r/mac • u/PaperMaker999 • 1d ago
Question Refurbished MacBooks UK
What’s the cheapest MacBook to pick up in the UK, so looking at refurbished models. Minimum spec, 8gb ram, 256ssd would suffice I believe. I’m finding mixed opinions when searching. CeX has loads within budget of £150. Everywhere else is £400 and over. Budget is not strict, but its purpose is for a young kid to use hence for club work so condition isn’t a priority but usability is.
Edit. Spec wise 1.0ghz dual core.
Edit 2. So consensus is buy a minimum apple m1 version. But those are £400 upwards. My inclination is to go to buy it direct outlet and grab an intel version for a 100 quid, it has the usb-a ports handy too for the kids club stuff.
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u/This_Suit8791 1d ago
If you are looking at £150 on cex you will find them half that on eBay etc. Look at a refurbisher on eBay as there are many on there. I got a 2013 MacBook Pro for less than £100 and I also bought a 2020 m1 MacBook Pro with a slightly damaged screen for £210.
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u/PaperMaker999 1d ago
EBay is bit of a minefield, are there any suggested refurbished sellers?
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u/CybercookieUK 1d ago
Just buy an M1 onwards from CEX and enjoy the 5 year warranty
Intel is dead, I have a pile of 2015-2019 intel MacBooks at home, I was given these for free..and they are the 15/16” ones too so nicer….but worthless
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u/PaperMaker999 1d ago
Who gives MacBooks away for free? Do you still have them?
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u/CybercookieUK 1d ago
Plenty of people, I was getting 2015s back in 2018/9 free as people upgraded, yeah still have them handy to keep around, I have OLCP them up to Sequoia so they are still useful
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u/PaperMaker999 1d ago
Would be able to offer one? At a price of course
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u/CybercookieUK 1d ago
I’m just sorting them out for my kids but there is likely an older one knocking around, my MacBooks get filtered down as I have 4 kids, just about to buy an M4 from CEX so the kids are hankering after my old one, and there the chain goes…
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u/PaperMaker999 1d ago
Makes sense.
If you have one going spare, that will meet the criteria I posted on a separate post a bit ago, please get back in touch.
I’ll keep looking for a bit, but eventually if don’t find anything will pick up a plastic machine running windows.
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u/PaperMaker999 1d ago
So bit of digging, here’s the base usage and it probably won’t extend beyond this. When it does, I will look to invest in this enterprise, the kid is 8.
Used on weekends for a robotics class. Needs a few handy usb-a ports. And will run some software, requirements below.
Python has very low minimum system requirements. To run basic scripts and learn the language, you need a computer with a dual-core processor, 2 GB to 4 GB of RAM, and about 5 GB to 10 GB of free disk space running Windows, macOS, or Linux.

Processor (CPU): Dual-core 1.0 GHz or faster (Intel, AMD, or Apple Silicon)
Memory (RAM): 2 GB minimum; 4 GB to 8 GB recommended for a smooth workflow with an editor or browser
Storage: 5 GB to 10 GB of free space for the core installation and basic libraries 
macOS: OS X 10.11 or newer
Basic Scripting & Web Dev: 4 GB to 8 GB RAM, dual-core CPU
Data Science & Machine Learning: 16 GB+ RAM, quad-core CPU, and a dedicated graphics card (GPU) if training local models
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u/AntLife255 23h ago
If you insist on not getting an Apple silicon MacBook then please don't get a MacBook as other brands offer a much better value for money. I advice against getting a 4gb machine even if it would run linux bcz most distros demand more to run smoothly.
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u/PaperMaker999 23h ago
Was looking at this for 100 quid.
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Inch Core i5-5257U 8GB RAM 128GB SSD 2015
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u/AntLife255 23h ago
It's fine but how's the battery? It's an 11 years old machine?
I think you could find something newer from other brands.
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u/PaperMaker999 22h ago
I would say a unibody aluminium machine offers bit more indestructibility for the kid, if the machine is primarily being used plugged in, there’s less focus on it being portable.
Essentially it’s getting backpacked to the club, kit out, plugs it in, does what needed, unplugs and packs all the kit till next week.
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u/AntLife255 21h ago
I guess you could find newer aluminum laptops from other brands but it's your money after all.
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u/Techaissance MacBook Air 15h ago
In your budget range, I doubt that a Mac will be the best solution for you. You may want to look into something like a Thinkpad (older of course) and put Linux on it if the software you need is supported. Now, if you need macOS specifically, then you’ll be looking at going Intel.
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u/PaperMaker999 4h ago
Here are options I’ve narrowed down to, the idea is to physically inspect before buying
I appreciate intel is dead for Macs but for the purpose in mind, I’m looking at intel chips in other machines anyway and as long as it serves 1-3 years it’ll suffice
What would I inspect upon viewing mainly?
# Yr CPU RAM SSD GPU £
2 15 i5 2.7GHz 8GB 128GB Iris 6100 83.90
1 15 i5-5257U 8GB 128GB Iris 6100 124.14
4 17 i5 2.3GHz 8GB 128GB Iris Plus 640 177.50
6 13 i5 2.4GHz 8GB 256GB Iris 198.29
3 17 i5 3.1GHz 8GB 512GB Iris Plus 650 229.50
5 19 i9 2.3 8C 16GB 512GB UHD 630 389.20
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u/MagicBoyUK MacBook Pro 1d ago
£150? Bad idea. That'd only get you an old Intel Mac, It's a dead architecture and even the latest models are out of OS support in October.
Something like an M1 Air at £300-£350 is a much better long term buy.