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should i swap to older rMBP model??

A

apoenq

macrumors member
Original poster
May 21, 2015
68
4
Hi guys, i just bought rMBP 13" early 2015 (8gb ram, 128gb ssd). It not new set but in great cosmetic condition (2 weeks old). No apple care yet but come with normal 1 year warranty. Complete set with box and battery cycle is 8.

However, before i managed to play with this new toy (i am coming from cMBP 13" 2012), i saw another great deal for rMBP 13" mid 2014 (8gb ram, 128gb ssd) WITH apple care!! Total warranty ends on Jan 2018 so it is 5-6 months old laptop. Battery cycle is 78 and comes with complete box set also. The drawback of this rMBP 2014 is it has small dents/chip off at the top of cover near the lid opener. I can save around ~350USD when I compared mid 2014 price with the 2015 cost+apple care.

My usage background: I am using this laptop for browsing, streaming and watching movies, read some articles or news, edit simple photo or videos (basically using GOPRO studio software) and playing simple games like TF2, GW2 and LOL/DOTA. I have iMac mid 2011 which I think can help me better with video/photo editing and playing games compared to rMBP 13" mid 2014 and early 2015 (please correct me if i am wrong). And I don't mind doing photo/video editing and gaming using my iMac instead of using rMBP.

Do you guys think I should downgrade my rMBP and save the money for potential future design change MBP (skylake maybe?)? I read the the benefits of rMBP 2015, i.e.
1. better processor and iGPU (maybe you cannot really feel it in real life)
2. better SSD speed (only read speed right? i am currently using cMBP with normal HDD, so SSD from rMBP 2014 will be a huge jump for me anyway?)
3. better battery life (i will be taking out this macbook only once a week, so should not be massive improvement for me)
4. lastly is the force touch pad!

I believe with my current usage background, the only good thing in 2015 that can persuade me to use it is the force touch pad. the potential usage of force touch pad is maybe quite big and it would help me to get higher resale value if i choose 2015 one? is the force click only a marketing gimmick? does the look up and preview feature really help a lot for you guys? I am planning to use this laptop for a long time, will the resale value just around the same for 2014 and 2015 year model let's say 5-6 years down the road? any downside of 2015 version? I saw some article saying 2015 has UI lags in yosemite?

Sorry for the lengthy post and appreciate for all of your comments! thanks!
 
Personally I'd keep the one you have and buy Applecare just before your warranty expires(if you even want to buy Applecare).
 
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The one one you have now is a better deal. You can buy Applecare for $189 on Amazon. Your $350 savings less the $189 Applecare price is $161. So, you're paying $161 less if you buy the 2014. But, you get older technology and a damaged computer.

For $161 you get Force Touch, a slightly faster processor, and a faster SSD. Plus, maybe more battery life. You also said the older machine wasn't pristine. While cosmetic damage isn't a huge red flag, it's an indication that maybe the owner isn't meticulous in taking care of his/her electronic equipment and, ideally, you want to buy from someone who babies their equipment.
 
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Hi thanks all for the reply. Yap I would like to buy apple care for the 2015. But the 300usd price difference already counted for 2015 applecare. So price of (2015+applecare) - price of 2014 = 350usd. Do u guys still think 2015 upgrade worth 350usd?
 
Ic thanks for comment. For information the 2015+applecare price is 1115usd. 2014 one (include applecare also) is 850usd. Actually is 260usd differences only. Hmm..
 
apoenq said:
Hi thanks all for the reply. Yap I would like to buy apple care for the 2015. But the 300usd price difference already counted for 2015 applecare. So price of (2015+applecare) - price of 2014 = 350usd. Do u guys still think 2015 upgrade worth 350usd?
Click to expand...
I'd still opt for the new model over the older one even with adding in the cost of AppleCare.
 
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Hi guys thanks a lot for the respond! I may stick with 2015 now! Haha. Other comments are welcomed. :)
 
You made the right decision. The SSD is twice as fast on the 2015 model, which when you're doing video editing is a BIG deal.

And despite the 2014 model coming with Applecare, the fact that it has accumulated chips and dents in the 5 or so months the previous owner has owned it, means it's had a pretty rough life. Who knows what problems that could bring you down the road? And damage due to abuse is not covered by Applecare on their laptops. And if you do have to bring it in, some geniuses will look to those dents as an excuse not to repair anything, so you might have a hard time getting it serviced even for some obvious non-damage-related problems.

Between he damage and the fact that the owner wants to dump it on someone else already would be red flags for me, unless they had a really good reason (e.g. lost job/some other emergency has them hard up for cash).
 
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scaredpoet said:
You made the right decision. The SSD is twice as fast on the 2015 model, which when you're doing video editing is a BIG deal.

And despite the 2014 model coming with Applecare, the fact that it has accumulated chips and dents in the 5 or so months the previous owner has owned it, means it's had a pretty rough life. Who knows what problems that could bring you down the road? And damage due to abuse is not covered by Applecare on their laptops. And if you do have to bring it in, some geniuses will look to those dents as an excuse not to repair anything, so you might have a hard time getting it serviced even for some obvious non-damage-related problems.

Between he damage and the fact that the owner wants to dump it on someone else already would be red flags for me, unless they had a really good reason (e.g. lost job/some other emergency has them hard up for cash).
Click to expand...

thanks a lot for the reply. the seller saying because he wants to buy a new gaming laptop. hmm.. but yeah got it what you coming from but is apple geniuses really strict regarding the cosmetic issue until they won't repair ur macbook even it is under warranty?
 
You did well to keep the 2015 model. I'd not buy a computer with a dent, applecare or not. The dent will be there forever and that would bother me. Plus the 2015 gets the new touchpad, slightly faster RAM, and faster SSD.
 
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hi thanks for the advice but I am from singapore so i dont think I can buy it from B&H photo.
yap in the end, i choose early 2015 model. :) i think the force touch and ability to run 4K 60Hz are the one that convinced me.

one more question, when looking into the palm guard and KB protector, I am stumbled to this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203671 . So I am thinking to left my macbook naked.. >.< maybe I will keep cleaning it with microfiber cloth after using it. :) anyone got issue with palm guard and KB protector?
 
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