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2015 vs 2016 15" MBP (base)

I would buy (if I don't need extra GPU power)

  • 2015

    Votes: 28 59.6%

  • 2016

    Votes: 19 40.4%
  • Total voters
    47
NickPhamUK

NickPhamUK

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 6, 2013
356
197
Figured I don't need GPU power (gaming on a desktop PC), so the difference between 5200 and 450 is kinda moot.

2016's strengths
- 67% brighter screen
- An extra hour of battery (Apple claims so)
- 16GB 2133 MHz (not sure if it will be a significant update)
- Faster SSD
- Thinner & lighter (not too much a problem for me, that's why I go to the the gym! But thinner = sexier)
- Space Gray. That thing looks sexy
- More future proof down the road because of USB-C & Thunderbolt 3

2015's strengths
- I can save €450
- Traditional USB ports, HDMI & SDXC ports, so no need to carry extra dongles
- Glowing Apple logo!
- Faster iGPU (5200 vs 530) for day-to-day tasks
- Don't have to wait till mid December.

Things that don't matter
- CPU performance will be similar, I suspect
- Touch Bar, I don't need it

If you were me, would you spend €450/$400 more?
 
Only an irrational consumer would splurge money on one of the new touch bar models. The 15 inch from last year will retain its value better. Buying the new one is like buying an overpriced car brand new, it will lose more value relatively and as you said, it is only a marginal upgrade with quite significant draw backs. Trust me a year from now most people will regret spending all this crazy cash on these new MacBooks.
 
Ordered the brand new 15'' version with Radeon Pro 460, 512G, 2.7GHzCPU and I really like the new design and I think the computer definitely worth the price. Because I sit in front of my MacBook Pro almost 10+hours a day, the Screen Improvement will benefit me much that make me feel good.
Last day walked into an Apple Store and tried the 13'' no touch bar version, that thing is definitely sexy and worth the price I think. USB-c won't be a problem. 2-nd butterfly keyboard feels really good and not like the old butterfly ones. The screen is so stunning and bright. The larger track pad feels so good. Everything is just fine!
I think you will regret buying a 4 year old model right? Though some people do talk about the overpricing. I think there are reasons for the price.
And I used to love Apple GLOWING LOGO and feel sad that it's removed. But now I like the new design so much. It really looks good if you see the real machine. IT IS VERY BEAUTIFUL.
PORTS won't be a reason for you to feel annoyed, it will be better and old one's will be outdated soon.
Touch Bar is a new design and a lot of people are negative about it. But I think most people haven't tried the bar themselves and those comments are too biased. I think it will be easy to use and make your life easier.
As a programmer, I recommend to upgrade to the new machines and look ahead into the future, and think about the trend that Apple in moving to, it will be interesting.
Because many people love the Touch Bar, like me, we ordered as soon as possible, so I will receive mine by 25th. And our passion for Apple is why you need to wait for a while, but I think time flies, it deserves the wait!
Last thing to say is that the bezels are smaller and do looks very nice!
And hope this helps :p
 
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It doesn't make any sense to buy 2016 model. I just bought a brand new fully loaded 2015 MacBook Pro 15 inch for $1750 brand new and sealed. It's the model with dedicated graphics, 512SSD and 16GB ram. An identical 2016 model is $2996 after tax. So I just saved $1250 dollars and I don't have to deal with stupid dongles.

Lookout for deals on eBay, you can find a top end 2015 model for around $1800 brand new from a reputable seller.
Also warranty on MacBooks start from the moment you first boot up the machine, so it doesn't matter who you buy it from.
 
If it were me, I'd probably find a killer deal on a 2015 15" as aforementioned and profit, knowing you have the highest end of a mature product thats been put through its cycle paces for 3 years running,

let the USB-C TB3 and touchbar and the keyboard longevity in question, alongside its omissions/trimmings pan out over time-- this model will always be here, except it will be better in due time. I would imagine/hope,

maybe apple will slightly back pedal on gen2 with port omissions, too,

ya never know the numbers will/do influence decisions


...I was in market for 13" , but just yesterday I picked up a late 2013 13" bought 3 weeks before mid2014 models came along which are identical barring .2ghz bump,

I got the 8/256 variant, 169 battery cycles

and has applecare until July 2017 for $600 :D
with original receipt

good deals do exist with a little luck, sifting, and/or patience.
 
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You gave no indication whatsoever of how you use a laptop, other than - no games.
With that in mind, I wonder why you believe you need a 'Pro' in the first place?
We also have zero information on if any of the various ports are even used at all by you, making it even less of a useful set of answers, which will then simply default to whatever the person responding has or wants to buy, justifying their own purchase, but not really helping you out very much.

I see no reason to spent the increased cash for the newest model for casual 'need a laptop' usage.

Indeed, I use my own MBPs for work each and every day, run VMs along with many native apps, dev environments, multiple displays, etc...and just bought a used 2015 16GB 1TB as the value on the new models just isn't there, and very little performance boost (or added RAM) of value to me. The new screen should be nice, as well as the bump in SSD performance, but the 2015 has quite good SSD performance already. USB-C is an annoyance in transition but ultimately fine. Basically, the new model is incremental where it matters to me (performance and RAM, screen) while 'revolutionary' in the wrong direction in ways it impacts me negatively or I'm neutral on but wouldn't pay more for (no legacy ports, touchbar, thinner..).

YMMV - figure out your needs and explain them, and answers become easier to give.

Of course, if you want it as a misguided 'status symbol' or just want it, then get it.
 
dark_mark said:
It doesn't make any sense to buy 2016 model. I just bought a brand new fully loaded 2015 MacBook Pro 15 inch for $1750 brand new and sealed. It's the model with dedicated graphics, 512SSD and 16GB ram. An identical 2016 model is $2996 after tax. So I just saved $1250 dollars and I don't have to deal with stupid dongles.

Lookout for deals on eBay, you can find a top end 2015 model for around $1800 brand new from a reputable seller.
Also warranty on MacBooks start from the moment you first boot up the machine, so it doesn't matter who you buy it from.
Click to expand...

That is a great deal bro. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find anything on eBay that is quite a bit lower than Apple stores refurbished price. Maybe I am not looking hard enough, I currently have a base 2015 15 inch mbp and I have over a week to return it if I don't want to keep it. The UI lag bothers me a bit so I would snatch the dedicated AMD model in a heartbeat if I could find it new for the price you mentioned, but I just don't see anything of the sort. I am in Canada btw so I use eBay.ca.
 
I just ordered a 2015 15" base model, great deal here in germany: 1600 euros! the new 2016 base model would cost me 700 euros more if I find a good deal, the standard apple price for the 2016 model is 2700 euros
 
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motime said:
That is a great deal bro. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find anything on eBay that is quite a bit lower than Apple stores refurbished price. Maybe I am not looking hard enough, I currently have a base 2015 15 inch mbp and I have over a week to return it if I don't want to keep it. The UI lag bothers me a bit so I would snatch the dedicated AMD model in a heartbeat if I could find it new for the price you mentioned, but I just don't see anything of the sort. I am in Canada btw so I use eBay.ca.
Click to expand...
When do you encounter IU lag (Safari, etc.)? Do you think it's because of the software or hardware?

Because if it's because of the GPU then I'm pretty sure you need to switch on the Radeon Pro 24/7. And judging from Apple's track record with failed dedicated GPU, running it 24/7 might not be the best idea...
 
NickPhamUK said:
When do you encounter IU lag (Safari, etc.)? Do you think it's because of the software or hardware?

Because if it's because of the GPU then I'm pretty sure you need to switch on the Radeon Pro 24/7. And judging from Apple's track record with failed dedicated GPU, running it 24/7 might not be the best idea...
Click to expand...

I think it's a software issue that Apple hasn't optimized the OS enough, but given this I do think the dedicated GPU would help. The lag isn't that bad, it's just kind of choppy maximizing or dragging certain windows etc which I didn't expect. Safari is mostly fine, if you open nba.com or something however and try and resize the window it really stutters.
 
motime said:
I think it's a software issue that Apple hasn't optimized the OS enough, but given this I do think the dedicated GPU would help. The lag isn't that bad, it's just kind of choppy maximizing or dragging certain windows etc which I didn't expect. Safari is mostly fine, if you open nba.com or something however and try and resize the window it really stutters.
Click to expand...

The dedicated GPU will not help! Dedicated GPU will never kick in when you are doing regular tasks, like resizing windows, browsing the web and etc. In fact 2016 Macbook Pro 15" will be a huge downgrade from 2015 model.

Because:

New 2016 MBP 15" model uses Intel HD 530 which has performance of 441.6 GFLOPS

2015 MBP 15" model uses Iris Pro Graphics 5200 which has performance of 832 GFLOPS.


Integrated graphics is used for 99% of the tasks you perform on your laptop. Dedicated GPU kicks in only in GPU intensive applications such as Final Cut, Premiere and etc.

In regular tasks the new MBP will be twice as slow as 2015 model.
 
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dark_mark said:
The dedicated GPU will not help! Dedicated GPU will never kick in when you use doing regular tasks, like resizing windows, browsing the web and etc. In fact 2016 Macbook Pro 15" will be a huge downgrade from 2015 model.

Because:

New 2016 MBP 15" model uses Intel HD 530 which has performance of 441.6 GFLOPS

2015 MBP 15" model uses Iris Pro Graphics 5200 which has performance of 832 GFLOPS.


Integrated graphics is used for 99% of the tasks you perform on your laptop. Dedicated GPU kicks in only in GPU intensive applications such as Final Cut, Premiere and etc.

In regular tasks the new MBP will be twice as slow as 2015 model.
Click to expand...

True, I was never considering buying the new model. I was comparing the base 15 from last year to the higher end dedicated model from last year. I was told that there is a lot less lag on the higher models with dedicated graphics...
 
dark_mark said:
The dedicated GPU will not help! Dedicated GPU will never kick in when you are doing regular tasks, like resizing windows, browsing the web and etc. In fact 2016 Macbook Pro 15" will be a huge downgrade from 2015 model.

Because:

New 2016 MBP 15" model uses Intel HD 530 which has performance of 441.6 GFLOPS

2015 MBP 15" model uses Iris Pro Graphics 5200 which has performance of 832 GFLOPS.


Integrated graphics is used for 99% of the tasks you perform on your laptop. Dedicated GPU kicks in only in GPU intensive applications such as Final Cut, Premiere and etc.

In regular tasks the new MBP will be twice as slow as 2015 model.
Click to expand...

Great reply. To me, it is tragic Apple did not provide the option of Iris Pro 580 in an iGPU-only version (like the 2015 15" base model). I don't know if those CPUs are not available or what, but that is the MBP I needed. Will stay with my 2015.
 
dark_mark said:
The dedicated GPU will not help! Dedicated GPU will never kick in when you are doing regular tasks, like resizing windows, browsing the web and etc. In fact 2016 Macbook Pro 15" will be a huge downgrade from 2015 model.

Because:

New 2016 MBP 15" model uses Intel HD 530 which has performance of 441.6 GFLOPS

2015 MBP 15" model uses Iris Pro Graphics 5200 which has performance of 832 GFLOPS.


Integrated graphics is used for 99% of the tasks you perform on your laptop. Dedicated GPU kicks in only in GPU intensive applications such as Final Cut, Premiere and etc.

In regular tasks the new MBP will be twice as slow as 2015 model.
Click to expand...

has this observation already been reported on the apple news sites???

I haven't read about it ... why not? seems to be a major issue. and should be communicated to those who already preordered...
 
apfelmann said:
has this observation already been reported on the apple news sites???

I haven't read about it ... why not? seems to be a major issue. and should be communicated to those who already preordered...
Click to expand...

Major news sites haven't caught up with this yet, but I am sure we will see this once customers begin receiving their 15" Macbook Pros
 
apfelmann said:
has this observation already been reported on the apple news sites???

I haven't read about it ... why not? seems to be a major issue. and should be communicated to those who already preordered...
Click to expand...
No, but that's because we haven't gotten our hands on the machines. Who knows if in the real world the new MBP doesn't lag? *shrugs*

Would be funny if MBP 13" (550) and MBP 15" (5200) would be a better buy than the MBP 15" (530 + 460) haha.
 
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dark_mark said:
It doesn't make any sense to buy 2016 model. I just bought a brand new fully loaded 2015 MacBook Pro 15 inch for $1750 brand new and sealed. It's the model with dedicated graphics, 512SSD and 16GB ram. An identical 2016 model is $2996 after tax. So I just saved $1250 dollars and I don't have to deal with stupid dongles.
Click to expand...
Anyone who can find a deal like that on the 2015 should pounce on it over the 2016, no question. But that is a helluva deal to find. You are not usually going to see the 2015 for 60% the price of the 2016.
 
Also if you're in the market for a new mac, something makes you a little uncomfortable buying a 3 year old processor/RAM, even if the new one isn't tangibly faster.
 
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