rMBP: Refurb Late'13 vs New Mid'14

[ekinnyc]

hey all

i'm currently using a late'08 aluminum MB 13", which is getting quite long in the tooth. It's had a RAM boost to 4gb (small by today's standards) and a samsung 840 SSD thrown in, so its perfectly useful for probably 90% of what i use it for (mostly surfing, email, work laptop) but when i do photo editing, it gets sluggish.

thinking of getting a new MBP, and was looking at the refurb store.

question i have is what is the diff between the late 2013s and the refreshed mid 2014s? the refurb store has a nice deal - 15" rMBP with i7, 16gb, 512ssd, 750M gfx for 2K, which is considerably cheaper than a similarly configured new one

my plan is to also hook it up to an external monitor/kb/mouse to use for photo editing/work

is this a good deal? am i missing out on something by going for a late13 vs mid14?

TIA!

 

[MTL18]

Nope. Mid 2014 was a spec bump on the processor.

 

[Icehawk]

Yeah. If you don't mind buying a refurb, I'd take the savings. The difference isn't worth $500.

 

[JHUFrank]

That is what I did on my new rMBP. 13in late 2013 refurb. Newly configured I think it goes for 2099, I got mine for 1599. Haven't regretted a penny of what I spent. Great laptop.

 

[poematik13]

the mid-2014 refresh was just a slight bump in CPU mhz (you'll never notice it) and it made 16GB of ram standard on all new 15" models.

save money and get a 2013

 

[slipper]

Small processor spec bump, same display, same 802.11ac WIFI, same Thunderbolt 2, same battery. It would be silly to spend several hundred more for a a few megahertz.

 

[ekinnyc]

thanks all!

what about warranty? is it the same for new vs refurb?

 

[rmackner]

Macbook pros have been running on pretty much the same hardware since 2012. With it being this late in the year maybe wait it out till a refresh?

 

[cjmillsnun]

thanks all!

what about warranty? is it the same for new vs refurb?

Yup, it's the same 1 year limited warranty with AppleCare as an option to take it to 3 years.

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Macbook pros have been running on pretty much the same hardware since 2012. With it being this late in the year maybe wait it out till a refresh?

That's not true.

In 2012, the MBPs were running Ivy Bridge architecture. In Mid '13 they moved to Haswell architecture, which is much more power efficient and includes faster integrated graphics, also the 15" moved on a step with the dGPU. In July they did a speed bump.

Broadwell is delayed until next year at the earliest (thanks Intel), and I would expect a March refresh (based on current averages).

 

[rmackner]

In 2012, the MBPs were running Ivy Bridge architecture. In Mid '13 they moved to Haswell architecture, which is much more power efficient and includes faster integrated graphics, also the 15" moved on a step with the dGPU. In July they did a speed bump.

Broadwell is delayed until next year at the earliest (thanks Intel), and I would expect a March refresh (based on current averages).

Well quite obvious that the CPUs are different but the logicboard has pretty much been the same since 2012.

 

[slipper]

What CJ said... CPU and graphics is pretty much the most important components to a computer, so IMO 2012 is significantly inferior to 2013. 2013 to 2014, not so much.

The case design is slightly different also. The Oct 2013 13" rMBP has a thinner case design also.

Bottom line, the OP implies that he is looking for the best value. You want a late 2013 if you want value. If you don't mind paying more, buy a brand new 2014.

 

[ekinnyc]

Bottom line, the OP implies that he is looking for the best value. You want a late 2013 if you want value. If you don't mind paying more, buy a brand new 2014.

yup, im trying to get most bang for buck. a happy medium suggested by a coworker would be the mid2014 thru the education store (still got a valid student ID from when i did my MBA), which at the same config would run $2299, but it still doesnt sound like the extra 200mhz is worth the $260

 

[ak189]

thanks all!

what about warranty? is it the same for new vs refurb?

I asked the same question last week and decided on the refurb- no regrets. Its essentially a new computer with everything defective or damaged replaced with new parts, including a brand new battery. It comes with the standard one year warranty, which can be upgraded to 3 years (definitely recommend).

The only difference between the late-2013 and the mid-2014 is a slight processor bump, which in my opinion isn't worth the extra money. And the refurbs come in a regular white box unlike the new 2014 ones that are in a fancy white one- also not worth the extra money. I'd suggest buying the late-2103 and using the savings on the extended AppleCare, and any accessories or software you're going to use.

Also if you look around (B&H, Adorama, Amazon etc.) you might be able to find good deals or bundles on new models of the late-2013 rMBPs.