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2011 vs 2012 15" MBP

L

luc182

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 20, 2012
4
0
I currently have a 13" macbook 2.16 ghz core 2 duo with 2 GB ram. I believe it is finally time for an upgrade! I've been looking at either a refurbished 15" 2.2 ghz quad core for $1,359 or a new 2012 15" 2.3 ghz quad core for $1800.

Although having the newest thing is hard to resist, is a little over $400 really worth it?
 
luc182 said:
I currently have a 13" macbook 2.16 ghz core 2 duo with 2 GB ram. I believe it is finally time for an upgrade! I've been looking at either a refurbished 15" 2.2 ghz quad core for $1,359 or a new 2012 15" 2.3 ghz quad core for $1800.

Although having the newest thing is hard to resist, is a little over $400 really worth it?
Click to expand...

Well Ivy Bridge is about 10-15% faster than Sandy Bridge for the same clocks. So one would expect the 2012 machine to be about 15-20% faster than the 2011 machine.

You also gain USB3.0 which going forward will likely be very useful. Thunderbolt is poised to become more of a dumb pipe to link hubs or provide connectivities with high bandwidth peripherals. We probably will never see Thunderbolt Flash Drives.

The integrated graphics are significantly better on Ivy Bridge than on Sandy Bridge. The discrete graphics are also better on the 2012 than they are on the 2011.

You will also get a free upgrade to Mountain Lion vs. having to pay $20.

It is really up to you whether you think it is worth it.
 
Well, one other thing is that the 2012 runs notably cooler and quieter than the 2011 models.
 
For pretty much everything the 2011 will be just fine. Sure, there are improvements with the 2012, but most of them aren't going to be noticeable for most people. Do you need the better graphics for something you plan on doing? Do you need USB 3 support? You didn't give much information, so it's difficult to give you a decent answer. What do you use your computer for, what programs do you plan on running?
 
Sorry for the lack of information. The most intensive thing I'll be using it for would be photoshop and indesign. Other than that, just your average web surfing, watching videos and e-mail.
 
luc182 said:
Sorry for the lack of information. The most intensive thing I'll be using it for would be photoshop and indesign. Other than that, just your average web surfing, watching videos and e-mail.
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I run both of those on my 2011 every day with no problems. You'll have to decide if you need any of the other features of the 2012 model (USB 3.0, the possibility of it running cooler or quieter, etc.) But as far as the basic things you'll be using it for, the 2011 will work fine for you and save you some money.
 
If money is an issue for you, the 2011 will do just fine.

I would strongly advise you look at bhphotovideo.com. No, I don't work for them, but they are selling the 2.2GHz 15" brand new for $1469, no sales tax, free shipping, half price AppleCare, great deals on RAM and SSD (I got a 256G Crucial M4 for $170), and free Parallels.

I still can't find anything that can touch that deal.
 
luc182 said:
Sorry for the lack of information. The most intensive thing I'll be using it for would be photoshop and indesign. Other than that, just your average web surfing, watching videos and e-mail.
Click to expand...

Honestly a 13" MBP or a 13" MBA would do those just fine. I mention that because you're coming from a 13" Macbook.

In the default configurations the Air will actually feel faster than the 15" MBP for many tasks because of the SSD.
 
luc182 said:
I currently have a 13" macbook 2.16 ghz core 2 duo with 2 GB ram. I believe it is finally time for an upgrade! I've been looking at either a refurbished 15" 2.2 ghz quad core for $1,359 or a new 2012 15" 2.3 ghz quad core for $1800.

Although having the newest thing is hard to resist, is a little over $400 really worth it?
Click to expand...

oh you have an old model and are deciding between 2011 and 2012...the title sounds like you have a 2011 and are finally upgrading it.
 
The 2012 MBP and USB 3.0 make the purchase worth the extra dollars alone. USB 2.0 is worthless when it comes to transferring lots of data. My 2012 2.7ghz is faster than my 11 2.3..but not by a huge amount. Its the USB capability that made the difference to me. The video is better too, but 2011 MBP video seemed adequate for me too.
 
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