Should I buy the Macbook pro 2016 15 inch

[chongsen]

My old PC (i7-4930k, GTX970) is dead due to high frequency power shortage recently.

I am thinking about getting a laptop to replace my PC.

Here are my 2 choices

Brand new XPS 15 (7700HQ, GTX1050 , 512GB PCIE-SSD, 16GB ram, 4K touch screen) from Dell for $2000 Canadian dollar.

3 months old Macbook Pro 15 2016 based model from craigslist for $2400 Canadian dollar.

Which one should I get ? Is there any risk to get second hand Macbook Pro ? I haven't used Mac since 2013. Does Macbook still hold its value better than Dell ?

I need to drive 2 4k monitors at home. Is Macbook Pro 15 capable to do that ? How is the performance compared to my old PC ?

Or should I wait for Macbook Pro 2017 ? Based on previous experience, price usually drop on the second gen Mac.

 

[Sanpete]

What do you plan to use it for?

The Dell is stronger for Windows-based processing and graphics, including gaming, Premiere Pro. The Mac has a brighter, higher-contrast screen, better speakers, Mac OS, better battery life for light use, and is smaller and lighter. Some think it has better build quality. No coil whine. Runs a bit more quietly under load.

There are controversies about the MBP's big trackpad, new keyboard and fast ports that need adapters for most peripherals.

The MBP will drive two 4Ks. In theory it will drive four 4Ks, though I've only seen it hooked up with three.

2400 CAD is pretty low, so be sure it's legit. If it has Apple Care and isn't stolen, you'll be good.

As for waiting, it depends on what you're looking for. The next one will probably have Kaby Lake, might have a larger battery, could possibly offer a 32 GB option (but that would be expensive).

 

[chongsen]

What do you plan to use it for?

The Dell is stronger for Windows-based processing and graphics, including gaming, Premiere Pro. The Mac has a brighter, higher-contrast screen, better speakers, Mac OS, better battery life for light use, and is smaller and lighter. Some think it has better build quality. No coil whine. Runs a bit more quietly under load.

There are controversies about the MBP's big trackpad, new keyboard and fast ports that need adapters for most peripherals.

The MBP will drive two 4Ks. In theory it will drive four 4Ks, though I've only seen it hooked up with three.

2400 CAD is pretty low, so be sure it's legit. If it has Apple Care and isn't stolen, you'll be good.

As for waiting, it depends on what you're looking for. The next one will probably have Kaby Lake, might have a larger battery, could possibly offer a 32 GB option (but that would be expensive).

I think I will mainly use it as a desktop. The keyboard and trackpad are not my concern. How stable is the system ? How much fan noisy ? and how stable is it to support multi 4k screens ?

 

[jackoatmon]

the 2016 macbook pro is the fastest, best, most solidly-constructed computer in human history.

take from that what you will.

 

[Sanpete]

What will you use for on your desk?

It's quite stable normally. I haven't seen much about how stable it is running two 4K monitors. Some people have had issues running monitors via HDMI, unexpected shutdowns during sleep or the like. Don't know how common that is.

Fan noise is among the quietest, but it's definitely noticeable when you get it hot.

 

[chongsen]

What will you use for on your desk?

It's quite stable normally. I haven't seen much about how stable it is running two 4K monitors. Some people have had issues running monitors via HDMI, unexpected shutdowns during sleep or the like. Don't know how common that is.

Fan noise is among the quietest, but it's definitely noticeable when you get it hot.

I have 2 LG 31MU97-B on my desks. They support HDMI 2.0 and Display port.

I pretty much will run it 24/7. Do you think it can last for 4~5 years ?

How is the GPU compared to GTX970 I had ?

 

[Sanpete]

There's no comparison to your GTX 970--that's three times* faster than the laptop dGPU in the base MBP, about twice as fast as the fastest MBP dGPU Apple offers.

It should run fine for heavy use for years, but since it's new, no one has done that yet.

*almost

 

[chongsen]

There's no comparison to your GTX 970--that's three times* faster than the laptop dGPU in the base MBP, about twice as fast as the fastest MBP dGPU Apple offers.

It should run fine for heavy use for years, but since it's new, no one has done that yet.

*almost

Some review said the 1050 on XPS 15 is slightly worse than 970.

Is the dgpu on the macbook pro that bad ?

 

[leman]

Some review said the 1050 on XPS 15 is slightly worse than 970.

Is the dgpu on the macbook pro that bad ?

Whoever said that must be very confused. The 970 is more or less on par with a desktop 1060, which is 2x or so faster than a desktop 1050. And the XPS runs a mobile version of 1050.

The 460 Pro is about 15-25% slower, depending on the task. Much of the performance difference comes from memory speed. The 460 is also 20-30% more power-efficient.

 

[cobracnvt]

it depends on how much you need the graphics performance. If you want to play video games, I would suggest you stay in the Windows world with a desktop. I wouldn't pick a Mac if video games are high on your priority list.

The MacBook Pro IMHOP is the best laptop out there. I think it will outlast any windows laptop when you consider how high it's resale value is. I have a 2012 MB Pro and have no issues at all with it, and I use it every day. I have never had a Windows laptop last more than 4 years, and have to reinstall windows every few years to restore performance. Not so with my mac. The Windows laptop also had virtually no resale value after those 4 years, so I wouldn't spend a lot on a Windows laptop.