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Going from Late 2011 MBP 13" to 2015 m5 MB. Is it an improvement speed wise?

Prabas

Prabas

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 14, 2010
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1,282
Europe
I just ordered 2015 m5 MacBook 512gb without even thinking about specs because of the great deal and I only played it at the store for only 2 minutes. I know the screen and trackpad are superb, keyboard was okay and I didn't even think much about it. The only thing that I forgot to see how well it deals with regular tasks. I don't play games, edit video or use any external devices except for portable HDD for occasional time machine backups. I watch movies, browse internet, listen to music, watch YouTube, etc.

I hope it is at least somewhat faster than my old MacBook Pro 13" Late 2011 with 2.2ghz i5, 120gb SSD and 8gb of RAM. Or I am wrong?

Edit: according to benchmarks it's the same.
 
Last edited:
Prabas said:
I just ordered 2015 m5 MacBook 512gb without even thinking about specs because of the great deal and I only played it at the store for only 2 minutes. I know the screen and trackpad are superb, keyboard was okay and I didn't even think much about it. The only thing that I forgot to see how well it deals with regular tasks. I don't play games, edit video or use any external devices except for portable HDD for occasional time machine backups. I watch movies, browse internet, listen to music, watch YouTube, etc.

I hope it is at least somewhat faster than my old MacBook Pro 13" Late 2011 with 2.2ghz i5, 120gb SSD and 8gb of RAM. Or I am wrong?

Edit: according to benchmarks it's the same.
Click to expand...

It will probably *feel* a bit faster because of the much better SSD.

Any computer you buy in 2016 will be adequate for your needs. The advantages of the Macbook is that it's ultra-thin, ultra-light and looks pretty. And it runs both macOS and Windows.
 
Prabas said:
I just ordered 2015 m5 MacBook 512gb without even thinking about specs because of the great deal and I only played it at the store for only 2 minutes. I know the screen and trackpad are superb, keyboard was okay and I didn't even think much about it. The only thing that I forgot to see how well it deals with regular tasks. I don't play games, edit video or use any external devices except for portable HDD for occasional time machine backups. I watch movies, browse internet, listen to music, watch YouTube, etc.

I hope it is at least somewhat faster than my old MacBook Pro 13" Late 2011 with 2.2ghz i5, 120gb SSD and 8gb of RAM. Or I am wrong?

Edit: according to benchmarks it's the same.
Click to expand...

It's not an upgrade. You wasted your money.

I recommend returning the MacBook.
 
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Actually, I just got it today and from what I can see it's almost the same and in some cases it's even better, for example loading hi-res photos. By the way, nothing can beat Retina screen. I couldn't go back to standard screens, it's just too good.

Also, I am not sure what I could've upgraded on MBP? I had SSD and 8GB of RAM. I don't think that you can upgrade CPU.
 
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Prabas said:
Actually, I just got it today and from what I can see it's almost the same and in some cases it's even better, for example loading hi-res photos. By the way, nothing can beat Retina screen. I couldn't go back to standard screens, it's just too good.

Also, I am not sure what I could've upgraded on MBP? I had SSD and 8GB of RAM. I don't think that you can upgrade CPU.
Click to expand...
...well there's also a Retina MacBook Pro.

same price as the Retina MacBook, yet a much better laptop.
 
MBP: More expensive, 128GB SSD, old design, old bleeding backlit keyboard but with a better CPU for the price 1400 Euro.
MB: Cheaper, 512GB SSD, new design, lighter, smaller, completely silent, new keyboard but slower compared to new Retina MBP for the price of 1200 Euro.

After using it for 6 hours I didn't see any slow downs. So far, so good.
 
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Prabas said:
MBP: More expensive, 128GB SSD, old design, old bleeding backlit keyboard but with a better CPU for the price 1400 Euro.
MB: Cheaper, 512GB SSD, new design, lighter, smaller, completely silent, new keyboard but slower compared to new Retina MBP for the price of 1200 Euro.

After using it for 6 hours I didn't see any slow downs. So far, so good.
Click to expand...

Where did those prices come from?
 
tubeexperience said:
It's not an upgrade. You wasted your money.

I recommend returning the MacBook.
Click to expand...

This must be the worst advice I've seen on these forums. If you don't like the MacBook, just say so.

Given the OP's needs, the MB is pretty much perfect. The current MBPros wouldn't be any faster doing those tasks, so why pay far more for capability that isn't needed?
 
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I love my MBr and thinks - except for the battery - not too much can be done to improve it. If the 2011 model still did what you needed it to do, the MBr will be your best friend for the next 5 years.

Yes indeed, a MBPr 13 would also do all of that. As much as I hate the battery, I'd still choose the MBr above any other laptop around the ~12-13" display range.

I'd say, good choice and good deal!
 
Kajje said:
I love my MBr and thinks - except for the battery - not too much can be done to improve it. If the 2011 model still did what you needed it to do, the MBr will be your best friend for the next 5 years.

Yes indeed, a MBPr 13 would also do all of that. As much as I hate the battery, I'd still choose the MBr above any other laptop around the ~12-13" display range.

I'd say, good choice and good deal!
Click to expand...

What is your take on the battery? This is one of my main concerns. I have a 2011 11" MBA that has served me well but the battery is awful even on the recommended settings.

I was going to try to get a 2015 rMB refurb to save money, but the lure of that "extra 1 hour" of battery life that is advertised would be more important. Plus a speed bump and the face that I don't need extra ssd space.
 
Eggtastic said:
What is your take on the battery? This is one of my main concerns. I have a 2011 11" MBA that has served me well but the battery is awful even on the recommended settings.

I was going to try to get a 2015 rMB refurb to save money, but the lure of that "extra 1 hour" of battery life that is advertised would be more important. Plus a speed bump and the face that I don't need extra ssd space.
Click to expand...
I'm very sad to inform you the battery - at least for the 2015 model - stinks. Coming from a 2015 MBA 13" it's incredible how much one can get used to day long battery life.

I don't do anything special really with my MBr. My usage profile hasn't been changed since years.

I have open:
Always: Firefox with 5-10 tabs, Telegram, iMessage, Sublime Text, MAMP Pro, Little Snitch and 1Password, Wifi
Sometimes: Excel, Whatsapp, Chrome with 1-2 tabs

Battery life dropped from at least 7 full hours on the MBA, to about 3 on the MBr.

It will be my only reason to switch to a new - soon to be released - MBPr 13 (or whatever it will be called).

But again, for the rest this is one fantastic piece of kit.
 
Anything computationally intensive will slow this guy down. I found it to be just a hair short of acceptable for me.
I would not do any programming or statistical software work with it. Anything more than javascript and web coding is going to be too slow.

The SSD is what makes it feel so modern. But the CPU is anemic. The 2016, I've heard, brings you just over the hump of having acceptable performance. Given the reliable rumors of a Macbook 13 that'll be here in 2 months, I'd wait to see what CPU they put in that thing. 13" is also big enough to be a daily driver in all situations and it'll probably be no more than 2.5 pounds. And for the love of ports, just give me two usb c ports and I won't complain anymore.
 
unagimiyagi said:
Anything computationally intensive will slow this guy down. I found it to be just a hair short of acceptable for me.
I would not do any programming or statistical software work with it. Anything more than javascript and web coding is going to be too slow.

The SSD is what makes it feel so modern. But the CPU is anemic. The 2016, I've heard, brings you just over the hump of having acceptable performance. Given the reliable rumors of a Macbook 13 that'll be here in 2 months, I'd wait to see what CPU they put in that thing. 13" is also big enough to be a daily driver in all situations and it'll probably be no more than 2.5 pounds. And for the love of ports, just give me two usb c ports and I won't complain anymore.
Click to expand...
Agreed on most points. For me the 12" screen doesn't feel like too small at all, but then again I have been given a good set of eyes. Something I am grateful for after spending 50-ish thousand hours behind a computer screen.

Hopefully the 13" MBx will address most frustration points. However the next couple of months this MBr will have to do the job.
 
Kajje said:
I'm very sad to inform you the battery - at least for the 2015 model - stinks. Coming from a 2015 MBA 13" it's incredible how much one can get used to day long battery life.

I don't do anything special really with my MBr. My usage profile hasn't been changed since years.

I have open:
Always: Firefox with 5-10 tabs, Telegram, iMessage, Sublime Text, MAMP Pro, Little Snitch and 1Password, Wifi
Sometimes: Excel, Whatsapp, Chrome with 1-2 tabs

Battery life dropped from at least 7 full hours on the MBA, to about 3 on the MBr.

It will be my only reason to switch to a new - soon to be released - MBPr 13 (or whatever it will be called).

But again, for the rest this is one fantastic piece of kit.
Click to expand...


Wow..that is pretty poor battery.

I have Safari with 5-6 tabs open, Word, Excel
Chrome 2-3 tabs and check FB and Salesforce, as well as use for all my email.

Stream some music on Spotify. Brightness is around 75%. I'll even watch some video on Amazon as well.

I am around 5-6 if I watch the video, 6-7 without it. So a lot better than you are seeing.

With a new MBPr that they are talking about, I would be shocked if you can do better, given the higher specs.

All that said, the MBA blows this away, but that's the price you pay for Retina I guess. MBA was spectacular with battery life 9-11 hours under same conditions.

I'm happy with my purchase as it stands. You tell me I can get close to 7 hours of battery under these conditions with a machine like this and that's fine for me.

ONE NOTE - I removed Chrome over the weekend as a test. WOW..what a HUGE difference in battery. Getting rid of Chrome alone, I was using my MBr m5 constantly yesterday. I was also outside for some of that time, so my brightness was 100%.

I got 7:45 and still had 10% left when I shut down.

I had Chrome only because I needed to use a Browser extension only Chrome has for gmail, but decided to forgo that. If this keeps up, I am going to keep Chrome off my machine if it means getting close to an hour more in battery.
 
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