Should I Upgrade My Mid-2012 15"

[ChopinGuy]

So I currently have a CMBP 15" w/non-glare screen -- it's the mid-2012 version with the 2.3i7 processor. I run 16GB of RAM and dual SSDs in this machine.

I'm a musician and use MainStage, also do video/design work in After Effects, Premier, Final Cut, Photoshop....

Question is, with the update to the 15" models today -- is this a compelling reason for me to upgrade. I see a lot of talk about waiting for the next generation Intels.

My machine for the most part runs great -- sometimes the video works bogs it down as I only have the 512MB video card in this model...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Speedman100]

If it runs fast enough for you right now, then there's probably no reason to upgrade right now. Unless you could really benefit from the Retina display or something.

 

[xiwong]

So I currently have a CMBP 15" w/non-glare screen -- it's the mid-2012 version with the 2.3i7 processor. I run 16GB of RAM and dual SSDs in this machine.

I'm a musician and use MainStage, also do video/design work in After Effects, Premier, Final Cut, Photoshop....

Question is, with the update to the 15" models today -- is this a compelling reason for me to upgrade. I see a lot of talk about waiting for the next generation Intels.

My machine for the most part runs great -- sometimes the video works bogs it down as I only have the 512MB video card in this model...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I have the exact same model as you with the same upgrades. The 512MB GPU (which Apple special ordered from Nvidia to cripple the base model) is what makes this computer slow.

I've been waiting for a model to upgrade to, but I would not purchase now because the new CPUs have not been released. Haswell quads are slightly faster, but not enough for you to see a large difference. Graphically speaking, the last gen 750m was a 650m (so the only improvements would be more vRAM). Benchmarks aren't out yet for the R9 M370x, so that remains to be seen.

I am waiting for a model, Mac or PC, with new CPUs and GPUs. I can't bring myself to upgrade to something with a CPU I could have bought 2 years ago. As you have a somewhat Adobe-oriented workload, it may be useful to consider a model with a Nvidia GPU for CUDA (which might not happen). Or, if you are willing to change from MainStage, Adobe CC runs leaps and bounds better on Windows.

 

[Fishrrman]

This update seems to be a "running-in-place" model with very incremental improvements.

If the Macbook you have now is working OK, I'd "hold out" until the NEXT update, which may offer something much more substantial...

 

[ChopinGuy]

Thank you all -- this is more or less what I was thinking.

I recently edited a video project in 4k and it was definitely bogging my system down despite having all the 4k footage on the second SSD.

I try to do all my video editing on my PC system that my church provides me which is a HP Z820 workstation that has a hex-core XEON, 48GB RAM, and pro-level NVIDIA card.

So some video / after effects issues, for MainStage my system runs my large sample libraries (30GB library just for one piano, for example) -- just fine.

So sounds like I might be best suited holding out to see what comes later in the year...if anything...

Seems like apple is quite behind, or really hindered by Intel's slow process...