how big the difference between MBP

[Lion114]

hey everyone.
lately I'm thinking if to buy a new macbook pro.
right now I'm using macbook pro 2012 MID 13inch. 2.5 i5 with samsung eve 850 SSD and 16GB RAM.
i was wonder how big is the difference between my macbook pro to the new one 2016 lets say with the touch bar that comes with 2.9 i5..
I'm talking in general on the newest models but i gave the one with the touch bar for example..
BY THE WAY. most of my usage is office work,youtube,and parallels,I'm not editing or a heavy gamer..
this is the specs
mine:
Graphics Card Intel HD Graphics 4000
intel Core i5 3210M
processor speed 2.5 GHz
Up to 3.1 GHz (Core i5)
Samsung evo 850 ssd
16GB Ram

Newest MBP
Touch Bar and Touch ID
2.9GHz Processor
256GB Storage

• 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
• Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
• 8GB 2133MHz memory
• 256GB PCIe-based SSD1

so i was wonder how big is the difference ... will it be so much better at everything the new one or mine can still handle stuff just great as the new models 2015+?

 

[keysofanxiety]

New ones will feel considerably quicker due to the Flash speeds and faster CPU/RAM. It's a monster for VMs so you'll certainly notice a positive difference with your usage. However if there's something your current model can't do because it's hitting the CPU bottleneck, it's not likely stepping up to the 2016 would solve that.

TL;DR: Although it would be a very nice upgrade both aesthetically and with performance, it's not an essential upgrade by any means.

 

[Lion114]

New ones will feel considerably quicker due to the Flash speeds and faster CPU/RAM. It's a monster for VMs so you'll certainly notice a positive difference with your usage. However if there's something your current model can't do because it's hitting the CPU bottleneck, it's not likely stepping up to the 2016 would solve that.

TL;DR: Although it would be a very nice upgrade both aesthetically and with performance, it's not an essential upgrade by any means.

well flash speed isn't something that i can do as well if i will get another SSD ? and Raid 2 SSD? do i really need that kind of speed? i mean the only change you will feel is by copy paste 4k stuff or something like that i don't think the mbp will work any faster correct me if I'm wrong..
umm about the CPU\RAM i was wonder.. how big is the difference ? my 16GB of ram can't stand the 8GB of the new models?
and CPU how faster are the new ones compare to mine?
i know its not the smartest questions but i really wonder what i will feel by upgrading the new ones and spend over 1000$..

 

[AppleMacFinder]

Please never compare the performance of CPU by their GHz, this is incorrect approach.
By the way you forgot to write CPU model inside the new MBP which is Intel i5-6267U

Now, lets go to cpubenchmark.net website and compare the performance of i5 3210M and i5 6267U
Their website has a big quantity of benchmark samples for each CPU, so the results are close to reality

i5 3210M - 3800 score - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-3210M+@+2.50GHz&id=815
i5 6267U - 5014 score - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-6267U+@+2.90GHz&id=2757

So the "new MBP" CPU is by (5014/3800-100%) = by about 32% faster if compared to "old MBP"
Personally I think this performance difference does not justify the possible $1000+ expenses

 

[Lion114]

Please never compare the performance of CPU by their GHz, this is incorrect approach.
By the way you forgot to write CPU model inside the new MBP which is Intel i5-6267U

Now, lets go to cpubenchmarks.net website and compare the performance of i5 3210M and i5 6267U
Their website has a big quantity of benchmark samples for each CPU, so the results are close to reality

i5 3210M - 3800 score - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-3210M+@+2.50GHz&id=815
i5 6267U - 5014 score - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-6267U+@+2.90GHz&id=2757

So the "new MBP" CPU is by (5014/3800-100%) = by about 32% faster if compared to "old MBP"
Personally I think this performance difference does not justify the possible $1000+ expenses

hey
thanks for the reply
i didn't mean to compare them by the GHz.
well I'm not the smartest when it comes to computers parts and all this kind of stuff
but by the numbers the difference is that big ??
consider that this MBP cost 1700$ not including tax..
i will feel a huge difference with this 32% faster CPU?
how about the graphic cards?

 

[AppleMacFinder]

hey
thanks for the reply
i didn't mean to compare them by the GHz.
well I'm not the smartest when it comes to computers parts and all this kind of stuff
but by the numbers the difference is that big ??
consider that this MBP cost 1700$ not including tax..
i will feel a huge difference with this 32% faster CPU?
how about the graphic cards?

Imagine that some task that really depends on CPU performance - e.g. video conversion - completes in 3 minutes instead of 4. Is this difference big enough to justify spending the $1000+ ? You decide For example, those people who are earning money by doing video editing on their Macs: of course they will upgrade, but to a more expensive MBP - they will not settle for anything less than i7 CPU

About the integrated graphic cards performance:

cpubenchmark has a sister website videocardbenchmark.net which is for GPU benchmark results

According to ARK Intel website:
1) i5 3210M has Intel HD 4000 inside - https://ark.intel.com/products/67355/Intel-Core-i5-3210M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz-rPGA
2) i5 6267U has Intel Iris 550 inside - https://ark.intel.com/products/91166/Intel-Core-i5-6267U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz

Now lets compare them:

1) Intel HD 4000 - 453 - http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000&id=2
2) Intel Iris 550 - 1700 - http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+Iris+550&id=3437

Although the graphics performance is in 1700/453 = 3.75 times faster, that difference probably doesn't matter: for not-graphics-demanding tasks HD 4000 is enough, while for graphics-demanding tasks even Iris 550 is not enough and discrete graphics is must have

 

[Lion114]

Imagine that some task that really depends on CPU performance - e.g. video conversion - completes in 3 minutes instead of 4. Is this difference big enough to justify spending the $1000+ ? You decide For example, those people who are earning money by doing video editing on their Macs: of course they will upgrade, but to a more expensive MBP - they will not settle for anything less than i7 CPU

About the integrated graphic cards performance:

cpubenchmark has a sister website videocardbenchmark.net which is for GPU benchmark results

According to ARK Intel website:
1) i5 3210M has Intel HD 4000 inside - https://ark.intel.com/products/67355/Intel-Core-i5-3210M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_10-GHz-rPGA
2) i5 6267U has Intel Iris 550 inside - https://ark.intel.com/products/91166/Intel-Core-i5-6267U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_30-GHz

Now lets compare them:

1) Intel HD 4000 - 453 - http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000&id=2
2) Intel Iris 550 - 1700 - http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Intel+Iris+550&id=3437

Although the graphics performance is in 1700/453 = 3.75 times faster, that difference probably doesn't matter: for not-graphics-demanding tasks HD 4000 is enough, while for graphics-demanding tasks even Iris 550 is not enough and discrete graphics is must have

couldn't get any better explanation ,thank you i appreciate that !
wow i didn't realize how weak is the intel iris 550 until i saw this website..
well i really don't see a good reason why to spend 1700$ and upgrade...
by saying not graphics demanding you mean gaming or editing and other stuff as well?
thank you for your time and for the great answers.!

 

[keysofanxiety]

well flash speed isn't something that i can do as well if i will get another SSD ? and Raid 2 SSD? do i really need that kind of speed? i mean the only change you will feel is by copy paste 4k stuff or something like that i don't think the mbp will work any faster correct me if I'm wrong..
umm about the CPU\RAM i was wonder.. how big is the difference ? my 16GB of ram can't stand the 8GB of the new models?
and CPU how faster are the new ones compare to mine?
i know its not the smartest questions but i really wonder what i will feel by upgrading the new ones and spend over 1000$..

Look well you asked what the difference would be, not whether you'd need that kind of speed. As it is, the new MBP would feel considerably faster, have better battery life, and be thinner/lighter over your model. As AMF pointed out, about a 30% increase in CPU too.

Ultimately if your current MacBook Pro does everything you need it to, then you don't need to upgrade. I'm still rocking a 15" 2012 and although it is a little sluggish for FCPX/LPX compared to the 2016 15"s, it still works so I personally can't justify the upgrade at the moment.

If you were to upgrade, you'd notice the performance increase. But if you don't need to upgrade (if your current model does everything you need it to), then don't upgrade. Simple as that.

 

[snaky69]

I'm talking in general on the newest models but i gave the one with the touch bar for example..
BY THE WAY. most of my usage is office work,youtube,and parallels,I'm not editing or a heavy gamer..

With that usage, you will not notice much difference between the two.

Upgrade if you want the new features and a newer battery, power-wise? Meh. Don't get caught up in the CPU numbers game, most people will never even come close to reaching the capabilities of their CPU. If you're not pegging it at 100% capacity, 100% of the time, you won't notice, period.

As far as computers go: usually if you have to ask if an upgrade is worth it, you don't need it. Those that need powerful stuff usually know it.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

To be honest no one has mentioned the most important upgrade and that is the retina screen with 500 nits brightness and P3 colour gamut, for me this would be worth the upgrade alone, text is much sharper and reads like print pictures and videos pop and its got far better antiglare. This is the way I interact with a computer and a great screen is important to me for that reason alone.

Other positives are its a lot lighter and a little smaller all round, great speakers and the fastest I/O about. It'll have better battery life as well.

All these things would sway me if I had a non retina machine. My 2013 retina though is still an amazing bit of kit that's never skipped a beat so I have no reason to upgrade unfortunately.

 

[Mr. Dee]

For what you do, I would save the money and wait until 2020.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

I agree with Mr. Dee above, somewhat.
It's probably "not enough of a jump ahead" right now.

You might not want to wait until 2020, however.
I would hold out until 2018 comes around...

 

[CaptRB]

Life isn't always about what we NEED. Sometimes it's nice to have what we WANT.

In most respects my Touch Bar MacBooks are a very nice upgrade over my previous models, including the 2015 rMBP I recently sold.

You can always wait 2 more years, assuming you don't need the upgrades, but I'm really enjoying the new machines and that's worth the cost. As we're approaching the Summer, you might hang on for the next revision since it's not that far off.

R.

 

[Skika]

Well it has a retina display, with broader colour range, its much lighter and thinner, has modern connections, better graphics, faster storage...etc. its an all round better more modern laptop in every way, if its worth the cost thats up to you.

 

[ZapNZs]

• How do you use VMs?
• Do you ever work in areas where there is a lot of brighter light or glare?
• How much will a screen with more viewing area, more legible characters, and better resolution benefit your productivity?
• Are there any current deficiencies with your current system?
• Are you a highly mobile User?
• Have you had a chance to play with the new trackpad and touchbar, and do you like it and how it is currently integrated with the Apps you use most?

Depending on how you use VMs, I think the faster CPU, much faster SSD, and insanely faster iGPU could mean you seeing some real-world differences (but if those differences are to an extent to justify the high investment price, I cannot say.) For example, if I put a VM to sleep, it wakes up insanely fast. I assume this is because the faster SSD means all of the cached files can load into the RAM faster upon waking (and, presumably, if maxing out physical RAM forcing the system to turn to virtual, the faster SSD could mean noticeably better performance when awake.) Now, how important that is might depend on how much you use that feature...if you are putting your VMs to sleep and waking them up 10+ times a day, you could come to really dig this. Another example could be running VMs that push many tasks to the GPU - while your current iGPU can clearly handle this, the iGPU in the new MBP would do it better, and it might equate to better real-world performance, depending upon what you do.

I find the biggest screen improvement over the previous retina to be when using the system outside, inside with bright light sources, and/or around sources of major glare. Compared to your Unibody, the retina IMO would be a quantum leap. You will enjoy it. Your native OS' and your guest OS' will look better (Windows 8.1 and 10 look absolutely gorgeous on the MBP). And this may improve your productivity - look at characters in Word/Excel/Access/Visio/etc. and there is unquestionably a big legibility improvement over the Uni screen (which is already a good display to begin with!) IMO this is definitely a big area, as Sam noted.

So, if you buy a new MBP, I think you will like it a lot, and I think you will love the form factor and portability aspect, plus the convenience of Touch ID. I think you will also find it improves your productivity. However, I'm not sure if you will like it enough or gain enough productivity to justify the investment, because you already have an outstanding computer to begin with!!! FWIW, the best way to make that determination may be to purchase one, use it side-by-side with your current machine for two weeks, and then decide whether you want to keep it or return it using the 14-day return policy?

 

[AppleMacFinder]

by saying not graphics demanding you mean gaming or editing and other stuff as well?

Its not just gaming...
For example, video editing sometimes could use GPU ( CUDA / OpenCL ) to accelerate the video rendering