Apple MVVJ2LL/A

The 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro is a redemption story with a gorgeous 500-nit P3 display and excellent port selection, but it's showing its age in 2025. The 6-core Intel i7 is still capable, but 16GB of RAM and 4GB of VRAM are real limitations. Prices range from USD 369 to USD 1,300, with the best deals around USD 500 or less from Newegg. Buy it for the screen and macOS on a budget, but skip it if you need battery life, AI performance, or modern GPU power.

The Core i7-9750H in this MacBook Pro is a 6-core, 12-thread chip that sits in the 89th percentile for CPU performance in our database. That's genuinely strong for a 2019 laptop. It'll chew through photo editing, code compilation, and even some 4K video work without breaking too much of a sweat. The 16GB of RAM is the bottleneck though. It's in the 27th percentile, which means it's below average compared to modern laptops. For most creative work in 2025, 16GB is the bare minimum, and macOS plus a few pro apps will eat through it fast. If you're running After Effects or a bunch of Chrome tabs alongside Premiere, you'll feel the squeeze.

The Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of VRAM is a mixed bag. It's in the 68th percentile for GPU performance, which is solid but not spectacular. For video editing in Final Cut Pro, it's fine. For 3D rendering or gaming, it's going to struggle with modern titles. The 4GB of VRAM is the limiting factor. The 512GB SSD is fast, as you'd expect from Apple, but it's in the 60th percentile for storage capacity. That's enough for a working project drive, but you'll want external storage for media libraries. The thermal redesign does help though. This machine sustains performance better than the 15-inch model it replaced, which is a real win for long render sessions.

Compared to the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 7, this MacBook Pro wins on display quality and port selection, but loses on weight and modern connectivity. The ThinkPad is lighter and has newer Wi-Fi, but its screen can't touch the 500-nit P3 panel here. The HP OmniBook X Flip and ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA are both newer machines with better battery life and faster modern CPUs, but they're also smaller 14-inch laptops. If you want a big screen for creative work, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is in a different class.

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 and Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge are both ARM-based Windows machines with excellent battery life and snappy performance for everyday tasks. But they can't run macOS, and their GPU performance for creative work is weaker than the Radeon Pro 5300M. The real competitor here is a used M1 Pro MacBook Pro. That machine beats this Intel model in nearly every way, CPU, GPU, battery life, and thermals. The only reason to pick this 2019 model is price. If you can find it for USD 500 or less, it's a bargain. If you're spending more than USD 800, save up a bit more and get Apple Silicon.

Here's where things get interesting. The price spread on this machine is wild. We're seeing listings from USD 369 all the way up to USD 1,300. That's a USD 931 gap between the cheapest and most expensive options. At USD 369, this is an absolute steal for a 16-inch MacBook Pro with this display and port selection. At USD 1,300, you're getting into used M1 Pro MacBook Pro territory, and that's a much better machine for most people. The sweet spot is probably somewhere in the middle, around USD 600 to USD 800, if you can find a clean unit.

The best deal in our data comes from Newegg, which has multiple refurbished listings at the lower end of that range. Best Buy also carries certified refurbished units, which come with a warranty and some peace of mind. If you're in Canada, there are listings at CAD 700, which is reasonable. Just remember that refurbished means different things to different sellers. Check the condition grading and return policy before you buy. A USD 369 MacBook Pro with a scratched screen and 85% battery health is a very different value proposition than a USD 800 unit in near-mint condition.

The 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro is a bit of a redemption arc for Apple. After years of butterfly keyboard complaints and thermal throttling drama, this machine brought back the scissor switch keyboard and gave the cooling system a real rework. It's a chunky, confident laptop aimed squarely at creative pros who need macOS and a big, beautiful screen. If you're editing video, working in Logic Pro, or doing design work, this is the machine that was built for you. And in our database, it still holds up surprisingly well in 2025, especially if you find one at a refurbished price.

What's interesting here is the spec sheet. You get a 9th Gen Intel Core i7 with 6 cores, 16GB of DDR4, a 512GB SSD, and an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of GDDR6. That's a solid mid-range config for this model. The display is the real star though. 16 inches, 3072x1920, 500 nits, P3 wide color. It's one of the best screens we've seen on a laptop from this era, and it still beats plenty of newer machines. The port situation is also excellent, with four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports. Our data puts port selection in the 98th percentile, which is rare for an Apple laptop.

But let's be honest about what this is. It's a refurbished 2019 Intel MacBook in a world where Apple Silicon exists. The M1, M2, M3, and M4 chips have left Intel Macs in the dust for efficiency and raw performance per watt. This machine is for people who need Intel compatibility, want a big screen without paying new MacBook Pro prices, or simply found a killer deal. At USD 369 to USD 1,300 depending on the listing, the value proposition swings wildly. We'll dig into that below.

If you're doing AI or machine learning work, skip this machine entirely. The 4GB Radeon Pro 5300M scores just 43.7 out of 100 for AI and LLM workloads, which is its weakest area by a wide margin. Modern ML models need way more VRAM than this GPU can provide. Look at a used M1 Max or M2 Max MacBook Pro with 32GB or 64GB of unified memory, or a Windows laptop with an RTX 4060 or better.

Also skip this if battery life matters to you. The Intel i7 and 16-inch display are power hungry, and this machine was never known for all-day endurance even when it was new. In 2025, a used battery will be even worse. If you need a laptop that lasts a full workday unplugged, get an M-series MacBook Air or a Windows laptop with a modern efficient chip. And if you're a gamer, this isn't the machine for you. The Radeon Pro 5300M is a workstation GPU, not a gaming GPU, and macOS game support is still limited.

For budget-conscious creative pros who need macOS and a big screen, this 2019 MacBook Pro is still a compelling option in 2025. The display alone is worth the price of admission at the lower end of the refurbished market. Video editors working in Final Cut Pro, photographers using Lightroom, and musicians in Logic Pro will all find this machine capable, as long as they're realistic about the 16GB RAM ceiling and the 4GB VRAM limit. The scissor keyboard and improved thermals make it a much better daily driver than the 2018 and earlier models.

For developers, this machine is a solid choice if you need Intel compatibility for x86 virtualization or older toolchains. The 6-core i7 handles Docker and Xcode reasonably well. But if you're doing AI or machine learning work, look elsewhere. Our data shows this machine scores just 43.7 out of 100 for AI and LLM workloads, which is its weakest area by far. The 4GB Radeon Pro 5300M simply doesn't have the VRAM for modern ML tasks. For that, you'd want an M-series MacBook with unified memory or a Windows laptop with a beefier GPU.