Which is the better MacBook Pro machine

[hasanahmad]

1. Mid 2012 MacBook Pro i5 13.3 inch 8 gb with 500 gb hdd for $250. It’s fully upgradeable as we know with lots of usb slots DVD player sd card etc

2. Early 2013 MacBook Pro i7 15 inch 16 gb ram with 256 gb flash drive for $340. It’s already upgraded with ram. It has less slots and has retina as well which 2012 one has not

 

[Glmnet1]

The 2013 is a vastly superior machine.

If you replace the HDD of the 2012 for a SSD it wouldn't be bad either but for the price difference I'd go with the 2013.

 

[jerryk]

I would get the 2013 system myself. Much better screen, fast SSD, and more than enough ports for most people's needs. If you need a DVD drive you can use an eternal player connected via USB.

 

[jksu]

unless 13” size is super critical for you (ie you travel a bit), the 2013 15” retina is well worth the price difference, much nicer screen and SSD will make it feel 100x faster on day-to-day use. extra ram future-proofs it a bit too