MBP 15 - 2.2 / 2.5 / 2.8 - Upgrade worth it?

[Six118]

Hi all,

So I'm about to buy a MBP 15 but I'm having trouble deciding whether a CPU upgrade is necessary.

Whilst I can afford to get any of the options, I really don't want to spend the extra if I'm unlikely to ever see a performance benefit.

What I will be using it for:

• Web development (inc VM's).
• Xcode.
• General web / word processing etc.

It easier for me to just go out and buy the base 2.2 than wait a couple of weeks for the 2.5 or 2.8 and whilst the upgrades are only £68 and £195 respectively I'm really not sure I will ever see a benefit.

What do you think?

 

[MBHockey]

You can look up the Geekbench benchmarks between the two here: https://browser.primatelabs.com/mac-benchmarks

I went with the 2.5 over the 2.8 GHz model because the benchmarks showed minimal gains, and I didn't think i would notice the difference in any real world usage.

I think your money is better spent on putting it towards the 1 TB SSD or external storage if you need it.

 

[Six118]

Thanks for the info and the link. On the basis that I have access to ample external storage would you recommend the 2.5 over the 2.2 or do you think I would never notice the difference?

 

[MBHockey]

If you don't need the storage I think you can make a case for 2.5 GHz over 2.2 Ghz for $100.

When upgrading the dGPU model from 2.5 to 2.8 it's $200, which seemed too much for the gains (for me).

 

[ayzee]

If you can afford, go for 2.8ghz. If your keeping your machine for the next 5 years, it will make more of a difference in the future

 

[hopefulhandle]

Whilst
I'll leave this here.

 

[Six118]

If you can afford, go for 2.8ghz. If your keeping your machine for the next 5 years, it will make more of a difference in the future

Take your point, may have to go for the 2.8 then.

----------

Whilst
I'll leave this here.

Hi hopefulhandle, was there supposed to be a link in that?

 

[yjchua95]

Take your point, may have to go for the 2.8 then.

----------



Hi hopefulhandle, was there supposed to be a link in that?

If you're going to do so, might as well as get the one with the M370X GPU.

The 2.8GHz is only 15.6% faster than the 2.2GHz in multicore tasks.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/2238812?baseline=2332082

Meanwhile, the 2.8GHz is only 6.7% faster than the 2.5GHz. So if I were you, I'd stick to the 2.5/16/512/M370X variant.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/2238812?baseline=1860012

 

[MBHockey]

If you're going to do so, might as well as get the one with the M370X GPU.

The 2.8GHz is only 15.6% faster than the 2.2GHz in multicore tasks.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/2238812?baseline=2332082

Meanwhile, the 2.8GHz is only 6.7% faster than the 2.5GHz. So if I were you, I'd stick to the 2.5/16/512/M370X variant.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/2238812?baseline=1860012

Great post. thanks.

 

[Six118]

If you're going to do so, might as well as get the one with the M370X GPU.

The 2.8GHz is only 15.6% faster than the 2.2GHz in multicore tasks.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/2238812?baseline=2332082

Meanwhile, the 2.8GHz is only 6.7% faster than the 2.5GHz. So if I were you, I'd stick to the 2.5/16/512/M370X variant.

http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/compare/2238812?baseline=1860012

Thanks for this! So 2.5 without the dGPU is probably the way to go (I really will never use that). Thanks!

 

[yjchua95]

Thanks for this! So 2.5 without the dGPU is probably the way to go (I really will never use that). Thanks!

Why buy the 2.5GHz without the dGPU when it's almost the same price as the 2.5GHz with dGPU (assuming that both configurations are 512GB)?

Besides, having the dGPU can increase the resale value as well. No sense crippling yourself by getting the one without one.

 

[HopefulHumanist]

Why buy the 2.5GHz without the dGPU when it's almost the same price as the 2.5GHz with dGPU (assuming that both configurations are 512GB)?

Besides, having the dGPU can increase the resale value as well. No sense crippling yourself by getting the one without one.

This was my calculation as well.

 

[Six118]

Hi,

Sorry for the slow reply.

The reason I didn't go with the dGPU option is that I am not upgrading the ssd. As a result the difference is about £300. This laptop will also never be resold so I'm not concerned wit the resale value.

Thanks alot for your help.

 

[TechZeke]

Why buy the 2.5GHz without the dGPU when it's almost the same price as the 2.5GHz with dGPU (assuming that both configurations are 512GB)?

Besides, having the dGPU can increase the resale value as well. No sense crippling yourself by getting the one without one.

I'm on an Iris Pro-Only model, and I had a 650M cMBP before. I don't feel 'crippled' by the Iris Pro. It plays all the games I want to play nearly as well as the 650M, and runs AutoCAD for Mac flawlessly. All this performance without having to worry GPU switching is far from being crippled. Unless you need to run all the latest games or need 3D modeling the dGPU isn't really all that. The dGPU isn't magical to everyone, sorry.

 

[HopefulHumanist]

I'm on an Iris Pro-Only model, and I had a 650M cMBP before. I don't feel 'crippled' by the Iris Pro. It plays all the games I want to play nearly as well as the 650M, and runs AutoCAD for Mac flawlessly. All this performance without having to worry GPU switching is far from being crippled. Unless you need to run all the latest games or need 3D modeling the dGPU isn't really all that. The dGPU isn't magical to everyone, sorry.

I don't know if you missed it but the point was that the $1999 model with 2.5/512GB and the $2499 model with dGPU are $100 apart. In the face of that, it seems logical to prefer the one with the dGPU because even if you don't want to use it, you can always force the computer to use the iGPU.

Choice is always better and having the option can't hurt so it's an obvious no-brainer to go with the $2499 model. This is especially true if you purchase with a student discount because it makes the difference $40.