Updating MacBook Pro 2012 non-Retina to...?

[PiterxR]

I'm using 2012 non-Retina MacBook Pro - i5, 8gb ram and SSD drive. In overall I'm quite satisfied with how it performs, but when I play with RAW files in LR and export them Macbook starts to show it's age. It runs much slower and temperatures are going high quite fast. I'm not interested in new Macbooks, but I would be more into MacBook Pro 2015 with i5, 8/16gb ram and SSD. But - would such change result in increased performance and overall better experience ? Would this be a game changer and Macbook would be much snappier or would I simply feel some difference, but not that significant ? Is it worth in general to shift from 2012 to 2015 Macbook ?

 

[vince22]

I'm using 2012 non-Retina MacBook Pro - i5, 8gb ram and SSD drive. In overall I'm quite satisfied with how it performs, but when I play with RAW files in LR and export them Macbook starts to show it's age. It runs much slower and temperatures are going high quite fast. I'm not interested in new Macbooks, but I would be more into MacBook Pro 2015 with i5, 8/16gb ram and SSD. But - would such change result in increased performance and overall better experience ? Would this be a game changer and Macbook would be much snappier or would I simply feel some difference, but not that significant ? Is it worth in general to shift from 2012 to 2015 Macbook ?

if you can find 2015 15" MBP (16gb ram) for $500 - $600 definitely worth, replace it with Nvme PCie 3.0 x4, Retina display alone its significant upgrade.

 

[PiterxR]

I'm looking more into 13" version I compared benchmarks of these computers (MBP 2012 vs 2015, both 13") and the difference is not that big, so I think such change is not the best possible.

 

[justashooter]

Photographer here, using the same MacBook Pro. I don't use LR, Photoshop for me. Keep an eye on the activity monitor while you are working with RAW files to see the ram and cpu usage. Another 8 gb of ram may help, these 2012 MBP's will go to 16gb ram. Is the 15 inch going to me a game changer, NO. Specs are practically the same (not sure how many cores the 15 has tho).

 

[PiterxR]

15 inch is a no-go for me - I'm staying on 13". And MBP 2015 13" has 2 cores, same as my current one. But thanks for your post - next time I'll play with photos I'll look more into activity monitor to see how things are going there w/o data from activity monitor I would say it's the processor having hard times with photos, but maybe it's ram...?🙄

 

[Frieg]

I'm in the same league atm, except that I have maxed out my mid 2012 to 16 gb already. In my experience the really dated hd 4000 is the limiting factor more often than the cpu.

Same for me, 15 inch no-go, too big, also 2016-2019 13 inch Models due to flex cable and keyboard engineering farts.
so that leaves me with the 13 inch 2015 16 gb at the moment as the only viable upgrade for me, but as 16 gb Models were BTO and thus have ridiculous used prices here in Germany the money would be better invested in a windows laptop with oh so much more performance than this dated 2 core macbook with, as you said, not much gain in cpu performance.

so the only option for me is to wait for a new 13 inch Model, but if they come up with some overpriced Intel heat plate garbage than oh well, off to other manufacturers and ryzen 4000 Hackingtosh here I come.

 

[motm95]

I've got a mid-2012 i5/16GB/1TB MBP and although it's a fine machine and still trucking along with no issues, I've been mulling an upgrade. Possibly a 2020 MBA or a 4th gen 2018/2019 MBP.

 

[PiterxR]

Yeah, I was looking into MBA 2020, but the thermals and not-so-proper cooling are pushing me away on the other hand new MBP 13 will cost quite a bit and most probably I will not buy this one...so this leaves me with 2019 MBP, but it would not be the most desired choice for me. Or maybe should I just leave 2012 till it dies..?

 

[ocnitsa]

I suspect it would be a matter of some difference...I'm coming from a 2012 retina MBP that was i7 with 16GB of RAM and SSD. I'm on the i9 16 inch MBP now with 32GB of RAM...It's the matter of a lot of small differences adding up to an overall undeniable improvement.

 

[venom600]

I don't honestly think you'd see a dramatic improvement in performance. The processors from 2012-2015 didn't see tremendous differences in performance in the real world. The major difference would be the SSD, but you already have one, and maybe RAM. If performance is your concern and you want to see significant gains you need to either look larger (a 15" quad core) or much newer.

I should also mention that you're using the old full size unibody 13 which is heavier than any retina 15" and even heavier than the 16". It is also much thicker, so it may not be much smaller in overall volume. If weight is a concern moving a newer 15" would give you the performance you need without anymore weight.

 

[vince22]

15 inch is a no-go for me - I'm staying on 13". And MBP 2015 13" has 2 cores, same as my current one. But thanks for your post - next time I'll play with photos I'll look more into activity monitor to see how things are going there w/o data from activity monitor I would say it's the processor having hard times with photos, but maybe it's ram...?🙄

i have both of these 2012 and 2015 13" MacBook Pro, 2015 13" upgradable cheaper faster up to 4TB NVMe PCie SSD, wireless 802.11Ac plus retina display really worth imho.

 

[PiterxR]

Wow, that's a really huge difference with disk speed. Not that big for the processor though thanks for this comparison - I'm back in the thinking process now

 

[PiterxR]

So, couple of days later I ended up buying a used, but in perfect condition, MBP 2015 13" Thanks to Apple service it has a new keyboard, screen and battery I'm enjoying it so far. Performance-wise is not a huge step forward, but it's definitely faster. Plus the Retina...oh man, no I understand why you never go back once you work on Retina