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2015 or 2016 Macbook Pro

T

T-Bob75

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 29, 2016
21
2
London UK
I'm a Graphic Design and use Adobe CC. I need to upgrade my 2009 Macbook Pro 15". I just trying to decide between:

2015 MacBook Pro 15.4" Retina 2.5GHz Quadcore - Core i7 / 512GB SSD / 16GB RAM / M370X Graphics

or

2016 MacBook Pro Touch ID 13" 2.9ghz 8gb 512gb space Grey

The screen size doesn't bother me. I would imagine either would be a quantum leap from my 09. Would I be better off with a high end 2015 or would the updates on the newer 13" be better?
 
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So the more ram and dedicated graphics card would have a noticeable speed increase over the lower spec 2016?
 
T-Bob75 said:
So the more ram and dedicated graphics card would have a noticeable speed increase over the lower spec 2016?
Click to expand...

No dGPU any more in the 2015 if you're buying directly from Apple - they don't put the M370X in them any more and there's no BTO option for it. However if you're buying from a retailer with that spec, that's fine.

However the quad-core CPU in the 2015 will make the most difference. It's leaps and bounds above the dual-core in any 13" MacBook Pro. Even the 2012 15" MBP's CPU beats the trousers off any dual-core mobile Intel that I know of.
 
The 2015 would be from a retailer and its a refurbished model, the 13" would be new. Sounds like the refurbished 15" is the better option. They are both around the same price.
 
2015 would be my choice. The screen real estate real does make a difference in many applications that have menus, toolbars, pallets, etc.
 
Yeah I know what you mean, I currently have a 15" and it's very usable to do work on. I wasn't that bothered with the 13" as I'd probably get a monitor to plug it into.

I was just curious if I would feel the difference with the older quad core, more ram and dedicated graphics card. Or if the faster ram, hard drive of the newer machine would mean there would be little in it in the real world.
 
I would say for design in CC (unless you use AfterEffects), the new screens (higher colour gamut) will make a bigger difference than anything else. If you're doing any colour palleting or photo manipulation, that is.

If you use AE or other motion design suites you definitely want the discrete GPU. Other than that, get the new one.
 
T-Bob75 said:
Yeah I know what you mean, I currently have a 15" and it's very usable to do work on. I wasn't that bothered with the 13" as I'd probably get a monitor to plug it into.

I was just curious if I would feel the difference with the older quad core, more ram and dedicated graphics card. Or if the faster ram, hard drive of the newer machine would mean there would be little in it in the real world.
Click to expand...

I just ran the diglloyd benchmarks on my 2015 15 rMPB with dGPU and 512 GB SSD. It was faster on the 2015 than the 2016 15" Fully Loaded.

Check out this thread.
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...13-vs-mtb-13-vs-mtb-15.2027418/#post-24200247

It has performance numbers for the 2016 13" systems also.
 
T-Bob75 said:
Thanks, thats an interesting thread. Seems a little odd the 2015 machine is faster than the 2016.
Click to expand...

CPU is about a wash. GPU is close to 455, slower than the 460. But GPU not used that much in these tasks.

Given the length of time the 2015 rMBP components have been around, Apple had some time to optimize the software/hardware. 2016 is a lot of new pieces so they are still working out the kinks with drivers and such.
 
T-Bob75 said:
So would you expect the performance of the 13" to get better as they work out the kinks?
Click to expand...

Slightly. I don't think it is going to be night and day unless their code is really bad now, and I don't believe it is.

And the dual core 13" will never match the performance of the quad core 15" for Adobe apps that take advantage of parallel processing.
 
The new ones are all way faster than your '09. Don't worry about how much faster one is than the other.

What I would ask is: What other stuff do you have now that you'd need to plug in? And will you need new adapters and dongles no matter whether you choose the 2015 or 2016?

Yes, this a leading question, and not at all related to the speed of the CPUs and GPUs -- but your answer will affect my recommendation.
 
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2015 will be too old, too soon. Wouldn't buy one. Previous owner.
2016 is too new, maybe released a bit early. Wouldn't buy one. Waiting for the next revision.

Disclaimer...I already own a 1.2Ghz MacBook 12". Which is good enough for coding, design and server side. I don't mind using Photoshop on it, but I usually code my design first, then add graphics, instead of making a big PSD and slicing into a layout.
 
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doitdada said:
2015 will be too old, too soon. Wouldn't buy one. Previous owner.
2016 is too new, maybe released a bit early. Wouldn't buy one. Waiting for the next revision.

Disclaimer...I already own a 1.2Ghz MacBook 12". Which is good enough for coding, design and server side. I don't mind using Photoshop on it, but I usually code my design first, then add graphics, instead of making a big PSD and slicing into a layout.
Click to expand...
This is all personal opinion and not viewed by all. The 2015 is not that old and has decent specs and screen and ports everyone needs and will last many more years to come especially with 16 GB and a large SSD.
 
MrGuder said:
This is all personal opinion and not viewed by all...
Click to expand...

The design is from a age where desktops and laptops still ruled the Internet. I would also like to have the latest support for video codecs. Wide gamut color is king, and a necessity if you are a graphic designer. What if a client sends you a movie clip or image and you can't see how it really looks? Wouldn't pay money to stay behind...
 
I was in my local Apple store checking out the new pro's and I also checked out the 12" Macbook book and loved it. It would need a monitor to plug it into, but loved the size. It wouldn't pack as much munch as a pro, but it's so light why wouldn't you take it everywhere with you.
 
doitdada said:
The design is from a age where desktops and laptops still ruled the Internet. I would also like to have the latest support for video codecs. Wide gamut color is king, and a necessity if you are a graphic designer. What if a client sends you a movie clip or image and you can't see how it really looks? Wouldn't pay money to stay behind...
Click to expand...
I'd agree if your a professional and business requires it however like most all tech once you buy it's technically already old tech, new stuff comes out all the time sometimes within 6 months, impossible to stay ahead unless money is not a concern. My point is most people don't drop $4k on a laptop and drop it again the next year unless again money is no concern.
 
MrGuder said:
I'd agree if your a professional and business requires it however like most all tech once you buy it's technically already old tech, new stuff comes out all the time sometimes within 6 months, impossible to stay ahead unless money is not a concern. My point is most people don't drop $4k on a laptop and drop it again the next year unless again money is no concern.
Click to expand...

One of the challenges working in media is that you have to adapt to new technologies, and that costs money. Selling is cooler than buying.

T-Bob75 said:
I was in my local Apple store checking out the new pro's and I also checked out the 12" Macbook book and loved it. It would need a monitor to plug it into, but loved the size. It wouldn't pack as much munch as a pro, but it's so light why wouldn't you take it everywhere with you.
Click to expand...

It's the only laptop (MB 12) I have at the moment. Actually bought a MacBook Pro 2015 with dGPU to replace it, but sent it back and kept the MacBook 12". Laptops are so advanced at this stage, software like Photoshop and Illustrator have no problem running on anything made in the last five years.
 
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T-Bob75 said:
I was in my local Apple store checking out the new pro's and I also checked out the 12" Macbook book and loved it. It would need a monitor to plug it into, but loved the size. It wouldn't pack as much munch as a pro, but it's so light why wouldn't you take it everywhere with you.
Click to expand...
It's certainly usable. It doesn't have Thunderbolt 3, but it'll run almost any external display you'd need (DisplayPort or VGA or HDMI). The cool thing is, you can get one adapter to leave at your desk plugged into power, the display, and a USB device, and it'll plug into the MB with just one connector.

I'd want to check if it'll do 5K at all, but anything else should be fine.
 
Would be interesting if the rumours are true and they are going to put 16gb ram in the 2017 MacBook.

I'm going to think over the options more before buying.


BarracksSi said:
It's certainly usable. It doesn't have Thunderbolt 3, but it'll run almost any external display you'd need (DisplayPort or VGA or HDMI). The cool thing is, you can get one adapter to leave at your desk plugged into power, the display, and a USB device, and it'll plug into the MB with just one connector.

I'd want to check if it'll do 5K at all, but anything else should be fine.
Click to expand...
 
The MacBook 12 only supports 30hz 4K through HDMI. 1920x1200 with 60hz being the norm.

Go for the MacBook Pro 2016 with Radeon Pro if you are serious about working on big screens. The 2015 MacBook Pro makes a lot of noise when connected to an external montior. One of the big reasons I gave it up.
 
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