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Buyer remorse? Did i need to update?

I tend to skip at least 1 generstion before upgrading. That usually gives
me a 3-5 year upgrade cycle. The Haswell rmbp doesn't offer that much performance improvement over the previous generation. In day to day usage, I don't think I would notice it.

Um... Yes, the backlit keyboard has been there for some time... :)
 
Need It ~ Buy It ~ Use It ~ Repeat

Well, as always I suspect if you 'have to ask' that the upgrade was not needed.. And that being said, you are now a Full Year further ahead of never doing THAT again, unless you decide to forget next year and Upgrade by accident.. Again.. :rolleyes:

Need It ~ Buy It ~ Use It ~ Repeat
 
If you really needed the RAM and HDD upgrade, then you had no choice. So no reason to even ask whether it was worth it.

If you can stay on the current model for $600/year by buying and selling with each update, it is also not so bad. It's just as expensive as buying a new MBP every 3-4 years.

Obviously the 10% speed increase alone is not worth an upgrade... but you knew that!
 
thaifood said:
I think my 2008 13" C2D unibody didn't have a backlight...I think that year it was on the cusp of being introduced, or it was limited to the higher spec models.
Click to expand...

You are correct sir. The late 2008 13" unibody MacBook did not have a backlit keyboard in the base model. You had to get the higher spec model to have a backlit keyboard. I should know because I made that upgrade choice. And now, five years later, I am replacing that MacBook with a new 15"/2.3ghz/16GB/1TB rMBP!
 
i upgraded from macbook pro retina 2012 too because of the lag when viewing web pages :)
 
-Ray- said:
I updated my 2012 15 rMBP 2.3 to the new 2.3ghz haswell 15 rmbp. Was this a worthless upgrade. Before purchasing i went over the specs. its has about a 10% +- speed increase, more ram, and and bigger hd. I felt it was a good time to upgrade so I can retain as much equity as possible.

What do you guys think. There isn't more except the keyboard lights, ac wifi and thunderbolt2. I didn't want to be behind the power curve.

Assuming that Ill get 1800 for my model with applecare. (buyer lined up) was the 600 extra justified with these spec bumps. (edu discount)
Click to expand...

If bragging rights to the latest and greatest is important to you, and you can afford it, the "upgrade" is cheap at the price.

If it is just functionality you are after, it depends on your needs. For most peoples' day to day needs, the improvement in specs and performance from one "update" to the next is unlikely to be of any great significance, thus not not worth it.

Occasionally there are revolutionary new products and updates, but for the most part the changes are evolutionary. For myself, I only replace something if my needs change, or the old machine is no longer worth repairing.

To each their own. In the end, it is your money (or your bank's), your life, your choice.
 
Well, if your able to get the upgrade for $600 after selling your 2012, then it's not too bad of an idea IMO. However, this is a bit of a slippery slope. What will want to stop you from upgrading next year when a new spec bump happens, or if there's a jump to an IGZO display or a higher perfuming graphics card.

I'm upgrading from a 2011 macbook air, which is still fairly new, but a whole different type of computer. I'm not sure if I would have upgraded from a 2012 though..
 
-Ray- said:
I updated my 2012 15 rMBP 2.3 to the new 2.3ghz haswell 15 rmbp. Was this a worthless upgrade. Before purchasing i went over the specs. its has about a 10% +- speed increase, more ram, and and bigger hd. I felt it was a good time to upgrade so I can retain as much equity as possible.

What do you guys think. There isn't more except the keyboard lights, ac wifi and thunderbolt2. I didn't want to be behind the power curve.

Assuming that Ill get 1800 for my model with applecare. (buyer lined up) was the 600 extra justified with these spec bumps. (edu discount)
Click to expand...

Ray... I think yours is a perfectly valid upgrade strategy and one which I would not regret. The way I look at it is you can either sell a rMBP after 3 or 4 years for $600, writing off around $600 a year in value as a lump sum at the end, or spend the $600 each year and have the latest rMBP. If you change you mind any year and don't upgrade you are still starting with a more recent rMBP and will get the 3 or 4 years life.

So you get a shiny new toy each year. Mostly the upgrades will not be super noticeable year to year, but you will always have the best. And you do get things like more RAM, more / faster SSD so I see that as value for the $600 in that in a years time your upgraded rMBP will be worth that much more than if you were selling what would be your then 2 year old rMBP.

I equally accept others that buy to keep for 3 to 6 years and want longevity. Both are valid strategies. It depends on what cash flow suits you, your tax situation for deducting some of the cost, and the pleasure having something new brings. I go through phases, and have over the years tried both strategies with technology.

So enjoy having the newest each year... You only have to please yourself, and in this world of forums it's guaranteed that there will always be strong alternative views for any position / strategy.
 
You upgrade your computer first, then come to a forum to ask if it was the right decision? LOL
 
tekmoe said:
You upgrade your computer first, then come to a forum to ask if it was the right decision? LOL
Click to expand...

It was an impulse buy. I took my 2012 to get the screen replaced at the apple store. It was going to be about a week before I could get in back and my pixel burnout was really bad. It spread in a matter of days.

I figured Id buy the new version because my macbook wasn't covered in my business program account so I couldn't get a loaner.

Theres a lot that happened so fast.
 
The fact that you had enough money for it, I would think no.


Here is how it works;


Sandybridge gets released and its super hot and a nice performance boost. it makes a difference, but its power hungry and gets very hot.


Ivy Bridge gets delayed a quarter but its being told it wont affect haswell. ivy bridge has a modest increase 5-10% but reduces heat and power significantly. combined with kepler graphics its declared as a match made in heaven. the ULTs are finally fast and you see the awesome power of macbook air!


Haswell gets delayed, with a very modest increase, but with a significant improvement in battery. along side it is 802.11ac which has been a long way coming.



Broadwell. it might give us a bigger performance boost or it might continue the haswell path of just more battery.




There is this pattern with Intel. It's always the next-next generation thing that is going to be the big leap. when sandy came out, they said ivy was going to be big but haswell would be insane. when ivy came out they said haswell was going to be allright, but broadwell was gonna be the crazy. and now that haswell is out, people are saying that broadwell will be fine, but its skylake that will be amazing.


It's a combination of hype, over optimism, skewed benchmarks at tradeshows and delayed features.


If you notice with Sandy-> Ivy-> Haswell -> Broadwell(expected 40% gpu increase from Iris) it's the GPU that has seen a lot more benefit. Intel wants to kill Nvidia. It doesn't want them. It wants to be the sole supplier of graphics. Intel is going to do this with making a combination of decent graphics and at a lower price that Nvidia chips cant do.




Why is this a problem for Nvidia? AMD - is in heaven. it secured its GPUs in both Wii U, PS4 and XBox One. So AMD is on a massive technological supply chain for the next 5-8 years. A major fail for Nvidia. To add to injury Intel is choking them at the laptop space.


Basically Maxwell next year needs to be a bit of a revolution. it needs to have even lower thermal threshold and even more cost effective to keep vendors wanting to pay extra for GPUs.
Iris Pro handles Retina display well. that was a major problem of 2012 rMBP.




TL;DR - Haswell was a good upgrade for you. You could probably do until skylake now that DDR4 has apparently been delayed.
 
JPizzzle said:
Well, if your able to get the upgrade for $600 after selling your 2012, then it's not too bad of an idea IMO. However, this is a bit of a slippery slope. What will want to stop you from upgrading next year when a new spec bump happens, or if there's a jump to an IGZO display or a higher perfuming graphics card.

I'm upgrading from a 2011 macbook air, which is still fairly new, but a whole different type of computer. I'm not sure if I would have upgraded from a 2012 though..
Click to expand...

How do you like the upgrade? I'm fixing to jump from mid-2011 13" MBA to late-2013 13" rMBP
 
rtr1985 said:
How do you like the upgrade? I'm fixing to jump from mid-2011 13" MBA to late-2013 13" rMBP
Click to expand...

Loving it myself - I went late-2010 13" MBA to late-2013 13" rMBP... glad I waited and skipped the Haswell MBAs. The screen is gorgeous and you'll be totally spoiled by it... it feels way solid and unlike MBAs, the top cover/screen is truly solid too, the hinge is almost too tight after having gotten used to the semi loose MBA hinges.
 
It's a good idea if:

1) you have the (extra) money, so no need to make threads like this
2) you use it to make a living and/or it's a tax write-off
3) you couldn't stand the heat of the previous model
4) you're so hard core it's just WTF

It's a bad idea if:

1) you're an Apple whore
2) you're a tech junkie
3) you're confused
4) you're competing with others
 
The fact that you had no clue about the back lit keyboard feature justifies that your upgrade was clearly unwarranted. :confused:
 
I think you need to redo your calculations.

How much did you pay for your 2012 rMBP with Applecare, sales tax and all? How much did you pay for the Haswell 2013?

Just a rough estimate with edu pricing and 10% sales tax: $2000 + $200 tax + $240 Applecare = $2440. You'll get $1800 back for it.

New machine = $2400 +$240 + $240 = $2880 (price is the same as the resolution ;) )

$2880+$2440 - $1800 = $3500 out of pocket for the new machine and an additional year of warranty.

I don't you'll notice much difference between the two machines in day to day usage.
 
lians60 said:
The fact that you had no clue about the back lit keyboard feature justifies that your upgrade was clearly unwarranted. :confused:
Click to expand...

honest mistake. no need to troll. Im actually a full time developer. Own a business at that. I school at night.

Daniel L said:
I think you need to redo your calculations.

How much did you pay for your 2012 rMBP with Applecare, sales tax and all? How much did you pay for the Haswell 2013?

Just a rough estimate with edu pricing and 10% sales tax: $2000 + $200 tax + $240 Applecare = $2440. You'll get $1800 back for it.


New machine = $2400 +$240 + $240 = $2880 (price is the same as the resolution ;) )

$2880+$2440 - $1800 = $3500 out of pocket for the new machine and an additional year of warranty.

I don't you'll notice much difference between the two machines in day to day usage.
Click to expand...

First one was bought second hand from some one who needed cash fast. Paid $1300

Second one came to $2399 + $240. Didn't get apple care yet. $2639.

If I sell for 1800$
$2639 - 1800 - 839. Factor in the fact that I paid 1300 I can reduce it buy another $500 from my additional savings. So in reality, I only lost $300 in value.

Since I am prior military, the government will pay towards a computer. Also a possible business right off.
So it could potentially wind up costing me nothing to upgrade. Money isn't a huge issue for me. Im rich from bitcoins. No joke. sold 31
 
eneisch said:
You are correct sir. The late 2008 13" unibody MacBook did not have a backlit keyboard in the base model. You had to get the higher spec model to have a backlit keyboard. I should know because I made that upgrade choice. And now, five years later, I am replacing that MacBook with a new 15"/2.3ghz/16GB/1TB rMBP!
Click to expand...

Awesome! I've picked up the same but with 512gb :D
 
-Ray- said:
I updated my 2012 15 rMBP 2.3 to the new 2.3ghz haswell 15 rmbp. Was this a worthless upgrade. Before purchasing i went over the specs. its has about a 10% +- speed increase, more ram, and and bigger hd. I felt it was a good time to upgrade so I can retain as much equity as possible.

What do you guys think. There isn't more except the keyboard lights, ac wifi and thunderbolt2. I didn't want to be behind the power curve.

Assuming that Ill get 1800 for my model with applecare. (buyer lined up) was the 600 extra justified with these spec bumps. (edu discount)
Click to expand...

buyer's remorse therapist would be helpful.
 
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