MacBook Pro doubts: staingate, video editing performance, cost.

[dddppp]

Dear All,

Who I am:
I am an iOS developer and as such I need a Mac to develop apps. I have currently a MacBook Air 13" late 2011 and I am quiet happy with it. However the warranty is expired and I would like to sell it and replace it with a newer model (MacBook Pro 13"). One of the reasons for doing so is that I am interested in doing some video editing (hobby level) and pharaohs work on some content for a YouTube channel.

Video editing performance concerns:

I have seen several reviews of the graphical card Intel Iris 6100 and the card seems to perform poorly compared to the latest generation Nvidia on latest generation games. I am wondering how the card performs on video editing. Any YouTube out there using it? Is it any good for video editing? The performance difference between the i5 processor and the i7 seems to be significant so I would be choosing the i7 processor.

What I am MOST concerned about is: StainGate

The StaingGate effect that seems to appear on some users screens after a while and the fact that some of these users have reported that Apple is not replacing the screens affected by it even if users have a valid Apple care program. I am not sure if this is true so please don't quote me on this but as far as I can read on the following websites this seems to be the case:

- http://www.staingate.org
- Petition on Change.org

Cost:

Paying a premium price for a MacBook Pro and Apple care and not being sure about the StainGate issue is really putting me off by buying it. Also I am not sure about the video editing performance.. seems quiet poor but I am not sure about this. I would benefit from your opinion on this.

Decision I need help with:

For these reason I am considering keeping my MacBook Air 2011 and for the first time (after years) buy a dedicated Windows computer for video editing.

Any suggestions? Thoughts?

 

[snaky69]

Dear All,

Who I am:
I am an iOS developer and as such I need a Mac to develop apps. I have currently a MacBook Air 13" late 2011 and I am quiet happy with it. However the warranty is expired and I would like to sell it and replace it with a newer model. One of the reasons for doing so is that I am interested in doing some video editing (hobby level) and pharaohs work on some content for a YouTube channel.

Video editing performance concerns:

I have seen several reviews of the graphical card Intel Iris 6100 and the card seems to perform poorly compared to the latest generation Nvidia on latest generation games. I am wondering how the card performs on video editing. Any YouTube out there using it? Is it any good for video editing? The performance difference between the i5 processor and the i7 seems to be significant so I would be choosing the i7 processor.

What I am MOST concerned about is: StainGate

The StaingGate effect that seems to appear on some users screens after a while and the fact that some of these users have reported that Apple is not replacing the screens affected by it even if users have a valid Apple care program. I am not sure if this is true so please don't quote me on this but as far as I can read on the following websites this seems to be the case:

- http://www.staingate.org
- Petition on Change.org

Cost:

Paying a premium price for a MacBook Pro and Apple care and not being sure about the StainGate issue is really putting me off by buying it. Also I am not sure about the video editing performance.. seems quiet poor but I am not sure about this. I would benefit from your opinion on this.

Decision I need help with:

For these reason I am considering keeping my MacBook Air 2011 and for the first time (after years) buy a dedicated Windows computer for video editing.

Any suggestions? Thoughts?

Video editing: I'm going to assume you're talking about the 13". If so, don't bother with the upgrade, it's too much money for 5% or less performance increase. Also, depending on your actual editing, you may or may not notice any difference in performance between your current MBA and the MBP. If all you're doing is splicing video with little to no effects, your worry doesn't have much of a basis.

Staingate: As with any problem, on anything, what you'll see is a (very) vocal minority of users.

There are around 30-40 million rmbp units out there at the moment, maybe more. Even if "staingate" was a real issue, and 10x more people than those on that website were affected, it'd still be a minute percentage of people.

I say they use greasy fingers and never wipe anything off, then complain when the keyboard imprints their grime onto the screen.

 

[n1smo]

Staingate doesn't seem to apply to the newer rMBPs. I like to live dangerously, I have an Uppercase keyboard protector sandwiched in between my keyboard and display as we speak. It is crazy that my oily fingers have been touching all these screens (ie. my Toshiba Windblows laptop with touchscreen or my iPads) and there's no issue with the display staining and these people are having this staingate issue with their rMBP. Its just a bad batch, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

As far as the upgrade, if you are going to spend the money, get the rMBP and do it right. You don't want to be trapped in Windblows. If not, just stay with your Air.

 

[Bending Pixels]

Cost - If you compare an equally equipped rMBP to a laptop with same/similar spec's/features running that inferior OS ( ), you'll find they cost pretty much the same.

Staingate - double dittos to what snaky69 said - it's not a widespread issue. You're worrying about something that isn't worth the time/effort.

Video editing - I have the 15" 2013 rMBP with the nVidia GPU. Depending upon what program you use, the video editor may be more dependent upon RAM vs the GPU. Programs like iMovie are more RAM dependent. Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premier Pro will utilize the GPU. My recommendation - get a rMBP with 16gigs of RAM. The CPU comes into play mostly when it comes time to rendering. I created a 14 minute video for my HS reunion - took about 4 minutes to render on my rMBP - that's pretty darn quick.

 

[IowaLynn]

Are you wedded to laptops, and that is why an iMac or other options are "off the table?"

I think but have not used a PC laptop but I think they would give more than a run for the money. The old "classic" Mac Pro is still going very strong, can start with bare metal inexpensive and work / upgrade to satisfy most any need.

 

[dddppp]

Are you wedded to laptops, and that is why an iMac or other options are "off the table?"

I think but have not used a PC laptop but I think they would give more than a run for the money. The old "classic" Mac Pro is still going very strong, can start with bare metal inexpensive and work / upgrade to satisfy most any need.

Yes I am married to laptops.

Couldn't find many old mac book pros for a reasonable price. Will search for this option before making a decision. I liked the weight of the 13" Mac Book Pro. Almost near the Mac Book Air weight..

 

[T5BRICK]

The performance difference between the i5 processor and the i7 seems to be significant so I would be choosing the i7 processor.

The i7 is not worth it. You get a 3-4% increase in performance for your $200 charge.

What I am MOST concerned about is: StainGate

The StaingGate effect that seems to appear on some users screens after a while and the fact that some of these users have reported that Apple is not replacing the screens affected by it even if users have a valid Apple care program. I am not sure if this is true so please don't quote me on this but as far as I can read on the following websites this seems to be the case:

- http://www.staingate.org
- Petition on Change.org

As someone else already pointed out, you have a very vocal minority that makes this seem like a much larger problem that it actually is. Most of the pictures that I've seen show damage to the screen. Of course Apple isn't going to replace a damaged screen.

Any suggestions? Thoughts?

My 2015 13" rMBP has been great. I went with the i7(not worth it) and 16GB of RAM(also not worth it for me, but I had the cash). If I had it to do over again, I'd save $400.

 

[iSheep5S]

Cost of Mac. I'll use UK pricing. £1k for a rMBP. Loss, still worth around half that after 4+ years which gives change for an upgrade.

Cost Windows. You'll get i5 chips for around half that if you look around but... after 4 years it will be almost worthless. This from experience. Unless its something special. Probably no SSD and plastic. Once you go toward portable, SSD and not plastic your in Mac price ballpark pricing... So get a Mac unless your gaming.

I'm a fan of the Surface line. i5, metal and portable. Also i believe they will hold value a bit better. As a package tho the Mac is a winner. Great to have choice. I got the plenty capable Surface 3. Not my 'main' tho.

Video editing? I have done youtube stuff on some mediocre devices. Not much input here.

Staingate. I had no issues with my rMBP but i was paranoid as .... i won't deny. If my young daughters came near... they touch the screen so i opted to not have it around when they were. Kids thing everything is touch screen.

 

[Bending Pixels]

The one main advantage of the i7 over the i5 is quad core vs. dual core. Comes in handy if you're doing something that's processor intensive and can use four cores vs. two.

 

[snaky69]

The one main advantage of the i7 over the i5 is quad core vs. dual core. Comes in handy if you're doing something that's processor intensive and can use four cores vs. two.

Not on the 13", as the i5 and i7 are both dual cores. Please do not mislead OP.

 

[T5BRICK]

The one main advantage of the i7 over the i5 is quad core vs. dual core. Comes in handy if you're doing something that's processor intensive and can use four cores vs. two.

As someone else has already pointed out, this is flat out wrong when you're talking about the 13" rMBP. The i5 and i7 are nearly identical processors, both are dual core. The i7 has a slightly higher clock speed and more L3 cache, that's it.

 

[dddppp]

Cost of Mac. I'll use UK pricing. £1k for a rMBP. Loss, still worth around half that after 4+ years which gives change for an upgrade.

Cost Windows. You'll get i5 chips for around half that if you look around but... after 4 years it will be almost worthless. This from experience. Unless its something special. Probably no SSD and plastic. Once you go toward portable, SSD and not plastic your in Mac price ballpark pricing... So get a Mac unless your gaming.

I'm a fan of the Surface line. i5, metal and portable. Also i believe they will hold value a bit better. As a package tho the Mac is a winner. Great to have choice. I got the plenty capable Surface 3. Not my 'main' tho.

Video editing? I have done youtube stuff on some mediocre devices. Not much input here.

Staingate. I had no issues with my rMBP but i was paranoid as .... i won't deny. If my young daughters came near... they touch the screen so i opted to not have it around when they were. Kids thing everything is touch screen.

Thanks all for the replies.

Value after n years:
I agree, I am selling my MacBook Air for 300 GBP after nearly 4 years. This is good because it gives me effectively a discount towards the new Mac.

Video editing performance:
Most of you seem to suggest that I buy the basic i5 version with basic RAM memory (8 GB), because the i7 performance on video editing is only 3/4% better than the i5. Is this correct?

Staingate:
Seems not to be an issue from what you guys say.

Final doubts:
- i7 vs i5: I believe that getting i7 will increase my value in the future and possibly performance.
But where can I see the performance difference?

- RAM memory 16 GB: lots of money for it. Tempted to get the 8 GB and upgrade later in the future if needed.

- Apple Care: will apple care protect against Stagnate?

- HD size: wanted to opt for a 512 GB size as 128 is too little.

Selling my MacBook AIR:

- I thought that selling the MacBook air is a good idea because it may loose value in the next couple of years.

 

[snaky69]

Thanks all for the replies.

1. Value after n years:
I agree, I am selling my MacBook Air for 300 GBP after nearly 4 years. This is good because it gives me effectively a discount towards the new Mac.

2. Video editing performance:
Most of you seem to suggest that I buy the basic i5 version with basic RAM memory (8 GB), because the i7 performance on video editing is only 3/4% better than the i5. Is this correct?

3. Staingate:
Seems not to be an issue from what you guys say.

4. Final doubts:
- i7 vs i5: I believe that getting i7 will increase my value in the future and possibly performance.
5. But where can I see the performance difference?

6. - RAM memory 16 GB: lots of money for it. Tempted to get the 8 GB and upgrade later in the future if needed.

7. - Apple Care: will apple care protect against Stagnate?

8. - HD size: wanted to opt for a 512 GB size as 128 is too little.

Selling my MacBook AIR:

- I thought that selling the MacBook air is a good idea because it may loose value in the next couple of years.

1. Macs have good resale value, as you have noticed.

2. Correct

3. Correct

4. If you do upgrade, don't expect the resale value to reflect the upgrade price. It usually isn't the case. People buying used are not aiming for the "latest and greatest" in the first place.

5. If you peg the CPU at 100% usage, 100% of the time. That's the only place you may notice a difference. And we're talking about shaving a minute or two off an hour long render, for example. If your work was time critical enough for a minute or two to matter, you wouldn't be looking at a 13" at all.

6. You cannot upgrade after the fact. The RAM, just like in your MBA is soldered onto the logicboard and cannot upgraded. You're stuck with what you bought.

7. Probably. Apple Care is an extended warranty, not an insurance policy.

8. Your call. External drives and NAS is pretty cheap and can also achieve what you want if you don't need to tote all of your data at all times.

 

[Maksym Kanel]

1. Macs have good resale value, as you have noticed.

2. Correct

3. Correct

4. If you do upgrade, don't expect the resale value to reflect the upgrade price. It usually isn't the case. People buying used are not aiming for the "latest and greatest" in the first place.

5. If you peg the CPU at 100% usage, 100% of the time. That's the only place you may notice a difference. And we're talking about shaving a minute or two off an hour long render, for example. If your work was time critical enough for a minute or two to matter, you wouldn't be looking at a 13" at all.

6. You cannot upgrade after the fact. The RAM, just like in your MBA is soldered onto the logicboard and cannot upgraded. You're stuck with what you bought.

7. Probably. Apple Care is an extended warranty, not an insurance policy.

8. Your call. External drives and NAS is pretty cheap and can also achieve what you want if you don't need to tote all of your data at all times.

Well.. the staingate issue happened to my wife's mac pro recently.
After 1 yr of usage.
It was used gently and it looks like new except screen.
Dont know if 2015 models affected but for 2014 ones it seems to be a manufacturing defect that makes screen coating peel off after 6 -12 months of usage.

 

[Maksym Kanel]

Update:
Just got my wife's Mac Pro from the Apple Store. They replaced the whole screen for free.
Mac was out of warranty.

 

[mrex]

Didnt apple do something to the latest mbpr screens to avoid this happening? Did they change something or do i remember it wrong? I wish i could buy it with matte screen...