Apple Apple - MacBook Pro 15" (2019) Refurbished 2880x1800 - Intel 8th Gen Core i9 with 16GB Memory - AMD Pro 560x - 512GB SSD - Space Gray Review

This is a $500 ticket into a premium Apple laptop body, but the tech inside is showing its age. The Intel i9 CPU is still solid, but the AMD GPU is a major bottleneck, resulting in abysmal gaming scores. Buy it for the build and screen, not for speed.

This refurbished 2019 MacBook Pro is a bit of a time capsule. It's built around an Intel Core i9 9880H CPU and an AMD Radeon Pro 560X GPU, specs that were high-end five years ago. Today, that combo lands it in the middle of the pack for CPU performance and just above average for graphics, which is a testament to how far things have moved on. You're getting that classic Apple build quality, a gorgeous 2880x1800 Retina display, and the Touch Bar, all for a price that's a fraction of what this machine cost new. It's a solid 69.6 out of 100 in our scoring, with entertainment being its strongest suit.

Performance is a story of two halves. The 6-core Intel i9 is still a capable chip, sitting in the 64th percentile. For general productivity, photo editing, and even some light video work, it's got plenty of pep. The real limitation is the AMD Radeon Pro 560X GPU. It's fine for driving the excellent display and handling basic tasks, but with a ranking in the 57th percentile, it's not a powerhouse. This is why the laptop's gaming score is a dismal 18.4 out of 100. It'll play older or less demanding titles, but forget about modern AAA games. The 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD are both below average in capacity by today's standards, which is something to keep in mind for multitasking and storage needs.

At around $500 for a refurbished model, the value proposition is interesting. You're paying for Apple's legendary build quality and that beautiful screen, not for cutting-edge speed. Compared to a new budget Windows laptop at the same price, you'll get worse raw performance but a much nicer chassis and display. Just know you're buying into a platform that Apple has since moved on from with its own chips.

Stacked against its modern successor, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3, it's no contest on performance or efficiency—the M3 machine is in another league. Compared to a contemporary Windows competitor like the ASUS ROG Flow Z13, this MacBook gets smoked in GPU performance but wins on screen quality and portability. Against something like a Lenovo Legion gaming laptop, it's not even in the same conversation for games or creative workloads. Its real competition is other used or refurbished business laptops, where its build and screen help it stand out.

Gamers should run the other way—the 18.4/100 gaming score doesn't lie. Professional video editors, 3D artists, or anyone who relies on GPU acceleration for their work will find the AMD Pro 560X painfully slow. Also, if you need tons of local storage or plan to keep this machine for many more years, the below-average 512GB SSD and aging Intel platform are real limitations.

We can only recommend this 2019 MacBook Pro if your needs are very specific. If you're deeply invested in the macOS ecosystem, need a reliable and beautifully built machine for web browsing, office work, and media, and you're on a tight budget, this refurbished model makes sense. For anyone who needs serious graphics power, wants to play games, or plans to do heavy video editing, its aging specs and weak GPU are immediate deal-breakers. It's a capable secondary machine, not a primary powerhouse.