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Refurb 2012 or New 2013 15" MacBook Pro

Q

quadraplex

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I am looking to make my first mac purchase. I am deciding between the Refurbished 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel i7 with Retina Display ($1899.00) and the new 15-inch: 2.0GHz with Retina display ($1999.00). I am a student and will use the computer for school, watching videos, and some Photoshop. Which of these two options is the better choice bang for my buck? I'm leaning toward the refurb one since it has more hard drive space and a dedicated graphics card. I'd love to hear a more expert opinion! Thanks.

Refurbished 15.4-inch MacBook Pro 2.6GHz Quad-core Intel i7 with Retina Display ($1899.00)
http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-26ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

15-inch: 2.0GHz with Retina display ($1999.00).
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=ME293LL/A&step=config
 
In terms of bang for your buck, the refurb is an easy, no-brainer win. You give up the hour of battery life, ThunderBolt 2, and 802.11ac (the latter two of which won't matter to most people in the short-run), and you get graphics power, more speed, and $100. While the PCIe storage on the SSD is "faster" than the SSD storage on the older model, that's at least somewhat offset by the fact that you're looking at 512GB on the refurb. (Bigger is faster.)
 
john123 said:
In terms of bang for your buck, the refurb is an easy, no-brainer win. You give up the hour of battery life, ThunderBolt 2, and 802.11ac (the latter two of which won't matter to most people in the short-run), and you get graphics power, more speed, and $100. While the PCIe storage on the SSD is "faster" than the SSD storage on the older model, that's at least somewhat offset by the fact that you're looking at 512GB on the refurb. (Bigger is faster.)
Click to expand...

Right on point... Same 1 year warranty + option of apple care too.

I have an early 2013 with base CPU and getting a solid 9 hours of battery life. Apple should not have left out the dGPU on the current models.
 
i tell everyone who asks this to buy the 15' with the gt 650. its so stupid they left it out of the 1999$ has well with no option to add it in for like 200 bucks or something. to make sure hey never do something so stupid make sure you let the sales of it tank :]
 
Anyone with a common sense would buy the 2012 model.

There is absolutely no reason to get the late 2013 model unless you are willing to go all the way in with 750m, which is still not worth ridiculous premium price.

apple really shot themselves in the foot with the inferior 2013 model.
 
sonyisawesome said:
Anyone with a common sense would buy the 2012 model.

There is absolutely no reason to get the late 2013 model unless you are willing to go all the way in with 750m, which is still not worth ridiculous premium price.

apple really shot themselves in the foot with the inferior 2013 model.
Click to expand...

Technically speaking the 750 is actually free!

If you upgrade the base model to 2.3 + 16gig Ram + 512 gig memory it's the same price as the entry high end machine that comes with the 750!!! So same specs plus the 750... the mind boggles.

WTH Apple?!?!
 
I was actually trying to decide between the 13" maxed out one and the 15" base model, but after doing some research, I just bought the early 2013 15" model with 2.7ghz/16gb/256 and the 650M dGPU for $1899. I don't think I would've a better deal with the new ones comparing what I just got for $1899. Definitely think this was the better route. I needed the memory for VM's and that would've cost me a lot more with the newer models. Unfortunately though I did lose out on the Thunderbolt and the Wifi AC but not sure how much of either I would've used tbh. And ofcourse there's the haswell battery difference.

Let me know what you guys think.
 
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