can't decide ..

[iBilal]

I have a 2012 MacBook Pro .. and it's been great over the past 2.5 years .. I use it everyday .. it's my main workhouse/desktop-replacement computer .. so is it worth upgrading to the 2015 rMBP? .. or shall I wait for a more significant update? .. I have 8 GBs of RAM and a 256 mb SSD, which are more than enough for me .. I'm very happy with this machine .. will I be even happier with the new one? .. faster ssd, better battery and the trackpad ..

 

[ayzee]

Is it a MBP or rMBP you currently have?

I have a 2012 rMBP and decided to upgrade to the new 2015 rMBP released today. The main reason is that the AppleCare on my current laptop is due to expire in the next 2 months, so I like to sell it with AppleCare for the purchasers peace of mind.

I feel the improvements will be noticeable. The faster SSD, processer and 16gb ram standard. If you are happy to wait another year then just do that. I wouldn't just update to get the new trackpad. That is definitely not worth it.

 

[iBilal]

I have a Macbook Pro .. 15" with the Retina Display ..

so, I would be upgrading for:

a) the new trackpad [is it really that big of a deal? .. I've ordered one of the new Retina Macbooks]
b) faster SSD speed
c) 16 GB RAM

and that's really all ..

I am a notebook enthusiast .. work is limited to Word and that's it .. on an average day I'd probably just use Word and Chrome .. but like 10 hours a day .. that was another consideration .. wouldn't I be able to trade this in for more, now, than later when it's a much older model ..

would there be a performance difference? .. and would it be significant enough for me to trade-in this one and get the MacBook Pro 15" Retina?

 

[Kal-037]

I am slightly (slightly) disappointed there is no new processor, but I actually mostly wanted an updated dGPU and faster Flash, and we got that... my only choice now is going for the 2.8GHz model. I had the 2.5 before, but i am kind of wanting a little more power, I know it's only 300MHz faster... anyone have any thoughts? is there less rolling beach ball with 2.8 v 2.5?


K.

 

[brdeveloper]

I have a Macbook Pro .. 15" with the Retina Display ..

so, I would be upgrading for:

a) the new trackpad [is it really that big of a deal? .. I've ordered one of the new Retina Macbooks]
b) faster SSD speed
c) 16 GB RAM

and that's really all ..

I am a notebook enthusiast .. work is limited to Word and that's it .. on an average day I'd probably just use Word and Chrome .. but like 10 hours a day .. that was another consideration .. wouldn't I be able to trade this in for more, now, than later when it's a much older model ..

would there be a performance difference? .. and would it be significant enough for me to trade-in this one and get the MacBook Pro 15" Retina?

Even as an enthusiast, I think it's not worth updating now. I would wait for Skylake, so you'd perhaps get more than 16GB of RAM (DDR4) with the higher end model. Also, perhaps you'd get an even faster SSD which could reach the 2GB/s mark.

In relation to your 2012 rMBP, you still won't get a 100% bump on Geekbench numbers. Probably the new rMBP is more in the 60% performance bump, which isn't a big reason to upgrade IMHO. I'd look for a 100% performance improvement in every aspects (GPU, CPU, SSD, etc). This mark will definitely be reached with Skylake.

 

[iBilal]

that sounds reasonable .. when do you think they'll completely refresh the Macbook Pro Retina 15" line?

I have no issues with this notebook .. it does everything I need it to do ..

like I mentioned before, this would be the desk laptop .. and I've ordered the rMB in Space Grey to play around with and use on the couch etc ..

Even as an enthusiast, I think it's not worth updating now. I would wait for Skylake, so you'd perhaps get more than 16GB of RAM (DDR4) with the higher end model. Also, perhaps you'd get an even faster SSD which could reach the 2GB/s mark.

In relation to your 2012 rMBP, you still won't get a 100% bump on Geekbench numbers. Probably the new rMBP is more in the 60% performance bump, which isn't a big reason to upgrade IMHO. I'd look for a 100% performance improvement in every aspects (GPU, CPU, SSD, etc). This mark will definitely be reached with Skylake.

 

[ayzee]

@ibilal your not doing ram intensive tasks with word, so the ram upgrade would make no difference to you.

Ram would help if you have many chrome tabs open, playing video, flash etc.


With the faster SSD, documents and applications would load much snappier.

And obviously your battery life would improve. You would get better value for selling your laptop now, as the older it gets the faster the value deprecates.

 

[iBilal]

great, so now you've got me all confused again ..

should I upgrade the MBP?

@ibilal your not doing ram intensive tasks with word, so the ram upgrade would make no difference to you.

Ram would help if you have many chrome tabs open, playing video, flash etc.


With the faster SSD, documents and applications would load much snappier.

And obviously your battery life would improve. You would get better value for selling your laptop now, as the older it gets the faster the value deprecates.

 

[digitallegend]

dont upgrade. ur mac is working fine.
if u really really want it then get it and when apple refreshes it next year you can always sell it as u will get great value for it (if u take care of it)

 

[brdeveloper]

@ibilal your not doing ram intensive tasks with word, so the ram upgrade would make no difference to you.

Ram would help if you have many chrome tabs open, playing video, flash etc.


With the faster SSD, documents and applications would load much snappier.

And obviously your battery life would improve. You would get better value for selling your laptop now, as the older it gets the faster the value deprecates.

From what I understand, he just want having the best just for the sake of having the best - and for the longest period possible. So the best advice is waiting for the one which will be the best for a longer time.

The 2012 rMBP is still a great machine which will be at best around 35% behind of a 2014 model in terms of CPU performance.

 

[David58117]

Only if you're going for the top tier upgrade with the dGPU - otherwise, it's not really worth it.

Yosemite is very efficient with ram already, and SSD's make swap files significantly less painful than mechanical drives. Very very very few people actually use 16GB, and for your purpose - you have no need for it.

If you're happy with yours - wait.

 

[David58117]

From what I understand, he just want having the best just for the sake of having the best - and for the longest period possible. So the best advice is waiting for the one which will be the best for a longer time.

The 2012 rMBP is still a great machine which will be at best around 35% behind of a 2014 model in terms of CPU performance.

Much less, actually.

In fact they're pretty comparable.

I had both and they benchmarked pretty similarly.

 

[iBilal]

thank you everyone for your advice and input ..

I'll follow everyone's advice and keep the MBP 15 Reina, for now .. and upgrade when there's a more significant update ..

now, can't wait for the rMB to arrive .. got the 256 Space Grey one ..

 

[Freyqq]

From what I understand, he just want having the best just for the sake of having the best - and for the longest period possible. So the best advice is waiting for the one which will be the best for a longer time.

The 2012 rMBP is still a great machine which will be at best around 35% behind of a 2014 model in terms of CPU performance.

Nope. Maybe 5-10% slower at most. Even the 750M is just a rebranded 650M. For his use case, he would never notice. He's got plenty of power. Actually, the rMB is probably enough power for his uses.

 

[iBilal]

I don't play any games or anything .. except the FaceBook games .. (yes, I know .. how sad am I?) ..

pages, etc ..

photoshop .. rarely ..

and they all run instantly on my system .. in a snap .. I use onyx and other software to keep the notebook clean of redundant files ..

Nope. Maybe 5-10% slower at most. For his use case, he would never notice. Even the 750M is just a rebranded 650M. He's got plenty of power.