I was looking to buy a refurb rMBP but it is currently listed as possibly updating soon according to the cycle. I've heard rumors that it could update around June but unless buying a new one would have to wait even longer to get a refurb. I'm not against buying new but the ~$500 off is nice. Using it for programming and other development and it not being dire need but I would really enjoy having it, would you recommend purchasing now or waiting?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
rMBP buying advice
- Thread starter strain67
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Well June seems the best guess...
... for broadwell currently. But that is just a guess. Yes refurbs take a couple of months to start coming up in the refurb store so aug- september if you are in the US longer in other parts of the world as they reach the refurb store more slowly in europe at least..
For programming and development broadwell will give you an extra hour or so battery and better integrated graphics so not that important for you. If you need the 15 inch with dGPU then I'd wait if not then it won't be that much of an upgrade...
... for broadwell currently. But that is just a guess. Yes refurbs take a couple of months to start coming up in the refurb store so aug- september if you are in the US longer in other parts of the world as they reach the refurb store more slowly in europe at least..
For programming and development broadwell will give you an extra hour or so battery and better integrated graphics so not that important for you. If you need the 15 inch with dGPU then I'd wait if not then it won't be that much of an upgrade...
I was planning on getting the 15" with a dGPU but in all honestly I'm just picking it up as an extra. I don't need a dGPU but it would be nice to have just in case. I have a powerful desktop and an older laptop cheap laptop but would like to have something with something more powerful for on the go.
Buy now, there are some great deals on refurbs.
Broadwell is just a stop-gap release and doesn't really bring anything significant to the table. Broadwell based CPU's are marginally more powerful, slightly better integrated graphics & power efficiency being the major improvement which would be important if you are spending most of your working day on battery power.
As ever, if you don't need to buy now then don't. Only buy when you actually need to. If you are happy to wait then I would skip Broadwell altogether and wait for Skylake based machines. However, if Intel do not release these CPU's until Q3/Q4 then you won't see any Skylake based Macs until a year from now so perhaps a Haswell based refurb that saves $500 is a smart choice.
Broadwell is just a stop-gap release and doesn't really bring anything significant to the table. Broadwell based CPU's are marginally more powerful, slightly better integrated graphics & power efficiency being the major improvement which would be important if you are spending most of your working day on battery power.
As ever, if you don't need to buy now then don't. Only buy when you actually need to. If you are happy to wait then I would skip Broadwell altogether and wait for Skylake based machines. However, if Intel do not release these CPU's until Q3/Q4 then you won't see any Skylake based Macs until a year from now so perhaps a Haswell based refurb that saves $500 is a smart choice.
That's where my thoughts are at right now. My biggest concern was since I am gettting a gGPU the current gpu is quite outdated at this point. Again my main reason for buying the laptop has nothing to do with the GPU but I still want to consider everything.
If you don't need it....
Well if you don't need it then it might be best to go without it.... As you can see with a quick search on here most of the hardware problems with macbook pro's in the last 8 years have been down to the dGPU. If there is one thing that is most likely to go wrong it is that.
The IRIS pro graphics are pretty damn good for open CL applications and some casual gaming so unless you forsee some serious 4K video editing or some modern gaming at high details in your future I wouldn't worry about it..
Well if you don't need it then it might be best to go without it.... As you can see with a quick search on here most of the hardware problems with macbook pro's in the last 8 years have been down to the dGPU. If there is one thing that is most likely to go wrong it is that.
The IRIS pro graphics are pretty damn good for open CL applications and some casual gaming so unless you forsee some serious 4K video editing or some modern gaming at high details in your future I wouldn't worry about it..
I would say wait out for Broadwell/Skylake, whatever Apple chooses for their next rMBP, and get the one with iGPU. Those graphics will for sure be as good or better than the 750m.
Especially since you already have several computers to keep you busy for the time being.
Especially since you already have several computers to keep you busy for the time being.
