Refurbished: rMBP vs cMBP

[kbt1020]

Hey guys,

When the next WWDC comes, I intend to purchase a refurbished 15" MBP, but I just need a few opinions on my choices. (Disclaimer: Feel free to flame me if this has been posted somewhere or anything I post below is not to your liking. I promise I won't take it to heart )

1) A refurbished 2012 15" rMBP:
rMBP

or

2) A refurbished 2012 15" cMBP:
cMBP

I intend to replace the HDD with a SSD and add 16GB of RAM into this once I get it.

Usage: Normal Applications, some video/music editing, running Parallels, some games, such as FFIV, ect.

Concerns:

- rMBP already has SSD and 8GB of RAM, but I wonder will that 8GB of RAM will be future proof. I am hoping to keep the laptop for at least 3 years.
- cMBP can be upgraded to 16GB and SSD, but will the GT650M w/ 512MB of VRAM be good for 3 years
- I don't want to wait for one with Haswell because: 1) Normal Price of 15" is too expensive, especially rMBP2) Once Haswell comes out, these might be even cheaper.

Thanks for your attention/opinions.

 

[jonathan.c]

You need a lot of RAM for Parallels, get the cMBP. Your uses don't really benefit from the retina screen and the lighter/smaller form factor.

 

[wmage]

Yeah, you need RAM for parallels... But I would definitely wait for WWDC, chances are that whatever happens, it will make the prices go down.

 

[maflynn]

You need a lot of RAM for Parallels, get the cMBP. Your uses don't really benefit from the retina screen and the lighter/smaller form factor.

Parallels will run very well with 8gb, in fact most apps today will be fine with 8gb.

My $.02 is this, do you want the retina screen, and slightly smaller form factor with the SSD already included or do you want a laptop that you can upgrade the ram/storage later?

The rMBP is the best laptop I've owned, but your needs may be different then my needs.

 

[twingo]

The most important component of the classic macbook pro can't be upgraded.
I would go for the better screen.

 

[makaveli559m]

The most important component of the classic macbook pro can't be upgraded.
I would go for the better screen.

The most important thing on a classic isn't the screen. Its the choice of what components you want inside of it.

 

[teknikal90]

I run parallels on my cMBP with 8gb RAM
I allocate 3 out of 8 "cores" - hyper-threads really and 3GB out of 8GB RAM and it runs flawlessly. Minimal lag even on Coherence
Win 7 Home Premium

 

[kbt1020]

Thanks guys. Seems like it will just be based on whether I want retina or not. I'll look into it further as WWDC comes. Hopefully the price will drop more. The retina seems to be less of a hassle (I know it only takes a few minutes changing the SSD and RAM), but the 16GB upgradability is kinda attractive. Thanks for all the replies though.

 

[duervo]

I've been burned enough times over the years, and people I know have been also, by getting first generation hardware. It's nice to have the "latest and greatest", but that experience is almost always relatively short-lived, mainly because something better always comes along.

So, if you were looking at refurbished, and wanted a rMBP, I would wait until the refurbished Haswell rMBP's start being available (probably late fall early winter this year.) Otherwise, I would get a refurbished cMBP with Anti-glare Hi-Res display. But, that's me.

 

[NewishMacGuy]

Concerns:

- rMBP already has SSD and 8GB of RAM, but I wonder will that 8GB of RAM will be future proof. I am hoping to keep the laptop for at least 3 years.
- cMBP can be upgraded to 16GB and SSD, but will the GT650M w/ 512MB of VRAM be good for 3 years
- I don't want to wait for one with Haswell because: 1) Normal Price of 15" is too expensive, especially rMBP2) Once Haswell comes out, these might be even cheaper.

Thanks for your attention/opinions.

As others have stated, running VMs is memory intensive. Whether or not 8GB will work largely depends on what you're doing. YMMV, but 4GB/side is pretty slim these days and wouldn't cut it for my usage pattern, and I'm only running Win 7 for Bloomberg and a couple of financial models that rely on Bloomberg data.

Unless you're an avid gamer and want to run the latest games at high settings, the GT650 with 512MB should be fine for the next few years.

The only thing on the next-gen MBP that I will really want is 802.11ac. If you plan on having this next notebook for a while (more than a year or two) then you may want to consider how important that speed upgrade will be to you. Again, YMMV, but I'm definitely going to want that. If 802.11ac doesn't matter to you though, I would still wait because all the older models will likely be just a bit cheaper after the announcement.


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[Acorn]

if spending 2k on an imac doesnt make sense for you chances are spending 2k on an 15 inch retina wont make sense either. My suggestion is a 13 inch refurbished retina for $1269. its the best bang for the buck right now.