MacBook Pro 2016 without touch bar refurb

[Chris8920]

Hey,

I’m really interested in the new 2016 MacBook Pro base model without the touch bar (I’m not so keen on the touch bar apart from touch ID, but hopefully touch ID would be synced up to the iPhone for logging into sites or any laptop similar to the apple watch) but I was looking for some help.

I currently own a 2009 MacBook Pro and a few years ago it was really slow until I upgraded it the HDD to SSD and it made a massive difference in performance. I am a graphic designer/web developer and I need to upgrade as I can’t use Docker because the processor isn’t supported. Also when I run multiple applications like Spotify, Chrome, Illustrator and Sketch at the same time the songs start to skip in Spotify and it becomes a bit sluggish in some apps (I’m not sure if this is a RAM issue?).

1. Would I experience any choppiness like the problem above with 8GB of RAM in the new MacBook Pro, or is this because the processor is very old?

2. The lack of ports aren’t really an issue for me as long as I can connect one cable to a monitor such as the LG 27UD68-W which delivers power, display and audio to a set of external speakers. Should this be possible at 60Hz 4k, or was the 60Hz issue only a problem for the MacBook?

3. Also, I don’t game on my PC often but I wouldn’t mind playing CS:GO or Starcraft 2 casually (doesn’t have to be 4K), would this machine run these games around 30-60fps? I really like the look for this monitor but I’ve heard it has a few issues with the USB C port not working after a while.

4. I’m not in a big rush to get one, I could hold out a bit more. Do you think I’m better waiting for the upgrade this year (hopefully around April or this summer) and waiting for a better deal on the refurb or get the latest version with a better graphics card?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Sanpete]

2. The lack of ports aren’t really an issue for me as long as I can connect one cable to a monitor such as the LG 27UD68-W which delivers power, display and audio to a set of external speakers. Should this be possible at 60Hz 4k, or was the 60Hz issue only a problem for the MacBook?

Should work fine with the right adapter.

4. I’m not in a big rush to get one, I could hold out a bit more. Do you think I’m better waiting for the upgrade this year (hopefully around April or this summer) and waiting for a better deal on the refurb or get the latest version with a better graphics card?

April or the summer is pretty optimistic. Last update was end of October, after over a year.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Yeah there'll be a massive performance difference with any of the new machines. Just to put it into perspective, the top spec C2D processor in a 2009 MacBook Pro doesn't even have half the performance of the Core M in the slowest current Retina MacBook.

So I'd wager you're almost certainly hitting the CPU & GPU bottleneck with your usage — you can verify this through Activity Monitor (CPU that is, GPU not so much). And with the much faster SSDs in the new one, along with much faster RAM — well, it's just infinitely more powerful in every regard.

TL;DR: you'd be more than happy with the performance of the new machine.

 

[MrGuder]

There already in the Apple Store refurbished 2016 without TB

 

[Chris8920]

Yeah there'll be a massive performance difference with any of the new machines. Just to put it into perspective, the top spec C2D processor in a 2009 MacBook Pro doesn't even have half the performance of the Core M in the slowest current Retina MacBook.

So I'd wager you're almost certainly hitting the CPU & GPU bottleneck with your usage — you can verify this through Activity Monitor (CPU that is, GPU not so much). And with the much faster SSDs in the new one, along with much faster RAM — well, it's just infinitely more powerful in every regard.

TL;DR: you'd be more than happy with the performance of the new machine.

Thanks for the response, that does put it into perspective!

CPU: http://imgur.com/kOkB2l2
RAM: http://imgur.com/DvOzy6w

I don't know if these help but I took some screenshots with what I've normally got opened or working on.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Thanks for the response, that does put it into perspective!

CPU: http://imgur.com/kOkB2l2
RAM: http://imgur.com/DvOzy6w

I don't know if these help but I took some screenshots with what I've normally got opened or working on.

CPU's definitely getting hammered!

Honestly you'll be very happy with one of the new machines, though of course wait if you can for any updates or pricing reductions. There is a lot of negativity about the new computers based on paper specs rather than actual experience, whilst every 'Pro' I know who has actually used one IRL can't praise them enough.

They're beautifully built machines; very desirable aesthetics and really speedy too. A hardened hater at work was completely converted after using one for a fortnight, which even I was surprised at.

 

[Chris8920]

CPU's definitely getting hammered!

Honestly you'll be very happy with one of the new machines, though of course wait if you can for any updates or pricing reductions. There is a lot of negativity about the new computers based on paper specs rather than actual experience, whilst every 'Pro' I know who has actually used one IRL can't praise them enough.

They're beautifully built machines; very desirable aesthetics and really speedy too. A hardened hater at work was completely converted after using one for a fortnight, which even I was surprised at.

Thanks again for replying, it's been very helpful!

I would primarily use the machine docked and the only thing stopping me is the lack of USBC 4k monitors, there only seems to be 27" ones around that are quite pricy (more than £500 in the UK). If I use my existing Dell 24" monitor I need to connect one USBC port to the power and the other USBC port to the display (no HDMI, only display port), leaving me with no ports for audio (I don't want to use the MacBook Pro's headphone jack as it's on the other side and will look messy). I could get a USBC dock for display port and audio but I'm struggling to find ones that will do both.

 

[Sanpete]

I don't want to use the MacBook Pro's headphone jack as it's on the other side and will look messy

You can get a right-angle adapter/cable that might look OK. (This one is picked at random for illustration, I don't vouch for it.)

https://www.amazon.com/Valley-Enterprises-3-5mm-Female-Stereo/dp/B004LGRKZC/

 

[ZapNZs]

I assume when you say base and no touchbar, the specific model you are considering is the 13-inch nTB, with the 2.0 GHz i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and the 256GB SSD, correct?

If so, that model has the Intel Iris Graphics 540 (since it does not have a discrete graphics card,) and for general usage, it's quite good for an iGPU, as it is efficient (equating to battery life I am happy with) and is reasonably capable. It has as much or more capability than some discrete laptop graphics cards used only several years earlier.

Would medium or low settings (ballpark of 720p) and closer to 30 FPS be acceptable?
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Iris-Graphics-540.149939.0.html
(I've not used mine with a 4k display while doing anything graphics intensive, which I assume will, in and of itself, consume a notable bit of the available graphics resources.)

 

[Chris8920]

I assume when you say base and no touchbar, the specific model you are considering is the 13-inch nTB, with the 2.0 GHz i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and the 256GB SSD, correct?

If so, that model has the Intel Iris Graphics 540 (since it does not have a discrete graphics card,) and for general usage, it's quite good for an iGPU, as it is efficient (equating to battery life I am happy with) and is reasonably capable. It has as much or more capability than some discrete laptop graphics cards used only several years earlier.

Would medium or low settings (ballpark of 720p) and closer to 30 FPS be acceptable?
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Iris-Graphics-540.149939.0.html
(I've not used mine with a 4k display while doing anything graphics intensive, which I assume will, in and of itself, consume a notable bit of the available graphics resources.)

Yeah that's the model, the only difference is I need more memory and will probably get the 512gb since they're not easily upgradable anymore.

I'm surprised at the performance from the link, it's better than I thought. I'm sure the games I mentioned would run okay then as I was only looking to run them now and again around 720p at 30fps, thanks!