13" Retina Macbook Pro Mid-2014 vs Early 2015

[Larrabee213]

Need some advice. After some reflection and a week with the 13" 2015 retina Macbook pro I have really come to love the size. I also currently have a fully loaded Late 2013 15" rMBP. I was considering selling the 15", but it looks like I would get around $1500 for it, for that I would rather park it on my desktop and make it a home machine and use the 13" for travel.

Now I need to decide if I want to go with the current 2015 13" or get one of the heavily discounted Late 2014 models.

I think 256GB would be enough for travel, I also have 2 - 128GB Flash drives if needed. So do I go with the $1499 2015 model or go with a $1249 Late 2014 model that is on sale? Do you think the faster RAM/SSD/Trackpad/battery is worth the extra $250? I could also wait for the refurbs to be back in stock at $1149.

What would you do?

 

[yjchua95]

Need some advice. After some reflection and a week with the 13" 2015 retina Macbook pro I have really come to love the size. I also currently have a fully loaded Late 2013 15" rMBP. I was considering selling the 15", but it looks like I would get around $1500 for it, for that I would rather park it on my desktop and make it a home machine and use the 13" for travel.

Now I need to decide if I want to go with the current 2015 13" or get one of the heavily discounted Late 2014 models.

I think 256GB would be enough for travel, I also have 2 - 128GB Flash drives if needed. So do I go with the $1499 2015 model or go with a $1249 Late 2014 model that is on sale? Do you think the faster RAM/SSD/Trackpad/battery is worth the extra $250? I could also wait for the refurbs to be back in stock at $1149.

What would you do?

The faster GPU (Iris 6100) and the new trackpad is worth the $250. Resale value will be higher as well.

 

[Steve121178]

Do you think the faster RAM/SSD/Trackpad/battery is worth the extra $250?

Yes.

This is one of the most bizarre "what shall I do?" posts that I have ever seen. Keep the 2015 model, especially as you already have it! Why on earth would you want to even consider the 2014 to just save a piddling $250? Utterly crazy.

 

[Larrabee213]

And I think I would be good with 256 since it is a second computer, again I will have the 128GB USB3 drives.

 

[thadoggfather]

Yosemite only on 2015 was the deal breaker for me.

Might not be for others, and I've considered the 2015 over the 2014 refurbished, but I dunno..

 

[DesertSilver]

Yes.

This is one of the most bizarre "what shall I do?" posts that I have ever seen. Keep the 2015 model, especially as you already have it! Why on earth would you want to even consider the 2014 to just save a piddling $250? Utterly crazy.

So I have this used Mercedes that's worth $100k. For that, I'd rather keep it and drive it on the weekends. But I want a new Mercedes that also cost $100k, or should I go with last year's model for $85k. What would you do?

 

[magbarn]

The faster GPU (Iris 6100) and the new trackpad is worth the $250. Resale value will be higher as well.

The speed difference between the Iris 6100 vs 5100 is not big enough for gaming (in other words unplayable titles (games that run less than 30 fps) on last year's machine aren't going to miraculously run well on the 2015 machine. So unless you're doing some serious OpenCL work (you really should be looking at other machines for this anyway) it's really not a big deal. The CPU/SSD speed boosts are also ho hum and the average user would be hard pressed to tell the difference. The battery life (1 extra hour) and the new trackpad would be the big differences.

If the OP is in the US, Best Buy has the 2014 8gb/256gb rMBP 13 right now for $1199 + Tax. The sale expires in a couple of hours so if that's what you want you better strike fast.

 

[Steve121178]

So I have this used Mercedes that's worth $100k. For that, I'd rather keep it and drive it on the weekends. But I want a new Mercedes that also cost $100k, or should I go with last year's model for $85k. What would you do?

I'd have made the correct purchasing decision in the first place.

Doesn't make sense to go for the 2014 Mac. To use the tired old car analogy, even if it's $250 cheaper, you will lose that and a whole lot more when it comes to resale simply by choosing the older out of date model.

 

[Harthag]

Stick with the 2015 model that you already own. You already spent the money. If it ain't broke don't fix it is what I say. If everything works to your liking it's worth the peace of mind and the extra $250. Who knows what issues could arise if you return it and get a clunker instead (however unlikely that may be).

 

[magbarn]

I'd have made the correct purchasing decision in the first place.

Doesn't make sense to go for the 2014 Mac. To use the tired old car analogy, even if it's $250 cheaper, you will lose that and a whole lot more when it comes to resale simply by choosing the older out of date model.

I know this is heresy here, but some people will use their MacBooks for at least 5 years or more. At that point resale difference will be moot as to a buyer of a 5 year old macbook, the 2014/2015 look the same. For your car analogy, some people buy a car to drive it till the wheels fall off.

Now, if you're a serial up-grader (what seems to be a majority here) who likes to dump 1-2 year old perfectly good machines to get the latest and greatest, resale difference will be there.

 

[thadoggfather]

The speed difference between the Iris 6100 vs 5100 is not big enough for gaming (in other words unplayable titles (games that run less than 30 fps) on last year's machine aren't going to miraculously run well on the 2015 machine. So unless you're doing some serious OpenCL work (you really should be looking at other machines for this anyway) it's really not a big deal. The CPU/SSD speed boosts are also ho hum and the average user would be hard pressed to tell the difference. The battery life (1 extra hour) and the new trackpad would be the big differences.

If the OP is in the US, Best Buy has the 2014 8gb/256gb rMBP 13 right now for $1199 + Tax. The sale expires in a couple of hours so if that's what you want you better strike fast.

Broadwell is indeed the 'tick' of architecture. Skylake will be the 'tock,' as will design differences if they include the butterfly design keyboard and thin the body.

On paper, 2014>2015 you get
-Force Touch (not a fan)
-Yosemite onward (not a fan-- nearly the deal breaker for me not so much the cost difference)
-ability to drive a 4k display over 1 TB (I like this prospect, but I don't think I'll be getting a 4k external any time soon, I rarely use my 24" 1920x1200 these days but when I do I still appreciate its rarer 16:10 AR) and I like its all inclusiveness with my refurbished TB dock I found last summer on eBay for like 70 bucks
-modest CPU performance upgrades, almost moot
-modest power efficiency upgrades, marketed for 1 more hour
-double IO with using 4 channels for the SSD instead of 2 (~1100 or ~1200 MB/s over ~600MB/s) that is nice and an impressive leap but not a bottleneck for my uses

 

[nj-mac-user]

I know this is heresy here, but some people will use their MacBooks for at least 5 years or more. At that point resale difference will be moot as to a buyer of a 5 year old macbook, the 2014/2015 look the same.

Correct, but he'd have more buyers available to him due to the simple fact of the new trackpad. In another year from now the force touch trackpad will be standard across all Macbook models and the spring board design of previous models will be old news. 5 years from now few will want the old trackpad design. It's like someone buying an older model Macbook today that still has the single physical button on the trackpad.

 

[nj-mac-user]

If the OP is in the US, Best Buy has the 2014 8gb/256gb rMBP 13 right now for $1199 + Tax. The sale expires in a couple of hours so if that's what you want you better strike fast.

That plus a Best Buy 10% movers coupon has got to be THE best deal I've seen. Doesn't get better than $1080 plus tax for the 2014 256GB model.

 

[magbarn]

Correct, but he'd have more buyers available to him due to the simple fact of the new trackpad. In another year from now the force touch trackpad will be standard across all Macbook models and the spring board design of previous models will be old news. 5 years from now few will want the old trackpad design. It's like someone buying an older model Macbook today that still has the single physical button on the trackpad.

Really? The difference between the trackpads isn't as huge as you're stating. Have you actually gone into the store to try it out?
To a casual mac user, both trackpads will feel/look about the same. The biggest advantage of the new trackpad is that it's thinner which allows Apple to make the newest rMB.

Edit: I can see what you're saying as in 5 years, the new trackpad will still feel 'New' as there are no mechanical parts to break or wear out, whilst a well worn click pad (especially if they're like me who like to push on till it 'clicks') will feel loose by then.

 

[nj-mac-user]

Really? The difference between the trackpads isn't as huge as you're stating. Have you actually gone into the store to try it out?
To a casual mac user, both trackpads will feel/look about the same. The biggest advantage of the new trackpad is that it's thinner which allows Apple to make the newest rMB.

Edit: I can see what you're saying as in 5 years, the new trackpad will still feel 'New' as there are no mechanical parts to break or wear out, whilst a well worn click pad (especially if they're like me who like to push on till it 'clicks') will feel loose by then.

I have it. You're forgetting about future uses app developers will take advantage of with its touch sensitively. That can't be understated.

EDIT: I meant pressure sensitivity.

 

[Steve121178]

That plus a Best Buy 10% movers coupon has got to be THE best deal I've seen. Doesn't get better than $1080 plus tax for the 2014 256GB model.

Why would anyone want the 2014 model when the 2015 model brings some pretty neat new features? If it's all about cost then why look at a premium notebook in the first place? It's still $1000 plus. For something I assume the OP plans to use for years, then the 2015 model is the way to go.

 

[thadoggfather]

A decent amount of people seem to want 2014 since a lot of those 13" SKUs (and all 15" SKU's at the moment since it hasn't yet been refreshed) are out of stock on refurb store.

 

[Anand953]

2014 model is still worth considering since the 2015 model doesn't offer improvements that are so dramatically upgraded that $250 looks like peanuts in front of it...

I would any day use the $250 to buy my external storages (flash or otherwise) as 128 or 256 that come as standard in a macbook is nothing to be proud of if you plan to use it for 3 years+

One more point - The 2014 macbook pro trackpad is still one of the best in the industry

 

[Larrabee213]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I know it is not logical, I just overthink this stuff.

Just trying to decided if the 512 SSD is worth the extra $300. My 15" has 512GB, and this would mostly be for travel with some light video editing, again it is easy to have an extra 128GB stick or I can send it to the cloud on amazon drive or dropbox. So maybe it is worth saving the $300 and sticking with the 256GB SDD?

 

[nj-mac-user]

I definitely don't think an extra .2 GHz of processor speed and 256GB more of space is worth it. And certainly not so with USB3 speeds and thumb drives capable of reaching 200MB/s+ reads/writes.

 

[yjchua95]

The speed difference between the Iris 6100 vs 5100 is not big enough for gaming (in other words unplayable titles (games that run less than 30 fps) on last year's machine aren't going to miraculously run well on the 2015 machine. So unless you're doing some serious OpenCL work (you really should be looking at other machines for this anyway) it's really not a big deal. The CPU/SSD speed boosts are also ho hum and the average user would be hard pressed to tell the difference. The battery life (1 extra hour) and the new trackpad would be the big differences.

If the OP is in the US, Best Buy has the 2014 8gb/256gb rMBP 13 right now for $1199 + Tax. The sale expires in a couple of hours so if that's what you want you better strike fast.

Well at least the Iris 6100 can support 4K at 60 Hz. The 5100 can't. That's a big deal.

 

[cjmillsnun]

I have it. You're forgetting about future uses app developers will take advantage of with its touch sensitively. That can't be understated.

The old trackpad was touch sensitive. Or are you referring to the haptic feedback. Something that is on my works phone (Android) and I hate.

 

[seadragon]

The new trackpad is *pressure* sensitive vs the old which is not.

 

[roncron]

Others have made the obvious points already. Let me add this:

As someone who owns the 2015 model, I don't think it FEELS noticeably faster than the 2014 model for most everyday normal tasks, even though the benchmarks show it's faster (especially the SSD). That's because the 2014 model is, itself, pretty dang fast.

You have to decide how much it's worth to you to have the force touch trackpad and the higher eventual resale value of the 2015 model, and compare that to the savings you'd get now from the 2014 model.

You can get maybe a rough sense of the difference in eventual resale value by looking on eBay: search "completed listings" for the actual sales prices of 2014 rMBPs and compare them to similarly configured 2013 rMBPs.

Good luck!

 

[Geekbabe]

A decent amount of people seem to want 2014 since a lot of those 13" SKUs (and all 15" SKU's at the moment since it hasn't yet been refreshed) are out of stock on refurb store.

I went to MicroCenter today and snagged a 13 inch model, the price was great for the configuration and it is replacing a 2011 MacBook Air. The difference is amazing.