I am seeing some Macbook Pro 2015 showing up on the refurb store later. I am in the market for a new Macbook. Does it make any sense for me to consider the Macbook Pro 2015? Personally I am not sure if the butterfly keyboard issue is being overblown but I don't really like the idea of owning a Macbook that may fail on me anytime.. Even with the 4 years warranty on the keyboard, it can be a chore to send it back for replacement. But then again, the idea of owning a 3-4 years old hardware doesn't sound too terrific as well. Any advice?
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Macbook Pro 2015
- Thread starter Falcon80
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Keyboard issue is not overblown, they have a repair program for it (costing them ~£800 a pop which they would have avoided if they could) - says it all really.
I just bought a 2015. Expect at least 5 more years of iOS support if my mid-2010 I just retired is any indicator, which was supported through High Sierra, meaning it was supported until just a couple months ago. 2015 model might get another year or two beyond what the 2010 got.
I've been using that model since it was new and I have no motivation at all to buy a newer model. It still performs extremely well. I don't see anything available in newer models that I need that this MBP doesn't provide. Of course, it depends on what you need it for, but I'm guessing most users would find it to be a great performing notebook.
2012 models will run Mojave, so you can count on probably 3 or more years before you can no longer run the most current OS.
Well, as the owner of a maxed-out 2015 (M370x dGPU, 16gb RAM, 2.8 i7), who just bought a 2018 MBP Vega 20, I'd say...
Get the 2015. I'm a professional editor, I use the heck out of the 2015, editing RAW 4K video in Davinci Resolve, Premiere, as well as Photoshop and After Effects. My 2015 actually keeps up with all that, but I figured it's almost 4 years old, battery is worn, maybe just get a new one. But...
The new one, aside from looking cool, basically gives me very little I didn't already have, and actually has WORSE storage, because I keep a 256gb JetDrive in the SD port of the 2015, and the new one doesn't HAVE an SD port.
The kicker though, was the fans. The new one runs much hotter, and the fans spin up louder than on my 2015, especially when editing video. (Keep in mind, though, the 2015 can't handle h.264 4K, so if you're editing GH5 footage, it'll lag. I'm not sure if the Vega would keep up with that footage either, though. Better to transcode it to ProRes.)
Anyway, tonight, I'm erasing the Vega 20, and bringing it back to the Apple Store. Nice computer, but it gives me little I don't already have, and I have other ways to spend 5 thousand bucks!
Get the 2015. I'm a professional editor, I use the heck out of the 2015, editing RAW 4K video in Davinci Resolve, Premiere, as well as Photoshop and After Effects. My 2015 actually keeps up with all that, but I figured it's almost 4 years old, battery is worn, maybe just get a new one. But...
The new one, aside from looking cool, basically gives me very little I didn't already have, and actually has WORSE storage, because I keep a 256gb JetDrive in the SD port of the 2015, and the new one doesn't HAVE an SD port.
The kicker though, was the fans. The new one runs much hotter, and the fans spin up louder than on my 2015, especially when editing video. (Keep in mind, though, the 2015 can't handle h.264 4K, so if you're editing GH5 footage, it'll lag. I'm not sure if the Vega would keep up with that footage either, though. Better to transcode it to ProRes.)
Anyway, tonight, I'm erasing the Vega 20, and bringing it back to the Apple Store. Nice computer, but it gives me little I don't already have, and I have other ways to spend 5 thousand bucks!
Well, as the owner of a maxed-out 2015 (M370x dGPU, 16gb RAM, 2.8 i7), who just bought a 2018 MBP Vega 20, I'd say...
Get the 2015. I'm a professional editor, I use the heck out of the 2015, editing RAW 4K video in Davinci Resolve, Premiere, as well as Photoshop and After Effects. My 2015 actually keeps up with all that, but I figured it's almost 4 years old, battery is worn, maybe just get a new one. But...
The new one, aside from looking cool, basically gives me very little I didn't already have, and actually has WORSE storage, because I keep a 256gb JetDrive in the SD port of the 2015, and the new one doesn't HAVE an SD port.
The kicker though, was the fans. The new one runs much hotter, and the fans spin up louder than on my 2015, especially when editing video. (Keep in mind, though, the 2015 can't handle h.264 4K, so if you're editing GH5 footage, it'll lag. I'm not sure if the Vega would keep up with that footage either, though. Better to transcode it to ProRes.)
Anyway, tonight, I'm erasing the Vega 20, and bringing it back to the Apple Store. Nice computer, but it gives me little I don't already have, and I have other ways to spend 5 thousand bucks!
Interesting experience, thanks for sharing. I own both 2.5 and 2.8 MBP M370x dGPU 2015, awesome machine, it's amazing how cheap it's getting sold on eBay and how great of a value it is. Sure it's a bit old, but performance-wise it's still relevant and will continue to be for several years to come.
I appreciate you mentioning fan noise, I found the 2.8 usually has a quite a bit more fan noise than the 2.5 (with multiple displays attached), to me it's quite bothersome, so it's disappointing to hear the new 2018 is that noisy.
Did you get from the refurb store?
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That's nice. Something we can do it easily ourselves or via Apple or third party store?
Very easy to do, see this guide so you have an idea
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Retina+Display+Mid+2015+SSD+Replacement/48251
Actually logged in to post a similar question about my 2014 before I saw this thread. About to purchase a 2018 to replace it as my main work machine (I work in music technology, and do a fair bit of both studio work and live/real-time audio processing), and torn between keeping the 2014 as a docked desktop machine, or selling it, docking the 2018, and buying an ipad for anything not work related.
2014 is still going strong, besides a battery that could use replacing. I haven't run into anything I need to do, that it can't handle, but I'm concerned about having a nearly 5 year old machine that's no longer under warranty.
Anyone wanna weigh in? Convince me, haha.
2014 is still going strong, besides a battery that could use replacing. I haven't run into anything I need to do, that it can't handle, but I'm concerned about having a nearly 5 year old machine that's no longer under warranty.
Anyone wanna weigh in? Convince me, haha.
That is really interesting and my one complaint about my 2.8
Does your 2.5 also have a dGPU?
I’m curious how a 2.2 would do. I’ve thought of doing an eGPU dock setup for my 4K monitor, which spins up my 2.8 every time doing anything, even Excel.
Even with only TB2 bandwidth it seems like it would possibly allow for a totally quiet docked setup, at least for non taxing loads (like Excel and web work)
Sidenote… God I wish they would just take this classic chassis and put updated internals inside of it as is
Yes my 2.5 also has dGPU, it's definitely quieter, in fact initially I thought there was something wrong with the 2.8 for ramping up fans so often, it just seems it runs warmer than the 2.5. and I've tested two different 2.8, so I know it's not an issue specific to mine. I've also used dGPU MBPs extensively from 2013, 2014 and 2015, I found the 2013 2.3ghz dGPU MBP to be the quietest.
My usage involves Parallels, Adobe, Office, with 2 external displays and video stream on web browser.
If you were buying right now would you go 2.2 or 2.5?
I’m honestly considering grabbing another one and either storing it or replacing my 2.8 because I’m so tired of the fan spin up and I use my external for Excel work all the time
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I'm a fan of dGPU, in my case since I have 2 monitors plugged in it helps with responsiveness, also provides snappiness for Adobe apps like the animated gpu zoom in Illustrator so in my case I'd still go with 2.5. I'd say dGPU is pretty important for 4k displays too.
To be honest I haven't tested the 2.2 with integrated gpu, but depending on your usage maybe the 2.2 might suffice, I'm curious about fan noise on that one.
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I hate fan noise with a passion, the 2.8 that I'm using right now I'm thinking everyday of replacing it. I used to have a hackintosh with a beast of a heatsink and it ran always near silent. The 2.8's constant fan noise is making me almost go nuts
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I'm a fan of dGPU, in my case since I have 2 monitors plugged in it helps with responsiveness, also provides snappiness for Adobe apps like the animated gpu zoom in Illustrator so in my case I'd still go with 2.5. I'd say dGPU is pretty important for 4k displays too.
To be honest I haven't tested the 2.2 with integrated gpu, but depending on your usage maybe the 2.2 might suffice, I'm curious about fan noise on that one.
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I hate fan noise with a passion, the 2.8 that I'm using right now I'm thinking everyday of replacing it. I used to have a hackintosh with a beast of a heatsink and it ran always near silent. The 2.8's constant fan noise is making me almost go nuts
I guess my thought was just use an eGPU setup/dock situation for anything really demanding of a GPU as I tend to not do much that’s GPU heavy when I’m just on the internal screen and on the go, etc
Yea that makes sense, though as far as I know there isn't any easy way to do external GPU for 2015 MBP, but if you are using mostly office apps and the internal screen, you'd probably be fine without dGPU.
I’ve been reading up on the eGPU situation over at eGPU.io and it sounds like it’s borderline seamless with a simple script on the 2015’s. Bandwidth is of course only TB2, but compared to internal dGPU it can’t be that bad.
I guess I just have to try it.
I really wish I knew more about 2.2 vs 2.5 situation as I’d like as cool and power efficient as possible as I’m mainly using the laptop on its own.
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I hate fan noise with a passion, the 2.8 that I'm using right now I'm thinking everyday of replacing it. I used to have a hackintosh with a beast of a heatsink and it ran always near silent. The 2.8's constant fan noise is making me almost go nuts
So the 2.5, in your usage on dGPU, is that much better than the 2.8 'eh?
(that's incredible...man am I torn here..)
I don’t wanna give you the wrong impression, 2.5 still has fan noise for what I do. I’m confident it’s better than the 2.8 in terms of noise but I don’t know if it’s significant enough for you to switch. I think the 2.2 might be better but I have no direct experience with it. If I had to do switch for fan noise I'd give it a try, I was reading that the pro iris integrated graphics is pretty decent (seems much better than the mac mini 2018's iGPU), and it should generate less heat and in turn less noise.
That's sort of where I'm leaning, especially since the benchmark differences really don't seem very dramatic between the 2.2/2.5/2.8, do they? I'm not missing something big here am I?
I can exactly answer your question...
An (AMD only) EGPU connected to my 2015 MBP is amazing, even through just TB2. I have a Vega 56 in an Asus XG Station Pro. My Unigine Valley score comparison...
M370X (2015 internal dgpu): 12.4fps
VEGA 56 (egpu): 75.5fps
I was scared initially, but setup took less than 5 minutes. Buy the TB2>TB3 cable ($50, boo) Then follow these simple instructions...
https://egpu.io/forums/mac-setup/script-enable-egpu-on-tb1-2-macs-on-macos-10-13-4/
It's just... disable SIP, restart, run PurgeWrangler, restart, done. Works perfectly. Can hot plug/unplug without restarting or anything.
And ZERO FAN NOISE. Only time I've heard the fan is when I ran Unigine Valley.
MBP 2015 and a dGPU are AWESOME.
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Boom!
Phenomenal!
Thank you for that report.
Do you know if is better or worse or doesn’t matter if you have dGPU model or not in terms of eGPU usage?
Nothing is confused software wise about which to use? (e vs d GPU)