Debating between 2.3ghz 2017 vs 2.9ghz 2016 Macbook pro 13" (roughly same price)

[dentalbum]

So looking to buy a refurbished macbook pro, available right now is the 2.3ghz 2017 model w/ NO touch bar. Also there is the 2.9ghz 2016 model with the touch bar for only 80 dollars more. All the other specs are the same for my needs, 8gb Ram and 256gb storage. The only thing different in the brief specs I see online is the graphics 640(vs 550) on the 2017 model and the 2017 has 2 thunderbolt ports while the 2016 has 4. I personally don't care for the touch bar. i'm still a student so saving 80 would be nice. My questions are:

how noticeable is the .6ghz difference?

What are the big differences between the 2016 and 2017 model?

I use my macbook for pretty basic stuff, browsing, taking notes in class, games (league), some apps such as garageband/imovie for small projects. My cousin just mentioned to me the graphics card on the 2016 would actually be better for gaming which is strange to me because i assumed newer is better . Thoughts? Which laptop should I get? Thank you in advance

 

[Samuelsan2001]

So looking to buy a refurbished macbook pro, available right now is the 2.3ghz 2017 model w/ NO touch bar. Also there is the 2.9ghz 2016 model with the touch bar for only 80 dollars more. All the other specs are the same for my needs, 8gb Ram and 256gb storage. The only thing different in the brief specs I see online is the graphics 640(vs 550) on the 2017 model and the 2017 has 2 thunderbolt ports while the 2016 has 4. I personally don't care for the touch bar. i'm still a student so saving 80 would be nice. My questions are:

how noticeable is the .6ghz difference?

What are the big differences between the 2016 and 2017 model?

I use my macbook for pretty basic stuff, browsing, taking notes in class, games (league), some apps such as garageband/imovie for small projects. My cousin just mentioned to me the graphics card on the 2016 would actually be better for gaming which is strange to me because i assumed newer is better . Thoughts? Which laptop should I get? Thank you in advance

It will make very little difference to you performance wise buy whichever you wish, the 2016 is seemingly more likely to have keyboard issues, but has a better cooling system.

 

[velocityg4]

The i5-7360u (2017 2.3Ghz) has a higher turbo boost 3.6Ghz vs 3.3Ghz (2016 2.9Ghz model i5-6267u). It also has a lower TDP. So, it is more energy efficient. The non-Touchbar also has a larger battery (54.5W vs 49.2W). I'd expect the 2017 non-touchbar to have better battery life.

Performance should be better on the 2017 2.3Ghz model. Geekbench multi-core shows a score of 9129 for the 2.3Ghz model and 7623 for the 2.9 Ghz.
https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks

If it matters to you the i5-6267u does not support Intel V-Pro, Intel TSX Sync. Extensions, Intel SIPP or Trusted Execution.
http://www.ubergizmo.com/products/lang/en_us/devices/intel-i5-6267u,intel-i5-7360u/

Basically, in every way the 2017 model is superior.

 

[Natzoo]

I would go with the 2017, the 2016 had alot of problems and the 2017 is an updated version and the performance is similar.