Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Should I upgrade now from 2012 rMBP to 2014 rMBP

E

emporiky

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 27, 2014
148
17
Hey guys, about 6 months ago I bought a second hand rMBP 2012 (base model 8gb; 256 storage), because I did not have the money to buy a new one.

Since the moment I got it I used to love my MacBook but I was constantly irritated by the lag/slowdown caused by the inability of HD 4000 to handle the retina display (especially now that Yosemite is out). Furthermore I know that Apple usually means quality but I bought my MBP without warranty so that is also a concern.

Now that I have the money I am considering buying a new rMBP (with education pricing) and selling my old one, hoping that the difference would be no more than 300£. That would solve the warranty and ui issues (i hope). Do you think it's worth it?
 
emporiky said:
Hey guys, about 6 months ago I bought a second hand rMBP 2012 (base model 8gb; 256 storage), because I did not have the money to buy a new one.

Since the moment I got it I used to love my MacBook but I was constantly irritated by the lag/slowdown caused by the inability of HD 4000 to handle the retina display (especially now that Yosemite is out). Furthermore I know that Apple usually means quality but I bought my MBP without warranty so that is also a concern.

Now that I have the money I am considering buying a new rMBP (with education pricing) and selling my old one, hoping that the difference would be no more than 300£. That would solve the warranty and ui issues (i hope). Do you think it's worth it?
Click to expand...
If you can hold out for broad well, I would wait for that.
 
I am afraid it would be released after I finish uni - after April (so no education pricing).
 
emporiky said:
Hey guys, about 6 months ago I bought a second hand rMBP 2012 (base model 8gb; 256 storage), because I did not have the money to buy a new one.

Since the moment I got it I used to love my MacBook but I was constantly irritated by the lag/slowdown caused by the inability of HD 4000 to handle the retina display (especially now that Yosemite is out). Furthermore I know that Apple usually means quality but I bought my MBP without warranty so that is also a concern.

Now that I have the money I am considering buying a new rMBP (with education pricing) and selling my old one, hoping that the difference would be no more than 300£. That would solve the warranty and ui issues (i hope). Do you think it's worth it?
Click to expand...

Either the mid-2014 or the late-2013 I would say. Not sure about the 14, but the 13 is a really good machine and handles Yosemite well so far. They both have Haswell processors and the same HD 5000 graphics. I got a late-13 with the education discount last year for around $1400 USD.

The general consensus around here is that if you need it buy now, and the sooner you sell your old device the more you'll get for it.

As for warranty, I've heard that there are differing opinions around here among Brits. We Americans push AppleCare since it extends the standard one year warranty to three years. In the UK you get consumer protection for two years or something like that. I'm no expert so you'd need someone else across the pond to confirm.
 
Do you guys (with Haswell mbps) encounter any UI lag with Yosemite, because that is the main issue for me with my current rMBP 2012?
 
Yes I have UI lag on my mid 2014 with nvidia.

It was there in Mavericks, it's worse in Yosemite. This could just be my machine, but I have read similar reports on this forum.

With education discount bought through apple's website you'll get 3 years of "official" warranty for free. EU law covers you for 6 years, but it's difficult to claim anything after 2 years.
 
Nr123*123 said:
Yes I have UI lag on my mid 2014 with nvidia.

It was there in Mavericks, it's worse in Yosemite. This could just be my machine, but I have read similar reports on this forum.

With education discount bought through apple's website you'll get 3 years of "official" warranty for free. EU law covers you for 6 years, but it's difficult to claim anything after 2 years.
Click to expand...

I guess if the lag problem is still there, it makes no sense for me to get the rMBP now :/ If a 1300$ laptop can't even handle its own OS properly .... Hopefully the Broadwell MBP will be powerful enough.
 
Nr123*123 said:
Yes I have UI lag on my mid 2014 with nvidia.

It was there in Mavericks, it's worse in Yosemite. This could just be my machine, but I have read similar reports on this forum.

With education discount bought through apple's website you'll get 3 years of "official" warranty for free. EU law covers you for 6 years, but it's difficult to claim anything after 2 years.
Click to expand...

Can you post a video. My brother is thinking about buying a new laptop and I want to help him
 
Not sure if this helps but I have the 2012 rMBP and I've noticed this lag also.

It has gotten better as time went on after the install. I also noticed a 100gb backup on my ssd show up? Maybe in the background my rMBP Yosemite install was compiling a backup?

In any event it is smoother now that Yosemite has bedded in but yeah, there is still some lag. Turning off translucency helps a lot. Not a huge difference between the integrated and the nvidia chip running..

I'm thinking this will be resolved or optimized with software updates from apple. They have done it in the past. I dont see how ivy bridge and haswell will warrant 1600£ more of my money, so I'm waiting, my RMBP still kicks ass.

edit: The reason I think it's software related is more so that the nvidia performs the same as the integrated 4000 chipset. Just a hunch.
 
Last edited:
jfredsilva said:
Can you post a video. My brother is thinking about buying a new laptop and I want to help him
Click to expand...

Not sure how to screen cast, but this is an example of what I'm talking about: http://youtu.be/t2XC1PxpCak

Especially bad on a big PDF. To the point where scrolling lags behind 2-3 pages. I don't think it's that the hardware can't handle it, because turning the dGPU makes no difference. I think the OS is just not optimised.
 
I have owned both.

I recently had my Mid '12 15" rMBP replaced with a brand new Mid '14 15" rMBP under AppleCare because it had developed faults that the Apple store couldn't fix, no matter what parts they threw at it.

I can certainly tell the difference between the integrated GPUs on both machines.

It is now my firm belief that the Intel 4000 graphics were overstretched driving the retina screen.

The Mid '14 is far more fluid in its operation. UI animations are smoother. If you can afford the jump to a newer computer, I would recommend it.

I know Nr123*123 is getting UI Lag (I've discussed it with him on another thread), however it is my belief that he has some sort of corruption on his installation. I'm not getting the same issues and find my computer fast and responsive.

Something I would definitely recommend that you do. Max out the RAM and get the largest storage you can afford.

Do this over getting a faster processor (unless you're looking at the 15") where going for the faster processor makes sense as you will also get a direct GPU as well as an integrated. (very useful for graphics intensive applications).

----------
Nr123*123 said:
Not sure how to screen cast, but this is an example of what I'm talking about: http://youtu.be/t2XC1PxpCak

Especially bad on a big PDF. To the point where scrolling lags behind 2-3 pages. I don't think it's that the hardware can't handle it, because turning the dGPU makes no difference. I think the OS is just not optimised.
Click to expand...

I just tried that and don't have that issue.
 
cjmillsnun said:
I have owned both.

I recently had my Mid '12 15" rMBP replaced with a brand new Mid '14 15" rMBP under AppleCare because it had developed faults that the Apple store couldn't fix, no matter what parts they threw at it.

I can certainly tell the difference between the integrated GPUs on both machines.

It is now my firm belief that the Intel 4000 graphics were overstretched driving the retina screen.

The Mid '14 is far more fluid in its operation. UI animations are smoother. If you can afford the jump to a newer computer, I would recommend it.

I know Nr123*123 is getting UI Lag (I've discussed it with him on another thread), however it is my belief that he has some sort of corruption on his installation. I'm not getting the same issues and find my computer fast and responsive.

Something I would definitely recommend that you do. Max out the RAM and get the largest storage you can afford.

Do this over getting a faster processor (unless you're looking at the 15") where going for the faster processor makes sense as you will also get a direct GPU as well as an integrated. (very useful for graphics intensive applications).

----------



I just tried that and don't have that issue.
Click to expand...

Hm thats strange, I think that there is a lot of mixed feedback, some say there is a bit of lag, others that there is not. I guess I can just wait for several months a just get the next one or I can probably get a 2014 one and return it if I don't see much of an improvement.
 
I should add it's definitely something you can live with. I'm going to try a clean install on the weekend and I'll let you know how I get on.
 
I know I can live with it, but I am dealing with the same thing right now, so if I buy the Hasswell model it just seem like it would not be much of an improvement.
 
emporiky said:
Do you guys (with Haswell mbps) encounter any UI lag with Yosemite, because that is the main issue for me with my current rMBP 2012?
Click to expand...

I have a 2.8 (mid-2014) rMBP and I notice occasional minor stuttering when on integrated graphics at 1920 x 1200 resolution ("more space"). I usually scroll quickly and have mission control switching at an accelerated speed (I think 0.2s).

Its not a show stopper by any means and doesn't really bother me.

As an aside, the laptop runs pretty cool for me and rarely heats up past 45C in daily computing tasks (email, browsing, etc).
 
Of course they are aware of the problem, but it's been there for more than 2 years now.
 
I suggest you buy the mid-2014 rMBP while you can buy it with the student discount. It won't cost much after selling your 2012 rMBP. Again, you'll be able to sell your 2014 rMBP next year for nearly what you paid for it (because of the student discount) and get a 2015 rMBP if it will offer any improvement that's important to you. In other words, buying a rMBP with a student discount is almost always a good deal.
 
mcarling said:
I suggest you buy the mid-2014 rMBP while you can buy it with the student discount. It won't cost much after selling your 2012 rMBP. Again, you'll be able to sell your 2014 rMBP next year for nearly what you paid for it (because of the student discount) and get a 2015 rMBP if it will offer any improvement that's important to you. In other words, buying a rMBP with a student discount is almost always a good deal.
Click to expand...
I was considering this as well, but at the end, what happens is an endless cycle of buying and selling. Furthermore I don't really think that the new rMBP is a huge update over my current one. The only thing that is tempting me is the warranty - right now I don't have any, whereas I will be covered as soon as I get one.

EDIT:
Just got it :D I am sick of playing the waiting game for something better to come up, so I eventually decided to go for it. If for any reason I am not happy with it, I have two weeks to return it.
 
Last edited:
Just an update of what happened - I got my mid 2014 13'' rMBP, which was lagging heavily, replaced it with another, which was better but there was a light leak and returned it as well (I know I am a bit pretentious, but I expect from a £1000 laptop to be flawless, if not perfect).

At the end got a refurb late 2013 rMBP 15'' (base) with no issues so far! It is was buttery smooth on Mavericks, not so much on Yosemite (had to turn of transparency, cause for me any UI lag is very annoying). :)
 
emporiky said:
Just an update of what happened - I got my mid 2014 13'' rMBP, which was lagging heavily, replaced it with another, which was better but there was a light leak and returned it as well (I know I am a bit pretentious, but I expect from a £1000 laptop to be flawless, if not perfect).

At the end got a refurb late 2013 rMBP 15'' (base) with no issues so far! It is was buttery smooth on Mavericks, not so much on Yosemite (had to turn of transparency, cause for me any UI lag is very annoying). :)
Click to expand...
For minimum UI lag the macbook air is the way to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back