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the macbook was just refereshed with kaby lake is it worth buying?
- Thread starter esaelias
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No. Wait until next year and then wait again because another new one will come after that. Then keep waiting for the next new one.
In other words: Don't buy a new computer ever again.
In other words: Don't buy a new computer ever again.
Why have you brought a computer and then only after are asking these questions?
The big difference is 2GB RAM vs. 4GB RAM, giving ~50% better performance. If that is something that is important to you then I'd hope you would have brought the faster one to begin with. As you didn't, I can imagine this isn't something that concerns you and you're now just wondering if you should have gotten the better one. The answer is basically, get what you can afford and be happy with it. You can get a maxed out one if you want and then use it as a paperweight, really depends on what you do and how you use it.
Also they just released the 2017, you'll be safe for the next 12 months when they introduce another incremental update which will likely be about 20% more powerful. I doubt that you need 40% the power of the current machine so you should be very safe indeed.
What do you use the system for? Do you or will you do any GPU-intensive tasks other than editing? (FWIW, IIRC you asked a little while back about gaming on a MBP - if you are going to use the system for gaming, than IMO it is probably not a bad idea to get the higher spec GPU.)
That really isn't THE "big difference".
The two differences are that the 555 offers raw performance of 1.3 tFLOPS. The 560 is 1.9. Thats a 40% advantage. Thats a big difference, along with the video memory.
That being said OP, if you didn't really think about it to begin with, you probably didn't need it.
I'm really trying to not judge...
Well, maybe the opposite...
What kind of kickass stuff do you do that requires always being on the bleeding edge of computer power?
I mean, I'm still plugging away on a five-year-old, non-Retina MB Pro and I don't feel like the computer is holding me back at all. Maybe I need to work harder and do cooler sh*t.
1 week later "I decided I didn't need the extra power so I returned it for a top end 13", will I regret it?" ... "Why are these things so expensive?!".
OP: honestly just use the thing, people seem to have this notion that they need super computers in order to run 10 tabs in Safari these days. The truth is, unless your workload changes significantly year on year, you could probably do what you do now with a 5 year old computer just fine. So this computer will last you 5+ years regardless of what specs it has, if you can afford it it's usually worthwhile to have but don't be tricked into thinking that faster CPU is going to make any noticeable difference to your workload.
Those are just synthetic numbers that may or may not translate to a noticeable benefit to the end user depending on the use case. If for example someone only uses their MBP to play games like League of Legends ... That "40%" difference doesn't translate to 40% better performance necessarily.
i have never had a macbook but i use it for work, i like the aesthetics of the macbook...im sure if i decided to keep this for two years it will still be as good as it is now?
It will always be as good as it is now. It'll probably get better, too, with OS updates over the years.
But is that your real question?
I had a 2017 15" MBP which cost more than 3000 bucks. A few days ago I returned it and realized that I do not need it desperately enough. I am back to my 2014 13" MBP now and I am happy. Sometimes you think that you need new devices even though you really dont. Now I will wait it out and get a cutting edge device in 2018 / 2019 instead when I really need to upgrade. 
well the truth is that.....is this the macbook with enough changes that will last me a few years...e.g is this jus a quick change or a major change....... iphone 5s change to iphone 6....then that iphone 6s came....then the iphone 7....so it took three years after a ,major change
so what im saying is this macbool the iphone 6 where apart from some speed changes minor changes the next macbook will be like the iphpne 6s...small change...looks same
hope you understand
Performance-wise, the 2017 model is an incremental upgrade over the 2016, which was already an extremely powerful laptop. As for the design, it's been refreshed less than 1y ago so it's expected to stay the same for a while.
But the point is: why do you keep worrying about it? From your posts it sounds like money was burning a hole in your pockets, so you bought an incredibly overspecced machine just for the sake of having the latest and greatest. You arguably don't need it, but if you could afford it then good for you! What other confirmation are you looking for?
The short answer to your question: your Mac is overpowered, and will most certainly last you several years.
It may not translate into 40% performance, but it will be quite noticeable. There is no may. Look at any benchmark. I think you may be suffering from a classic case of "I was wrong, and I don't want to look stupid".
Now that Apple is firmly in AMD's GPU camp, you won't see a big increase in performance for some time. Mobile GPU's tend to lag behind desktop GPU updates and 7nm GPU's are at least several years away. You're going to be good with that 560 for some time.
Mobile GPU's are always more difficult to extract power from than desktops, same as CPU's. Way more space to fix heating issues, and effectively unlimited power. Having said that, I think mobile GPU's are becoming less necessary, you need enough power to do most of the things you need to do on the go. But with external GPU's finally a reality, it makes more sense to limit the GPU for power consumption reasons and purchase an external for when you actually need it. As it's 100% easier to get meaningful performance out of an external than a mobile variant.
But external GPU's are not a mainstream solution. People won't be spending $1000-2000 on a LAPTOP and then spending 500 more on an external GPU package.
Another rather big point... using an external GPU... isn't portable. If you need an external GPU to do work.... buy a desktop. Otherwise, it is a neat experiment I suppose.
As I said you need a dGPU good enough. But trying to get anywhere near the power of a full size GPU is a huge battle of diminishing returns. So no it isn't portable, obviously, but it does provide the power for when you need it. And the majority of people get a laptop because it's portable, not because they can sit in Starbucks for a few hours working. If you need the power of a GPU you should buy a desktop, however the eGPU solution provides the best of both worlds.
All I'm saying is it's incredibly unlikely we'll ever reach any kind of parity between the two, and would likely result in reduced battery life and increased heat emission. So putting a reasonably good GPU alongside an eGPU just works.
I'm thinking the same as you. I want a 2017 MBP-tb 15" $2399, but do I really need to spend that much for basic computing, so now I'm considering a 2017 MBP non-tb 13" 256SSD for $1499. I really like the 15" footprint, but I have a 2011 MBA now and feel I can easily be content with a 13" MBP non-tb.I had a 2017 15" MBP which cost more than 3000 bucks. A few days ago I returned it and realized that I do not need it desperately enough. I am back to my 2014 13" MBP now and I am happy. Sometimes you think that you need new devices even though you really dont. Now I will wait it out and get a cutting edge device in 2018 / 2019 instead when I really need to upgrade.