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How futureproof is the current 15" rMBP?

B

boqyuo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 29, 2013
4
0
Hello,

Is the current model good to buy? Or is it still a sort-of "beta/work in progress" model (as in, is the previous generation more stable and less problematic, or is the current model more refined)? Also, I'm willing to spend an extra 500$ for the higher tier model - my question though, is whether or not the investment will make the computer last longer. Would getting the higher tier model be crazy overkill for someone who primarily browses web/wordprocessing/movies/netflix?

Thanks
 
I guess we need to know your definition of futureproof. 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, longer?

For what you wrote the base 2.0GHz model should be fine. I have a 17-inch MacBook Pro that's 4-1/2 years old. For the average person this computer would still be perfectly acceptable & still does great in all of the things you want to do with a new computer.
 
DHagan4755 said:
I guess we need to know your definition of futureproof. 2 years, 3 years, 5 years, longer?

For what you wrote the base 2.0GHz model should be fine. I have a 17-inch MacBook Pro that's 4-1/2 years old. For the average person this computer would still be perfectly acceptable & still does great in all of the things you want to do with a new computer.
Click to expand...


I have a 15" unibody MBP from October 2008, just recently the airport card died, and it's just painfully slow. So yeah, 5+ years.
 
5 years should not be an issue....might want to increase memory and storage to meet the future needs but not an absolute requirement
 
Ryan1524 said:
It should last you about 6-7 years based on what you said you'll use it for.
Click to expand...

There are a couple important points there. It may not be serviceable for 6-7 years without going to third parties. If something dies late in that cycle, this would move things up a bit. There are only two things that might marginally increase the longevity for the OP's uses. One would be drive space, as it allows for storage needs to grow somewhat with time. There are after market options, but they aren't much cheaper. It may change with time. SSDs aren't immortal, so there's always the chance of needing a replacement. I've never had a battery last 6-7 years, so he would want to count on the possibility of replacement at some point. Battery service is $200. I think it's worth mentioning. Displays shift over time. After 5 years, it will look very old. If his use is light, it won't look as old. Maxed ram might account for more in the way of OS growth if he plans to keep it a very long time. Even toward the end there, 8GB will probably be above the minimum requirements. It just may not be as comfortable. I don't know that it's worth the extra expense.

Anyway nothing related to the cpu/gpu will make a guaranteed difference over that time. I can guarantee the CPU won't mean anything, and I doubt it with the gpu. Just make sure to review the vintage policy.
 
Battery will most likely be at 50% at the 3yr mark.

SSD space could do with an upgrade after 2 years, unless rigorous archive and backup process is followed. No hoarding on SSDs.

Screen will last a while. LED backlight lasts longer than conventional backlighting. And my 7yr old MBP pre-LED is still very usable today.
 
boqyuo said:
Hello,

Is the current model good to buy? Or is it still a sort-of "beta/work in progress" model (as in, is the previous generation more stable and less problematic, or is the current model more refined)? Also, I'm willing to spend an extra 500$ for the higher tier model - my question though, is whether or not the investment will make the computer last longer. Would getting the higher tier model be crazy overkill for someone who primarily browses web/wordprocessing/movies/netflix?

Thanks
Click to expand...

You are definitely overthinking it. The 15" rMBP is way more than future proof. Hell, even the 13" is.
 
In the sense of continuously installing the latest OS version and having it still be fast and smooth, I would say up to 3 years.

I think buying cheap and replacing often is the best bet for technology.
 
PDFierro said:
You are definitely overthinking it. The 15" rMBP is way more than future proof. Hell, even the 13" is.
Click to expand...

Definitely agree with you. Heck I don't understand why Apple thinks everyone that wants a 15-inch has to have quad cores with all of the bells & whistles. A 15-inch, 2.4GHz dual-core i5 and Iris graphics, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD for $1,699 would be fine for most people. Apple would sell a LOT of them
 
boast said:
In the sense of continuously installing the latest OS version and having it still be fast and smooth, I would say up to 3 years.

I think buying cheap and replacing often is the best bet for technology.
Click to expand...

With Windows, this is true. OSX is much more lenient on old machines. My 2007 MBP is running Mavericks just fine. It actually got faster with Memory Compression in 10.9.
 
DHagan4755 said:
Definitely agree with you. Heck I don't understand why Apple thinks everyone that wants a 15-inch has to have quad cores with all of the bells & whistles. A 15-inch, 2.4GHz dual-core i5 and Iris graphics, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD for $1,699 would be fine for most people. Apple would sell a LOT of them
Click to expand...

It's just a way of locking in margins and minimum sales. They do this because it makes more money, not because they care what you want. On a side note, the configuration you posed wouldn't cost $1700 using their current price metrics. In fact it would contain Iris 5100 graphics and probably cost $100 less depending on their current rounding. I typically calculate this by subtracting 2/3 of the list difference from retail. It's usually close. Their old 15" price point was $1800. I have no idea what their margins are on the base retina 15" right now. If they wanted to hit $1800, this is basically their only option. Below that you don't even get standard iris graphics, which are slower than iris pro. Using their present price schedule would place it at $1900 or above on the 15" model. This is what they currently use in the base model. You might see an $1800 model with what the cpu I mentioned above and a 128 GB drive if they were going to make a 15" model at that price. You could also see static ram and storage and a slightly lower price in a future generation. It's just right now there's no way you would see $1700 unless they drastically refactored what they consider a comfortable margin.
 
boast said:
In the sense of continuously installing the latest OS version and having it still be fast and smooth, I would say up to 3 years.

I think buying cheap and replacing often is the best bet for technology.
Click to expand...

Macs are generally known to perform well 5-6 years down the road. Can't see it lasting only 3 years, especially with how efficient OS X is getting.

----------
DHagan4755 said:
Definitely agree with you. Heck I don't understand why Apple thinks everyone that wants a 15-inch has to have quad cores with all of the bells & whistles. A 15-inch, 2.4GHz dual-core i5 and Iris graphics, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD for $1,699 would be fine for most people. Apple would sell a LOT of them
Click to expand...

I agree. I would also love quad-core in a 13", but understand I might have to wait a year or two.
 
The only thing I can see coming up in the future within the next couple of years if not sooner is a touchscreen MBP. Being at the end of the 10.X, chances are Apple is likely to pull something together special for 11.0.
 
It would not be reasonable to buy an computer based on an expectation that it will be useable for more than five years. The limit is when the last version of MacOS X that can run on the computer will still be supported with security updates. Once those stop, it will not be safe to connect the computer to the Internet.

For example, all the Macs which can run 10.7 but not 10.8 are now reaching the end of the time they are reasonably safe to connect to the Internet. The last security update for Lion was released 12 September 2013 and there probably won't be any more. All the models listed below have now reached the end of the time they are reasonably safe to connect to the Internet. They are five to seven years old.

Late 2006 iMacs (iMac5,1, iMac5,2, iMac6,1)
All plastic MacBooks that pre-date the aluminum unibody redesign (MacBook2,1, MacBook3,1, MacBook4,1)
MacBook Pros released prior to June 2007 (MacBookPro2,1, MacBookPro2,2)
The original MacBook Air (MacBookAir1,1)
The Mid-2007 Mac mini (Macmini2,1)
The original Mac Pro and its 8-core 2007 refresh (MacPro1,1, MacPro2,1)
Late 2006 and Early 2008 Xserves (Xserve1,1, Xserve2,1)
 
Is the human sitting behind the keyboard futureproof?

It's a question, not an accusation. :)
 
I've never had a battery last 6-7 years, so he would want to count on the possibility of replacement at some point.
 
PDFierro said:
You are definitely overthinking it. The 15" rMBP is way more than future proof. Hell, even the 13" is.
Click to expand...

For me, I have a 2009 (or was it 2010?) White MacBook. I ended up maxing out the memory and dropping in an SSD drive and it's like a completely different animal now. I do some light imovie, garageband, rapidweaver and the usual web/youtube type stuff. Really no complaints.


--rob
 
Starfyre said:
The only thing I can see coming up in the future within the next couple of years if not sooner is a touchscreen MBP. Being at the end of the 10.X, chances are Apple is likely to pull something together special for 11.0.
Click to expand...

exactly. point on. this is what I see Apple moving toward.
 
Starfyre said:
The only thing I can see coming up in the future within the next couple of years if not sooner is a touchscreen MBP. Being at the end of the 10.X, chances are Apple is likely to pull something together special for 11.0.
Click to expand...

That would be iPAD with keyboard, wouldn't it?
 
etcetera. said:
exactly. point on. this is what I see Apple moving toward.
Click to expand...

I dont agree. Having a touch screen inside a laptop display will be a very bad idea, as Tim cook said in the last keynote "pc people are confused, they are making windows into tablets and tablets in to the pc'es"

And why make a touch screen when you have the mouse.
 
I'd avoid a laptop with a touchscreen. Yet Apple continues to dumb down towards iOS with each new version of their desktop OS. Apple's addiction to mass market high volume sales that generate high margins is their main focus at this point.
 
sixrom said:
I'd avoid a laptop with a touchscreen. Yet Apple continues to dumb down towards iOS with each new version of their desktop OS. Apple's addiction to mass market high volume sales that generate high margins is their main focus at this point.
Click to expand...

I disagree. If that was their goal they'd go the Windows route and start selling laptops under $500. The fact that the top-end machines cost about twice as much as PCs with similar specs (I'm not arguing quality, just numbers) is proof positive, to me, that Apple is aiming at a different market.
 
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