Is this a worthwile upgrade (MBP 2011 2.7GHZ to MBP 2014 2.2GHZ)?

[JackP]

I currently have a old MacBook Pro Early 2011.
I have the option to purchase from a friend inexpensively a used MBP Mid 2014.

Old MBP
Core i7 2.7GHZ 13" Early 2011, 16GB RAM, 1TB SATA SSD Hard drive

Possible New MBP
Core i7 2.2GHZ 15" Retina Display Mid 2014, 16GB RAM, 256GB (M2 ?) SSD

If I get it I plan to upgrade the SSD and obviously the Retina Display is a big improvement. I also suspect that the SSD bus speed would be better with the non SATA interface. My main concern is the processor speed (2.2GHZ vs 2.7GHZ in the old).

Is this a worthwhile upgrade? Am I going to see a negative impact on speed?

I use the 2011 with Adobe Creative Suite, I assume the new one will perform better with PhotoShop and large Indesign files as well (ie. the graphics card is better in the new one?)

 

[saturnotaku]

CPU clock speed is not indicative of overall system performance. Your 13-inch 2011 model has two physical cores with hyperthreading (four total threads). The 15-inch 2014 has four physical cores with hyperthreading (eight total threads). Further, the 15-inch uses Intel's fourth-generation Haswell architecture versus the second-generation Sandy Bridge your 13-inch has. Haswell is more efficient and delivers better performance per clock.

If the price on the 2014 model is reasonable, it will be a very worthwhile upgrade.

 

[mrjohnnyglass]

You'll notice a huge difference. If it's a good price, it'll feel like a new computer.

 

[pshufd]

I use a 2.2 Ghz 2014 MacBook Pro daily (am typing on it right now). It's fine for my work and all of the ports are great. I also have a 2015 2.5 Ghz with discrete graphics and that's a great system too. You can probably find a webpage that compares the performance of the two processors and I'm pretty sure that you'll come out way ahead.

One other nice thing about the 2014 is that you can drive a 4K external monitor or 2 QHD monitors. You might be able to do 2x4K but I haven't tried that out.

You could also get a Magsafe 1 to Magsafe 2 adapter and reuse your old power bricks. I keep some at home and some at the office so I don't need to carry power bricks around with me.

 

[JackP]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I forgot to ask this in the original post (just edited it to append this)

I use the 2011 with Adobe Creative Suite, I assume the new one will perform better with PhotoShop and large Indesign files as well (ie. the graphics card is better in the new one?)

 

[pshufd]

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I forgot to ask this in the original post (just edited it to append this)

I use the 2011 with Adobe Creative Suite, I assume the new one will perform better with PhotoShop and large Indesign files as well (ie. the graphics card is better in the new one?)

Discrete graphics is an option in the 2014 15 inch MBP. You should find out whether or not the one you plan on buying has Intel Integrated or the nVidia discrete graphics. Note that Apple discontinued nVidia discrete graphics support in one of their macOS releases - I don't think that you'll be able to run the current macOS on this system and use the discrete graphics.

 

[JackP]

Graphics says: Intel Iris Pro 1536MB
Doesn't say if it is discrete or not.
Would only be using it with High Sierra OS

 

[pshufd]

Graphics says: Intel Iris Pro 1536MB
Doesn't say if it is discrete or not.
Would only be using it with High Sierra OS

It will run fine. It has Intel Integrated graphics, same as mine. I don't know how well it would run with high-end graphics software.