New 2.5GHz or refurbished 2.3/2.6?

[MarkWade]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to order a 15" Macbook Pro and am looking at the 2.5GHz model. I want to upgrade to a 1TB harddrive, which brings the total to £2400. It costs more to upgrade to 1TB on the 2.2GHz model (total would be £2240) so it seems worth the extra £160 for the better processor and dedicated graphics card.

I notice however that the refurb store has 2 of last years models with 1TB harddrives. The 2.3GHz version is going for £1900 and the 2.6GHz version is going for £2080.

So a few questions:
1) Are there any changes at all between the current models and last year's models besides the processors?
2) How do last year's 2.3/2.6GHz processors compare to this year's 2.5?
3) Do you think it would be worth saving £320/£500 and getting one of the refurb models?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Get the refurb

Get the refurb either one will do they a exactly the same other than the minor CPU speed bump....

 

[duervo]

The 2.5 CPU is just a stepped upgrade from the 2.3 CPU in the 2013. Same GPU clock, same GPU bandwidth. Basically nothing different between the two except for CPU clock speed. Assuming all other items in the system being equal, go with the refurb option.

You didn't mention the highest end CPU option (2.8) for the 2014 model, so you have nothing to compare in your stated options with the 2.6 CPU from 2013. Nevertheless, the diff between those two is also just a stepped upgrade in CPU clock speed, and nothing else.