Apple Apple - Geek Squad Certified Refurbished MacBook Pro w/Touch Bar - 13" Display - Intel Core i5 - 8 GB Memory-512GB Flash Storage - Space Gray Review

For $400, this refurbished MacBook Pro offers a 97th percentile GPU and 96th percentile port selection in a premium body. The catch? Its CPU is middling (48th percentile) and its 8GB RAM is in the 12th percentile, creating a hard ceiling for performance. Only buy if your needs are simple and you crave those specific strengths.

For $400, this refurbished 13-inch MacBook Pro is a study in extremes. It lands in the 97th percentile for GPU performance among all laptops in our database, which is frankly wild for a 7th-gen Intel chip with integrated graphics. That's paired with a 96th percentile score for ports, thanks to those four Thunderbolt 3 connections. But you're also looking at RAM in the 12th percentile and storage speed in the 28th. It's a machine built for specific, modern tasks with a CPU that's showing its age.

What you're really buying here is a premium chassis, that brilliant Retina display (71st percentile), and Apple's legendary reliability (93rd percentile) at a bargain bin price. The Touch Bar is a conversation piece, for better or worse. If your workflow leans on that excellent integrated GPU for light creative work and you live on a dongle-free desk, this could be a steal. Just don't expect it to be a multitasking powerhouse.

Let's talk about that 97th percentile GPU score. The Intel Iris Graphics 550 in here punches way above its weight class for integrated graphics from this era. It's not for gaming—our score there is a brutal 10.7 out of 100—but for driving that high-resolution display and handling basic photo edits or UI acceleration, it's shockingly competent. It makes the machine feel snappier than the CPU would suggest.

The dual-core Core i5, however, tells the other half of the story. Sitting in the 48th percentile for CPU performance, it's the clear bottleneck. It's fine for web browsing, documents, and media consumption, but push it with too many tabs or a heavy spreadsheet and you'll feel it start to sweat. The 8GB of DDR3 RAM (12th percentile) compounds this issue. This isn't a slow computer for basic tasks, but its performance ceiling is low and very clearly defined.

At $400, the value proposition is razor-sharp and entirely situational. You are getting a machine with a best-in-class integrated GPU, a fantastic screen, and pro-level ports for less than many budget Chromebooks. The Geek Squad certification adds peace of mind. However, that value evaporates if you need to do more than one or two things at a time. The anemic RAM and aging dual-core CPU are real, tangible costs you pay for that low price tag. It's a fantastic value for a very specific user, and a terrible one for everyone else.

Stacked against modern competitors, the trade-offs are stark. The ASUS ProArt PX13 or a Microsoft Surface Copilot+ PC will run circles around this MacBook in CPU and AI tasks for more money. Even compared to Apple's own lineup, the base M1 MacBook Air, often found around $600-$700 used, offers a massively faster CPU, better battery life, and a fanless design, though with fewer ports. Where this 2016 MacBook Pro still fights is in that GPU score and port count. If you need to drive multiple high-res displays or use specific peripherals that need Thunderbolt 3, this $400 machine might still have a practical edge over a two-port M1 Air, despite being generations older. It's a niche win, but a win nonetheless.

Anyone who needs a primary, do-it-all laptop should look elsewhere. The 48th percentile CPU and 12th percentile RAM are a deal-breaking combo for students, developers, or multi-taskers. Gamers, obviously, should steer clear (that 10.7/100 gaming score is no joke). Also, if you need all-day battery life away from an outlet, the unknown state of this refurbished battery is a major risk. This machine is for a very specific, desk-bound, light-use scenario.

We can recommend this refurbished MacBook Pro, but with a giant asterisk. If you need a beautiful, reliable secondary machine for writing, web browsing, and media, and you value that stellar screen and those four Thunderbolt ports above all else, buy it. The $400 price is compelling. If you need a primary computer, plan on having more than five browser tabs open, or think you might edit a video someday, skip it. The CPU and RAM scores don't lie. This is a specialist tool, not a generalist.