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rMBP 15' wait for refresh or not?

Drakas

Drakas

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2015
28
0
Hi guys,
well is always the same question but i don't know how to do now.

The last refresh it was at July...So probably will be a soon refresh of Macbook Pro retina 15', maybe with a better SSD capacity or a graphic card (nvidia 800 series or 900, why not). Or not?

My problem is that:
- Macbook Pro 15 with integrated GPU has a low SSD capacity (256 Gb of SSD are not enought for work and install Bootcamp with Windows and Ubuntu, that i need for study purpose. I could upgrade the ssd space to 512 Gb, but at this point, is better buy the top rMBP with 750m graphic card.
- The rMBP with 750. dGPU is outdated for graphic purpose. (At this time there're a lot of PC notebook that works better with graphic purpose.) Will be a refresh of it? Why Apple don't had already refresh the dGPU?

What shoud i do?

Thanks :)
 
Meister said:
What will you use your rmbp for?
Click to expand...

I'll use for study (development software in Ubuntu/Windows 8.1) and work (with Java (Android Development), MAMP, php and a lot of file transfer).

If possibile, my dreams are: play Videogames and Game Development with Unity and Unreal Engine. (but i'd like to have a better and newer dGPU for it, maybe a 850m)
 
Drakas said:
I'll use for study (development software in Ubuntu/Windows 8.1) and work (with Java (Android Development), MAMP, php and a lot of file transfer).

If possibile, my dreams are: play Videogames and Game Development with Unity and Unreal Engine. (but i'd like to have a better and newer dGPU for it, maybe a 850m)
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need a desktop.
I'd wait for the next macbook release to get the maximum power.
 
Desktop

To be honest if you want to develop 3D games then I'm with meister here you need a desktop.
 
Meister said:
Sounds like you need a desktop.
I'd wait for the next macbook release to get the maximum power.
Click to expand...

Of course, i already have a desktop for that purpose. But i need a notebook when i move or when i can't use my desktop PC.

But how long should wait for next rMBP release? 2-3 months or 1 year?

----------
Samuelsan2001 said:
To be honest if you want to develop 3D games then I'm with meister here you need a desktop.
Click to expand...

Well that's only for hobby and i already got a desktop for this when i'm at home. :)
 
Keep an eye out in the refurb store for a late 2013 model. 512gb / 16gb / 2.3 ghz with 750m for $1989.

Don't wait, updates are at least 6 months away.
 
Serickmetz said:
Keep an eye out in the refurb store for a late 2013 model. 512gb / 16gb / 2.3 ghz with 750m for $1989.

Don't wait, updates are at least 6 months away.
Click to expand...

Wow so long also for minor refresh? (like improve GPU)

Refurb isn't so convenient for me. As student i can get a MBP with a discount about 250€...so it's the same price of the new :)
 
Drakas said:
But how long should wait for next rMBP release? 2-3 months or 1 year?
Click to expand...

We won't likely see a new 15" rMBP before second half of the year as the quad core Broadwell-H is scheduled for late Q2. If you need one now then buy it now, otherwise wait six months and re-assess the situation.

The 2014 refresh was just a speed bump - Broadwell should have been out by then on the original schedule. Intel bumped all the CPUs a couple of hundred MHz at the same price point to keep the manufacturers onside until the production issues were sorted.
 
I do have to warn you that UDK (the Unreal Development Kit) is pretty heavy on the GPU and even a GTX 850 will be hard taxed once you start doing more than mobile games or basic student products. Thus a desktop would be much better suited for this.

As for the other development stuff that's mostly CPU and the CPU gains in the next line of Macbook Pro's is going to be pretty minimal as Broadwell is mostly a die shrink with battery life and integrated GPU improvements (apparently 20% higher performance).

If you had asked this 3 months ago or even further back I'd have said that there wouldn't have been much point in waiting. However Intel just unveiled the chips that will be in the next machines and said that the first devices using them are launching by the end of the month. So I'd say wait for the next machines even thou the benefit isn't going to be THAT great.
 
there are no chips suitable for 15" macbook pro right now. Intel just announced chips which will go just into the 13" version. So we will probably see the next 15" macbook in in june - july timeframe. So I would recommend you just buy now. If you can get your macbook with student discount you can sell it when the new ones will come out and hardly loose any money :)
 
Drakas said:
My problem is that:
- Macbook Pro 15 with integrated GPU has a low SSD capacity (256 Gb of SSD are not enought for work and install Bootcamp with Windows and Ubuntu, that i need for study purpose. I could upgrade the ssd space to 512 Gb, but at this point, is better buy the top rMBP with 750m graphic card.
- The rMBP with 750. dGPU is outdated for graphic purpose. (At this time there're a lot of PC notebook that works better with graphic purpose.) Will be a refresh of it? Why Apple don't had already refresh the dGPU?
Click to expand...

You summarised the situation pretty well. These are more or less the reasons why I am not considering a 15'' rMBP at the moment.
I bought a 13'' rMBP early 2014 instead, and will probably add a 5k iMac this year. This is significantly more expensive than a 15'' MBP, but at least I don't have to compromise so much between power and portability.

I'm not saying that this is the best solution - if they had upgraded the 15'' with a 850M, I would probably have sold the 13'' and gotten the 15'' instead. But it seems at least another 5-6 months will pass before the 15'' will get an upgrade, and even then the 850M/950M is not guaranteed.
 
thundersteele said:
You summarised the situation pretty well. These are more or less the reasons why I am not considering a 15'' rMBP at the moment.
I bought a 13'' rMBP early 2014 instead, and will probably add a 5k iMac this year. This is significantly more expensive than a 15'' MBP, but at least I don't have to compromise so much between power and portability.

I'm not saying that this is the best solution - if they had upgraded the 15'' with a 850M, I would probably have sold the 13'' and gotten the 15'' instead. But it seems at least another 5-6 months will pass before the 15'' will get an upgrade, and even then the 850M/950M is not guaranteed.
Click to expand...

Yeah right,
but at the moment are worth about 450€ for top MBP intead of rMPB 15'? (more SSD and 750 intead of the Irish Pro)
 
Drakas said:
The last refresh it was at July...So probably will be a soon refresh of Macbook Pro retina 15', maybe with a better SSD capacity or a graphic card (nvidia 800 series or 900, why not). Or not?
Click to expand...

A refresh isn't going to occur until Intel releases Broadwell, while there are now some Broadwell chipsets being rolled out be Intel the type that Apple will use in their 15" MBP isn't going to happen until this summer.

Can you wait until then? If so then hold off, if not, then buy now.
 
maflynn said:
A refresh isn't going to occur until Intel releases Broadwell, while there are now some Broadwell chipsets being rolled out be Intel the type that Apple will use in their 15" MBP isn't going to happen until this summer.

Can you wait until then? If so then hold off, if not, then buy now.
Click to expand...

Yep but for a minor refresh? like improve ssd? Because summer mean 1 year without touch MBP (last was for improve RAM, 29 July). Usually Apple change something every 6 months, or not?
 
Drakas said:
Yep but for a minor refresh? like improve ssd? Because summer mean 1 year without touch MBP (last was for improve RAM, 29 July). Usually Apple change something every 6 months, or not?
Click to expand...

Apple isn't going to do anything until summer, and yes that makes it a year behind. They've done this in the past and so long spans of time between updates is not a big issue to them (to consumers yes, but to them no).
 
maflynn said:
Apple isn't going to do anything until summer, and yes that makes it a year behind. They've done this in the past and so long spans of time between updates is not a big issue to them (to consumers yes, but to them no).
Click to expand...

Well, but should i wait? Becouse the rumors said about touchscreen, feature for unlock your macbook with finger. That are good enought for wait. But...if Apple release a minor refresh (like rMBP mid-2014) this summer...that are 6 months wasted
 
Drakas said:
Well, but should i wait? Becouse the rumors said about touchscreen, feature for unlock your macbook with finger. That are good enought for wait. But...if Apple release a minor refresh (like rMBP mid-2014) this summer...that are 6 months wasted
Click to expand...

You're asking people to predict the future at this point. Nobody knows how significant the next upgrade will be. Only thing that we can (mostly) be sure of is that it won't happen until after the quad core Broadwell chips are released this summer.

After that....nobody knows. Just my opinion, but I would say touch screen is highly, highly unlikely.
 
ugahairydawgs said:
You're asking people to predict the future at this point. Nobody knows how significant the next upgrade will be. Only thing that we can (mostly) be sure of is that it won't happen until after the quad core Broadwell chips are released this summer.

After that....nobody knows. Just my opinion, but I would say touch screen is highly, highly unlikely.
Click to expand...

Thanks so i think i'll buy it now: rMBP 15 (iGPU model). I hope that won't be laggy with high resolution of retina and an iris Pro. (yosemite has a lot of effects and i use often mission control).
 
Drakas said:
Will be a refresh of it? Why Apple don't had already refresh the dGPU?
Click to expand...
The most likely reason is that they plan to drop the dGPU. If the next gen has a 6200 they can say it has more GPU power than the old because the 6200 will beat the 750M in some benches and go even on others. If they upgraded to the 850M, their marketing department has a hard time explaining on their website how their old generation offered more performance if there is no dGPU in the 2015 models.
Apple often used to have some small GPU refreshes in autumn and this time they just didn't do anything. The 850M is about twice as fast as their underclocked 750M, it is not like it is an inconsequential upgrade. Maybe they change their mind again because Maxwell is so good.
 
dusk007 said:
If the next gen has a 6200 ....
Click to expand...

If??? There is no question that any 13" MacBook Pro based on Broadwell will use Intel Iris 6100 integrated graphics and any 15" MacBook Pro based on Broadwell will use Intel Iris Pro 6200 integrated graphics. The question is whether or not Apple might additionally include a discrete GPU in the high-end 15" MacBook Pro.
 
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