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Base 13" vs 13" w/ Touchbar. Worth it?
- Thread starter Patron_Saint
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Huh? You're comparing 2015 13" price to 2016 TB 13" price.
Non-TB 2016 is $1500 USD, and TB is $1800 USD.
I am using/borrowing the 2015 13", and I find the maxed brightness isn't bright enough for me. It may sound ridiculous, but that's one reason that I don't want to buy an older model. The thinness is nice as well, bigger trackpad, etcetera. I think I'm just waiting on the next iteration in hopes for improvements where this year's model has fallen behind. I'm not waiting on the next greatest leap out of a 2017 model, just better battery life, 1080p front facing camera, hopefully 16GB RAM base without paying extra.
the NTB 2016 is available on sale in some places for $1299. How do I know this? BB price matched MicroCenter for me to that price.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/472223/MacBook_Pro_MLL42LL-A_133_Laptop_Computer_-_Space_Gray
also the NTB 2016 silver is $1299 @ Best Buy Saturday morning (next week):
they've also been popping up for $1300 and $1399 today as well.
The microcenter deal looks like the 2016 model, but I checked the SKU on the bestbuy ad and it looks like it's the 2015 model
I certainly hope Apple brings their pricing down. If they can price the 2016 MBP down by $200 USD (~$250-$300 Canadian), I might consider it. Assuming battery life turns out to be not abysmal as many people are purporting. As things stand I'm waiting on 2017 to round out some of the rough edges Apple introduced with the new model (because as price goes up, I expect better out of Apple).
Microcenter is 100% the 2016 model.
you are right - at closer look I do have the BB SKU wrong. BB was dragging its feet updating their website on the new macbooks.
on their site, they have both 2016 silver/space grey ntb MBP models listed as:
I THINK Best Buy might have their ad wrong - the model in the ad currently is the 2015 model and it is currently $1499 on their site - however the 2015 model is $1349 on Amazon and it makes no sense.
As I tell all my customers--I am a computer consultant--you should buy the best you can get for the money you are willing to spend. If you can spend the extra cash, buy the TB model. If the extra $300 (assuming you're in USA) will be a hardship for you, then don't. Otherwise, the added spec bumps plus the potential usefulness of the TB (I'm really liking it!) should make it worth the extra cost now, and perhaps make it stay current a little longer with future software updates and/or increase the resale value later on.
My experience with computers, photography, and different career-paths I've considered (I'm 27 and becoming an accountant, but I tried plumbing, computer programming, and other things)... is this:
Buy what you need for the foreseeable future. Usually the foreseeable future is 2 years ahead of you. Don't buy for the "maybe" or the "what-if". A level-headed purchase involves knowing what you need, and not letting upgrade-itis waste your money away.
A great example is people who buy a bigger power supply for a desktop because they "might" run dual graphics cards down the line. Well, 2 years down the line, the more economical choice is to buy a new graphics card, instead of a second one of whatever you have (electrical bill + also just price-to-performance).
As long as resale is an option, I think my philosophy rings true. A bigger SSD doesn't mean greater recovery of your money.
I'm struggling with the battery life sacrifice. If it wasn't for the battery life, I would have gotten the TB version already. I'm getting it as a gift and I feel like the person I am getting it for while they'll find the TB to be pretty cool to look at, they won't exactly be editing video on it. However, jumping from 6 to 10 hours of battery life, that's something they'll feel on a daily basis. I don't know, I keep going back and forth.
4 hours difference is odd though. I am not quite sure that's exactly the case.
The battery size difference is 10%. The internals are slightly different, and there's the touch-bar. The internals might account for a +/- 5% energy efficiency difference. The question is... does the touchbar really drain 30-35% battery life over non-touchbar? Sounds odd to me.
There is one more difference i notice is the design of the speakers. I wonder if they wonder the same?
Yeah, the battery life has been abysmal for me so far. Less than 5 hours this evening from 100% to 5%. Might still be indexing or something, but damn, not great. On the other hand, the speakers sound amazing! The best I have ever heard in a laptop. Ever. Really nice for movies.
I have both. I'm deciding which one to keep. They are both base models. I can't get more than around 6.5 hours with TB doing the same things I get 10.5 hours with the no TB
Seeing as you have both, how does the fan noise compare between the two when maxing out the CPU & GPU? Very interested in seeing how the 1 fan in the non TB compares to the 2 fans in the TB version.
Sad to hear that. I was looking forward to having at least 8h on the new 2016 MBP TB to replace my MBA.
I honestly never do anything to max out the CPU, but for general use you do hear the fans on tbe TB version more often. It's not loud or distracting IMO.
I have only done light web surf and youtube videos, not sure what you are doing to kick up the fan. I have yet to hear the fan spin up on this 13 or the 15 I returned.
I guess I should say, you can hear them if you try to (put your ear up to it). You don't hear them without trying.
You could tell me they were fanless and I would believe you.
I haven't had the fan kick on with the non touch version. Will be interesting to see if that carries through with the touch bar later today.
So you're doing an a/b test of the TB and NTB? Smart. How are you feeling about it overall? I would have a hard time giving this TB model up, I really like it. I am probably (hopelessly) optimistic that Apple will somewhat address the battery issue through Software at some point. Maybe not, and I am just rationalizing so I can keep this thing. Overall I love the laptop, sans battery life. I am getting about 9, but I am treating this super lightly. Can't imagine what would happen if I taxed it. Then again, any task where I am working the machine I usually attach to power, and most laptops I have owned off the plug working hard drain the battery quick. It's the internet and light video watching that there is NO excuse for short battery on.
Just because Matt is getting x amount of hours, that doesn't necessarily mean that you will get the same or less.
In my opinion, too many people on here are engaging in logical fallacy when determining whether to purchase A or B Mac. Add hyperbole to the logical fallacy to the mix, (not saying you specifically where using hyperbole) and it makes for one big mess.