Which MacBook Pro to buy? (Windows user)

[Harinoorvirk28]

Hey guys so I have been a windows user all my life and finaly decided to get a MacBook Pro 15 so i have a Max budget of 1700(excluding tax) i was looking at some refurbs and the first 3 are all under my price range(look at the attachment ) so I was wondering which one should I get? I will be gaming and editing and photoshop. I know that the 1st and 3rd have almost the same specs except a never model so I was wondering is the new model worth a $100? Thanks guys have a good day.

 

[T5BRICK]

They have the same warranty, I'd go with the $1599 model.

 

[capathy21]

Hey guys so I have been a windows user all my life and finaly decided to get a MacBook Pro 15 so i have a Max budget of 1700(excluding tax) i was looking at some refurbs and the first 3 are all under my price range(look at the attachment ) so I was wondering which one should I get? I will be gaming and editing and photoshop. I know that the 1st and 3rd have almost the same specs except a never model so I was wondering is the new model worth a $100? Thanks guys have a good day.

Definitely go with one of the 2013 models (option 2 or 3). They have the updated Haswell processors which are more power efficient than the 2012 Ivy Bridge. I am not very familiar with the GPU comparison between the two models(someone with a 15 inch will know about this).

If it was me, I would go with the Late 2013 model since it's the newest, and because I wouldn't have a need for a dedicated GPU.

 

[T5BRICK]

Definitely go with one of the 2013 models (option 2 or 3). They have the updated Haswell processors which are more power efficient than the 2012 Ivy Bridge. I am not very familiar with the GPU comparison between the two models(someone with a 15 inch will know about this).

The only model in that screenshot with a Haswell processor is the late 2013. The 2012 and early 2013 model both have Ivy Bridge processors.

 

[capathy21]

The only model in that screenshot with a Haswell processor is the late 2013. The 2012 and early 2013 model both have Ivy Bridge processors.

I stand corrected. I could have sworn the Early 2013 had Haswell too. My bad.

 

[HolidaySeason]

I just got a Haswell 13 and couldn't be happier. Refurb, retina, 2.6, 256, 16GB. Parallels windows 8.1 for work.

 

[Crugga]

Id go with the later one ie the late 2013 for the same reason as above ie the Haswell processor not to mention resale value.

 

[ayeying]

For gaming, I would get the one with the 650M

 

[maflynn]

If gaming is part of your needs, then you'll want the one with the discrete GPU. While the Iris Pro is a really good iGPU, its not powerful enough to run with satisfaction many games.

 

[leman]

Why are you considering the MacBook Pro in the first place? If gaming (what kind of gaming btw?) and photoshop the only things you are interested in, and you don't plan to carry the laptop around too much, then a mid-range gaming laptop will be a much better choice.

 

[EstebanLGJ]

I was in your same situation, because I also needed a gaming machine and had a tight budget. I got option 3. It was 50 dollars cheaper when I bought it though... I think there's just a small change in hardware between option 1 and 3, the minor processor bump. I didn't even bother with the Haswell model. There are some good comparison videos on Youtube that compare graphics performance between the Haswell and Ivy Bridge models. Honestly, I think its a great time to buy refurbished, because its a good computer that should perfectly fit your needs and its relatively cheap compared to the other models on the market.

My only concern was the storage, but I bought an external 1TB HDD to put all my games and time machine with a Windows and Mac Partition. The computer is great by the way