What to replace MBP 13" 2010 with?

[stubath]

Hi there. After some other people's opinions for what to replace my mid-2010 C2D 2.4ghz 13" MBP with, which I've owned since new.

I've modded it up to 16gb RAM with 2x SSD hard drives (1TB in total) & it's still a great daily runner that handles most of what I chuck at it. Alas as I can't update the OS further (well, not officially) I can't update things like Lightroom or Photoshop to the newest versions and I am paying for that after all.

I'm not interested in post 2015 MBP with USB-C ports or dodgy keyboards.

So are there any gems to look out for? I like the idea of a non-retina 2012 for upgradability but seems silly to only jump 2 years. I especially like the idea of something with decent graphics capabilities as I edit a lot of large RAW files.

 

[Fishrrman]

Do you use bootcamp?
Do you use any virtualization software, such as VMWare Fusion or Parallels?

I don't think the ARM MacBooks can run either of these (at least, not yet).

You have to decide whether you'd like to "stick with Intel" a while, or take a "leap of faith" to the new ARM Macs...

 

[jerryk]

If you don't want USB-C ports then you are restricted to 2015 or earlier. And if you want to upgrade memory and/or drives are even further limited. 2012 might be your best bet in the 13" size. But expect those to age out of supported OSes as Apple Silicon takes over.

 

[stubath]

Do you use bootcamp?
Do you use any virtualization software, such as VMWare Fusion or Parallels?

I don't think the ARM MacBooks can run either of these (at least, not yet).

You have to decide whether you'd like to "stick with Intel" a while, or take a "leap of faith" to the new ARM Macs...

I don't use any of the above, no. I'll be sticking with Intel for a while, mainly based on cost! Priced an ARM MBP up and it'd be £1700+ for what I'd want/need.

If you don't want USB-C ports then you are restricted to 2015 or earlier. And if you want to upgrade memory and/or drives are even further limited. 2012 might be your best bet in the 13" size. But expect those to age out of supported OSes as Apple Silicon takes over.

I'm not against a 2012-15 retina if I can find one with 16gb RAM in good nick. I know it's tricky but I can replace batteries or SSD myself in those models. Is there a big performance difference between, say, 2012 unibody and a 2015 retina?

 

[brianmowrey]

I'm not against a 2012-15 retina if I can find one with 16gb RAM in good nick. I know it's tricky but I can replace batteries or SSD myself in those models. Is there a big performance difference between, say, 2012 unibody and a 2015 retina?

The 3rd gens support two external displays whereas even 2012 unibody, despite creeping forward quite a bit from two years prior, only powers one. The 2015 will have an edge when you're applying filters or if you're gaming, but they'll not truly be a generation ahead in that department, either. They're lessly-but-still gimped in GPU.

But for workhorse stuff, multitasking with 10+ GB memory paged, my i7 9,1 performs like a pro computer just pulled out of the box. It certainly licks a 3rd gen with platters or 8GB.

Used 2015's will presumably be less expensive two years from now, and that price difference would effectively be a discount to a 2012 purchased today only to be replaced by a 2015 in two years (or in my case this summer, a 2012 repaired). So even if you end up in the same place, there's a logic to taking the indirect route.

 

[stubath]

The 3rd gens support two external displays whereas even 2012 unibody, despite creeping forward quite a bit from two years prior, only powers one. The 2015 will have an edge when you're applying filters or if you're gaming, but they'll not truly be a generation ahead in that department, either. They're lessly-but-still gimped in GPU.

But for workhorse stuff, multitasking with 10+ GB memory paged, my i7 9,1 performs like a pro computer just pulled out of the box. It certainly licks a 3rd gen with platters or 8GB.

Used 2015's will presumably be less expensive two years from now, and that price difference would effectively be a discount to a 2012 purchased today only to be replaced by a 2015 in two years (or in my case this summer, a 2012 repaired). So even if you end up in the same place, there's a logic to taking the indirect route.

Thank you for that. I don't even use 1 external monitor, let alone 2 so that wouldn't be a concern for me on the 2012! lol.

Part of me thinks about getting a 15" 2012 as they seem to have better graphic capabilities not to mention the quad core processor? I would still have the aforementioned mid-2010 13" MBP and I've also got a mid-2011 11" MBA for when I want/need smaller devices.

 

[stubath]

As an update, I bought a mid-2012 15" 2.3ghz that already has 16gb RAM for £300 on eBay in very good condition. I figured at that price I have nothing to lose. I can use it for my photography work while I work out where to go next!