Old rMBP better than new rMBP?

[joewillmott]

I just noticed the new 15" rMBP only comes with a dedicated GPU if you choose the expensive version. As a poor young man I was considering getting the 15" rMBP but can only afford the base model... seeing as last year's has a dedicated GPU, is it better? I understand Haswell > Ivy Bridge, but is that improvement bigger than the dGPU advantage the old rMBP has?

Apple never makes my buying decisions easy.

 

[Michael Goff]

The dedicated graphics is slightly stronger than the Haswell integrated, but apparently the new one has slightly higher battery life.

 

[Count Blah]

Depends on what you want to do with your rMBP. If you exercise the GPU, then the last gen rMBP might be a better option than the current base. If you do not, then the current gen is perfectly fine. If money is no object, then the maxed out current rMBP trumps all.

 

[Huntn]

From a gaming perspective, this situation might even drive up the price of 2011/12 MBPs. 🙂 My 2011 circa MBP gets 40-70FPS in games like World of Tanks and Final Fantasy XIV (playing on Windows 7/Bootcamp)