mid 2012 vs early 2013 rMBP

[cloudig]

Like a lot of people I have been waiting for quite some time for the Haswell update. However the time has come for me to make a purchase as I can't wait any longer (even though it may be released in just a few weeks). Luckily for me the prices for refurbished rMBPs have dropped significantly (at the NZ apple online store). Initially I had wanted to go for the mid-2013 model:

Refurbished 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.7GHz Quad-core Intel i7 with Retina Display
Originally released February 2013
15.4-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch
16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB Flash Storage
720p FaceTime HD Camera
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

However I see that they are offering the mid-2012 with basically identical specifications for $260NZD less:

Refurbished 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel i7 with Retina Display
Originally released June 2012
15.4-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch
16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB Flash Storage
720p FaceTime HD Camera
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory

Aside from the 100Mhz faster processor on the 2013 (does this really make a significant difference??) is there anything else that I am missing as to why there is such a big price difference? Which one would you recommend me to go for? (Main use will be for audio production, ProTools lots of plug-ins, logic, running external screens and some video editing in Final Cut Pro).

Thanks guys.

 

[aiyaaabatt]

No, you are not missing anything, there is really no difference. You will likely not notice the 100mhz cpu difference either. Just save yourself some money and go with the cheaper one.

The only difference that may occur is that the older models (2012) - some have issues with image retention (on LG screens). However, if you are buying from Apple, and notice you have image retention, you can always return it, or have them replace the screen.

those are the only differences that I can recall, but there may be more.

 

[ColdCase]

The 2013 models had a few running changes that improved heat transfer, improved performance, and fixed some of the early 2012 build issues. When they first came out, you could tell it was a better machine. But I'd suspect a refurbed 2012 with the latest OS to be pretty good.

The differences are a bit subjective, if you notice them at all.

 

[cloudig]

Thanks guys. Yeah I figure that since its a refurbished model it shouldn't have any major issues at all, I think I'd actually be more concerned buying a brand new 2012 rMBP. Gonna go for this.