Should I return the 15 inch mbp in exchange for an upgrade to 460?

[kiokiokio]

I currently have a MPB 15 inch 512 455, after waiting for years and finally deciding to retire my 2011 mpb. I'm wondering if I should exchange my current model for an upgrade to the Radeon Pro 460?

I made a decision to buy the current in stock model I have since I was having issues with the 2011 model, and I needed something that day. I also read of some of the problems people were having with distortion with the 460, and it spooked me a bit, after having similar issues with both my 2009 and 2011 mpb models and multiple logic board replacements in both.

Is the 460 so much better that I should go through the hassle of returning my current model and ordering a new one? Tomorrow is the last day for exchange and I haven't had a chance to really put this machine through its paces yet. I do plan to use lightroom, and perhaps do some video editing eventually, and I do some videoconferencing. I've felt this get hot but not too bad at times.

Practically, how much will I suffer in lightroom or some video editing without the upgrade? All things being equal I'd rather not make the trip but I'm also feeling a bit foolish for passing up something that could be better. How much better would it be?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[logicstudiouser]

About the graphics (via. Apple):
Your MacBook Pro comes as standard with a discrete Radeon Pro 455 graphics processor with 2GB of dedicated GDDR5 video memory. For even better graphics performance and additional memory for more demanding tasks, you can configure your MacBook Pro with the Radeon Pro 460 with 4GB of dedicated GDDR5 video memory.

From what you describe, I think the 455 will be perfect for your needs. If you were a heavy video editing user, 460 may be the way to go.
The only other consideration is resale value, my belief is that the MBP 460 models will hold a better resale value than the 455 in the future and if you are keeping your Mac for long term (4+ years), might be worth investing the extra $100 now.

 

[vjobs]

Couldn't have thought twice before purchasing? That's how these MacBooks get so expensive, because of unnecessary returns.

Back to your question: the 455 will perfectly do the job for you. However, as said, a 460 will have a significantly higher resale value down the road, as 4GB of GPU will become the industry standard.

 

[turbineseaplane]

That's how these MacBooks get so expensive, because of unnecessary returns.

Apple sets the return policies and frankly encourages people in the stores with questions to try them out at home and return them if it doesn't work out.

I had their store employees do precisely that with 2 different 2016 MBP models.

 

[kiokiokio]

Actually, yes, the store encouraged me to try it out at home and return it if it wasn't fast enough when I asked them in detail about this question. I think it probably leads to people keeping them more than not - too easy just to stay home (as I'm leaning toward doing).

If there had been an in-stock option, rather than waiting for a shipment for the 460, I would have ordered it. I was actually planning to wait for the next release - I'd been waiting since 2011 after all - but unfortunately, my old mpb did not agree with this plan.

I used to do heavy video editing, and while I would like to do so in the future, I'm thinking that perhaps if that happens I'll upgrade sooner. Even with a new ssd drive and more ram, my 2011 model was getting hard to use. I think I may upgrade in 3-4 years.

What I do care about is not having a machine that's a ticking time bomb with graphics card failures, and avoiding multiple replacements over the life of the computer (3 with my 2011, and my 2011 was a full replacement of the 2009 because they messed up the work so badly (came back with a dented lid, messed up pixels, and more problems). I was most scared of the distortion users are experiencing and wondering if that's happening more with the 460, or if it's just that 460 users are doing more graphics intensive work so they will show the failures more often? More than anything that prompted my choice.

Also thanks for the information everyone, it's really helpful! A bit more to think about. I would lean toward exchanging if I could be more certain about the distortion question.

Turbinesplane, what model did you end up with?