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2014 vs. 2015 MBP?

J

Jabar18

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 8, 2015
105
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So I'm in the market for a newer MBP. The current machine I'm running is a 2007 15" MBP, 4GB of RAM, 320GB 7200RPM Scorpio Drive.

It's on its last legs. The display is failing and the processor is incredibly slow, even with Mavericks. (I actually downgraded from Yosemite back to Mavericks because it almost crashed the MBP.)

I'm wondering how people feel about the 2014 15" MBP model vs. the 2015 15". I can get a 2014 with what I need, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, Quad-Core i7 2.5ghz for $2,350 refurbished from the Apple Store. That's almost $500 less than this year's model with similar specs.

$500 worth it just for the force trackpad? Or is the 2015 better in other ways I don't know about? Should I nab a 2015, or get the refurbished 2014 from the Apple Store?

The most important thing for me is longevity. I want to have my next machine for at least 5-7 years. I know you can't "future proof" technology, but is the 2015 more "future proof" with the force trackpad?

Thoughts?
 
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The 2015 model also has a faster SSD and GPU, but coming from a 2007 model MBP, you'll never notice a difference.

The refurb 2014 is the way to go.
 
krishmk said:
Refurbished store has 13" 2015 models
Click to expand...

I know. I gotta get a 15" though. 13" MBPs feel like toy laptops to me. My 2007 is 15" now and going to a 13" after spending 8 years on a 15" wouldn't work.
 
Jabar18 said:
I know. I gotta get a 15" though. 13" MBPs feel like toy laptops to me. My 2007 is 15" now and going to a 13" after spending 8 years on a 15" wouldn't work.
Click to expand...
Give it few more weeks and hopefully 15" will on the refurbished store..
 
Jabar18 said:
So I'm in the market for a newer MBP. The current machine I'm running is a 2007 15" MBP, 4GB of RAM, 320GB 7200RPM Scorpio Drive.

It's on its last legs. The display is failing and the processor is incredibly slow, even with Mavericks. (I actually downgraded from Yosemite back to Mavericks because it almost crashed the MBP.)

I'm wondering how people feel about the 2014 15" MBP model vs. the 2015 15". I can get a 2014 with what I need, 16GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, Quad-Core i7 2.5ghz for $2,350 refurbished from the Apple Store. That's almost $500 less than this year's model with similar specs.

$500 worth it just for the force trackpad? Or is the 2015 better in other ways I don't know about? Should I nab a 2015, or get the refurbished 2014 from the Apple Store?

The most important thing for me is longevity. I want to have my next machine for at least 5-7 years. I know you can't "future proof" technology, but is the 2015 more "future proof" with the force trackpad?

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I picked up a brand new 2014 15" high end model from BH over the weekend, for $1899 (incl tax). For me, a slightly faster SSD and GPU wasn't enough to justify a several hundred dollar difference. I don't care about force touch, and I'm personally not a fan of AMD cards.

Btw, the model you're interested in is available, brand new, from BH for slightly more than the refurb unit will be after taxes. (BH does not charge sales tax).
 
If you want to save money then find the model you want on amazon and bookmark the used seller page and wait for an "Amazon Warehouse Deal" to show up, all of the amazon warehouse stuff is just open box returns and come with the same return policy as normal amazon stuff. The mid 2014 2.5ghz 15's go for around $1700-1800, I got one and it was in perfect condition with the box, 1 cycle on the battery and 8 months left on the warranty, after tax it was cheaper than the refurb 2.2ghz. They are extremely conservative with the condition, mine was "good" with "Cosmetic damage (Less than 5%) and damage to box," there is no damage at all and the box just had normal marks and bent corners from being stacked.
 
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I'd go for the 2015 model personally.

Expected life for a laptop for me is 3+ years (preferably 4-5), and 500 bucks amortised over 3 years is ~ $133 per year. Lets say roughly 30c per day. Sure, its 500 dollars up front, but in the long run over the life of the machine, it's not much at all.

For that you get better battery life, better trackpad, better GPU. I.e., you have a nicer machine (more pleasant user experience) for 3+ years. For roughly $2/week..


Just on future-proofing though - i would recommend NOT doing that (based on buying computers since the late 90s and originally being all for future proofing).

Why? the higher end hardware costs a lot more today than it will by the time you need it.
Plan on buying a spec that you will turn over after 3 years, get the extended warranty and you'll have a faster machine with better battery life, continual warranty coverage, etc. over the long run.

The difference between today's low end CPU/GPU and todays high end CPU/GPU is a lot less than when you make generation leaps (i.e., CPU/GPU from new 2018 base/mid model will be a lot quicker/more useful in 2018 than your high end model from 2015). You'll also get more money to fund your new machine by selling your old machine earlier.

Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying to skimp on spec - but going for the extreme high end doesn't make sense unless you need it today - or at least within the next 2-3 years. The performance difference between the top of the line and midrange is not that big, and it is certainly not going to be the difference between your machine being useful in 5 years time or not - except for maybe RAM.
 
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inhalexhale1 said:
Btw, the model you're interested in is available, brand new, from BH for slightly more than the refurb unit will be after taxes. (BH does not charge sales tax).
Click to expand...

Unless you live in New York State. In which case, they do charge sales tax.
 
I just went through this and chose the mid-2014. I use the MBP with a thunderbolt display as a sudo desktop. For how I use the machine, the GPU difference (750M vs 370) has no value to me. The SSD speed is only really different for sustained R/Ws and I don't generate multiGB files as scratch files for my work. When I sell the machine in 5 years the difference between a used 2015 or 2014 will be way less than $500. If your workflow really needs the 2015 updates (you must use a 5k external and 4k won't do) then go 2015. Either machine will support El Cap Metal.

Prove this to yourself by looking up the price of a used 2010 versus a used 2011 today. It's maybe $100.
 
The performance difference is minimal, and the extra features are worth it only if you want them.

Save $500. It's a lot of money for a slight bump.
 
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