Apple MacBook Pro 16" MVVK2LL/A-BTO 2019, Core i9-9980HK, 32GB, 1TB SSD + 1TB HDD, Radeon RX 5500M, Space Gray

A refurbished 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro with an 8-core i9, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for CAD 923. The Retina display is top-tier, and reliability is near the top of our charts. It's a great buy for creators and developers who need macOS, but the 4GB GPU and Wi-Fi 5 hold it back for gaming and future-proofing.

The Core i9-9980HK is an 8-core, 16-thread chip that boosts up to 5GHz. In our database, it lands in the 66th percentile for CPU performance, which sounds middle-of-the-pack until you remember this is a 2019 processor competing against much newer silicon. For video editing, compiling code, or running virtual machines, it's still plenty capable. The 32GB of RAM helps a lot here too. That's enough to keep multiple Adobe apps open, run Docker containers, or edit 4K footage without constantly hitting swap.

The Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of VRAM is the more interesting story. It ranks in the 74th percentile for GPU performance, which is solid for a laptop GPU from this era. In real terms, it accelerates Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and other pro apps nicely. The 4GB of VRAM is the limiting factor for modern games and heavy 3D work, but for photo editing and 1080p video timelines, it's fine. The 1TB SSD is fast and roomy, and our storage ranking puts it in the 89th percentile. Boot times and app launches feel snappy, even by today's standards.

Compared to the Lenovo Legion 5i, this MacBook Pro trades blows in interesting ways. The Legion 5i is a gaming laptop with a newer CPU and likely a better GPU for gaming, but it can't match the MacBook's display quality or build reliability. The Legion will run Windows games better, but the MacBook is the better choice for creative work and macOS-specific software. The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is a completely different beast, a detachable tablet with a gaming focus. It's far more portable than the MacBook's 1.95kg frame, but it sacrifices screen size and the macOS ecosystem entirely.

The HP OMEN Transcend 14 and MSI Raider are both gaming machines with newer hardware. They'll outperform the MacBook in gaming benchmarks, but they can't touch the MacBook's reliability score or that 3072x1920 Retina display. The Alienware Aurora is a desktop, so it's not even in the same category. If you want a laptop that does creative work well and games as an afterthought, the MacBook is the pick. If gaming is your priority, any of the Windows machines will serve you better.

At CAD 923 for a refurbished unit, this MacBook Pro is a compelling deal if you need macOS and don't want to spend CAD 2,000 or more on a new model. The affordability score sits at the 55th percentile, which means it's not a screaming bargain, but it's not overpriced either. You're getting a 16-inch Retina display, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD for under a grand in Canadian dollars. That's hard to beat if you're locked into the Apple ecosystem.

The catch is that you're buying a 2019 Intel Mac. Apple has moved to its own silicon, and software support for Intel Macs will eventually dry up. macOS updates will keep coming for a few more years, but the clock is ticking. If you need a Mac today and don't want to pay current prices, this is a reasonable stopgap. Just know that you're buying into a platform that's on its way out.

The 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro is the machine Apple fans waited years for. After the butterfly keyboard disaster on earlier models, this one brought back a scissor switch keyboard that actually feels decent to type on. It's a 2019 model, so we're talking about a refurbished unit here, but the specs still hold up surprisingly well for a lot of creative work. You get an 8-core Intel Core i9-9980HK, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1TB SSD, and AMD's Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of VRAM. That's a serious amount of hardware for a laptop that's now several years old.

Who's this for? Mostly creators and developers who want macOS without paying current MacBook Pro prices. The 16-inch Retina display with its 3072x1920 resolution is still one of the best screens you can get on a refurbished laptop. Our database puts the screen quality in the top 10 percent of all laptops we track. If you edit photos, cut video, or write code, that display alone is a big draw. And the reliability ranking is even better, sitting at the 98th percentile. These machines were built well.

But this isn't a gaming laptop, and it's not trying to be. The Radeon Pro 5500M is a workstation GPU, not a gaming card. It'll handle some games at moderate settings, but the gaming score of 76.9 out of 100 tells you it's a secondary use case. The real story here is a refurbished MacBook Pro with a ton of RAM, a fast SSD, and that gorgeous screen, all for a price that undercuts Apple's current lineup by a wide margin.

If you're a gamer, skip this. The Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of VRAM is not built for modern gaming, and the gaming score of 76.9 out of 100 confirms it. You'd be better off with a Lenovo Legion 5i or HP OMEN Transcend 14, both of which have newer GPUs and better gaming performance. The MacBook's 60Hz display also holds it back for fast-paced games.

If you need portability, this isn't the machine for you. At 1.95kg, it's heavy, and the compact score of 51.3 out of 100 puts it near the bottom of our rankings. The port selection is also weak, ranking in the 13th percentile. You'll need dongles for almost everything. If you want a thin and light laptop with modern connectivity, look at the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 or a newer MacBook Air instead.

For creators and developers who need macOS, this refurbished 16-inch MacBook Pro is a smart buy at CAD 923. The display is stunning, the 32GB of RAM handles heavy workloads, and the reliability ranking means you're getting a machine that was built to last. The keyboard is a genuine improvement over the butterfly disaster, and the 1TB SSD gives you room to work without external drives. If you edit photos, cut video, or write code, this machine will serve you well for years.

For gamers, look elsewhere. The Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of VRAM is not a gaming GPU, and the gaming score of 76.9 reflects that. You'll get playable frame rates in older titles and esports games, but modern AAA games will struggle. If you want to game on a laptop, the Lenovo Legion 5i or HP OMEN Transcend 14 are better choices. But if you want a reliable macOS workstation with a killer screen, this MacBook Pro is hard to beat at this price.