which is more powerful rMBP 2015 i5 or M3 MB?

[kofman13]

Currently shopping for new apple laptop. The two options that fit my budget is the entry level m3 2016 Macbook 12 inch ($1249 USD for college faculty) and refurbished 2015 retina MBP core i5 13 inch for $1189.
I will be using it for light general use, but maybe some light audio production too (i do my heavy studio work on my beastly windows workstation at home).

Both fit my standards of being portable enough. Which is more power for ya dollar? i really like that the rMBP has a lot of great ports like hdmi, usb, TB, sd card reader

EDIT: i know the battery life is phenomenal on 2016 Macbook , what about the 2015 retina 13 inch MBP?

 

[andy9l]

As the name suggests, the rMBP gives more power for your dollar. It is a (relatively) powerful laptop by design - the rMB is explicitly not designed for power but rather portability.

For "light general usage" you're unlikely to notice a significant difference. If you're using external displays or running CPU-intensive applications for extended periods of time, then the rMBP will start to shine. Also, you mentioned that you value the ports.

Battery will be about the same on both.