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2012 15" RMBP vs 2013 15" RMBP
- Thread starter mstgkillr
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The speed difference is minor. The GPU are even the same with a different model number and some extra GDDR5. They even run at the exact same mhz. PCI-e SSD vs SATA III will not be noticeable either.
Main improvement would be in 802.11ac, some power saving features in Haswell, and TB2 allowing for 4k displays.
Broadwell should have some bigger and better improvements that would be more noticeable, especially if they continue having a dGPU option.
The enhancement in performance is probably not worth it. I think the CPU, GPU and SSD performance will be very close. You will get better battery life with the Hasewell chips. But that does not seem to be a very compelling reason to upgrade.
Just joined this forum to reply to your post - it seems that with each buy/sell transaction, as an end user, you're risking losing money rather than profiting, especially if you bought it new, at retail price.
These are so close in spec that it would be advisable to keep your current model rMBP, as they hold their value longer than any other brand. Only choose to sell it if the software you have begins to run slowly or affect your productivity.
Keep it in a case/sleeve (live-in cases would be the safest bet, if it works for you) as much as you reasonably can to keep it looking new, and as long as you are respectful of the battery (no letting it completely die too many times) you should be a cut above everyone else when you go to sell it, and have no issue at all finding a buyer - especially since it will speed back up if you do a wipe/reset before shipping it out.
This is my input from a "conservation of funds" perspective.
These are so close in spec that it would be advisable to keep your current model rMBP, as they hold their value longer than any other brand. Only choose to sell it if the software you have begins to run slowly or affect your productivity.
Keep it in a case/sleeve (live-in cases would be the safest bet, if it works for you) as much as you reasonably can to keep it looking new, and as long as you are respectful of the battery (no letting it completely die too many times) you should be a cut above everyone else when you go to sell it, and have no issue at all finding a buyer - especially since it will speed back up if you do a wipe/reset before shipping it out.
This is my input from a "conservation of funds" perspective.
I'll chime in, I upgrade my MacBook every time a new model is released. Since I only buy refurbished or used I rarely lose out on much money at all. Case in point, I purchased my old mid 2012 13" rMBP for $1100 on apples refurbished site. When the Haswells came out I waited for one to show up on the refurb site and grabbed a new Haswell model for $1300. I then was able to sell my old mid 2012 on Craigslist for the same price I bought it for.
So in the end it cost me $200 for the latest and greatest. Now that I have a new 15" I will do the same thing. I bought the 15" used and when the new 15"s come out I will wait for it to hit refurb and sell this one and get a newer one.
It's great to always have the latest technology if you're a techno junkie like me.
So in the end it cost me $200 for the latest and greatest. Now that I have a new 15" I will do the same thing. I bought the 15" used and when the new 15"s come out I will wait for it to hit refurb and sell this one and get a newer one.
It's great to always have the latest technology if you're a techno junkie like me.
Imagine if they let you get education discounts for the refurb products too. 
I recently made my first Mac computer purchase - sprung for a refurb 2012 15" RMBP and absolutely love it. The drivers for Windows work flawlessly, but I find myself in OS X most of the time. It's just a pleasure to use.
SVTmaniac, if you can flip products at each release and upgrade to the latest and greatest with minimal outlay, I'm impressed.
I recently made my first Mac computer purchase - sprung for a refurb 2012 15" RMBP and absolutely love it. The drivers for Windows work flawlessly, but I find myself in OS X most of the time. It's just a pleasure to use. SVTmaniac, if you can flip products at each release and upgrade to the latest and greatest with minimal outlay, I'm impressed.
Has anyone here witnessed a case where the integrated graphics on their Mac were the bottleneck to either a game or other application? I'm wondering if having discrete graphics offers that much of a difference in performance or is it mostly a selling point for those who refuse to go without a dedicated video card?
The 2013 rMBP has:
- faster CPU
- much faster SSD
- new thunderbolt
- better battery life
- faster GPU
I would personally wait for the next generation which is Skylake (Broadwell is just a die shrink)