Choosing the right Macbook

[tobiasspilka]

Hello, i was thinking about buying me a macbook, im mostly doing photo editing, website graphics and video editing , but im not sure which one should i pick . I thought Retina one would be best for working away from home, but i came across few older's but still with waranty 17" ones which are i5, 1920x1200 + like twice cheaper, i was thinking that i would buy this 17" since 1200p seems good enough when working away from home, and ill be able to use my 4k monitor when home .

 

[maflynn]

What's your budget?

Also the 17" model is 6 years old, and known to have dGPU failures so I'd not look at them.

 

[tobiasspilka]

My budget is around 2k$, im able to buy any macbook from 2008-2014 and all have 2 years waranty, but i want to make use of my external display too . Right now i'm choosing between 2012 retina 15,4" with i7 that one is for 1k$, or some older with dGPU, since integrated one's cant propably make full use of 4k with 60hz .

 

[andy9l]

To use your 4K screen, you need a MacBook Pro from 2013 or later, or any version of the new MacBook. You can get stuck with 30Hz very easily with Macs, unfortunately. Mac compatibility with high-resolution external displays is very immature. Be careful with what you buy to ensure you're going to get 60Hz.

I would suggest a Pro when driving a 4K screen. I use a 4K screen with my MacBook and it's subpar performance.

More information on 4K with Macs: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT206587

 

[rawweb]

My budget is around 2k$, im able to buy any macbook from 2008-2014 and all have 2 years waranty, but i want to make use of my external display too . Right now i'm choosing between 2012 retina 15,4" with i7 that one is for 1k$, or some older with dGPU, since integrated one's cant propably make full use of 4k with 60hz .

The newest 17" is about 5 1/2 years old (released in October, 2011). Apple Care is long expired on those machines. Are you looking at some kind of after market warranty? I would not advise that at all. Parts for Early 2011 (and earlier) MacBook's have gone vintage, and are no longer manufactured. Late 2011 is on the verge. If anything goes wrong you would be getting parts pulled from other junk machines.

If you're going to spend $2k, you really should look to something a bit newer with some support years ahead of it. Also, I don't believe MacBooks of that era can drive 4k.

Full disclosure: I adored my late 2011 17" Matte screen. I wish they were still made today. That said, I experienced dGPU failure in 2015...thankfully at the time a repair program existed. No longer...

 

[maflynn]

Right now i'm choosing between 2012 retina 15,4" with i7 that one is for 1k$

That seems over priced to me. 1,000 for a 5 year old computer? I have the 2012 model and at one point last year I was looking to sell it and the only offers I was getting were under a grand. I'm not looking t sell it now, as my kids need it, but I wasn't getting much luck. Perhaps I was using the wrong places to sell it

 

[tobiasspilka]

That 1k$ 2012 is 16gb ram with 1tb ssd so maybe thats why it costs so much But the shop where i'm getting it from offers after market warranty for two years, basically they buy old ones, repair them to sell them for more $$ . For example the newest MacBook Pro 15" with TB costs like 3k$ from Apple itself . So im thinking about buying these restored ones to save some money .
[doublepost=1489410635][/doublepost]But all 2013+ i can find do not have dGPU so i dont know what to do right now

 

[rawweb]

That 1k$ 2012 is 16gb ram with 1tb ssd so maybe thats why it costs so much But the shop where i'm getting it from offers after market warranty for two years, basically they buy old ones, repair them to sell them for more $$ . For example the newest MacBook Pro 15" with TB costs like 3k$ from Apple itself . So im thinking about buying these restored ones to save some money .
[doublepost=1489410635][/doublepost]But all 2013+ i can find do not have dGPU so i dont know what to do right now

I advise caution with these third party repair programs. It's a way for these small shops to bring in extra money (who otherwise might not have the capitol to actually pay for the parts out of pocket). Demand to see a contract and make sure you read the fine print. Also, ask some questions. Ask questions like: if the logic board fails in 6 months, who is liable to pay? Will you have to pay a percentage? Get everything in writing if you do decide to go that route, etc. That way you know what to expect in the event of failure. Murphy's law after all.

For what it's worth, I'm seeing used 15" 2012's on my local CL for 700-900. Does 1k include said warranty?

 

[newdeal]

now I haven't looked into it but I would guess even though you think discrete graphics is some guarantee of good performance, discrete graphics from a 5 year old computer may not be any better than integrated graphics today and likely worse

 

[tobiasspilka]

This shop is fine, its like biggest Apple based shop in my Country since there are no apple stores only Online shop, i bought one 13" 2009 4 years ago for like 300$, then gave it to my younger brother and it's still working fine .

 

[Fishrrman]

If you have a budget of $2,000, I would recommend you buy ONLY from the 2015 or 2016 product lineups.

The 2015's will get you a little more for your money, IF you shop carefully.

 

[andy9l]

That 1k$ 2012 is 16gb ram with 1tb ssd so maybe thats why it costs so much But the shop where i'm getting it from offers after market warranty for two years, basically they buy old ones, repair them to sell them for more $$ . For example the newest MacBook Pro 15" with TB costs like 3k$ from Apple itself . So im thinking about buying these restored ones to save some money .
[doublepost=1489410635][/doublepost]But all 2013+ i can find do not have dGPU so i dont know what to do right now

dGPU or not, the 2012 will not run your 4K monitor. As external monitor usage was one of your key requirements, you shouldn't even be considering the 2012 model.

Can you order from Apple online? I would choose/recommend that option every time.

 

[SteveJUAE]

If you have a budget of $2,000, I would recommend you buy ONLY from the 2015 or 2016 product lineups.

The 2015's will get you a little more for your money, IF you shop carefully.

Ditto the above

I'm really struggling to understand the OP in the light of good advice given already

 

[tobiasspilka]

i also wanted to ask, can you recognize the differences between 12" 13" 15" 17" Like, is it worth it to buy 15" nowadays ?

 

[Sanpete]

The 15" has one third more space on the screen than the 13". That's more space to work in or to make things bigger. (It also has by far the more powerful processors.)

 

[tobiasspilka]

Well i meant, the size of macbook itself, not power , if for example 15" is recognizably bigger than 13" or it looks almost the same .

 

[rawweb]

i also wanted to ask, can you recognize the differences between 12" 13" 15" 17" Like, is it worth it to buy 15" nowadays ?

The sizes are astronomically different, in my opinion.

I had a 12" MacBook for a while, my wife's 13" seemed ginormous in comparison. I got rid of it.

As a power user, I always tend to buy as big as I can afford. Back in the day, that was the 17" which was an excellent machine. That's not an option anymore anyway, hasn't been in nearly 6 years. Forget that.

The 13" is fine for most users in the wild. Probably Apple's most sold notebook. Lots of students, professionals and traveling sales folks seem to sport a 13". I see them everywhere. The 13" doesn't offer quad core or dGPU options, so I've never personally had one.

The 15" is truly built for power thirsty users. Quad core and dGPU (in 2016 models). I'm a web designer and video editor and absolutely love my 2016 for these tasks. It's the Best MacBook I've ever owned, and I've had just about every generation. This is the first laptop that actually was suitable for replacing my studio workstation suite. It serves both my desktop/mobile needs like a champ. The retina 15" supports the same resolution as the old 17" (1920x1200), so if you need the extra real estate, it's there. Comes in handy in things like After Effects, etc. If you can find a way to save a little more cash, I highly recommend the 2016. 2015 or Apple Certified Refurbished is not a bad option either. If I were you, I wouldn't even be considering any other model (2015/16).

 

[MrGuder]

i also wanted to ask, can you recognize the differences between 12" 13" 15" 17" Like, is it worth it to buy 15" nowadays ?

No offense but you should be more specific about your questions. Yet several people have already posted answers but there not the answers your looking for. To be honest some of this you can find on your own especially with regard to size, surely Google will supply size specs that your looking for online.

 

[tobiasspilka]

I was looking at some 2016 15" macs and found completely new for 2,4k$ . I think ill be able to save some money, and who knows maybe in few years i'm going to use my Mac with 8k monitors Thanks for help guys
[doublepost=1489445255][/doublepost]

No offense but you should be more specific about your questions. Yet several people have already posted answers but there not the answers your looking for. To be honest some of this you can find on your own especially with regard to size, surely Google will supply size specs that your looking for online.

I know the sizes, but i rather asked since i cant go to the shop to compare them on my own, so i rather asked here cause someone with own experiences can offer better answers, than 15" one is 5 centimeters bigger that 13"

 

[Sanpete]

Well i meant, the size of macbook itself, not power , if for example 15" is recognizably bigger than 13" or it looks almost the same .

There's a very noticeable difference when you're carrying them around, if that's what you're wondering about. But I'm like @rawweb, if they still had a 17", that's what I'd get.

 

[rawweb]

I know the sizes, but i rather asked since i cant go to the shop to compare them on my own, so i rather asked here cause someone with own experiences can offer better answers, than 15" one is 5 centimeters bigger that 13"

IMO, the 15" has considerably more screen real-estate than the 13". It's night and day to me. Believe it or not, most 13" users I encounter ask how I could carry around something so big.

 

[Hieveryone]

Hello, i was thinking about buying me a macbook, im mostly doing photo editing, website graphics and video editing , but im not sure which one should i pick . I thought Retina one would be best for working away from home, but i came across few older's but still with waranty 17" ones which are i5, 1920x1200 + like twice cheaper, i was thinking that i would buy this 17" since 1200p seems good enough when working away from home, and ill be able to use my 4k monitor when home .

If I did graphics and stuff I'd get the 15"

I mean video editing and stuff sounds intense so then maybe a quad core, 16 gigs of ram, and a good graphics card.

I'd go to their website and try to build one and see if it works for you

 

[Glockworkorange]

Hello, i was thinking about buying me a macbook, im mostly doing photo editing, website graphics and video editing , but im not sure which one should i pick . I thought Retina one would be best for working away from home, but i came across few older's but still with waranty 17" ones which are i5, 1920x1200 + like twice cheaper, i was thinking that i would buy this 17" since 1200p seems good enough when working away from home, and ill be able to use my 4k monitor when home .

That 17 incher isn't going to display 4K, my friend.

 

[MrGuder]

Is also by a 17" if it was a Retina display.