Buy 1.2/512 MacBook 12 now or wait for Skylake? 40% better graphics?

[SSD-GUY]

Hi all

I have an amazing deal to purchase a 1 month old MacBook 12' for £690 I am however wary as to whether I should wait for the skylake models.

My understanding is that Skylake Core M will bring 40% better graphics versus the current broad well Core M. Is this correct or is this Intel's marketing department working in over drive?

I have played about with the MacBook in the Apple store, and as I'm a student, I open a lot of PDFs and power point presentations. I've noticed that the MacBook will stutter with high quality pdfs when scrolling in them. Is this something the Skylake upgrade will get rid of?

Therefore again, is it worth waiting for Skylake, and will it be worth spending an extra £300 (as I'm a student, I think the Skylake MacBook 12 1.2/512 should drop to £1200, therefore after student pricing it will be around £1000.)

Thanks

 

[ZipZap]

The question is does Apple really want to put out another version. I dont think you will see one in 2016 as the improvements from Skylake dont matter much to the typical buyer of rMB.

If Apple decides to expand its target audience by beefing up the capabilities, then perhaps a new version will be seen.

 

[zhenya]

I think they will put out another version. There is little cost for them to do so, and it will ensure that this cutting edge laptop remains so. I don't think that for most people's work, the graphics improvements will make much difference, but what it will do is make it possible to drive a 4k monitor at 60hz which it cannot currently do. The bit of extra power and the slight improvements to battery life won't hurt either.

That said, the PDF issue is software, not hardware, and at the price you are looking at for the current generation I don't see the value in paying significantly more for the slight updates unless they specifically matter to you.

 

[SSD-GUY]

I think they will put out another version. There is little cost for them to do so, and it will ensure that this cutting edge laptop remains so. I don't think that for most people's work, the graphics improvements will make much difference, but what it will do is make it possible to drive a 4k monitor at 60hz which it cannot currently do. The bit of extra power and the slight improvements to battery life won't hurt either.

That said, the PDF issue is software, not hardware, and at the price you are looking at for the current generation I don't see the value in paying significantly more for the slight updates unless they specifically matter to you.

Yes it's a bargain. I'm on the fence slightly only because of the 40% GPU claim, but I'm thinking, as I won't be doing any gaming on this, just Office/PDFs/Light lightroom, will I notice the extra GPU performance? (if it really is 40%, that is)

And in regards to connecting it to a monitor, let alone a 4K one, I don't always connect externals that often, as even with my current MacBooks, when I get home I use my Hackintosh/Mac Pro.

That being said, I'm not upgrading to 4K monitors any time soon, but may be getting 2560 x 1440 monitors (the Dell U2515H) as my U2414H is faulty and Dell may replace these. Can the MacBook 12 current gen connect and display to a 2560 x 1440 monitor?

 

[zhenya]

yes, it will display to that sort of monitor fine so long as the monitor supports that resolution over hdmi. Displayport adapters are not yet widely available.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Hi all

I have an amazing deal to purchase a 1 month old MacBook 12' for £690 I am however wary as to whether I should wait for the skylake models.

My understanding is that Skylake Core M will bring 40% better graphics versus the current broad well Core M. Is this correct or is this Intel's marketing department working in over drive?

I have played about with the MacBook in the Apple store, and as I'm a student, I open a lot of PDFs and power point presentations. I've noticed that the MacBook will stutter with high quality pdfs when scrolling in them. Is this something the Skylake upgrade will get rid of?

Therefore again, is it worth waiting for Skylake, and will it be worth spending an extra £300 (as I'm a student, I think the Skylake MacBook 12 1.2/512 should drop to £1200, therefore after student pricing it will be around £1000.)

Thanks

300UKP is a lot of beers in the hope that you can open a pdf faster, which I doubt, enjoy now is my opionion

 

[Queen6]

Hi all

I have an amazing deal to purchase a 1 month old MacBook 12' for £690 I am however wary as to whether I should wait for the skylake models.

My understanding is that Skylake Core M will bring 40% better graphics versus the current broad well Core M. Is this correct or is this Intel's marketing department working in over drive?

I have played about with the MacBook in the Apple store, and as I'm a student, I open a lot of PDFs and power point presentations. I've noticed that the MacBook will stutter with high quality pdfs when scrolling in them. Is this something the Skylake upgrade will get rid of?

Therefore again, is it worth waiting for Skylake, and will it be worth spending an extra £300 (as I'm a student, I think the Skylake MacBook 12 1.2/512 should drop to £1200, therefore after student pricing it will be around £1000.)

Thanks

For your usage go for the current model and save your money. No one knows when Apple will move the rMB to Skylake, nor is it given that Apple will reduce the price of the rMB, for that to happen the Air will be deprecated from the lineup, once again only Apple knows if and when. Personally I don't expect to see an update until the 12 month point at earliest for the rMB.

The stuttering in PDF`s is due to software, not hardware try Skim likely it will be of far more use to you. As for the the GPU improvement 40% is a maximum value, real-world it will be beneficial, equally not earth shattering. I own a 1.2 it copes with a heavier loads than you are describing with ease. Only reason I would upgrade to Skylake is battery life, and that has to be seen.

If you want a 12" Retina MacBook and pass on the one available for £690, you will be kicking yourself if you pass on it, and the updated version pricing remains which is likely. Once a product is launched Apple is all about evolutionary steps in development, not revolutionary. Offer £600 - £650 cash and see if you get a "bite"

Q-6

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Get the cheap one - Sell it when the new model is released for no loss (I assume), and get the better model.

 

[SSD-GUY]

Get the cheap one - Sell it when the new model is released for no loss (I assume), and get the better model.

Thanks for all your replies. I'm gonna bite the bullet and go for it, but will first ask for a slight price reduction (and put that money towards a dongle).

I think for this price, even if I sold it next summer if the skylake (MacBooks are that much better), I should be able to get the same price I bought it for hopefully.

Also, while I'm here, what are the best apps you all recommend for the macbook? I'm going to look at skim, but any others?

 

[827538]

The question is does Apple really want to put out another version. I dont think you will see one in 2016 as the improvements from Skylake dont matter much to the typical buyer of rMB.

If Apple decides to expand its target audience by beefing up the capabilities, then perhaps a new version will be seen.

I'm personally waiting for a Skylake rMB but to the OP - test one out in store, if you are happy with it then go for it.
But Skylake should bring some solid gains. Better IO, 15% to CPU and 40% to GPU, those aren't ridiculous claims, Skylake was designed to really push performance and efficiency at the lower end and Intel has been making huge gains with iGPU's for some time since Sandy Bridge. So yeh I do hope to see some gains (remember Broadwell is just a die shrink of Haswell, an uArch from 2013).

 

[827538]

The question is does Apple really want to put out another version. I dont think you will see one in 2016 as the improvements from Skylake dont matter much to the typical buyer of rMB.

If Apple decides to expand its target audience by beefing up the capabilities, then perhaps a new version will be seen.

I'm personally waiting for a Skylake rMB but to the OP - test one out in store, if you are happy with it then go for it.
But Skylake should bring some solid gains. Better IO, 15% to CPU and 40% to GPU, those aren't ridiculous claims, Skylake was designed to really push performance and efficiency at the lower end and Intel has been making huge gains with iGPU's for some time since Sandy Bridge. So yeh I do hope to see some gains (remember Broadwell is just a die shrink of Haswell, an uArch from 2013).

 

[zhenya]

CPU gains on that order are not the type of thing that a regular user is ever going to notice though. 15% is similar to the difference between the 1.1 and 1.2Ghz models now, and many people are reporting here that they can't really tell any difference. Would I rather have the faster, newer processor all things being equal? Absolutely. But when price is a factor like in this thread, I can't say I'd be too keen to wait to pay more for the new model.

 

[827538]

Well I agree, but it's 15% to IPC which means efficiency gains. Also the 40% to the iGPU will be noticeable!
But to the OP going for that current cheaper rMB sounds like a great offer. But for me I don't need it right now.

 

[Three141]

Hi all

I have an amazing deal to purchase a 1 month old MacBook 12' for £690 I am however wary as to whether I should wait for the skylake models.

My understanding is that Skylake Core M will bring 40% better graphics versus the current broad well Core M. Is this correct or is this Intel's marketing department working in over drive?

I have played about with the MacBook in the Apple store, and as I'm a student, I open a lot of PDFs and power point presentations. I've noticed that the MacBook will stutter with high quality pdfs when scrolling in them. Is this something the Skylake upgrade will get rid of?

Therefore again, is it worth waiting for Skylake, and will it be worth spending an extra £300 (as I'm a student, I think the Skylake MacBook 12 1.2/512 should drop to £1200, therefore after student pricing it will be around £1000.)

Thanks

OP, I'm planning on getting one of these for my sibling and I'm waiting for Skylake.
However you seem to have a solid deal and I think you will be able to resale for the same value or small loss, I would buy now and sell when the new one is announced (or press invite is sent).

 

[SSD-GUY]

Thanks guys. In a way I'm actually glad the GPU isn't that good, as when I take my MBA 11 to Uni, I do end up playing some games sometimes, which is very counter-productive.

I'm definitely going for it, will keep until I see the skyline refresh (as in not sell it before), and if the refresh does bring some solid gains, then I may sell, if not I'll just keep it till September when I finish uni.

 

[MacRazySwe]

Be wary, that deal sounds a bit too good to be true. If you're buying on the second-hand market, make sure you're not buying stolen property.

If everything checks out right, buy it now, use it for a few months and then sell it for a profit and upgrade to the Skylake-version.

 

[SSD-GUY]

Be wary, that deal sounds a bit too good to be true. If you're buying on the second-hand market, make sure you're not buying stolen property.

If everything checks out right, buy it now, use it for a few months and then sell it for a profit and upgrade to the Skylake-version.

Will definitely double check serials with Apple and other databases, but it seems ok, it's fully boxed etc

 

[MacRazySwe]

I almost bought a 12" rMB a week ago, figured the deal was too good to pass up. Fully boxed. Priced at an equivalent of £650 (base-model though). However, the seller had no receipt as it was given to him as a "christmas gift". Not only that, but the seller used a pre-paid phonecard and I had to ask several times for the serial number.

I sincerely hope your deal turns out better. I decided it was better to stick with my rMBP for now.

 

[lite426]

The 40% increase in graphics performance may actually even be conservative, I've seen reports that the new Asus with the Skylake Core M has doubled graphics performance!!!

 

[SSD-GUY]

Hi guys

I unfortunately was too late for the MacBook 1.2 offer, I have however found another MacBook, albeit the base model in silver, but at only £530! For that price I've sold my MBA 11 for almost £450 so it's only an extra £80.

Will post an update soon on how I get along! Will probably keep this after even a refresh and will hold out for a Retina MacBook Air!

Thanks all for your help

 

[scaramoosh]

It's obviously better to wait at this point, everything is using Skylake right now and it eats Broadwell alive when it comes to the GPU. The new Skylakes can run games like GTA V and Alien Isolation at acceptable framerates, it can run any modern game and most of the games I play are maxed out. With Broadwell it couldn't even run those games and things like CSGO and Dota 2 struggled to hit 30FPS with low settings.

It is a massive leap for fanless Laptops.

 

[CatBookPro]

It's obviously better to wait at this point, everything is using Skylake right now and it eats Broadwell alive when it comes to the GPU. The new Skylakes can run games like GTA V and Alien Isolation at acceptable framerates, it can run any modern game and most of the games I play are maxed out. With Broadwell it couldn't even run those games and things like CSGO and Dota 2 struggled to hit 30FPS with low settings.

It is a massive leap for fanless Laptops.

I do love my Macbook... but if they come out with this update in the next couple months, then it'll definitely be worth the wait for anyone who's thinking of buying

 

[Smeaton1724]

There are two reasons to purchase now -
1. Found an insane offer.
2. You need the device to earn you money, i.e main machine died and you need replacement or you have no livelihood.

You have found option 1. Buy it.

At that price you can use it a full year, resell it for about £500 in 12-14 months time and pick up the 3rd generation version. Total cost of ownership over that period will be quite minimal when you think of the use you will probably get. The alternative is to wait probably up to 3 months and then pay RRP/student discount rates.

 

[CatBookPro]

There are two reasons to purchase now -
1. Found an insane offer.
2. You need the device to earn you money, i.e main machine died and you need replacement or you have no livelihood.

You have found option 1. Buy it.

At that price you can use it a full year, resell it for about £500 in 12-14 months time and pick up the 3rd generation version. Total cost of ownership over that period will be quite minimal when you think of the use you will probably get. The alternative is to wait probably up to 3 months and then pay RRP/student discount rates.

Excellent point. If you need it, buy it. And as noted - Any insane deal is worth picking one up.

 

[lite426]

Hi guys

I unfortunately was too late for the MacBook 1.2 offer, I have however found another MacBook, albeit the base model in silver, but at only £530! For that price I've sold my MBA 11 for almost £450 so it's only an extra £80.

£530?! Nice, where/how'd you get it so cheap!? :O