Ordered Full CTO Refurb Early 2013 RMBP, will I be ok?

[LEOMODE]

I ordered

15" RMBP with full Early 2013 CTO spec (2.8ghz w 8mb cache, 768GB SSD)

But I am wondering to return the item because of the following options compared to Late 2013

1) Battery life - 1 hr difference on integrated graphic, now I will tell the difference since it's noticeable by anyone.

2) CPU power - Early 2013 w 2.8ghz w 8mb cache vs Late 2013 w 2.6ghz w 6mb cache. Would I be noticing some difference like battery life in person when I try to import photos / encode? Like would there be at least 30sec difference? (if it's more than 30sec then I'll consider it different)

3) Heat/noise - I've been hearing here and there that Late 2013 both has reputation of being cooler/less noise than Early 2013 as well as the opposite. So at the same time I've been also hearing that Late 2013 has higher TDP thus can provide more heat/noise than Early 2013 in certain situations. How different will this be?

4) SSD speed - Now technically Late 2013 is almost twice as higher than Early 2013 in terms of read/write speed. Since if I buy Late 2013 I'll buy 1TB SSD and higher storage = even faster speed, in real-life usage would I really be seeing some difference in terms of like 10~20sec difference in numerical explanations like battery life? Like waking up from sleep, booting up, transferring files and etc will be much faster than early 2013?

Since those 4 are my main topic, I really want to know if that is worth extra $700 seeing the difference noticeably in real-time usage. I'm not rich or anything but I just want to make sure if those 4 are definite worth of extra $700

Please give me some advice as I've been hearing that performance-wise I should be seeing about 10-15% difference. Thus I am so confused!

Thanks!

 

[fskywalker]

I ordered

15" RMBP with full Early 2013 CTO spec (2.8ghz w 8mb cache, 768GB SSD)

But I am wondering to return the item because of the following options compared to Late 2013

1) Battery life - 1 hr difference on integrated graphic, now I will tell the difference since it's noticeable by anyone.

2) CPU power - Early 2013 w 2.8ghz w 8mb cache vs Late 2013 w 2.6ghz w 6mb cache. Would I be noticing some difference like battery life in person when I try to import photos / encode? Like would there be at least 30sec difference? (if it's more than 30sec then I'll consider it different)

3) Heat/noise - I've been hearing here and there that Late 2013 both has reputation of being cooler/less noise than Early 2013 as well as the opposite. So at the same time I've been also hearing that Late 2013 has higher TDP thus can provide more heat/noise than Early 2013 in certain situations. How different will this be?

4) SSD speed - Now technically Late 2013 is almost twice as higher than Early 2013 in terms of read/write speed. Since if I buy Late 2013 I'll buy 1TB SSD and higher storage = even faster speed, in real-life usage would I really be seeing some difference like battery life? Like waking up from sleep, booting up, transferring files and etc?

Since those 4 are my main topic, I really want to know if that is worth extra $700 seeing the difference noticeably in real-time usage. I'm not rich or anything but I just want to make sure if those 4 are definite worth of extra $700

Please give me some advice as I've been hearing that performance-wise I should be seeing about 10-15% difference. Thus I am so confused!

Thanks!

You cannot get the 768GB SSD on the new model as it has been discontinued; it is now either 512GB or 1TB. If the late Haswell you are talking about has the 1 TB right there there is already like $250 at $1 per GB, so the difference would actually be around $450 between the high end early 2013 versus the late 2013 Haswell 15" rMBP. I used to have the early 2012 rMBP 13" and 15" rMBP's and they did run a lot hotter than the Haswell rMBP (know as a fact on the 13" since that is the Haswell model I bought, have read the same comment by others with the Haswell 15" rMBP here). On the battery life, the 1 hr difference between the old and new version is mostly due to Mavericks, so you can achieve better battery life on the early 2013 if just upgrade it to Mavericks.

Other than that would say that the extra speed on the SSD is not that noticeable on real life, the same would say about the extra speed in the processor. If were you would probably go for the less expensive unit if you don't need the extra storage and use those $700 in something else.

 

[LEOMODE]

Thanks a lot on your experience.

So it looks like cpu and ssd wont be noticeable in real life. But it will run a lot hotter and extra ssd storage will be different.

Well noted.

If anyone else can help me comment ill be greatly appreciated.

 

[LEOMODE]

Can anyone help me on this? i only have a few more days to return it lol

 

[JeffiJers]

We'll are you happy with it? If so keep it.

I would take the early 13 over the current naysay given both are comparison models.

 

[LEOMODE]

We'll are you happy with it? If so keep it.

I would take the early 13 over the current naysay given both are comparison models.

Im not happy nor sad! Im still contemplating! Thats why i wanted to hear some actual usage comments between the two

 

[JeffiJers]

Im not happy nor sad! Im still contemplating! Thats why i wanted to hear some actual usage comments between the two

If you saved money on the early 13 then keep it.. if it was same price or near same price might as well go for the new one.


I have an early 13 and beyond happy with it.

or, just flip a coin... Thats what i do when i can't decide.

 

[Ruoh]

The battery life and heat difference come down to two things. The smaller die size of the Haswell, and the lack of dGPU. Personally, I'd stick with what you have now, and upgrade when the Broadwell cpus hit.

There will be a bigger difference (positive) between Broadwell and Haswell cpu and speed/heat/power requirement than there was between Haswell and Ivy Bridge.

 

[LEOMODE]

The battery life and heat difference come down to two things. The smaller die size of the Haswell, and the lack of dGPU. Personally, I'd stick with what you have now, and upgrade when the Broadwell cpus hit.

There will be a bigger difference (positive) between Broadwell and Haswell cpu and speed/heat/power requirement than there was between Haswell and Ivy Bridge.

Oh wow so broadwell will be much better in heat consumption? I thought it was only for cpu speed upgrade.

 

[Ruoh]

Oh wow so broadwell will be much better in heat consumption? I thought it was only for cpu speed upgrade.

Earlier in September Intel demonstrated 14nm Broadwell ULT (Y-series) silicon, Intel’s faster, smaller, more efficient Broadwell chip is normalized for performance against 22nm Haswell ULT (Y-series) silicon running a multi-threaded Cinebench test. Intel was monitoring SoC power during the benchmark and demonstrated a ~30% reduction in power, at the same performance level.

Take that as you will. I didn't fully research the model (series) of CPU that Apple is using the in MBP, but the results should be very similiar.

 

[yinz]

Oh wow so broadwell will be much better in heat consumption? I thought it was only for cpu speed upgrade.

The model next year will be much better. The model for the year after that will be much better than that. It's cyclical. If you don't buy next year, the year after will be much better still.

The only thing that'll guarantee you the best machine is buy one that's your favourite now. If you become unsatisfied when the next machine comes out, then switch to the next machine by selling your current one and adding a bit of money on top. I'm sure you can save a few hundred dollars in a year if you really want it.

 

[LEOMODE]

The model next year will be much better. The model for the year after that will be much better than that. It's cyclical. If you don't buy next year, the year after will be much better still.

The only thing that'll guarantee you the best machine is buy one that's your favourite now. If you become unsatisfied when the next machine comes out, then switch to the next machine by selling your current one and adding a bit of money on top. I'm sure you can save a few hundred dollars in a year if you really want it.

Well while I do agree about the phrase "buy the best one now as that is the best model to date" theory (as a Korean we have a popular phrase "Buy the one right before you die because that should be the best model to date", there is a specific taste that each person has, that is to satisfy a certain requirement that the user wants on a particular model.

For instance, I am totally satisfied with the HD camcorder that I've purchased 3 years ago (and for that model, I've waited 3 years before getting that because the models I purchased prior to this model, I just couldn't be satisfied with the specs. Since it trims down a certain spec or remove one part to save production cost. Like PCI Express slot). For this camcorder, it had to be a certain inch / pixel for the LCD screen that I preferred, a certain compact size that suits me, and lastly a full 1080p capability. So it took me 3 years to get one, and I'm still satisfied for 3 years.

Let's turn over to the MacBook Pro. This is a different story than a camcorder. Yes it's gotten thinner and lighter, but it didn't bring a huge improvement such as a touch screen or a super ultra TITANness power graphic card with desktop equivalent cooling system. It even removed PCI Express card for the 15" which I truly enjoyed. My last and current model that I own was 2009 15" MacBook Pro w 4GB RAM (upgraded to 8GB) and 9600GT.
However comparing my MBP with the new Retina MBP, 1) a retina display is a major difference, 2) a much better battery life, and 3) a better latest graphic card to support latest games, were my main 3 top priorities for the replacement. (Retina is the biggest reason). Size is still the same, and it's only gotten lighter of a fraction. (And I don't want 13"!)

But when I am about to choose the best or the right model for me on the MacBooks, the particular comment I want to hear about is very subjective, which is heat/noise/speed comparison between the old model and the current model. It is however objective and clear that the performance is absolutely much faster on the latest model. But that's about it. (and it should of course!). But what about Early 2013 vs Late 2013? That was my question on the speed.

Since heat/noise/speed is very hard for me to decide or experience (unless I buy all of the models side by side and compare them hahaha), that was the reason why I needed a real-time usage experienced users who felt the difference between Early 2013 vs Late 2013, hopefully by a numerical comparison if possible. And if people are to say "get the top CTO early 2012 since there really won't be a difference that I will notice between top CTO 2012 vs top CTO Early 2013 vs top CTO Late 2013 in REAL-TIME-USAGE, then I might even consider top CTO 2012 for best bang for the buck. (Well but there is a storage issue, I guess I want the highest storage. And for SSD on the MBPs, more storage = even faster speed, right?).

Anyone with a real-time usage experience on the heat/noise/speed between the 3 (2012vsEarly2013vsLate2013) will be greatly appreciated. I really want to buy the "right" model for me with the best price so I won't feel my money was wasted. It was really hard to find some real-time usage comparison chart on the internet, only geekbench's but that's not a real-time usage chart. It's just a pure number comparison.

 

[xjesterx]

I think you'll be fine. I almost waited for AC wireless, but got a refurb like you did and I'm very happy with it. Yep, it's easy to get into different features, but be happy with the great machine you have.

 

[yinz]

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Why ask a subjective question, and expect an objective outcome? An rMBP is an rMBP. The differences between all that you have mentioned are negligible. If you can push the machine to its limits, you might notice the power difference, but you won't notice the heat and noise because they'll both max out. If you don't tax the machine, you may notice the heat and noise difference, but you won't notice the power difference. The biggest reason why people would top out a machine is to get more ram or storage. This is the major selling factor of any machine in the rMBP line outside of screen size and I/O.

 

[LEOMODE]

Why ask a subjective question, and expect an objective outcome? An rMBP is an rMBP. The differences between all that you have mentioned are negligible. If you can push the machine to its limits, you might notice the power difference, but you won't notice the heat and noise because they'll both max out. If you don't tax the machine, you may notice the heat and noise difference, but you won't notice the power difference. The biggest reason why people would top out a machine is to get more ram or storage. This is the major selling factor of any machine in the rMBP line outside of screen size and I/O.

The only reason I asked for a subjective question to get an objective answer was because objective outcome will answer my question.

For instance, if people answered "Early is hotter than Late", or "Early is faster than Late", then it's very subjective answer. But if people answered "Early is 10 seconds faster than Late in booting", or "Early is 10celcius cooler in idle than Late", then anyone can see how different it is clearly.

I've tried googling to see if any website had a comparison as such, but only found 2012 RMBP's with non-retina MBP's comparison

I wish some website (e.g. Anandtech) or people who own both Early 2013 and Late 2013 can actually compare it in real life usage...

I already saw Barefeats or Geekbench benchmarks but they're just pure numbers. It didn't really show the actual-usage comparison other than the battery tests.

 

[yinz]

The only reason I asked for a subjective question to get an objective answer was because objective outcome will answer my question.

For instance, if people answered "Early is hotter than Late", or "Early is faster than Late", then it's very subjective answer. But if people answered "Early is 10 seconds faster than Late in booting", or "Early is 10celcius cooler in idle than Late", then anyone can see how different it is clearly.

I've tried googling to see if any website had a comparison as such, but only found 2012 RMBP's with non-retina MBP's comparison

I wish some website (e.g. Anandtech) or people who own both Early 2013 and Late 2013 can actually compare it in real life usage...

I already saw Barefeats or Geekbench benchmarks but they're just pure numbers. It didn't really show the actual-usage comparison other than the battery tests.

You may try YouTube. There are several comparisons on their that compare similar models, but I think the reason why you can't get a comprehensive answer is because the difference is negligible.