Upgrade from rMBP 2013 to 2018 MBP?

[stormchasejg]

hi all,
I’m currently considering purchasing a new 2018 MacBook Pro to upgrade my late 2013 retina.
I’m starting a computer science degree in about 6 weeks time so need to make a decision on whether to get one, my current system is a 13” 2.6Ghz i5, 256gb SSD and I’d be looking to upgrade to the following configuration

• 2.7GHz quad-core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
• Retina display with True Tone
• Touch Bar and Touch ID
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
• 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
• 512GB SSD storage
• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports

The main reason I’m looking to upgrade is because I know for my course I’ll need to work on different OS’s in virtual machines which I’ve tried to do at present but due to the small storage capacity I have had to remove them and I’ve tried external SSDs to run from but the performance wasn’t great and caused issues when doing it. I also do a bit of app development in Xcode and sometimes edit films/videos in FCPX and it’s in this area my old system shows its age.

My only concern with this new MBP is the price at £2140 (inc education discount) it a lot of money even though I’ve been offered £540 for my old system it’s still £1600 I’ll have to find which family said they’d loan it to me but I’m not sure whether I should be adding more outgoings to my account before I start uni when my only income will be from student finance and savings??

 

[Chairman.Jobbie]

I moved from 13" 2013 to 15" 2018 and im very glad I did despite the massive cost - for some reason im much more productive on the 15" screen. I think it reduces general mental fatigue having more visual space. Anyway, nobody can advise you about your financial situation.

Who offered you £540 for your old machine? I have the same but with 512 - didn't think it was worth that much. I was going to keep it if I can find a use case for it - as I was thinking there wasn't much resale value, maybe Im wrong.

 

[stormchasejg]

I moved from 13" 2013 to 15" 2018 and im very glad I did despite the massive cost - for some reason im much more productive on the 15" screen. I think it reduces general mental fatigue having more visual space. Anyway, nobody can advise you about your financial situation.

Who offered you £540 for your old machine? I have the same but with 512 - didn't think it was worth that much. I was going to keep it if I can find a use case for it - as I was thinking there wasn't much resale value, maybe Im wrong.

It was family who offered that much otherwise private sale looked the best option, I know someone who purchase a 2012 old style MBP for £600 last year at a computer Fayre so they must go for more it’s just recycle that pays peanuts for them

 

[blackreplica]

I suppose since your computer is already 5 years old, it would be rather easy to justify replacing it. If you are wondering if the answer as to whether the new computer will be much faster than your old one, the answer is definitely yes. I myself went from a 2013 13 inch to a 2018 15 inch and am blown away with the performance increase. But to offer a small reality check, yes I absolutely agree the new macs are horrendously expensive and given your circumstances, if I was at all able to get by using the laptop I currently had, I would try to do so. If needed you could always upgrade next year or the year after. Sounds to me you might be able to survive with a large external drive alongside your MBP.