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2015 vs 2017 Macbook Pro

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fantasyphil

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 24, 2011
50
2
Hey Everyone, I need some advice. I am looking to upgrade my current 2013 Macbook Air to a Macbook Pro with a retina display and a bit more power. I have 2 options.

1) Buy a 13" 2015 Macbook pro that has 2.7ghz processsor, 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage. It is basically brand new (only 20 battery cycles) and would be coming from a family member so I know it is in great condition. This would cost $700

2) Buy a 13" 2017 Macbook pro without a touchbar. Cost would be around $1,200 (since there are some sales at Bestbuy)


I am leaning towards the 2015 Macbook Pro since it seems like a really good deal. What are your thoughts?
 
For that price I would probably go with the 2015, but if money is not leading I would certainly buy the 2017 model because of the brighter screen and slimmer design and above all because it is more futureproof. Performance wise I am not sure which one is better, or better for you as most people will not notice the differences in day to day use. Both machines are speedy and smooth.
 
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Eerriikkoo said:
For that price I would probably go with the 2015, but if money is not leading I would certainly buy the 2017 model because of the brighter screen and slimmer design and above all because it is more futureproof. Performance wise I am not sure which one is better, or better for you as most people will not notice the differences in day to day use. Both machines are speedy and smooth.
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The 2017 15W will be more prone to throttling under high load, while the 2015 will be more likely to hold max Turbo for sustained period and you would need to step up to an i7 15W CPU with better cooling than the nTB MBP has to see an advantage.

That said under moderate use there would be no real perceptible difference in performance.

Q-6
 
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Get the 2017 MBP.

For most day to day operations, the latest MBP provides much better performance than 2015. This is due to the SSD being nearly twice as fast compared to 2015 in read/write operations. Most home office applications are limited by I/O speeds.

The processor itself between the 2015 and 2017 model are fairly similar. You're getting more L2 cache but lower clock on the 2017 model.

Keep in mind battery aging isn't limited to cycles. If the MacBook is plugged in all day and night, the battery ages due to being kept at 100% charge. Li-ion ages even if it's not used.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone! How big of a difference is the screen brightness and the SSD read/write speed? Do you think it is a substantial upgrade?
 
fantasyphil said:
Do you feel spending extra for the refurbished machine is the best option?
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I don't.. Even at the refurb pricing you'd pay sales tax which could put you close to $1200... I'd still go with the $700 2015 of it were me..
 
2017 models seem to have unreliable keyboard.
take the 2015 one.
but remember this, having only 128 gb storage will be a real PITA for every day you use it.
 
On a similar thread, (and not to threat jack) we were having this same discussion. I just bought a 2015 256 8gb for $800, with the intent to use it for a year and some change, until the 2018/2019 MBP.

Reasons:
1) 2016/2017 keyboard failures.
2) Vega graphics
3) more ports
4) it will take time for usb-c to become more widely adopted.

I’ll get it this week, but so far i think I’ll be happy with my choice. Find a 256gb if you can.
 
Get the 2015!
The price is right (if the condition is good).

Too many problems with the 2017 design -- particularly the keyboard. If only one key stops working, it's a "$700 fix" because the entire topcase has to be replaced (even to fix only ONE key!).

Many, many posts in this forum from unhappy 2016/17 owners about their keyboards.
This does not portend well for the overall longevity of the 2016/17 design.
 
Fishrrman said:
Get the 2015!
The price is right (if the condition is good).

Too many problems with the 2017 design -- particularly the keyboard. If only one key stops working, it's a "$700 fix" because the entire topcase has to be replaced (even to fix only ONE key!).

Many, many posts in this forum from unhappy 2016/17 owners about their keyboards.
This does not portend well for the overall longevity of the 2016/17 design.
Click to expand...

I think the 2016's are far worse / have a higher failure rate than the 2017's but I agree it's crazy expensive to get the KB repaired. If purchasing a 2016 or a 2017 Apple Care + is a must which adds close to $300 to the cost of the machine..
 
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I would go with the 2015, but be tempted to look for a unit with a 256 GB drive. 128 GB is small and a significant portion of it can be consumed by the OS and a reasonable suite of programs.
 
With more news of intel's 8th gen coming out (a significant update from all accounts), unless you really need a laptop now I'd wait for the 2018 update.

But if you do need a reliable laptop now, I echo what many others have already said and recommend the 2015 model hands down. Heck even if the 2 are offered at the same price I'd still pick the 2015.
 
Nixir said:
With more news of intel's 8th gen coming out (a significant update from all accounts), unless you really need a laptop now I'd wait for the 2018 update.

But if you do need a reliable laptop now, I echo what many others have already said and recommend the 2015 model hands down. Heck even if the 2 are offered at the same price I'd still pick the 2015.
Click to expand...

No solid info on the 2018's and I personally think a lot of people are going to be upset when they come out. Especially the 13" nTB buyers.. Intel does not have an 8th gen quad core with Iris graphics. Intel is scheduled to release an 8th gen with Iris later on but it's a dual core...

You'd pay $1300 for base model (128GB) 3 year old machine? Not a snowballs chance in you know where I'd do so..
 
raqball said:
No solid info on the 2018's and I personally think a lot of people are going to be upset when they come out. Especially the 13" nTB buyers.. Intel does not have an 8th gen quad core with Iris graphics. Intel is scheduled to release an 8th gen with Iris later on but it's a dual core...

You'd pay $1300 for base model (128GB) 3 year old machine? Not a snowballs chance in you know where I'd do so..
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The 2015 rMBPs are widely recognized as one of the best laptops ever made, a sentiment I whole heartily agree with. While the 2016/2017 version's daily usability (dongles) and reliability (keyboards) are hotly debated even among the most ardent of Apple fans. It's easy to see why one of them is the easier recommendation.

Performance wise, there's not much difference between 2015-2017 to warrant the price premium, hence why I recommended waiting for the 8th gen (IF OP is not in a hurry). 128GB is definitely not enough, but at least for the 2015 it's still possible to upgrade the SSD.
 
Nixir said:
The 2015 rMBPs are widely recognized as one of the best laptops ever made, a sentiment I whole heartily agree with. While the 2016/2017 version's daily usability (dongles) and reliability (keyboards) are hotly debated even among the most ardent of Apple fans. It's easy to see why one of them is the easier recommendation.

Performance wise, there's not much difference between 2015-2017 to warrant the price premium, hence why I recommended waiting for the 8th gen (IF OP is not in a hurry). 128GB is definitely not enough, but at least for the 2015 it's still possible to upgrade the SSD.
Click to expand...

Best ever made is very subjective. After the 2016 was released plenty of people who once praised the 2015 KB recanted and said they now thought it was spongy... I don't mind the KB on the 2017 and I didn't mind the KB on the 2015. The KB is going to vary between users and which they prefer.

The CPU difference between the 2015 and the 2017 is about 20% as is the GPU and the SSD's are much faster on the 2017's..

128GB is not enough for who? I have a friend who always buys 128GB as it would not matter if he had a TB of internal storage, he'd still be using an external drive. He basically uses the internal SSD for the OS only and as a temp landing spot for files... Asside from that, the machines the OP is considering are 128GB.

The 2015 is a good machine for the price the OP can get it for. Anything over $700 for a base model and 3 year old machine is insane in my opinion.
 
Eerriikkoo said:
For that price I would probably go with the 2015, but if money is not leading I would certainly buy the 2017 model because of the brighter screen and slimmer design and above all because it is more futureproof. Performance wise I am not sure which one is better, or better for you as most people will not notice the differences in day to day use. Both machines are speedy and smooth.
Click to expand...
Brighter screen? I have a 2012 15" rMBP and compared it to a friend's 2017 15" MBP. The screens were identical as far as we could see, both for texts and images. Just looking at the screens, we could not tell which was the newer machine.
 
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