature failure, Apple’s next recall?, We can repair this issue.
12" 2016 A1534 MacBook EMC 2991, okay so far
12" 2017 A1534 MacBook EMC 3099, okay so far
R.I.P MacBook 12” Retina 2015 to 9th July 2019
Mac Mini 2018 A1993
Has Wi-Fi / RF interference issues with Thunderbolt 3
You have to either disable Wi-Fi and use Ethernet
or
Buy a Thunderbolt 3 Hub
Use the USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt 3 from the hub
Usual T2 issues
MacBook Air Retina 13” 2019 A1932
Usual T2 issues.
Appears to be ok so far.
iMac Pro 27” 5K Retina 2017 A1862
Appears to be ok, waiting for the 2019/20 version
Usual T2 issues
iMac Retina 4K 21.5” 2019
No T2 chip
No issues so far
iMac Retina 5K 27” 2019
No T2 chip
No issues so far
Ram is easy to upgrade from the back without having to take the whole unit apart.
The best used models to buy, from $1,000 to $1,800
27” Late 2014, Retina 5K, 1600MHz, up to 32GB
27” Mid 2015, Retina 5K, 1600MHz, up to 32GB
27” Late 2015, Retina 5K, 1867MHz, up to 64GB
New OWC x2 8GB sticks of 1600MHz =16GB of Ram
New OWC x4 8GB sticks of 1600MHz =32GB of Ram
New OWC x2 8GB sticks of 1867MHz =16GB of Ram
New OWC x4 8GB sticks of 1867MHz =32GB of Ram
New OWC x4 16GB sticks of 1867MHz =64GB of Ram
External Optical drives Available
Avoid 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 MacBook Pro's