So here are my current specs. MBP (early 2011) 15" hi-res antiglare display (1680 x 1050) 2.0Ghz quad core i7 8GB ram 500GB SSD Samsung EVO 840 (upgrade) 256MB AMD 6490M graphics Intel HD3000 512MB (shared) FW800 Thunderbolt USB2 Boot up and shut down are very speedy. Usually 10 seconds or less. Apps open with one or maybe two icon bounces in the dock. Yet I'm still itching to get a new Mac. Most likely a new MBP. But if or when I do I still can't decide on either the 13" or 15". I'm keeping an eye on the Apple refurb store in case a nicely spec'd 15" shows up with a dedicated GPU as a bonus. I'd most likely never really use the dGPU but for a bit of "future proofing" it'd be nice to have in a few years. But I'd still like to know if there is a big difference in performance between the Iris and Iris Pro iGPU. I've played around with both the 13" and 15" in the Apple store and I really like the 13". I've been eying this on the refurb store and am tempted to snag it. http://store.apple.com/ca/product/G...-28ghz-dual-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display I don't usually do more than day to day stuff like web browsing, email, music listening and such. I'm not a gamer but I do have Sim City 4 Deluxe on my Mac. Would that MBP be a good choice?? I'd be light enough to take anywhere and I could dock it at home with an external display.
If your machine is fast enough there is no point in upgrading unless you've got money to burn and a hole in your pocket. In which case, send me your PayPal details and give the money to me. I'll make better use of it.
I think you should sell off your 2011 MBP ASAP and get a new one, because the 2011 15"/17" models are all prone to Radeongate. Sell it off before Radeongate strikes.
I've heard of that. Is it really that bad?? Plus I'm still undecided on which new MBP I'd want to get. I want to think long term and get the most bang for my buck.
It's really that bad. I was a victim of Radeongate, but resurrected it with a reball (re-soldering a new GPU in with leaded solder) and also reapplied the thermal paste. Depending on your usage, I'd recommend the 2.3/16/512/750M 15" rMBP. It's one of the most powerful Macs around.
I'd like to get that config. I've seen it in the refurb section off and on. I keep checking back every so often to see if one has come up. I just hope I can still get a decent price for my current MBP.
I just posted my thoughts on the same upgrade... You can definitely tell a difference. http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=19453381