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is this laptop future proof?

P

phospholipid1

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 30, 2014
49
0
rMBP 13"
i5 2.8ghz turbo boost 3.3ghz
500gb pci-e flash storage
16gb ddr3 ram
intel iris graphics

I'm planning to buy this and use it as my main comptuer for a good 4-5 years. My main use for it is programming in Java and python, as well as dual booting windows for c++. A lot of my programming works involves a lot of data.

Would this computer be good enough? I have two external 1080p moitors I will use with it also, and I enjoy the portability of the 13".

I want this to last about 5-6 years - is this achievable? Should I go for the 15" instead? I don't care about gaming, or photoshop or anything like that, just programming and watching movies.
 
For just programming and other light use it will likely be fine for the new few years. However keep in mind that 15" benchmarks almost 2x and has true quad core, and refurbs are not that expensive.

Honestly, I would go for the $1499 refurb late 2013 haswell 15". 8GB RAM, 3.2GHz, 256GB SSD. And benches a crap ton over the 13". Driving the monitors it will likely be better due to having Iris Pro over the Intel Iris of the 13".

I'm not sure how having less SSD and RAM would affect you though.
 
exizeo said:
For just programming and other light use it will likely be fine for the new few years. However keep in mind that 15" benchmarks almost 2x and has true quad core, and refurbs are not that expensive.

Honestly, I would go for the $1499 refurb late 2013 haswell 15". 8GB RAM, 3.2GHz, 256GB SSD. And benches a crap ton over the 13". Driving the monitors it will likely be better due to having Iris Pro over the Intel Iris of the 13".

I'm not sure how having less SSD and RAM would affect you though.
Click to expand...

Having less SSD and RAM wont affect me too much... but I do not care about graphics - I have no interest to play games and the maximum amount of external monitors I will use is 2, which the 13" can handle. Also, 15" seems just a little too big for me. I had a 2009 15" which was extremely heavy and luggish to carry around. I know the new ones are lighter but still...

Do you have the name of both of the CPU's of the 13 and 15" so I can see the benchmarks?
 
phospholipid1 said:
Having less SSD and RAM wont affect me too much... but I do not care about graphics - I have no interest to play games and the maximum amount of external monitors I will use is 2, which the 13" can handle. Also, 15" seems just a little too big for me. I had a 2009 15" which was extremely heavy and luggish to carry around. I know the new ones are lighter but still...

Do you have the name of both of the CPU's of the 13 and 15" so I can see the benchmarks?
Click to expand...

In the 13":
2.6GHz i5-4278U
2.8GHz i5-4308U
3.0GHz i7-4578U

15":
2.2GHz i7-4770HQ
2.5GHz i7-4870HQ
2.8GHz i7-4980HQ

You'll find that the 2.2GHz i7-4770HQ is almost twice as fast as the 3.0GHz i7-4578U.
 
phospholipid1 said:
rMBP 13"
i5 2.8ghz turbo boost 3.3ghz
500gb pci-e flash storage
16gb ddr3 ram
intel iris graphics

I'm planning to buy this and use it as my main comptuer for a good 4-5 years. My main use for it is programming in Java and python, as well as dual booting windows for c++. A lot of my programming works involves a lot of data.

Would this computer be good enough? I have two external 1080p moitors I will use with it also, and I enjoy the portability of the 13".

I want this to last about 5-6 years - is this achievable? Should I go for the 15" instead? I don't care about gaming, or photoshop or anything like that, just programming and watching movies.
Click to expand...
Given your usage, that computer will serve you well.

Don't get hung up on benchmarks. If you do, you could end up spending more money than you need to on a computer.
 
It should last a while. The only foreseeable issue with the 13" is that it can't drive 4k at 60hz, which might be something you want to do after a few years.
 
Freyqq said:
It should last a while. The only foreseeable issue with the 13" is that it can't drive 4k at 60hz, which might be something you want to do after a few years.
Click to expand...

On the apple website it says that both the 15" and the 13" can only drive 4k at 30hz. What is the highest resolution the 13" can drive at 60hz?
 
phospholipid1 said:
rMBP 13"
i5 2.8ghz turbo boost 3.3ghz
500gb pci-e flash storage
16gb ddr3 ram
intel iris graphics

I'm planning to buy this and use it as my main comptuer for a good 4-5 years. My main use for it is programming in Java and python, as well as dual booting windows for c++. A lot of my programming works involves a lot of data.

Would this computer be good enough? I have two external 1080p moitors I will use with it also, and I enjoy the portability of the 13".

I want this to last about 5-6 years - is this achievable? Should I go for the 15" instead? I don't care about gaming, or photoshop or anything like that, just programming and watching movies.
Click to expand...

Yes, you'll be fine. It really depends on how large your applications grow and the compiler. It just really depends on the project but I'm using a MBA for the last few years and I'm fine.

You can use 2 monitors at 1080p too.
 
phospholipid1 said:
On the apple website it says that both the 15" and the 13" can only drive 4k at 30hz. What is the highest resolution the 13" can drive at 60hz?
Click to expand...

The 13" officially 2560x1600 x 2. I'm not sure about the ultra wide 3440x1440. The 15" can drive one 4k MST display at 60hz.
 
Last edited:
phospholipid1 said:
On the apple website it says that both the 15" and the 13" can only drive 4k at 30hz. What is the highest resolution the 13" can drive at 60hz?
Click to expand...

The current 15" can actually do Single stream 4k at 60hz. The 13" can only do 4k at 30hz officially and 50hz with 3rd party software modifications.
 
Last edited:
Meister said:
Future proofing is a myth.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, it depends on what your intended use is. For instance, had I bought a maxed-out Power Mac G4 15 years ago with the intention of doing word processing and spreadsheets I could still be doing that on it today. That's what future proofing is.
 
redheeler said:
Not necessarily, it depends on what your intended use is. For instance, had I bought a maxed-out Power Mac G4 15 years ago with the intention of doing word processing and spreadsheets I could still be doing that on it today. That's what future proofing is.
Click to expand...

Flawed logic. In that case I should buy a $10,000 12-core Mac Pro so that I can do word processing and spreadsheets in 10 years.

For word processing and spreadsheets, I'd bet the base model was just as capable.

Buying a higher clocked processor that's 10% faster than the base now just for the sake of future proofing isn't going to save me 5 years from now when the new processors are 50% faster. Same with RAM. Do you honestly think it's going to take 16GB of RAM to do the word processoring in 5 years?
 
TechZeke said:
Flawed logic. In that case I should buy a $10,000 12-core Mac Pro so that I can do word processing and spreadsheets in 10 years.

For word processing and spreadsheets, I'd bet the base model was just as capable.

Buying a higher clocked processor that's 10% faster than the base now just for the sake of future proofing isn't going to save me 5 years from now when the new processors are 50% faster. Same with RAM. Do you honestly think it's going to take 16GB of RAM to do the word processoring in 5 years?
Click to expand...
I agree. Also since everything is soldered in todays computers, they will only last as long as their weakest part.
 
TechZeke said:
Flawed logic. In that case I should buy a $10,000 12-core Mac Pro so that I can do word processing and spreadsheets in 10 years.

For word processing and spreadsheets, I'd bet the base model was just as capable.

Buying a higher clocked processor that's 10% faster than the base now just for the sake of future proofing isn't going to save me 5 years from now when the new processors are 50% faster. Same with RAM. Do you honestly think it's going to take 16GB of RAM to do the word processoring in 5 years?
Click to expand...

I'm just demonstrating what the concept of future proofing is. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone buy a computer today with the intention of using it for 15 years.
 
is this laptop future proof?
Click to expand...

Short answer: there is no such thing.


Long answer: the 13" will be more then enough in 5 years if you want to use it for programming. However, the 15" will be twice as fast if you do number-crunching and write code that can utilise multiple CPU cores. Of course, in 5 years both are likely to be on par or slower then a smartphone of that time ;)
 
I have a 15'' rMBP 2.5Ghz and I'm a computer science major... I'm guessing my MBP is probably overkill for my needs? Doesn't some programming need more power?
 
Meister said:
Future proofing is a myth.
Click to expand...

leman said:
Short answer: there is no such thing.
Click to expand...

I disagree, you can choose a machine/configuration that exceeds your needs now, but may not in the future - that's future proofing. This will delay any possible computer purchase because the machine was configured correctly.

Its harder now a days to do that with Apple's current line up, since there's so little you can change, but I think configuring a computer with an eye to the future is a wise move.
 
maflynn said:
I disagree, you can choose a machine/configuration that exceeds your needs now, but may not in the future - that's future proofing. This will delay any possible computer purchase because the machine was configured correctly.

Its harder now a days to do that with Apple's current line up, since there's so little you can change, but I think configuring a computer with an eye to the future is a wise move.
Click to expand...

So do you think that this is future proof?
 
phospholipid1 said:
So do you think that this is future proof?
Click to expand...

I think the ram and storage are configured to meet your needs now and the future. The question mark is the CPU/GPU.

Since you're not using app that rely on the GPU, that should be ok. The dual core CPU is fine for most people and I don't think coding is so multithreaded that you will wish you were on a quad core processor.

All in all your configuration should last you several years imo, though we are just guessing at what the future may or may nor hold.

If it were me, though I'd look to getting a quad core processor and a better GPU, i.e., 15" rMBP.
 
I know you said you work with a lot of data,
but you don't even need that powerful of a machine unless I'm mistaken.

I program with the 13" MBA i5. Run a couple of IDEs. Games, etc.

But perhaps I'm wrong... but seems a bit like overkill to me.
 
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