Torn: 2017 MBpro 15" or 2015 MBPro 15"

[turbineseaplane]

I think generally the positives outweigh the negatives in the 2017 vs 2015 comparison at this stage - just my $.02

Tell that to anyone who's had to waste exceptional amounts of time and effort on multiple keyboard repairs.

I really wish people wouldn't simplify things down to "it's old, this one is new, get the new one".
They are tools and finding the best tool for the job and the one that will be most reliable is arguably the most important thing to consider.

 

[maflynn]

I really wish people wouldn't simplify things down to "it's old, this one is new, get the new one".

sometimes it is just that simple. You may not like it, but I think dropping nearly 2k on such a old machine is not a good use of money.

 

[Elcompa]

sometimes it is just that simple. You may not like it, but I think dropping nearly 2k on such a old machine is not a good use of money.

This^. Every computer has it pluses and minuses. And almost always, I prefer new over old as it is, usually better in most ways. Althought I understand resistance to change and wanting the familiar model over a new model that's a bit different, technology moves fast and i prefer up to date. And if you are not in love with it, in a year there will be something that superseeds it...trade up then. Nothing stays the same, everything moves forward, always something new just around the corner. So, even if the new model has a quirk or two, I generally prefer it over old tech.

 

[Hitrate]

Speaking of live audio and the 16/17 models...Anyone know the % gained in choosing the 2017 over the 2016(15) ?? I'm talking running live monitored audio streams with ultra low buffer due to unwanted latency and lots of dsp effects instruments and tracks running, basically all the thing can handle without clicks and pops etc. I still haven't seen clear evidence tested in this realm unfortunately it's always overlooked and people talk more about the keyboard and video editing *sigh*

 

[BenTrovato]

2017 in space gray. Glorious

 

[turbineseaplane]

sometimes it is just that simple. You may not like it, but I think dropping nearly 2k on such a old machine is not a good use of money.

And sometimes it's not.
The most appropriate tool for the job at the time is more critical to some.

Just suggesting "buy the newer one" isn't much of a helpful analysis, no offense. That's especially true when you're one caveat was "aside from the potential issues with the keyboard"...

That's a major caveat.

Obviously we don't see eye to eye.
All good
Cheers

 

[newellj]

sometimes it is just that simple. You may not like it, but I think dropping nearly 2k on such a old machine is not a good use of money.

Yeah, well, there is that (the multiple $K). I have been on the verge of replacing my 2015 13" rMBP. The 2017 is a non-starter, if only because of keyboard reliability issues (and secondarily because I still hate that keyboard, speaking as one of the first owners of a rMB - which I realize had the Gen 1 version of the new keyboard design).

I ordered a refurb "replacement" 2015, but as configured it was >$2K and your point was on my mind. I think I'm going to keep going with my original 2015 and just see what happens when it comes off AC next spring. I may be better off taking the repair risk on that machine and seeing what happens - when, or if, anything happens. Hopefully by the time I actually truly need a new machine we will have a truly product-improved version of the flat keyboard.

 

[Charlesje]

Speaking of live audio and the 16/17 models...Anyone know the % gained in choosing the 2017 over the 2016(15) ?? I'm talking running live monitored audio streams with ultra low buffer due to unwanted latency and lots of dsp effects instruments and tracks running, basically all the thing can handle without clicks and pops etc. I still haven't seen clear evidence tested in this realm unfortunately it's always overlooked and people talk more about the keyboard and video editing *sigh*

I suspect they would would perform equally well in low latency situations. In theory the 2017 should be a little faster, but in practice I’ve seen people mention thermal throttling behaviour, meaning lower performance in those situations with typically sustained max cpu load. You can look up repetitive cinebench r15 cpu tests (notebookckeck reviews eg) if you want to dig into this matter furthef. I’m not aware of any extensive comparisons for DAW use however. It would surely be interesting. I only tested the 2015 vs the 2016 mbp in DAW use.

 

[Melbourne Park]

I suspect they would would perform equally well in low latency situations. In theory the 2017 should be a little faster, but in practice I’ve seen people mention thermal throttling behaviour, meaning lower performance in those situations with typically sustained max cpu load. You can look up repetitive cinebench r15 cpu tests (notebookckeck reviews eg) if you want to dig into this matter furthef. I’m not aware of any extensive comparisons for DAW use however. It would surely be interesting. I only tested the 2015 vs the 2016 mbp in DAW use.

Depends on the software being used. For instance Avid Pro Tools doesn't support current MacBook Pros:
Last Updated : October 25, 2017
Products Affected : Pro_Tools


Pro Tools 12 System Requirements
System Requirements and Compatibility with Pro Tools 12 Software

Late 2016 13" MacBookPro13,1 Dual-Core i5 'Skylake' 2.0 GHz
Late 2016 13" MacBookPro13,2 Dual-Core i5 'Skylake' 2.9 GHz
Late 2016 13" MacBookPro13,2 Dual-Core i7 'Skylake' 3.3 GHz
Late 2016 15" MacBookPro13,3 Quad-Core i7 'Skylake' 2.9 GHz

When people start talking about CPU tests and thermal issues, it all depends. A 2017 has far superior CPU performance in multi-threading; its SSD access is spectacularly faster. There's been a test that showed with Photoshop, the GPU slowed down iteration after iteration of a sharpening sequence, due probably to the GPU not cooling as well as the 2015's. The issue though is that the first sharpening blew the 2015 away; after doing the same test over and over and over, the 2017 eventually became slower. The issue is how realistic such a test really is. And video work hasn't shown the same slow downs, that I have seen anyway. But of course, with video, the SSD is just a huge advantage to a 2017. And Thunderbolt 3 also is a big advantage for both the 2016 and 2017 machines compared to 2015 and before.

 

[dilgreene]

Depends on the software being used. For instance Avid Pro Tools doesn't support current MacBook Pros

Avid is incredibly slow about testing and officially supporting new hardware. It took them about 6 months to add the 2016 Pro’s, and they say they’re still testing the 2017’s. I have colleagues using 17’s who haven’t had problems.

 

[Count Blah]

2015's are holding value very very well.
There's a lesson there.

Same lesson was "learned" when the 2012 MacMini ended up costing it's weight in gold, in response to the disappointment that is the 2014 Mac Mini. Apple still has yet to do anything in response.

 

[newellj]

Same lesson was "learned" when the 2012 MacMini ended up costing it's weight in gold, in response to the disappointment that is the 2014 Mac Mini. Apple still has yet to do anything in response.

Arguably, they have. Arguably, they've discontinued the Mini.

I hear what you're saying. I don't think that Apple would think that they could do that with laptops. Then again, you never know.

 

[dilgreene]

Dunno if anyone cares (or ever did), but Avid has updated the compatibility.

Supported Processors:
Mid 2017 Retina 13" MacBookPro14,1 Dual-Core i5 'Kaby Lake' 2.3 GHz
Mid 2017 Retina 13" MacBookPro14,2 Dual-Core i5 'Kaby Lake' 3.3 GHz
Mid 2017 Retina 13" MacBookPro14,2 Dual-Core i7 'Kaby Lake' 3.5 GHz
Mid 2017 Retina 15" MacBookPro14,3 Quad-Core i7 'Kaby Lake' 3.1 GHz

 

[ryannel2003]

sometimes it is just that simple. You may not like it, but I think dropping nearly 2k on such a old machine is not a good use of money.

That's exactly why I returned a Mid 2015 15" model and swapped it for a clearance 2016 model this past summer. Regardless on how people feel about the keyboard and the lack of ports at the end of the day the new models have better displays, a great set of speakers, faster SSD's and it's just beautiful.

My MacBook Pro is six months old now and I haven't experienced any keyboard issues on my machine. It has been pretty flawless save for some software glitches.

 

[potatis]

As for the SSD R/W speeds they are 1500 MB/s on the 2015 MBP and 3000/2500 MB/s on the 2017 MBP, right? So the 2017 would be 24/20Gbit/s, which is close to Thunderbolt 2 on the 2015 MBP. If you don't buy enough internal SSD for your video editing needs you would want a fast external SSD which would perform similarly on both MBP's.

With that I mean a Thunderbolt 2 SSD on the MBP 2015 would have 20Gbps write, which is the same as the internal 2017 SSD. Not sure if those are cheap or if there are faster ones. But future MBP's will perhaps have updated internal SSD speed equivalent or closer to TB3 max speed. Internally, the 2017 is faster. If 256 GB's enough.
Otherwise it's either pay more for 2017 internal SSD or pay more for external TB2 SSD for the 2015 MBP.

Edit: Just looked, a QNAP TX-500P with 5x Samsung EVO 850 250GB is about $1100, about the same as the price difference between the 2015MBP with 256GB SSD and the 2017MBP with 1TB SSD.

As for the screens, there will surely be further updates that will make the 2017 seem old. HDR, OLED, true 10bit etc

Edit: The 2017MBP probably has a brighter and nicer screen, but keep in mind icons and wallpapers could be tweaked for the wider color gamut, if you don't utilize it for DCI-P3 video editing, then nothing takes advantage of it. Perhaps your own photos shot with iPhone 7/8/X.