HELP - 2016 Macbook pro nTB or 2015 Macbook pro

[bv_beaver]

Hi guys,

I recently killed my 3.5yr old macbook air (i7, 8gb, 256ssd) and I'm in desperate need of a worthy replacement.

I have been thinking of getting a 2015 macbook pro instead of a 2016 pro for the following reasons:
1. I love the magsafe charger and it has saved me many times from pulling my mac to its death.
2. I don't own any usb-c device and probably won't buy any in the next year or so... Moreover, I frequently use a usb (3.0) external mouse so it would be annoying to use its dongle with an adaptor.
3. I hated the fact that I had to carry dongles for my mac air to connect it to an HDMI display (and buy a new one every year because they break so easily) - the 2015's full size HDMI is great.
4. I loved the mac air's keyboard.

I can get a new 2015 mac for about 1300$ (2.7ghz, 8gb ram and 256ssd) or a refurbished one for 1500$ (2.9ghz, 8gb ram and 512ssd).

While the things I liked about the 2016 pro (w/o touch bar) were:
1. Improved screen brightness and color.
2. Great speakers(don't use so much but nice to have)
3. Lighter
4. Usb-c (love and hate) - future support for devices, charging with mobile charger etc.
5. Similar performance.
6. Faster ssd

I can get the 2016 pro for about 1400$ (2.0ghz, 8gb ram and 256ssd).

My uses are pretty basic:
1. Web surfing and office use
2. Movies
3. Occasional gaming (low spec games)
4. Occasional video and photo editing.

Please help me choose. I'm lost in options and change my mind too often
Thanks!

 

[kevinkyoo]

Just my two cents - people are saying that this year and soon we'll see why USB-C is the future, but apart from monitors and some external storage device, that adoption is happening very slowly.

It looks like you already made up your mind - the 2015 model seems to hit all of your practical needs, while the 2016 one is used for more niche instances (You use the word "Occasional" a lot, and the other uses are for media consumption).

Websites like BH Photo/Video + even eBay (With certified sellers) sell the 2015 MacBook Pro model at a good price, so you can start there.

 

[casperes1996]

I can get a new 2015 mac for about 1300$ (2.7ghz, 8gb ram and 256ssd) or a refurbished one for 1500$ (2.9ghz, 8gb ram and 512ssd).

Can you go 16 gigs of RAM? Then I definitely recommend that. Now I don't know how much or how intensive your video edits will be, but on that alone I'll recommend you the higher clocked but older MacBook Pro