2018 MBP 13" w/ i7 or 2019 MBP 13" w/ i5?

[bertie343]

Essentially I'll be getting the same build: 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD. I'm just up in the air as to whether I should get a refurb 2018 model with a 2.7GHz quad-core i7 or a new 2019 model with a 2.4GHz quad-core i5. It will be mostly casual use when travelling -- maybe some light virtual machine use (retro VMs like Windows 98, XP or a Linux distro). The refurb would be only $12 more than the 2019 version.

If anyone has any suggestions one way or the other, I would certainly appreciate it!

 

[Brookzy]

Personally I would go with the 2019.

 

[Infinite Vortex]

I have the 2018 i7 16GB/512GB and all thing considered I've been mostly happy with it. I haven't had any keyboard issues, touch wood, and the what I would say is the biggest complaint I would have of it is the thermals. It's warmer than I expected/hoped but it's a snappy performer for my uses.

 

[buran-energia]

2019. I actually prefer i5 to i7 because of negligible performance difference in this case and i5's lower temps.

 

[kp98077]

So, between the 2019 i5/8gb ram and 512gb versus the i7/16gb/1tb (BUT the price difference is $800!) is that really worth the difference? Will the i7 bog down less? any battery life difference?

Mostly use it for email, complex spreadsheets, video (light editing), photos, MS office, web surfing.... etc...

 

[currahee2100]

2019. For one, ew on refurbs. Two, the only difference between the two are clockspeed and the difference won’t affect you that much. At the end of the day, they are both quad core CPUs with hyper threading.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

So, between the 2019 i5/8gb ram and 512gb versus the i7/16gb/1tb (BUT the price difference is $800!) is that really worth the difference? Will the i7 bog down less? any battery life difference?

Mostly use it for email, complex spreadsheets, video (light editing), photos, MS office, web surfing.... etc...

Go for the 2019... No point for the other.

If you need additional space buy an internal SSD and connect it to a USB C dongle and go with it.

 

[kp98077]

Go for the 2019... No point for the other.

If you need additional space buy an internal SSD and connect it to a USB C dongle and go with it.

They are both 2019 .... was asking i7 vs i5.