MacBook pro 2015 vs 2016 (15 inch)

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Uh,



Did I miss something? I don't recall anyone saying Skylake gets outperformed by 2014 processors, unless you're just looking at a 2.4ghz current gen compared to 2.8ghz 2 years ago and calling it "better" because it's .4mhz faster.

4980HQ outperforms 6700HQ according to CPUBoss and Geekbench. Yes the older chip is clocked slightly higher....but you get a system with that chip for less than half the price.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-vs-Intel-Core-i7-4980HQ

I'd recommend to wait for benchmarks on the actual MBP machines. The RAM configuration is different, which will probably have significant impact on performance.
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Or it could be a little worse. The 6700HQ Skylake benchmarks I have compared to the 4980HQ were paired with DDR4, which Apple has neglected.

 

[leman]

Or it could be a little worse. The 6700HQ Skylake benchmarks I have compared to the 4980HQ were paired with DDR4, which Apple has neglected.

Exactly my point. The 2133 DDR3 RAM Apple uses has the same bandwidth as the 2133 DDR4 used in some other laptops, but lower latency.

 

[Mike84]

I am not impressed with the 2016 MBPs, so I think I am going to opt for a 2015 MBP. The only issue is where to find the best deal on one. Aside from checking Apple's refurbished website, any other ideas on where one could get a good deal on a 2016 rMBP?

 

[theberto]

Yep. rather bizarrely they Still seem to be selling the base models on site( without discrete graphics), but not the higher end ( because everyone would buy them instead of the new I guess! Lol)

Check out your refurb store or big stores/Amazon for best prices...sure they're will be plenty still for sale!

do you know if I can buy it at the apple store? (there's one near the place I live)

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Exactly my point. The 2133 DDR3 RAM Apple uses has the same bandwidth as the 2133 DDR4 used in some other laptops, but lower latency.

That's not going to make up for the 10% + performance gap difference between the two CPUs.

 

[theberto]

I've been to the apple store today, they said that is not possibile to buy the Macbook pro 2015 with AMD vga configuration beacuse it is considered and "old" model so appertenly there's no way to get it on website =(
where would you suggest me to look?
what about a used one? what do you think?

 

[jerryk]

I've been to the apple store today, they said that is not possibile to buy the Macbook pro 2015 with AMD vga configuration beacuse it is considered and "old" model so appertenly there's no way to get it on website =(
where would you suggest me to look?
what about a used one? what do you think?

Are their non-Apple retailers that sell MacBook Pros, like Amazon?

Here in the US Apple wanted $2499 for the 15" rMBP with discrete GPU, until 2 weeks ago. But back in June I paid $2150+ for the same brand new unit on Amazon. Had I bought at B&H Photo I would have paid the same price as Amazon, but with no state sales tax (9%).

 

[vgpepper]

I use the adobe suite products, I ran them on my old 2011 15 inch MacBook Pro and they ran fine. I recently bought a new retina 2015 15 inch MacBook Pro, 512gb ssd, 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 gb of memory. It works great and is super fast.

Unless you just really want the 2016 model, I say get the 2015 15 inch retina MacBook Pro. Apple is still selling that one on their website. I'm sure the 2015 model will last for a long time. My 2011 MacBook Pro lasted 5 years before it got a graphics card problem. I got it fixed and keep it around as a backup, but I upgraded to the 2015 model because my 2011 model was starting to feel super slow with only 4gb of memory. The 2016 models are nice, but keep in mind it only has usb-c ports which are not very standard really yet, so you'll be paying more for the laptop and then more for adaptors. If more things had moved to usb-c like I'm sure things might in a few years, the 2016 model would be worth the price. Right now it doesn't really feel like a good deal when the 2015 model is just as good in my opinion. Of course the 2016 models have the newer processors, but unless you're doing super intense stuff with your laptop that's not really relevant when comparing the 2015 and 2016 MacBook pros in my opinion. I'm not really seeing the usefulness of the touch bar on the 2016 model either.

Whatever you decide though, apple makes great products so you really can't go wrong either way. Like I said, they have good longevity, my 2011 is still kicking, though now neglected in the face of my new 2015 MacBook Pro.

 

[Altis]

I use the adobe suite products, I ran them on my old 2011 15 inch MacBook Pro and they ran fine. I recently bought a new retina 2015 15 inch MacBook Pro, 512gb ssd, 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7, 16 gb of memory. It works great and is super fast.

Unless you just really want the 2016 model, I say get the 2015 15 inch retina MacBook Pro. Apple is still selling that one on their website. I'm sure the 2015 model will last for a long time. My 2011 MacBook Pro lasted 5 years before it got a graphics card problem. I got it fixed and keep it around as a backup, but I upgraded to the 2015 model because my 2011 model was starting to feel super slow with only 4gb of memory. The 2016 models are nice, but keep in mind it only has usb-c ports which are not very standard really yet, so you'll be paying more for the laptop and then more for adaptors. If more things had moved to usb-c like I'm sure things might in a few years, the 2016 model would be worth the price. Right now it doesn't really feel like a good deal when the 2015 model is just as good in my opinion. Of course the 2016 models have the newer processors, but unless you're doing super intense stuff with your laptop that's not really relevant when comparing the 2015 and 2016 MacBook pros in my opinion. I'm not really seeing the usefulness of the touch bar on the 2016 model either.

Whatever you decide though, apple makes great products so you really can't go wrong either way. Like I said, they have good longevity, my 2011 is still kicking, though now neglected in the face of my new 2015 MacBook Pro.

Certainly agree that the 2015 is a far better buy in terms of value/$.

Having a 2011 laptop still kicking isn't exactly ground-breaking until you consider the logic board plague from that year.

We won't really know how well these new ones hold up until the time passes. I'm a bit concerned that all the parts are soldered together such that any one failure means a total loss (especially the SSD).

 

[xmonkey]

4980HQ outperforms 6700HQ according to CPUBoss and Geekbench. Yes the older chip is clocked slightly higher....but you get a system with that chip for less than half the price.

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-vs-Intel-Core-i7-4980HQ


Or it could be a little worse. The 6700HQ Skylake benchmarks I have compared to the 4980HQ were paired with DDR4, which Apple has neglected.

Cool, I mean ya there's really no other advantages the 2016 has going for it over the 2015. That CPU performance! Phew. I'm going to go with a 2015 now. Where can I get one for half the 2016 base 15"?

edit - Essentially, Apple is not really at fault for the anemic performance advances Intel is making in CPUs lately.

 

[theberto]

I think I am going on the 2015 model with the 2,8ghz cpu and the dedicated GPU.
the thing is, I saw that there are many similar models in look (retinas all look the same), so how can I identify the model that I want? are there any code? so when I am in the store I can be sure that it's the right one?
thank you

 

[motime]

I am surprised that this even is a consideration. 2015 rmbp 15 inch for it's price performance and features is a pretty damn easy choice over the new models.

 

[theberto]

I saw that there are many similar models in look (retinas all look the same), so how can I identify the model that I want? are there any code? so when I am in the store I can be sure that it's the right one?
thank you