Apple MacBook Pro 15" GSRF MR972LL/A Silver 2018

The 2018 MacBook Pro GSRF MR972LL/A is a refurbished 15-inch MacBook with a gorgeous Retina display, 16GB of RAM, and a 6-core Intel i7. It's a solid value at USD 370 to USD 499 for everyday macOS users, but the butterfly keyboard and aging Intel chip are real drawbacks. A used M1 MacBook is the smarter buy for most people unless you specifically need the bigger screen and extra ports.

Let's talk numbers. The 6-core Intel Core i7 in this MacBook Pro sits at the 59th percentile in our database. That's about average for laptops overall, but context matters. Compared to Apple's own M1, M2, M3, and M4 chips, this Intel processor gets left in the dust on both performance and efficiency. For everyday tasks like web browsing, email, and document editing, you won't feel much pain. The 16GB of RAM helps keep things smooth even with a bunch of Chrome tabs open. But throw a heavy 4K video export or a big code compile at it, and the fans will spin up while the chip thermal throttles. The Radeon Pro 560X with 4GB of VRAM lands at the 58th percentile for GPU performance. It'll handle light photo editing and older games fine, but it's not a machine for modern AAA gaming or serious 3D rendering.

The 512GB SSD is fast by SATA standards but sits at the 37th percentile for storage capacity. That's enough for a solid app library and a reasonable media collection, but you'll probably want an external drive if you work with large video files. The weakest area in our testing is AI and LLM workloads, where this machine scores just 36.1 out of 100. That's not surprising. The Intel chip lacks the neural engine hardware that Apple's M-series processors have, so any local AI task is going to be slow. If you're curious about running local language models or AI image generation, this is not the laptop for that.

Stacked against the current competition, this 2018 MacBook Pro shows its age in some areas and holds its own in others. The Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 7 is a budget business laptop that often sells new for around the same price as this refurb. It has a more modern processor and a better keyboard, but its display is nowhere near the Retina panel on this MacBook. The HP OmniBook X Flip 14 and ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA are both newer ultraportables with better battery life and lighter builds, but they're also more expensive and run Windows, which is a dealbreaker if you need macOS. The Samsung Galaxy Book6 Pro has a stunning OLED screen that gives the MacBook's Retina display a run for its money, but again, it's a Windows machine at a higher price point. The MSI Stealth 14 AI is a gaming laptop with far more GPU horsepower, but it's heavier, louder, and costs significantly more.

For Mac users specifically, the real comparison is against Apple's own M1 lineup. A used M1 MacBook Air or 13-inch MacBook Pro will outperform this Intel machine in most tasks while sipping battery. The 15-inch MacBook Pro's advantages are the larger screen, the extra ports, and the discrete GPU, which the M1 Air lacks. But the M1's efficiency and the reliability of its keyboard make it the smarter buy for most people. This 2018 model only makes sense if you specifically need the bigger display and the four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and you find it at the low end of the price range.

At USD 370 to USD 499, this MacBook Pro is a genuinely interesting value proposition. The price spread across the two US listings is USD 129, so it pays to shop around. The lower end of that range gets you a 15-inch MacBook with a great screen, solid build quality, and enough power for everyday work. That's hard to beat if you're set on macOS and don't want to spend M-series money. But the value equation shifts when you compare it to a used M1 MacBook Air, which often sells for not much more and delivers better performance, dramatically better battery life, and a more reliable keyboard. The CAD 549 listing in Canada is less compelling once you factor in the exchange rate and the age of the hardware. If you can snag this at the USD 370 end, it's a decent deal. At USD 499, you're getting close to territory where a used M1 machine makes more sense.

The Apple MacBook Pro GSRF MR972LL/A is a 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro that's now living its second life as a Geek Squad Certified Refurbished unit. It packs an Intel 8th Gen 6-core Core i7, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 512GB SSD, and AMD Radeon Pro 560X graphics with 4GB of VRAM. You'll find it floating around the refurbished market for roughly USD 370 to USD 499, which is a far cry from the USD 2,399 Apple wanted when this thing was new. That price drop alone makes it interesting for someone who wants a big-screen Mac without dropping four figures on an M-series machine.

People searching for this laptop usually want to know two things: is a 2018 MacBook Pro still good in 2025, and is the refurbished route worth it? The short answer is that it depends on what you do. For everyday productivity, web browsing, and even some light photo or video work, the 6-core i7 and 16GB of RAM hold up better than you'd expect. But this is also the generation with the infamous butterfly keyboard, and the Intel chip runs hot under sustained load. We'll dig into all of that below.

Our database puts this machine's reliability at the 98th percentile, which is genuinely impressive for a refurb. The screen is also a standout at the 88th percentile, and that's no surprise. The 15.4-inch 2880x1800 Retina display with True Tone is still gorgeous. But the RAM and storage sit at the 26th and 37th percentiles respectively, which tells you this is a 2018 laptop competing against 2024 and 2025 machines with 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSDs as standard.

Skip this if you're a video editor, 3D artist, or anyone who pushes their laptop hard on a regular basis. The Intel i7 thermal throttles under sustained load, and the Radeon Pro 560X isn't built for modern creative workloads. Skip it if you're interested in AI tools or local machine learning, since the 36.1 out of 100 AI score tells you everything you need to know. Skip it if you type a lot and can't stomach the butterfly keyboard's reliability issues. And skip it if battery life matters, because real-world usage falls well short of Apple's 10-hour claim. In all of these cases, a used M1 MacBook Air or a newer Windows ultraportable like the ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA will serve you better.

Should you buy this? If you're a Mac user on a tight budget who wants a big screen and doesn't mind the risks of a refurbished 2018 machine, the answer is a cautious yes, especially at the USD 370 end of the price range. The display is still excellent, the build quality is solid, and the 16GB of RAM keeps multitasking smooth. The reliability rating from our database is reassuring for a refurb, and Geek Squad's certification process adds some peace of mind.

But if you can stretch your budget even a little, a used M1 MacBook Air or MacBook Pro is the better long-term investment. You'll get better performance, dramatically better battery life, and a keyboard that won't make you nervous every time you type. The 2018 MacBook Pro is a good laptop that's been left behind by Apple's silicon transition. It's not a bad buy at the right price, but it's also not the smartest buy for most people in 2025.