Used MacBook Pro 15” 2015 or New 2018?

[someonea93]

Hi,

I found a used MacBook Pro 15” 2015 with 50 battery cycles count (i7 2.5GHz - 4 cores / 16GB / 512GB / 2GB GPU) $1414

Or a new MacBook Pro 15” 2018 (i7 2.2GHz - 6 cores / 16GB / 512GB / 4GB GPU) $2337

* Prices with TAX 7%

I’m a Computer Science student and I work also lightly on Photoshop and I need to run Windows on Parallels Desktop.

Which one you recommend me to buy if I’m planning to have the new generation in 2020 or 2021?

Will I lose the same amount in 2015 & 2018 model if I sell it after 3 years?

I’m really hesitant.




****** UPDATE ******

I decided to go with 2018 15” model

2.2 Ghz / 1TB / 555x

Do you suggest to upgrade the RAM to 32Gb?

Will I notice the difference between 16 & 32Gb?

 

[fenderbass146]

I just got a open box 2017 MacBook Pro 15" base with 1 year warranty from bestbuy for $1400...seems really steep for a 2015 used imo.

 

[someonea93]

I just got a open box 2017 MacBook Pro with 1 year warranty from bestbuy for $1400...seems really steep for a 2015 used imo.

I’m afraid to go with 2016-2017 because of the keyboard issues. That’s why I looked for either 2015 or 2018.

Anyhow, I think you’ve got a great price!
Good luck!

 

[fenderbass146]

I’m afraid to go with 2016-2017 because of the keyboard issues. That’s why I looked for either 2015 or 2018.

Anyhow, I think you’ve got a great price!
Good luck!

Fair, I will say though, I've had both a 2016 13" and not the 17 15" without any issues on the keyboard. There is also a replacement program so I wouldn't get to hung up on that personally.

 

[PowerMike G5]

This is tough. I've been contemplating upgrading to the 2018 model for the extra power for my video work, but the 2015 model really is good with the keyboard, ports, etc.

If you're not using very demanding programs that utilize multiple CPU cores and the GPU, I think the 2015 will serve you well, given the almost $1K in savings as well.

 

[someonea93]

Fair, I will say though, I've had both a 2016 13" and not the 17 15" without any issues on the keyboard. There is also a replacement program so I wouldn't get to hung up on that personally.

It sounds great that the keyboard works fine with you.

I’ve tried to search about 2017 model but I couldn’t find a good price until now.
[doublepost=1542647729][/doublepost]

This is tough. I've been contemplating upgrading to the 2018 model for the extra power for my video work, but the 2015 model really is good with the keyboard, ports, etc.

If you're not using very demanding programs that utilize multiple CPU cores and the GPU, I think the 2015 will serve you well, given the almost $1K in savings as well.

I don’t play games and I don’t do any of videos editing. My opinion just to keep this machine until the new generation/design of MacBook Pro.

 

[Tenashus1]

I love my 2015, 13" MBP. Got all the ports, nice touchpad, great keyboard. My battery swelled and had to be replaced by Apple, but the computer's going strong. I don't do very heavy lifting with it, but it still works great for me. And, NO DONGLES. Yes!

 

[BigJohno]

Hi,


I found a used MacBook Pro 15” 2015 with 50 battery cycles count (i7 2.5GHz - 4 cores / 16GB / 512GB / 2GB GPU) $1414


Or a new MacBook Pro 15” 2018 (i7 2.2GHz - 6 cores / 16GB / 512GB / 4GB GPU) $2337


* Prices with TAX 7%


I’m a Computer Science student and I work also lightly on Photoshop and I need to run Windows on Parallels Desktop.


Which one should I choose?

Buy the new one from B&H. No tax

 

[someonea93]

I love my 2015, 13" MBP. Got all the ports, nice touchpad, great keyboard. My battery swelled and had to be replaced by Apple, but the computer's going strong. I don't do very heavy lifting with it, but it still works great for me. And, NO DONGLES. Yes!

So as I’ve noticed that the main reason to buy 2015 model is just for PORTS availability. For me it doesn’t matter because I don’t need to connect any additional devices all the time, just rearly.
[doublepost=1542808893][/doublepost]

Buy the new one from B&H. No tax

The price that I’ve got for 2018 is less than B&H.
[doublepost=1542809083][/doublepost]Which one you recommend me to buy if I’m planning to have the new generation in 2020 or 2021?

Will I lose the same amount in 2015 & 2018 model if I sell it after 3 years?

I’m really hesitant.

 

[puma1552]

Buy the new one from B&H. No tax

Depends on the state. They charge tax for MN at least.
[doublepost=1542814512][/doublepost]

So as I’ve noticed that the main reason to buy 2015 model is just for PORTS availability. For me it doesn’t matter because I don’t need to connect any additional devices all the time, just rearly.
[doublepost=1542808893][/doublepost]
The price that I’ve got for 2018 is less than B&H.
[doublepost=1542809083][/doublepost]Which one you recommend me to buy if I’m planning to have the new generation in 2020 or 2021?

Will I lose the same amount in 2015 & 2018 model if I sell it after 3 years?

I’m really hesitant.

It's hard to say. If they fix the issues with the current MBP in the next generation, both machines will see significant resale drops.

On face value, a base 15" from 2018 for all intents and purposes should be worth more regardless, but you never know - might find that person that is dying for ports and willing to pay a premium for your used 2015.

 

[PowerMike G5]

Yes, primarily use of ports and the physical aspect (the biggest being the keyboard) are the differentiators. Of course, along with price.

I would've said the price premium up to the new model would be worth it if you were going to utilize its power. But I don't think you'll notice any real speed differences based on how you plan to use it. So is it worth keeping the roughly $1K in saving? Quite possibly...

I could really use the speed boost from a top-end 2018 model, but even so, I'm still contemplating if its worth the price premium over the 2015 model I have now. Hmmm..

 

[TokMok3]

Hi,


I found a used MacBook Pro 15” 2015 with 50 battery cycles count (i7 2.5GHz - 4 cores / 16GB / 512GB / 2GB GPU) $1414


Or a new MacBook Pro 15” 2018 (i7 2.2GHz - 6 cores / 16GB / 512GB / 4GB GPU) $2337


* Prices with TAX 7%


I’m a Computer Science student and I work also lightly on Photoshop and I need to run Windows on Parallels Desktop.


Which one you recommend me to buy if I’m planning to have the new generation in 2020 or 2021?

Will I lose the same amount in 2015 & 2018 model if I sell it after 3 years?

I’m really hesitant.

If you are a Computer Science student you need the 2018 model, because you are going to need all the performance possible to run machine learning, quantum algorithms and virtual machines... Don't go cheap on this one, the 2018 will be a really good investment in your education. You are going to need that extra power that a 2018 model offers. The (mid)2015 15 MacBook Pro is a powerful device, but keep in mind that there are 2 models, with the Iris graphic card and the other with the Radeon R9 graphics card. This machine is SDD upgradable for performance and extra space. The original ssd read and write speed is 1900/1200 with the upgrade ($300) those numbers can increase, which is very nice.

 

[jerryk]

If you are a Computer Science student you need the 2018 model, because you are going to need all the performance possible to run machine learning, quantum algorithms and virtual machines... Don't go cheap on this one, the 2018 will be a really good investment in your education. You are going to need that extra power that a 2018 model offers. The (mid)2015 15 MacBook Pro is a powerful device, but keep in mind that there are 2 models, with the Iris graphic card and the other with the Radeon R9 graphics card. This machine is SDD upgradable for performance and extra space. The original ssd read and write speed is 1900/1200 with the upgrade ($300) those numbers can increase, which is very nice.

Machine Learning (and associated AI) will not benefit much from the newer machine. The problem is the use of the AMD GPU. Training large models needs GPU acceleration. And unfortunately that means Nvidia CUDA support.

Most of the time, I can run small test models on my 2018 MBP 15" to make sure I have not made any boneheaded errors. But for anything serious I have to switch to my Windows/Linux desktop machine with 2 Nvidia GPU cards, or use some sort of cloud solution like AWS, Azure or GCP.

 

[adamh10]

Personally I would recommend a new 2018 model. I recently upgraded from my 2015 to a 2018 and the difference is night and day.

 

[someonea93]

Personally I would recommend a new 2018 model. I recently upgraded from my 2015 to a 2018 and the difference is night and day.

Why have you made your decision to upgrade to 2018?

May I ask about your work on this machine?
[doublepost=1542903357][/doublepost]

If you are a Computer Science student you need the 2018 model, because you are going to need all the performance possible to run machine learning, quantum algorithms and virtual machines... Don't go cheap on this one, the 2018 will be a really good investment in your education. You are going to need that extra power that a 2018 model offers. The (mid)2015 15 MacBook Pro is a powerful device, but keep in mind that there are 2 models, with the Iris graphic card and the other with the Radeon R9 graphics card. This machine is SDD upgradable for performance and extra space. The original ssd read and write speed is 1900/1200 with the upgrade ($300) those numbers can increase, which is very nice.

The performance of 2015 will be enough for me because I already have 2011 15” and it was good in processing my work before I faced the dGPU problem. The main things that were bothering me are “storage space (240SSD) & RAM (16GB) almost 85%”.

So I think I’m good with the performance of 2015 but I don’t know if it’ll be better if I got 2018 with less weight and new display technology in addition to the new processor, RAM and storage speed.

 

[jerryk]

The performance of 2015 will be enough for me because I already have 2011 15” and it was good in processing my work before I faced the dGPU problem. The main things that were bothering me are “storage space (240SSD) & RAM (16GB) almost 85%”.

So I think I’m good with the performance of 2015 but I don’t know if it’ll be better if I got 2018 with less weight and new display technology in addition to the new processor, RAM and storage speed.

The memory is allocated on a demand and not released until there is new demand, so Memory Used is not a great metric. Looks at you Memory Pressure graph under Activity Monitor. If it is low and green under your load the 16GB is fine. If it is yellow, then you are starting to run out of free memory and need to increase size.

I upgraded from a 2015 15" to a 2018 15". The new system feels smaller and lighter, and the screen is better. The keyboard and touchbar are the most divisive parts of the system.

I was completely against the touchbar until I used it for a while. Now I prefer it to the older physical keys because of increased functionality and ease of use. The one caveat is if you edit with vi or vim. There, the physical escape key of the older keyboard is much nicer.

The 2018 keyboard has shorter travel and flatter keys than the 2015. Once I adapted to it, the key noise is about the same. So far I have not had any issues with keys sticking or not registering.

I suggest you try the 2018 in an Apple store and make sure you are OK with the keyboard and touchbar.

Best of luck on your decision.

 

[TokMok3]

Why have you made your decision to upgrade to 2018?

May I ask about your work on this machine?
[doublepost=1542903357][/doublepost]
The performance of 2015 will be enough for me because I already have 2011 15” and it was good in processing my work before I faced the dGPU problem. The main things that were bothering me are “storage space (240SSD) & RAM (16GB) almost 85%”.

So I think I’m good with the performance of 2015 but I don’t know if it’ll be better if I got 2018 with less weight and new display technology in addition to the new processor, RAM and storage speed.

The MacBook Pro 2015 has a SD card slot to expand storage in case that you need more space.

 

[someonea93]

The memory is allocated on a demand and not released until there is new demand, so Memory Used is not a great metric. Looks at you Memory Pressure graph under Activity Monitor. If it is low and green under your load the 16GB is fine. If it is yellow, then you are starting to run out of free memory and need to increase size.

I upgraded from a 2015 15" to a 2018 15". The new system feels smaller and lighter, and the screen is better. The keyboard and touchbar are the most divisive parts of the system.

I was completely against the touchbar until I used it for a while. Now I prefer it to the older physical keys because of increased functionality and ease of use. The one caveat is if you edit with vi or vim. There, the physical escape key of the older keyboard is much nicer.

The 2018 keyboard has shorter travel and flatter keys than the 2015. Once I adapted to it, the key noise is about the same. So far I have not had any issues with keys sticking or not registering.

I suggest you try the 2018 in an Apple store and make sure you are OK with the keyboard and touchbar.

Best of luck on your decision.

I’ve tried the keyboard of 2018 many times and I feel it’s good with me.

My main question now, if I sold my machine after 3 years, will I lose the same amount for 2015 or 2018? If yes, I’d go with 2018. If no! I’d go with 2015.

 

[jerryk]

I’ve tried the keyboard of 2018 many times and I feel it’s good with me.

My main question now, if I sold my machine after 3 years, will I lose the same amount for 2015 or 2018? If yes, I’d go with 2018. If no! I’d go with 2015.

You might be better off with the 2018. They are newer and have the latest processors and displays and will be 3 years newer when you go to sell it. Also they are on sale with some large discounts at places like Best Buy.

 

[puma1552]

I’ve tried the keyboard of 2018 many times and I feel it’s good with me.

My main question now, if I sold my machine after 3 years, will I lose the same amount for 2015 or 2018? If yes, I’d go with 2018. If no! I’d go with 2015.

Probably lose more on the 2015, but I think when Apple fixes the issues on the current models, the resale of both will go in the toilet. 2015 resale is good now because of the current keyboards and issues, but as soon as Apple fixes that on a new machine, both 2015, and 2016-2018 resales will suffer. So I would just get what you like and don't worry about resale.

 

[someonea93]

Probably lose more on the 2015, but I think when Apple fixes the issues on the current models, the resale of both will go in the toilet. 2015 resale is good now because of the current keyboards and issues, but as soon as Apple fixes that on a new machine, both 2015, and 2016-2018 resales will suffer. So I would just get what you like and don't worry about resale.

I decided to go with 2018 and I will max out the RAM to 32GB and the storage to 1TB and keep it with me until the end of its life. But, do I need to upgrade the GPU to 560x? If yes, will it be hotter or noisier?

 

[PROFESS0R]

Do you need to upgrade the GPU?; if you have to ask, the answer is likely no. This said, if you can comfortably afford to upgrade to the Vega 20, I suggest you do so. You never know how your use of this machine may change over its lifetime.

Joe

I decided to go with 2018 and I will max out the RAM to 32GB and the storage to 1TB and keep it with me until the end of its life. But, do I need to upgrade the GPU to 560x? If yes, will it be hotter or noisier?

 

[someonea93]

Do you need to upgrade the GPU?; if you have to ask, the answer is likely no. This said, if you can comfortably afford to upgrade to the Vega 20, I suggest you do so. You never know how your use of this machine may change over its lifetime.

Joe

I’ll stay with 555x, I think it’s enough. But what about the RAM? Most of people say you’ll not need it and you’ll not notice any difference. On the other hand, they say yes go ahead and upgrade if you plan to keep this machine for 5+ years!

 

[Airboy1466]

I’ll stay with 555x, I think it’s enough. But what about the RAM? Most of people say you’ll not need it and you’ll not notice any difference. On the other hand, they say yes go ahead and upgrade if you plan to keep this machine for 5+ years!

you can never go wrong with ram

 

[someonea93]

you can never go wrong with ram

I mean if I will not use it, why should I pay for it?

I really don’t know if does it worth to pay for RAM or not.