Buy macbook pro now, or wait for possible update?

[BigMcGuire]

I think it’s likely that you will get many years out of your new MacBook Pro’s, the horror stories that you read about don’t make up the majority of people, there are a lot of people who are very happy, haven’t had a problem with their MacBook Pro’s and never even read these forums. It’s very difficult to know the numbers but Apple sold a lot of them (according to their last earnings call and the one before hat for 2017), out of all those millions sold its highly unlikely that a major amount have had issues otherwise there would be more reports and more fuss being made about it (after all this Apple and some news outlets like any excuse to write about Apple).

That’s just my 2 pennies worth anyway.

Thank you - I appreciate the time you took to write that out. I tend to agree with you - so we'll accept them next week - they just shipped from China yesterday and today (mine is 1 day behind my wife's laptop).

Much appreciated!

 

[maerz001]

My wife and I spent the last few years saving up for our Pros that we ordered last week. Wife starts PhD school this fall so we saved up so she could have a pro for that. Then, after our order, I spend hours reading here of all the problems people are having with the keyboards and have a "oh crap" moment. lol. Well... I was planning on getting AppleCare+ anyway but yeah... Wondering if I can keep a $3k machine for more than 3 years is just insanity. Realy?!

Our Macbook Air 11' 2015 laptops lasted exceptionally - we used them every day for 10+ hours and I even used the keyboard heavily. Was really hoping to get similar usage out of a laptop 2x more expensive.

Hope it works out for you. But why didn't u wait if you need it in fall and have a good Air?

 

[BigMcGuire]

Hope it works out for you. But why didn't u wait if you need it in fall and have a good Air?

Wifey really wanted a Macbook Pro for her PhD studies she starts for in the fall, so we saved up and both upgraded. Wife's Air is going to mother in law. I personally was looking forward to replace my main machine (Mac Mini 2011) as it is getting a bit old and slow - and my Air with 128GB SSD was getting a bit cramped storage wise. But yeah, had I done all this reading before hand, I might have done things differently. I can't stand the resolution on the Air anymore either.

But because I'm a really fast typist - the Air's keyboard - I just assumed the Mac Pros would have a better one - I've used Pros from 2009 and seen friends older Macbook Pros too.

 

[conanthewarrior]

The only reason I was thinking of the older model was because of cost, and also normal USB ports. I will have to buy adapters, or even a hub seeing as the new macbook pro 13 only has two thunderbolt ports. I will likely have an interface, and midi controller plugged into those ports, and not being able to charge while using them would be annoying. I could just plug in the controller when I am recording the main melody, and then unplug, but it would be nicer to not have to keep doing that.

I would much rather a brand new model as long as I could afford it, if not a 2017 refurbished model. I think any model will be fast enough for my needs, as I am currently running a project with 16 tracks, and quite a lot of effects on a lot of channels and even my mid 2010, 13 inch macbook pro with 4GB ram is running it well.

I guess any newer mac will run logic x fine if my old model does so this is good. I will likely have to wait till Mid July to buy anyway, as a few bills were larger than I was expecting.

Really hope I can get 5 years out of the new model seeing as this one has lasted me for nearly 8!

 

[conanthewarrior]

Over at the logic forums I have been advised to go for a 2012, 15 inch macbook pro with an i7 quad core.

These are available to me for about £600, and this is half what a new 13 inch would cost me, and also I could buy my studio monitors from the saving.

I am just a bit worried if a quad core i7 from 2012 will run better than a brand new dual core i5- it seems it will, but I am unsure on buying a mac from 2012.

I am feeling this way as when I was younger, you went by processers by the GHZ speed, now it seems this isn't as relevant. Would a 2012 quad core i7 be a lot better than a dual core i5 that is being sold now?

It also has more connections for me which is a bonus.

Sorry for all the questions, it is just a lot of money to me so I want to make sure I am right.

 

[maerz001]

Well it's a different category in power but also portability.
In multicore the 2012 15" is about 35% faster. Geekbench 12000 vs 8900.

Not so in singlecore. So it depends of your program if it can handle 4cores...

But consider the 2013 model. I think it had fewer problems with gpu.

https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks

 

[conanthewarrior]

Well it's a different category in power but also portability.
In multicore the 2012 15" is about 35% faster. Geekbench 12000 vs 8900.

Not so in singlecore. So it depends of your program if it can handle 4cores...

But consider the 2013 model. I think it had fewer problems with gpu.

https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks

The portability isn't too big of an issue, I mainly will be using it at home. 35 % faster for a lot less seems good to me.

Logic does make use of all cores so I think it might be better in this case getting an older model. I will have a look at the 2013 models and see what I can get them for. I just need to look now for one in good condition.

 

[Appleaker]

Definitely wait and get the 2018 model Having said that, the announcement may be delayed until later this year, so it depends how long you are able to wait.

 

[Ryanhdd]

Hi everyone, I need to replace my mid 2010, 13 Inch 2.4GHZ macbook pro as it is slow for my needs, mainly logic and also general day to day use.

I will only be able to afford a 13 inch model, so am unsure wether to go for it in 4 weeks when I have the money, or to wait in case a model with a quad core processor is released?

If one is released, will it be likely the non touch bar version will get a processor upgrade, or will it still be dual core?

If it is the latter, I will buy one as soon as I can, as even the £1249 is a very large amount of money for me due to health problems.

It might sound silly, but can I also expect a big increase in speed over my mid 2010 model? I can't upgrade past El capitan due to a problem with the mac I currently have, so will be nice to be able to use high sierra too.

Thanks, Conan.

I am in the exact same boat. mid 2010 17'' mbp. i love mine. its starting to get graphic card issues. screen will show crazy stuff sometimes. I am waiting. I sure hope she makes it to the next refresh. edit. i also run nuendo and have multitracked a whole band with mine running fine. With Nuendo 8 she started acting buggy.

 

[Naimfan]

The portability isn't too big of an issue, I mainly will be using it at home. 35 % faster for a lot less seems good to me.

Logic does make use of all cores so I think it might be better in this case getting an older model. I will have a look at the 2013 models and see what I can get them for. I just need to look now for one in good condition.

Go for a used Late 2013 or 2014 15". Later architecture, so run cooler. Much less expensive than new, quad-core CPU, etc.

 

[conanthewarrior]

I'm not necessarily in a rush, as I still am saving at the moment but will have enough soon. I also need to get some studio monitors too, am unsure what to get first, or if I go used I can get them at the same time.

I have everything else I need though, such as DAW, interface, Mics, and headphones which I can get a decent mix on and for tracking, I just would like the monitors so I can mixdown on both the headphones and speakers.

I will try to wait for the 2018 model, and see how much they cost. If it is too much I will go for a late 2013 model, as these aren't much more than the 2012 model, and compared to my Core 2 duo in geekbench the results are hugely different, 1528 single core and 2495 multi core for the current 13", vs single core 4177 and multicore 14051 for the late 2013 2.6 I7. Even my £140 phone has much faster geekbench results lol.
Even the single core speed beats the multicore speed of my current model, so it seems for the price it might be a really good upgrade.

Will future versions of Mac OS still support slightly older macs as they have for my current model?

 

[maerz001]

I'm not necessarily in a rush, as I still am saving at the moment but will have enough soon. I also need to get some studio monitors too, am unsure what to get first, or if I go used I can get them at the same time.

I have everything else I need though, such as DAW, interface, Mics, and headphones which I can get a decent mix on and for tracking, I just would like the monitors so I can mixdown on both the headphones and speakers.

I will try to wait for the 2018 model, and see how much they cost. If it is too much I will go for a late 2013 model, as these aren't much more than the 2012 model, and compared to my Core 2 duo in geekbench the results are hugely different, 1528 single core and 2495 multi core for the current 13", vs single core 4177 and multicore 14051 for the late 2013 2.6 I7. Even my £140 phone has much faster geekbench results lol.
Even the single core speed beats the multicore speed of my current model, so it seems for the price it might be a really good upgrade.

Will future versions of Mac OS still support slightly older macs as they have for my current model?

I would not expect huge price changes. Maybe max $200 for some configuration. Apple is here very unflexibel.

There are no rumors that the OS support will change. So nothing to worry