Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2012 or 2013 rMPg 15"

P

papashango9

macrumors member
Original poster
Oops I meant Retina Mac Book Pro!

Last years model is $230 cheaper. I only see a difference in speed: 2.4ghz vs 2.3 ghz i7 processor. I read internal components could be upgraded, but I dont know if they are major components..what do you suggest i go with?

----------

BTW I have a 2009 MBP 15". Love it but ready for SSD , Retina, and faster processor.
 
Last edited:
papashango9 said:
Last years model is $230 cheaper. I only see a difference in speed: 2.4ghz vs 2.3 ghz i7 processor. I read internal components could be upgraded, but I dont know if they are major components..what do you suggest i go with?

----------

BTW I have a 2009 MBP 15". Love it but ready for SSD , Retina, and faster processor.
Click to expand...
The upgradeable components in the non-retina systems are the RAM, hard drive, and the optical drive (which can also be removed and replaced with a second HDD or SSD).

If you're not going to make use of the ability to upgrade things yourself, and if you're going to handle the upgrades through Apple anyway, then the standard MBP doesn't offer much benefit over the retina other than having a built-in optical drive and ethernet port (neither of which get much use from most people these days). If those matter to you, then you would need to purchase an external optical drive and a Thunderbolt to ethernet adapter on top of the retina's price premium.

The retina offers the best screen that you can buy with a laptop, it's smaller and lighter, and it's currently the only laptop with two Thunderbolt ports (which, admittedly, isn't a huge deal due to lack of Thunderbolt peripherals).

Ultimately it comes down to whether you want to pinch pennies where you can, how much the retina screen matters to you, and whether you upgrade your own components (and how much it matters to you). You'll feel a performance boost no matter which system you go with, but you should upgrade to a SSD either way to make it feel even more apparent. That's something that your 2009 system could benefit from, as well.
 
Ledgem said:
The upgradeable components in the non-retina systems are the RAM, hard drive, and the optical drive (which can also be removed and replaced with a second HDD or SSD).

If you're not going to make use of the ability to upgrade things yourself, and if you're going to handle the upgrades through Apple anyway, then the standard MBP doesn't offer much benefit over the retina other than having a built-in optical drive and ethernet port (neither of which get much use from most people these days). If those matter to you, then you would need to purchase an external optical drive and a Thunderbolt to ethernet adapter on top of the retina's price premium.

The retina offers the best screen that you can buy with a laptop, it's smaller and lighter, and it's currently the only laptop with two Thunderbolt ports (which, admittedly, isn't a huge deal due to lack of Thunderbolt peripherals).

Ultimately it comes down to whether you want to pinch pennies where you can, how much the retina screen matters to you, and whether you upgrade your own components (and how much it matters to you). You'll feel a performance boost no matter which system you go with, but you should upgrade to a SSD either way to make it feel even more apparent. That's something that your 2009 system could benefit from, as well.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I am already sold on a new retina model, I was just trying to see if the 2012 retina model is essentially just as good as the 2013...
 
papashango9 said:
Thanks, I am already sold on a new retina model, I was just trying to see if the 2012 retina model is essentially just as good as the 2013...
Click to expand...

It is. Get the 2012 if you can get it for cheaper. The extra 100MHz will not make a perceptible difference.
 
The 2013 model has nothing over 2012 one that would be worth $200... just a tiny CPU boost and some slight internal improvements.
 
Its pretty much the same hardware, you get a minor speed bump with processor speed and possibility to get that problematic SanDisk SSD with new models (except the 786GB one, which is still Samsung 830 version).

I would go for 2012 model.
 
Zodiac.mj said:
Its pretty much the same hardware, you get a minor speed bump with processor speed and possibility to get that problematic SanDisk SSD with new models (except the 786GB one, which is still Samsung 830 version).

I would go for 2012 model.
Click to expand...
The 2012 model isn't the latest and the greatest though?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back