04-29-2018, 12:27 AM
Thanks a lot for so many well-informed and thoughtful opinions. I'm glad to have such a variety of ideas to mull over.
16GB as future-proofing has a lot of appeal. I tend to keep my Macs a long time like this 2009 MBP, and I hope to do that with my next one. When Mavericks came out, it was barely usable until I upgraded to an SSD, and then it flew. (Yes, the Mac has SATA II, and I had to find a drive that would be compatible.) I expect that whatever Mac specs I pick, there will be a point where new OS features (or as Lew said, "bloatware apps" that I need) will leave them behind, but I'm hoping not to hit that sooner than necessary.
Sarcany, that's interesting to hear about your experience with High Sierra slowness. I do use FileVault & would need to keep MS Office current, so I'll check into that further.
jdc, you're right that the 2015 refurbs show up infrequently. Right now, there's just one 15-inch 16/256 model from 2015. I've been hoping that the 13-inch ones come back into play, since I've talked myself into the advantages of extra portability & saving money vs. sticking with the larger screen.
I suppose that my default option of sticking with the 2009 MBP & El Capitan is looking a little more appealing. It does what I need at an acceptable speed, and will probably do so for a while. Plus, I can't beat the price.
16GB as future-proofing has a lot of appeal. I tend to keep my Macs a long time like this 2009 MBP, and I hope to do that with my next one. When Mavericks came out, it was barely usable until I upgraded to an SSD, and then it flew. (Yes, the Mac has SATA II, and I had to find a drive that would be compatible.) I expect that whatever Mac specs I pick, there will be a point where new OS features (or as Lew said, "bloatware apps" that I need) will leave them behind, but I'm hoping not to hit that sooner than necessary.
Sarcany, that's interesting to hear about your experience with High Sierra slowness. I do use FileVault & would need to keep MS Office current, so I'll check into that further.
jdc, you're right that the 2015 refurbs show up infrequently. Right now, there's just one 15-inch 16/256 model from 2015. I've been hoping that the 13-inch ones come back into play, since I've talked myself into the advantages of extra portability & saving money vs. sticking with the larger screen.
I suppose that my default option of sticking with the 2009 MBP & El Capitan is looking a little more appealing. It does what I need at an acceptable speed, and will probably do so for a while. Plus, I can't beat the price.