13" Refurb or New Base Model

[oldnslow]

Which laptop is better for what i want to do?

What i do--edit photos in Aperture/Lightroom, web browse, other none taxing tasks, mainly photo editing on the go. I have an IMAC 27" at home.

$1229.00
refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 with Retina Display
Originally released February 2013
13.3-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2560-by-1600 resolution at 227 pixels per inch

8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM

256GB Flash Storage

720p FaceTime HD Camera

Intel HD Graphics 4000


Base Model 1299.00

13-inch: 2.4GHz
with Retina display
Specifications
2.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
4GB 1600MHz memory
128GB PCIe-based flash storage1
Intel Iris Graphics
Built-in battery (9 hours)


Basically is the Graphics card in the new model that much better than the new card?

The refurb has a faster processor and more ram and a bigger ssd!!
Isn't this a no-brainer???

David

 

[PDFierro]

Don't assume that the processor is faster. Haswell has lower clock speeds with no loss in performance.

In your case, I'd go for the base model and upgrade the RAM. Or consider stepping up to the $1,499 base model. But it's not a no-brainer, go for the new model if you want the extra battery life among other things.

 

[AlecMyrddyn]

Given that you have the iMac at home, I'd go for the refurb if I were you for the extra RAM and SSD.

The Ivy Bridge 2.6 is not "faster" than the Haswell 2.4. It does have a faster clock speed, but in terms of actual performance, the Haswell is faster:

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/137109?baseline=136387

Not much faster (~4% Single-Core, ~8% Multi-Core), but it is faster in terms of real world performance.

Video performance is trick, as there's aren't direct benchmarks out yet that I've seen, but the Iris 5100 in the new Haswell could be quite a bit faster than the HD 4000 in the Ivy Bridge refurb. But it doesn't sound like you are going to be pushing the graphics capabilities at all.