The $300 MacBook Challenge

Do you need experience to get a good deal shopping on eBay? Today we hope to find out as I've brought my roommate Elise back for another challenge! With just $300 each to spend, can we both find a usable MacBook?
Follow Elise:
Instagram: / eliseplonski
Twitter: / eliseplonski
KZbin: / @eliseplonski1255
Follow me on Twitter: / lukemiani
Follow me on Instagram: / mianiluke
Join my Subreddit! / lukemianiyoutube
Gear:
Panasonic Lumix GH5: amzn.to/2SDQrYi
Blue Snowball Mic: amzn.to/2PwASD0
Sennheiser MKE 440: amzn.to/2JRwIRU
RODE VideoMic Pro+: amzn.to/2pOCkpl
Edelkrone SliderOne V2: amzn.to/33mTZmt
Zecti Camera Slider: amzn.to/2CWmeOI

[@lukemiani]

Polls are up on the community tab and over on Twitter @lukemiani! Who do you think got the better deal? Were they both good?

[@SankeshwarSivakumar]

Definitely you man The MacBook Air has a better Processor, GPU and faster Storage Drive so in many ways it's better I'm not considering the fact that it can run Big Sur

[@ldfox11]

Your room mate looks like a sister to me

[@Catsincages]

Hope you aren't unintentionally selling bitcoin over there :O

[@justakidtryingtolive4286]

Funny thing I saw that 39 dollar MacBook the other day too

[@TheKeggie]

Can you do more Ebay videos, they're the best videos you do imo.

[@NoahRubinCoding]

Elise is actually a MacBook whisperer and that Cinebench score was 100% legit

[@pikminicustoadius]

Imagine what that guy with the 48 core Xeon was like when a 10 year old core 2 duo scored 7 times as high

[@WarriorsPhoto]

😂

[@roborobo8370]

@@pikminicustoadius to be fair, the cores on a xeon are slow, but not that slow!

[@pikminicustoadius]

Odenta that makes sense, my 2008 MacBook Pro had a higher single core score on geek bench than a 48 core Xeon

[@walker4541]

Yes Noah!

[@alexclemence8685]

Not watched it yet but I'm going to presume that Luke somehow ends up with a 2019 16inch MBP with 2 TB storage.

[@lucadotti2928]

lol

[@fendifrance8859]

lmaoo

[@jouhajohnny]

Lmao

[@jessthebenjamin758]

No, he actually got a 2019 Mac Pro with a 28 core CPU and 1.5 TB of RAM

[@rashalstudio3101]

Ur sadly *w r o n g*

[@Omar-lx1er]

I got a macbook for free from my aunt. It doesnt start up and she doesn't know which one it is. I am hyped on fixing it!

[@dannyliles2315]

I’m in the same boat all I know is it’s a MacBook Air they is at least 2012 and it’s a 13”

[@dess.3761]

Danny Liles .0. good luck

[@dannyliles2315]

eggdog thank you, it’s very water damaged so I don’t know how much of it still works, but at least it comes with a charger 😂😂

[@tzr5864]

Mac OS \ or / Linux Manjaro

[@junipeayt]

ok petter griffin

[@william_playzzz]

13:32 i was just watching the phone thinking it was going to get knocked off the desk

[@leeizme]

smh the 2010 macbook does better than the 48 core xeon and he doesn't wanna accept it

[@timothybrown7792]

Core blimey!

[@maxmara9864]

122,046 points on cinebench would be like 10 AMD Epycs bundled together

[@richardc5100]

The cutie is back, oh and your roommate

[@Aren.s7]

Lmao

[@xX_cumtech_Xx]

LOL

[@xX_cumtech_Xx]

But nah, two cuties

[@joshbampton3918]

I was recommended a video by luke on KZbin about a month ago, and I loved it. I have been watching all your videos over quarantine and there so good. Congrats on almost 200k. Love from South Australia

[@NoahAviation09]

Totally agree

[@tyronemcchicken]

I’m NSW

[@michelleh5474]

From NSW :) trying to figure out how much I should expect in AUD$

[@thebusinessfirm9862]

Adelaide. Beautiful.

[@ll-jq6nu]

When your 2010 MacBook outperforms a $30000 machine

[@itzrealzz1199]

Hahahahhahahahahahahahahahaahah

[@abdulazeez.98]

0:33 it's now *her* channel 🤣🤣

[@Evie0133]

AAAAAAYYYYY Elise is back!! 🤩😃😲 You and Elise are such a good pairing, you guys need to do more videos together :)

[@sddrx6000]

Better yet they should become more than just roommates

[@MrJustin2105]

please no

[@Eidwood]

@@sddrx6000 he is gay

[@springbok4015]

Eidwood really? Never thought he was.

[@huseenzammam9516]

@@springbok4015 ehhhh i feel like we all knew it on some level

[@ThePaulcarter35]

I'd take the unibody all day long - so many user-upgeade options. Plus 2010 13" unibody macs can actually take upto 16gb ram which is really impressive

[@Garrettdx1988]

I’m with Elise, I’d never get an Air. She wins.

[@connorml]

@@ellamorrison3404 You could upgrade the drive if you have a bit of money

[@steviestinks8070]

Jackie Morrison You got it on eBay?

[@jamalkhalid7964]

What’s wrong with airs?

[@SuperSireBoyYT]

@Sammy Cole the newset air: hold my m1 chip

[@SuperSireBoyYT]

well the air is for more casual users and a cheaper option

[@joeyg2488]

7:24 the phone on the edge gives me anxiety

[@bones3292]

Literally just watched the last Mac challenge yesterday. 😂 great timing 👍

[@sharksbean]

I use the 7th gen iPad as my main device, and as things stand it’s all I need (Let alone all I can afford) at present.

[@Desktop31]

6:45 jesus christ that phone is about to fall

[@videosdecomputacion8396]

🤭

[@KanykaAiM]

I was looking for a comment like this ;)

[@Khyree_Holmes]

I wanted to rescue it.

[@SankeshwarSivakumar]

9:31 more like intel trying to flex their muscle on the core 2 duo

[@vicentearaya1386]

7:55, “hahaha look at that, fully updated” 😂😂😂

[@Daydayday7]

😂

[@Dyl_Apple]

“Oh yeah I did a video with you... do I know you?” I f*cking died

[@vipertt100]

Nice to see Elise back. You guys play good off each other. Great video. You should do more.

[@David_Bellows]

she got one hell of a deal, 122,000 score, my 300 dollar mac only scored 1106

[@Techranology]

Cinebench wasn’t working properly on that MacBook

[@DylanSmith-dy6lj]

RNVRH Gaming & Tech Reviews oh no really?

[@David_Bellows]

@@Techranology YEA I know its just a joke lol.

[@RonnieAT]

RNVRH Gaming & Tech Reviews r/woooosh

[@Windows-bq8xd]

next: $1 MacBook challenge Edit, OMG I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS MANY LIKES THANK YOU, GUYS!!!

[@drewski23_7]

Windows 8.1 And no limit on shipping! Haha

[@sagarkapasi099]

Hey, Windows 8.1, You're One Of The WORST OS

[@generalstep]

Apple Stickers 😅

[@vibhathakkar1883]

😂 haha that’s not possible

[@Windows-bq8xd]

@@sagarkapasi099 its a joke user lol

[@MrGameManIsCool]

WE NEED MORE ELISE SHES AMAZING

[@eltiochusma]

Maybe, but here she looks B O R E D

[@sh1701-A]

@@eltiochusma I don't blame her. lol.

[@NepgearGM6.1]

Aiden Duray nope

[@johngullo9420]

Cute but too much mugging for the camera for me.

[@BigPaco213]

2012 Macbook pro was the best 16GB of RAM 1TB SSD

[@renragged]

Both pretty good deals. I bought a 2012 unibody a couple months ago and paid $480. I think the only way to pick a winner would be to ask what they're supposed to be used for. Just browsing the internet and simple stuff? The Air wins. But if you're wanting to do things where you need large storage, the unibody wins hands down.

[@BobbyWoody429]

Let’s face it, with both laptops you’d only be looking at basic web browsing and documents, maybe for school or study or work

[@masterthetraper2376]

7:06 this is probably the best part of this video, just put thyat aaaa in loop 🤣

[@FerdhianAkbar]

0 watch and 19 likes already lol

[@bkoleff]

i like how this girl doesn't have a clue what's going on

[@mellamoakshay]

Yo wtf

[@THEONEWHOKNOCKS697]

@Vicious stop what?

[@bkoleff]

Akshay Singh sorry, gurl :(

[@mellamoakshay]

@@bkoleff No it wasn't for you it was for this THE ONE WHO.. guy.

[@THEONEWHOKNOCKS697]

@@mellamoakshay what did I do wrong though?

[@realAmongy]

7:31 Best chime ever

[@AndyAndrei123]

This is not a challenge. This is a lifestyle.

[@gumiteam3625]

i bought mine for 380 canadian dollar +upgrades. its a 2012 mid aluminium i7 2.9ghz 16gb ram (used to be 8) 512gb ssd (used to be 750 hdd and going to buy a adapter to swap out the dvd drive to the 750 the use as a 2nd drive.) hd 4000 1536mb vram :)

[@Joshtheweatherman]

I would have to choose the Unibody over the Air. I would much rather have a mid-2012 13" Unibody, since they were the very last ones Apple made. It was also one of the longest production MacBooks, made from mid-2012 to late 2016. The MacBook Air is very nice, but the thermal throttling issues and lack luster battery life is the biggest deal breaker for me. Having a disc drive is a big advantage too, since I can use it to burn music to CD's, or install device drivers onto my Mac.

[@lukeweeks3470]

7:55 "Look at that, fully updated" Me: *Laughs while he uses macOS Big Sur*

[@saleitasmith9294]

I love the way you edit your video I love watching your video You make awesome video I'm your biggest fan you make an amazing video

[@monkeyman8265]

I like the Macbook Air better because I always wanted an Air even with the upgradability of the MBP. Even being that old it still looks sleek and current.

[@ivanf.144]

Hey Luke, right now I'm using Macbook Pro 15 inch Late 2011 with 12gb of RAM and 256ssd for only $275 and it has matte screen option , but the VGA already been bypass permanently and it's works great! Thinking about keeping the 2011 than my current MacBook Air 2013 with i7 too because I don't need portability now in this conditions

[@Zenefor]

**laughs in hackintosh knowledge.*

[@projectchannel8435]

Sad that hackintosh projects only have about 5 more years tops before they get the guillotine from the ARM transition

[@geeijason1105]

roosevelt__ have you made a hackintosh in the last like 3 years

[@geeijason1105]

project Channel yeah well so does the intel macs in the video

[@Zenefor]

@roosevelt__ you can buy wifi cards natively supported by mac but they're having a hefty price.

[@geeijason1105]

roosevelt__ it’s much easier than you think of you prepare ahead and put a wifi card that works in

[@buddhabrot3]

Well i bought a 400€ Macbook pro 2012 refurbished (30month guarantee). With 500gb ssd 8GB RAM. i5 2.5 Ghz. Under catalina it runs smoothly. And for surfing and normal laptop stuff perfect. Better then a new windows for 400€. The problem with old retina devices is there is no upgradability in any way. And to be honest old devices need repair at some point. You get a new screen without retina for 40 Bucks. So i would recommend no retina.

[@SufisoulSaim]

luke you speak well. god bless you brother.

[@fstap]

Just bought my 2015 MacBook Pro 15 inch with the X370M and a new battery for $300 and im really surprised by how good it is. Ive never had a Mac before and im pretty happy with it so far

[@levi.m1_]

When she said “ma’am” to the MacBook I died

[@Landon_Hughes]

Ahh! You're SO close to 200K subs! Congrats man! You're my favorite apple youtuber :)

[@jasongoulet-lipman7308]

300$ for a core 2 duo? I recently bought a thinkpad T480 with 8th gen quad core for $450 on the used market. That's crazy how expensive macs are!

[@mrbrent62]

Watching your videos inspired me to get a 15' Macbook Pro on Ebay... love it.. I'm getting used to the Butterfly keyboard

[@thatrandomtechperson440]

I found a 2009 Plastic MacBook with a Core 2 Duo for 50$. It runs macOS Sierra fine and it does what it needs to do.

[@halami2149]

15:07 "You don't have to go and get murdered" Gosh, I hate it when I'm trying to buy my 59th macbook, and I get murdered

[@roberty.9569]

I passed my Mid-2010 13" MBP to my teenager a few years ago when I upgraded. I might have to stick Cinebench on it and run a test ha.

[@troubledpickle5986]

Yo I love videos with Elsie! You two are awesome!

[@christopherangeli1141]

I just ordered a MacBook Pro from 2010 with 8gb ram and an old HD Drive. I’m replacing a 2010 white unibody that my friend spilled wine on... it worked pretty well for 10 years almost was ripped from me in a second by a glass of wine 🍷 and over gesticulation

[@monicadelgadillo8056]

Omg the whole video I was anxious for the iPhone for the edge of the table.

[@sebsyoutubechannel4252]

"Tax is subjective" mate I wish 😂

[@bru-ri5es]

For my Christmas u got a MacBook but the previous owner didn’t treat it well it had scuffs and marks all over it but luckily I was able to repair it for cheap

[@JohannesHofinger-v9e]

I watched this video just now and you said „and we will power them on“ and my Apple Watch did the charging sound at the exact moment

[@spencerrodgers]

The funny thing is Elise is getting more confident in the KZbin videos for presenting herself XD

[@lovemadeinjapan]

Elise wins. She has a floppy drive. She can play CD-i discs from Philips. Hell Yeah!

[@markharrisllb]

If you go on Ali Express for electronic tools and consumables and look at the sellers from different countries, you'll always find Italy the cheapest. An 8 channel Keysight oscilloscope £50...postage £9,023. You should see who can make the most profit selling cheap Macs on after upgrades. I’d put money on an amateur as they’d be restricted in what upgrades they can do and won’t get carried away.

[@chrishalle1982]

Yeah i bought a macbook air early 2015 this week to have support fo at least 1 or 2 os upgrades.

[@joeyg2488]

elise is so funny on insta like she’s such a mood

[@janphilip4743]

My little sister is still on that MacBook Elise got. It's more of an MacOs Chromebook that can be used for web-browsing and typing documents. For any kind of more demanding task this machine ist really too slow + it easily get above 90° C doing it

[@Jwalkloya]

I needed this video a month ago

[@CompuKonstantin]

If you are willing to tinker a little you can get incredible deals. For example: I bought two late 2013 dual graphics 15‘ MacBook Pros. One was completely working except the motherboard. I paid 300€. The other one was missing the screen and battery but the Logicboard was working. I paid 100€. Swapped the Logicboard and sold the spare parts for 100€. So I basically got a late 2013 15‘ dual graphics MacBook Pro for 300€.

[@The_realgenesis]

Itsssss crazy how he could just look at her laptop and know every speck GENIUS

[@michaelmode]

This was extremely helpful. I’m not a techy but I’m also not a novice techs. And I’ve never owned a Mac and would like hop over from Windows to Mac very soon. Thanks so much!

[@ludvigblad1838]

that video was the first i watched and i loved it lol the one 7 months ago

[@Deeznutsmynamejeff21]

If you didn’t include shipping, you could have bought multiple $39 i7 macbooks haha

[@ConnorPritchard__1999]

I got a 2013 Macbook Air for 200 on ebay, i7 and 8GB ram, buffed out a dent on the bottom, re-did the thermal paste and it runs like an absolute dream!

[@MegaSlanguage]

I’m looking to get a MacBook for work soon but can’t afford a recent one. I’ve narrowed down to the 2012 models and they’re more affordable, is it the retina or mid 2012 model that’s best?

[@wthbad3571]

Videos with Elise are much more entertaining lol

[@aaronthetechguy]

I actually bought a mac using your advice. 2015 13" mbp. No regrets

[@wewwew236]

I've got the same yesterday haha! How much did it cost?

[@aaronthetechguy]

@@wewwew236 $527 for the base model before tax and shipping.

[@wewwew236]

@@aaronthetechguy ohhh that's really good. I paid around 380 for the same before shipping, but mine is a little beat-up and the charger is baaaad. ahahah

[@aaronthetechguy]

@@wewwew236 mine's in almost flawless condition but the charger is also really beat up and the battery has a lot of cycles on it. I was willing to pay more because the seller was really well rated and very responsive to my questions.

[@ojleslie]

The MacBook Pro is only a Core 2 Duo. In the same form factor with a Core i5 it could run Catalina and would be more of a match.

[@adamwilson4223]

Just started this video, but I fully expect Luke to come away with a crazy mess-up 2015 15" dual-graphics-model mystery deal for $300.

[@eurihub]

2010 mbp wins reason: non-stop customization

[@TryMyMartini]

Yep!

[@michaelconroy5668]

Luke your being polite to your friends purchase. The Air is the clear winner.

[@kzakis3350]

What were the specs of the MacBook Pro, I’d lean to the pro, as ram and hd can be upgraded to increase speed, the air is limited by the soldered ram, and at 4 go, that would limit what you could run, Air 0 Pro 1

[@tristanskylark]

12:50 Luke obviously won

[@theartistchair_]

I want to see a 1000 dollar budget MacBook video!

[@drewski23_7]

Almost 200K subs!!! So exciting!

[@marcinoo97]

Which macbook has faster GPU?

[@OutdoorsLife]

6:35 that was extremely aggressive 😂

[@its_mi.]

I bought a late 2008 13" aluminum MacBook with 8GB RAM for 50€, ordered a battery for 20€ now and at some point am gonna replace the HDD. I flashed win10 on it and other than the fan being a bit loud, it runs perfectly well!

[@tw3nz0r]

Now we just need the epic crossover featuring RandomGamingInHD and his sister.

[@marekmecir5822]

“Is it in?” “Okay”😂😂🤌

[@discerningacumen]

Luke, I have 2015 MacBook Pro which is my go-to device for my work, game development. I’m using E-GPU with it as well. The biggest problem with the macbook is that it does not come with TB3, but TB2. Is it possible to change. TB2 with TB3? With EGPU, it worked well. But every time OS update, I had to patch it in order to use the E-GPU. Thanks in advance.

[@radleyrichman1136]

Opinions on the 2017 12” MacBook?

[@ypsi7267]

Although almost a year later in April of 2021, I scored a refurbished 2012 13 in Macbook Pro for 275 shipping included

[@joescollen]

I just bought a MacBook Pro mid 2012 for £280, with a 500gb ssd, intel i5 3rd gen & 8gb ram. I’d say that’s a good deal!

[@joescollen]

May I add, excellent condition other than the usual wear & tear

[@caroncomp]

congrats on (almost) hitting 200k

[@BadSector]

lol .. screen peakin. we call that shoulder surfing in our town.... great vid

[@rebirthkk5655]

Congrats on 200k IVE BEEN On ur channel since 100 subs

[@Mrhoaf]

Luke's Air is better for sure. Not being able to run a current OS is a big deal for me. There is NO WAY I would pay $1 for that 2010 MBP, let alone $300.

[@ItsJustTech]

Another banger from Luke!!!

[@Fearless_Zen]

Elise Macbook pro specification is like my early 2010 Macbook pro spec but 0,26ghz less

[@mikusklavins6418]

Congrats on 200k subs

[@espero_dev]

Where are you USA or Canada

[@ray4154]

i got my macbook pro 2013 for 185 and only had a dent in the casing and a stuck pixel

[@jackirvin]

my mom just got the 2020 MacBook pro and gave me her old 2014 pro. it has a dead hard drive and I thought it was going to just sit on my shelf collecting dust when I saw this video, and now I kinda want to fix it...

[@ranbirbhatia1585]

Love ur vids luke

[@moonsteroid]

I actually thought she’s your sister 😂

[@ashwitmoro]

They do have the same eyes. Haha

[@awesomeiphone597]

@@ashwitmoro ur right

[@adonysmercadal3508]

I bought a early 2015 macbook air for 400 in mint condition , charger , and box with it’s manual