Apple Apple - Geek Squad Certified Refurbished MacBook Pro - 15.4" Display - Intel Core i7 - 16 GB Memory - 1TB Solid State Drive - Space Gray Review
A certified refurbished 2017 MacBook Pro offers a classic design and great screen, but its Intel internals are showing their age. We break down if it's still a smart buy.
The 30-Second Version
A refurbished 2017 MacBook Pro with old Intel power. The gorgeous screen and build are great, but performance is outdated. Only worth it if you're stuck needing an Intel Mac. Look at Apple Silicon instead.
Overview
This is a refurbished 2017-era MacBook Pro, and that context is everything. It's a Geek Squad certified unit, which means it's been tested and comes with a warranty, so you're not buying a complete mystery box. You're getting a classic MacBook Pro design with that gorgeous Retina display, the divisive Touch Bar, and a quad-core Intel i7 paired with a discrete AMD Radeon Pro 560 GPU.
Performance
Performance is a mixed bag. The quad-core i7 and Radeon Pro 560 were solid for their day, but our database shows its CPU and GPU scores land in the 55th and 57th percentiles respectively, meaning it's squarely in the middle of the pack now. It'll handle general productivity, web browsing, and light photo editing just fine. But modern creative apps and anything that leans on CPU power will feel sluggish compared to even base-model Apple Silicon Macs. The 1TB SSD is a bright spot, scoring in the 64th percentile for storage speed.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Geek Squad certification adds peace of mind for a refurb. 96th
- That 15.4" Retina display is still beautiful and sharp. 93th
- Four Thunderbolt 3 ports offer great connectivity. 77th
- Build quality is classic, tank-like Apple aluminum.
Cons
- Intel-era performance is now far behind Apple Silicon. 35th
- The Touch Bar is more of a gimmick than a useful tool.
- Battery life will be degraded compared to new.
- 16GB of RAM is soldered and can't be upgraded.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| Frequency | 3.1 GHz |
Graphics
| GPU | AMD Radeon Pro 560 |
| Type | discrete |
Memory & Storage
| RAM | 16 GB |
| RAM Generation | LPDDR3 |
| Storage | 1000 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD |
Display
| Size | 15.4" |
| Resolution | 2880 |
Connectivity
| USB Ports | 4 |
| Thunderbolt | 4x Thunderbolt |
Physical
| Weight | 1.8 kg / 4.0 lbs |
| OS | Mac OS |
Value & Pricing
At around $1000, the value proposition is tricky. You're paying for the MacBook Pro experience and that excellent screen, but you're getting 7-year-old internals. For the same money, you could find a used M1 MacBook Air that would run circles around this in speed, battery life, and efficiency. The value is only there if you absolutely need an Intel Mac for specific software or the larger screen size on a tight budget, and the Geek Squad warranty is a non-negotiable must for you.
vs Competition
Stacked up, it's night and day. The base 14" MacBook Pro with an M3 chip is in a different universe for performance and battery life. Even an M1 MacBook Air feels like a spaceship next to this. Compared to Windows rivals like the ASUS ProArt or Lenovo Legion at this price, you're trading all modern gaming and creator performance for macOS and that Apple build. This MacBook Pro is for a very specific, legacy-compatible niche.
| Spec | Apple Apple - Geek Squad Certified Refurbished MacBook Pro - 15.4" Display - Intel Core i7 - 16 GB Memory - 1TB Solid State Drive - Space Gray | Apple MacBook Pro Apple 14" MacBook Pro (M4 Max, Silver) | ASUS ProArt ASUS - ProArt PX13 13" 3K OLED Touch Screen Laptop - Copilot+ PC - AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 - 32GB Memory - RTX 4050 - 1TB SSD - Nano Black | Lenovo Legion Pro Series Legion Pro 5i Gen 10 (16″ Intel) 83F3000HUS | MSI Creator MSI Creator M14 A13V A13VF-081US 14" 2.8K Laptop, | Microsoft Surface Laptop Microsoft 13.8" Surface Laptop Copilot+ PC (7th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel 7th Generation Core i7 Not provided | Apple M4 Max | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX | Intel Core i7 13620H | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-84-100 |
| RAM (GB) | 16 | 128 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| Storage (GB) | 1000 | 4096 | 1000 | 1024 | 2048 | 1024 |
| Screen | 15.4" 2880x1800 | 14.2" 3024x1964 | 13.3" 2880x1800 | 16" 2560x1600 | 14" 2880x1800 | 13.8" 2304x1536 |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Pro 560 | Apple (40-Core) | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 | Qualcomm X1 |
| OS | Mac OS | macOS | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home (MSI recommends Windows 11 Pro for business) | Windows 11 Home |
| Weight (kg) | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.3 |
| Battery (Wh) | — | 72 | — | 80 | — | 54 |
Common Questions
Q: Is the Geek Squad refurbished certification reliable?
Yes, it's one of the better refurb programs. It means the laptop has been tested and comes with a warranty, which is essential for buying older hardware like this.
Q: Can this run the latest macOS Sonoma?
No, it cannot. Apple dropped support for this Intel model with macOS Ventura. It's stuck on older macOS versions, which is a major security and compatibility drawback.
Q: How is the battery life on a refurbished model this old?
Expect significantly less than the original 'up to 10 hours.' Battery degradation is a given after 7 years, so plan for it to be a mostly desk-bound machine.
Who Should Skip This
Skip this if you want a fast, modern, or long-lasting laptop. Developers, video editors, and anyone using new software will hit walls with the old CPU and lack of OS updates. If you need power or future-proofing, this isn't it.
Verdict
Buy this only if you're trapped in Intel-land. Maybe you have critical x86-only software or need Boot Camp for Windows, and you want a larger, reliable Mac screen to do it on. For literally anyone else—students, general users, modern creators—even a base model M1 Mac is a vastly better buy. This is a competent machine for a bygone era.