Anyone Went Back To Their Old iMacs/ MBPs from 2016/2017 Models?

[macintoshmac]

These are my ramblings that many will echo inside. Kindly bear, this might be a long post.

HISTORY WITH MAC

I purchased my first ever Mac - a Late 2011 MacBook Pro 15 inch with dGPU 6770m in November 2011.

In 2013, after the warranty was over, I upgraded it to 16GB LPDDR3 (courtesy OWC) and 256GB Plextor M5 Pro SSD.

Till today, the only things that have gone bad: card reader stopped working don't know when, CD drive stopped working don't know when, a one time fan replacement in 2014 and there is now a bad battery that I cannot get replaced from Apple today.

I have been VERY HAPPY with this machine and we have seen great days together, went to journeys together and have a bond, I feel.

I was being very mobile in 2016, and I was carrying an iPad Air 2 to work since I was not able to carry the large MBP owing to the bad battery and that it did not fit in my DSLR bag.


SECOND COMING

Therefore, in November 2016, I purchased a 13 inch MBP with Touch Bar, the 2.9GHz dual core with 8GB and 256GB storage.

I did not go for the 15 inch because of two reasons. One, I was totally priced out of the 15 inch models in my country. Frankly, the starting point for the 15 inch models was just about the ex showroom price of one of the cheapest available hatchback cars in India. I know, Apples to Oranges, but still.

So, I went for the mid level 13 inch.


EXPERIENCES

I have been okay with the new 2016 notebook. They keyboard is okay for me, the feel and all. Just okay. Nothing spectacular that I could get attached to.

Often times, the old 15 felt smoother as well as faster. Mojave 10.14 betas have taken care of this to a great extent. Very commendable job Apple did with Mojave. All my respect to the software team for this particular job.

The screen is nice and wonderful. Non retina on 2011 versus retina on 2016, no comparison despite the smaller size of the 13.3 inch versus 15.4 inch.

Mojave allowed me to scale up to 1680 without stutters in UI. Again, commendable job, Apple.

File transfers - disk speeds - blistering fast and a sure improvement over the old. App opening times, not so much.

Touch ID is great, but implementation is still not consistent, not all software support it and you still have to key in your password more times than you might expect to.

Touch Bar is great, I have had nothing but positive experiences with it. It has potential, and I understand that developers are hesitant because of Apple's own history.

I have had the keyboard replaced in May 2018 under AppleCare.



SO WHERE AM I GOING WITH THIS?

But, considering everything, I feel I did not get enough value for money on the laptop. This 13 inch in its 2016 version is good, no doubt, and I am okay with USB-C, but I am not feeling that excitement - that connect with the machine.

It feels middling, at best - and mind, I am talking of stock configuration in India. Here, we cannot upgrade RAM or CPU at the time of purchase.

I have been at my desk since a year now, and while being at a desk, the 13 does not feel it belongs - at least to me.


THEREFORE

I will sell my 2016, and either get myself a 2018 MBP in 15 inch, or wait and see what they do with the iMac and get that instead. While I was on the move, this 13 never felt less. At a desk, I am not that convinced.

A desktop computer can be had with more powerful hardware where I can play the odd game as well as use my computer with full system snappiness at a good resolution.

If I go the 15 inch route, I am sure that machine will serve me for a long time with greater satisfaction.


This is a little psychological as well as actual hardware, with the 13. For my portable needs, I will provably take a retina MB 12 some day and be done with, when I need to have a portable.

For all-round use, mine, I cannot shun the feeling that the 13 is not for me - sitting at a desk.

AND THIS IS ONLY BECAUSE I have an old 15 that is so good that I cannot justify the value of this 13 staying at my desk. The desk is an important factor here.

I have been looking for experiences of people with the 2018, and going back and forth with my own 15 and 13 AT THE DESK, I feel the 15 is superior AT THE DESK which is where I am at since a year.

So, any and all inputs are highly welcome. If any of you have gone back to their old computers, would love to know what prompted it. What are your use cases where you felt the new computer is not that good?

Again, if I was mobile today, I would still be loving this new MBP 2016. I am not mobile, so at my desk my 15 feels superior to me. Or an iMac.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

An iMac will always be superior when used at a desk, the MacBooks are designed to supplement a desktop computer by providing a good balance of power and portability. If you don't need the portableness of a laptop, then a desktop will always be a better option.

I use a 2017 iMac at the office and it's great, but I can't lug it around so have a 2016 15" MBP for home and mobile use. But I wouldn't sit on the laptop trying to render out a large project, same as I wouldn't take the iMac to give a presentation. Each has it's own use, the 15" MBP is a really good balance between the two, but still not perfect in every situation.

 

[macintoshmac]

An iMac will always be superior when used at a desk, the MacBooks are designed to supplement a desktop computer by providing a good balance of power and portability. If you don't need the portableness of a laptop, then a desktop will always be a better option.

I use a 2017 iMac at the office and it's great, but I can't lug it around so have a 2016 15" MBP for home and mobile use. But I wouldn't sit on the laptop trying to render out a large project, same as I wouldn't take the iMac to give a presentation. Each has it's own use, the 15" MBP is a really good balance between the two, but still not perfect in every situation.

You are absolutely right. I myself am now staring at a two computer solution - 12 inch (whenever I do that) for mobile needs and an iMac for daily needs at the desk. iMac has an advantage that the feeling to upgrade it should not strike soon.

 

[maflynn]

I have a 2015 iMac, its a fine machine, but truth be told, I'm using the MBP and the iMac is now a family computer for my wife/kids to use. Being the summer, their need for a computer is rather low however. Once they get back to school, the kids will be using it more.

 

[macintoshmac]

I have a 2015 iMac, its a fine machine, but truth be told, I'm using the MBP and the iMac is now a family computer for my wife/kids to use. Being the summer, their need for a computer is rather low however. Once they get back to school, the kids will be using it more.

I was facing a simple dilemma - so long as I was mobile, the 13 inch 2016 was excellent.

Now, I am sitting at desk since a year, and it is now that the 2011 is 'not that different' from the 2016, as they are both on the desk. So, 2016 suddenly feels like a wasted expense that can be recouped.

 

[Juicy Box]

Till today, the only things that have gone bad: card reader stopped working don't know when, CD drive stopped working don't know when, a one time fan replacement in 2014 and there is now a bad battery that I cannot get replaced from Apple today.

The only things that have gone bad?
I would expect the battery to go bad over time, but that seems like a lot of stuff to go bad on just one Mac. I assumed the Mac was very well used?

I have owned many Macs over the years, and I have probably had a total of4 or 5 things break on them combined.

Actually, my Mac Pro 1,1, which is 12 years old, is still used today without anything broken on it, not counting bad HDDs which I installed. It is has been used almost non-stop for over a decade, without being shutdown for more than an occasional day or two.

Are you really rough with it?

 

[macintoshmac]

The only things that have gone bad?
I would expect the battery to go bad over time, but that seems like a lot of stuff to go bad on just one Mac. I assumed the Mac was very well used?

I have owned many Macs over the years, and I have probably had a total of4 or 5 things break on them combined.

Actually, my Mac Pro 1,1, which is 12 years old, is still used today without anything broken on it, not counting bad HDDs which I installed. It is has been used almost non-stop for over a decade, without being shutdown for more than an occasional day or two.

Are you really rough with it?

Not at all. In fact, I never even got to use the SDXC card slot more than twice. It worked once I tried on the stock OS. When I wanted to try later on (on a beta OS) it did not work, and somehow I never needed to try it again.

Disk drive died a slow death, like all other disk drives do. But I have no qualms about that.

This computer was adequately cared for, and equally well used. Never abused. Even today, the only marks of use come from the shine on the keys and a worn space bar, that is all.

Some reasons why I am feeling like selling the new 2016 come from the fact that I can use the 2011 without fear of anything. Sure, the GPU can fail, but till date there are no signs. I did not even get it replaced in the programme, because my stock was working so well.

I do not feel that way for the 2016 at all. Using it, I feel some things:

The keyboard can become error prone anytime. That is okay, but the replacement is going to be costly. Fine, it is covered till 2020, but I do not appreciate a time bomb plastered to my computer. Moreover, I cannot see what I will get as resale for it at the time, and then, if I keep it with me, what will I use it for. I will certainly need another computer in 5 years' time, this thing is not that powerful to last me a very long time.

I want a more powerful computer at my desk that responds very fluidly. This computer is somehow not cutting it, and this is compared to a 2011 15inch. Simple things like animations while swiping through Launchpad or activating deactivating Launchpad still feel faster on the old MacBook Pro 15. Mojave has made it a lot better, but it is still not there.

I do not know how the iGPU of the old Sandy Bridge is working better at animations than the iGPU on the Skylake processor. This might have to do with cores as well? I do not know.. but it feels impossible to justify this new 2016 machine sometimes, when compared to the old one - when I am at my desk.

I can, then, just recoup the cost, and either get myself a 15 inch 2018 or get myself an iMac when they release it with SSD here in India. That will be a computer that I foresee being able to use for a long, long time happily.

The 13 is becoming a middling computer too much for me to ignore. Again, all this would have been totally moot were I still travelling everyday, because at that, this 13 outshines the old 2011 15. Since I am at my desk, I am left with a feeling that there is nothing wrong with the 15. So.. I feel I can use my 15 as a desk computer for as long as I feel like it, and when the need comes, get myself a 12 inch for travel. Or, if not travelling, get a better 15 inch or an iMac to replace my 2011 15 when I feel like.

At the desk, alongside the old 2011, the 13 2016 has no place for me. Therefore, the decision to sell.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Not at all. In fact, I never even got to use the SDXC card slot more than twice.

One of the many reasons I still use a 2015 15" MBP (there are MANY reasons) is the SD slot actually.

I use it about 5 times per day right now to import Sigma camera data.

 

[CE3]

An iMac will always be superior when used at a desk, the MacBooks are designed to supplement a desktop computer by providing a good balance of power and portability. If you don't need the portableness of a laptop, then a desktop will always be a better option.

I use a 2017 iMac at the office and it's great, but I can't lug it around so have a 2016 15" MBP for home and mobile use. But I wouldn't sit on the laptop trying to render out a large project, same as I wouldn't take the iMac to give a presentation. Each has it's own use, the 15" MBP is a really good balance between the two, but still not perfect in every situation.

I primarily used my 2015 MacBook Pro at a desk, and for text I definitely preferred it over my 2017 iMac display. Perhaps it’s partially because the iMac display is set back a bit further, but text on the MacBook was still more crisp. The larger display is nice to have for visual work (which I do a lot of). For reading lots of text, not so much.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I primarily used my 2015 MacBook Pro at a desk, and for text I definitely preferred it over my 2017 iMac display. Perhaps it’s partially because the iMac display is set back a bit further, but text on the MacBook was still more crisp. The larger display is nice to have for visual work (which I do a lot of). For reading lots of text, not so much.

Funny you say that - I'm in the same camp again after really getting into big desktop setups from 2009-2015 or so..

Something about writing on the laptop and the proximity to the screen and input methods...something about it just engages me more vs a massive screen where I either have to window manage to death or have things WAY too huge in fullscreen mode -- and it's all further away of course also (as you mentioned).

I do need a big screen from time to time for photo/movie/excel stuff, so I keep my big screen "dock" area and go plug in when I need that.

That's the one limitation I *hate* about my 2015 MBP. It spins its fans always when connected to the external, no matter what I'm doing or not, as it's a 4k screen and it's just "too much" for the 2015 GPU at this point I think.

 

[macintoshmac]

One of the many reasons I still use a 2015 15" MBP (there are MANY reasons) is the SD slot actually.

I use it about 5 times per day right now to import Sigma camera data.

The Late 2011 MBP (that I have) and then the 2012-2015 MBPs have been really good. The last of them, 2015 one, is a performer in all respects. I feel the 2018 models have come close to them in performance, but yeah, a missing SD card slot does feel odd. I have loved every moment of the time spent with 2011, and even today I am now typing on the old 2011 instead of the new 2016 that is sitting beside it. Most likely, I will pack it up tomorrow and wait for it to sell.

I now feel that I should get myself an iMac but just yesterday I realised they do not come with backlit keyboards - facepalm moment but okay, the light from the screen should be good. Anyway, after all these years, I am a fairly good touch typist on both the 2011 and the 2016 keyboards - I adapted easier than I thought I would. Yet, the iMac for desk use seems like the best choice.

Or, I could just keep using my 15 till I do. On the desk, this old 15 inch is not easy to beat for what I use it for. Only a new 15 or an iMac can better it, not the 13.

 

[jerryk]

Funny you say that - I'm in the same camp again after really getting into big desktop setups from 2009-2015 or so..

Something about writing on the laptop and the proximity to the screen and input methods...something about it just engages me more vs a massive screen where I either have to window manage to death or have things WAY too huge in fullscreen mode -- and it's all further away of course also (as you mentioned).

I do need a big screen from time to time for photo/movie/excel stuff, so I keep my big screen "dock" area and go plug in when I need that.

That's the one limitation I *hate* about my 2015 MBP. It spins its fans always when connected to the external, no matter what I'm doing or not, as it's a 4k screen and it's just "too much" for the 2015 GPU at this point I think.

By that definition it is also "too much" for the 2018 15" MBP.

 

[turbineseaplane]

By that definition it is also "too much" for the 2018 15" MBP.

For real? Fans are blowing with external 4k usage even on the new ones?
(sigh)
[doublepost=1535735064][/doublepost]I have actually contemplated getting an eGPU, as it's trivial to activate TB2 usage of them thanks to the eGPU.io community.

Even with the bandwidth constraints of only having TB2 usage, it'd be one way to use my external 4k and, I'm assuming, not have the fans going nuts as all of the 4k processing would be offloaded.

 

[jerryk]

For real? Fans are blowing with external 4k usage even on the new ones?
(sigh)

I can hear them. They are not loud, but if you listen you can hear them. And the MBP 15 is always spinning the fans, so if one is sensitive to noise you can find it.