2015 I5 8gb 256gb VS 2015 I7 16gb 512gb Which one to Keep? Info Inside

[geokarbou]

Hello everyone,


So, after the recent disappointment of WWDC and me needing a new MBP immediately, I jumped and scanned eBay for deals and ended up buying two of them..yes I know I am a pig but I'll sell one and I need your help.

Both of them are early 2015 with force touch trackpad. The rest of the details are:


I5, 8gb, 256gb, 2(!!) battery cycles, no warranty, mint condition (bought for £727)

I7, 16gb, 512gb, 30 battery cycles, 4 months warranty, mint condition (bought for £1,095)


And the question is which to keep and which to sell. I know it depends on my use and my needs and here's the thing: I don't care one bit for the I7, the differences are negligible I don't win anything performance-wise, I don't do any video editing etc so I won't notice the difference, BUT I do need as much RAM as possible and the 16gb is good for future proof. I do also like the 512gb SSD but it's not a deal breaker, I could live with 256gb and some SD card/external drive.

So, the natural choice would be to keep the I7 but I'm kinda worried about the battery runtime trade-off. Battery runtimes are one of the main elements I opted for a macbook and I don't want to give away too much battery runtime for no performance gains. If the second system would have an I5 it would be awesome.

Anyway, what do you think?

 

[maflynn]

BUT I do need as much RAM as possible

I think you answered your own question.

You should get the 16GB model, you not only get more ram, but more storage.

 

[rhoydotp]

I think you answered your own question.

You should get the 16GB model, you not only get more ram, but more storage.

Agreed with this for the same reasons. The additional RAM may prove beneficial in the future even if you might not need it now.

 

[geokarbou]

I think you answered your own question.

You should get the 16GB model, you not only get more ram, but more storage.

Agreed with this for the same reasons. The additional RAM may prove beneficial in the future even if you might not need it now.

Yes that what I'm thinking as well. Will I see major difference in battery runtimes?

 

[maflynn]

Yes that what I'm thinking as well. Will I see major difference in battery runtimes?

No, they should be nearly identical.

 

[geokarbou]

No, they should be nearly identical.

That's good to hear. Thank you very much for the help, much appreciated

 

[T5BRICK]

Are you worried about the battery because one has more cycles? Honestly, the difference between 2 cycles and 30 cycles is pretty minimal on a battery that should last 1000 cycles.

I'd go with the system that suits your needs. You mentioned needing a lot of RAM, so I believe you answered your own question.

 

[maflynn]

Are you worried about the battery because one has more cycles? Honestly, the difference between 2 cycles and 30 cycles is pretty minimal on a battery that should last 1000 cycles.

yup, even brand new MBPs may have 10 or 20 cycles. The cycle rate is very low regardless.

 

[T5BRICK]

yup, even brand new MBPs may have 10 or 20 cycles. The cycle rate is very low regardless.

I've never really kept track but my 2015 13" rMBP had less than 5. Either way, low cycles on a year old computer isn't necessarily a good thing. A battery has to be used to stay healthy.

 

[maflynn]

I've never really kept track but my 2015 13" rMBP had less than 5. Either way, low cycles on a year old computer isn't necessarily a good thing. A battery has to be used to stay healthy.

I've seen some folks here post that they had a higher cycle count coming out of the box then what they had expected. I myself never look at battery cycles, as it just causes angst and stress. I'll use the computer until the battery needs to be replaced

 

[geokarbou]

Are you worried about the battery because one has more cycles? Honestly, the difference between 2 cycles and 30 cycles is pretty minimal on a battery that should last 1000 cycles.

I'd go with the system that suits your needs. You mentioned needing a lot of RAM, so I believe you answered your own question.

No, I never said I'm worried about the battery cycles. I was worried whether the I7 will draw much more battery than the I5 because performance-wise I don't gain anything with the I7 over the I5. A 10% difference is negligible for my uses.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

No, I never said I'm worried about the battery cycles. I was worried whether the I7 will draw much more battery than the I5 because performance-wise I don't gain anything with the I7 over the I5. A 10% difference is negligible for my uses.

No they will use just about the same amount unless you are pegging all cores at 100%, and in some cases the i7 may use a little less battery by getting the work done slightly quicker.

 

[Significant1]

I use Turbo Boost Switcher on my MacBook Air I7, when battery life or cooler temperature is more important than performance.
https://github.com/rugarciap/Turbo-Boost-Switcher

 

[geokarbou]

I use Turbo Boost Switcher on my MacBook Air I7, when battery life or cooler temperature is more important than performance.
https://github.com/rugarciap/Turbo-Boost-Switcher

That sounds great, I have never used something from github though, is there a special process to install/run the script?

 

[Significant1]

That sounds great, I have never used something from github though, is there a special process to install/run the script?

You don't have to download The source code and build it youself, There is a link to a binary version too.

 

[T5BRICK]

No, I never said I'm worried about the battery cycles. I was worried whether the I7 will draw much more battery than the I5 because performance-wise I don't gain anything with the I7 over the I5. A 10% difference is negligible for my uses.

I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. Two processors from the same family like the ones in these 13" rMBPs will draw approximately the same current for most usage. As someone else said, the i7 may actually use more power when running at full turbo boost compared to the i5 at full turbo boost. In reality, most processors aren't in the range very often or for very long.