Macbook Pro 15 (2011) $500 vs Macbook Pro Retina (2015) $2500

ferboturbo · May 29, 2015

Hi there! i currently use a dell laptop from 2012 with 8gb ram, dual core i5 3210, gt 630m and samsung evo 840 ssd.
this plays games alright and i have been doing a lot more media production work lately. so far this laptop handles photoshop just fine and its an excellent laptop for overall use.
However, my i have hackintoshed my gaming PC (kingston ssd, i5 2400, 1gb 6850, 4gb ram) and i like the workflow of mac os and would like to get into the ecosystem for photo and video editing.
So first, i looked at the brand new macbook pro, everything is perfect, and the price is way above what i can afford. im a student and dont have a job (yet) but im slowly saving and bought a new camera with my last saving in february so im fresh out and im saving up again. if i start saving 2.5k itll take me basically forever to save.

So i looked at some other mac options and the best price/performance ratio was with 2011 macbooks. they were incredibly fast and also pretty efficient (around 6 hours of battery life)
the model im looking at is late 2011's highest end model with quadcore i7 2760Q and 1gb 6770m.
by itself the geekbench scores are higher than my desktops which intrigued me.
On ebay they go for around $500 usd with 4gb ram and 750gb hdd.

if i end up getting it, ill upgrade the ram to 16gb 1600mhz, 500gb samsung evo 850 ssd and put the hdd in the optical bay. get a thunderbolt to usb 3 dock and a usb 3 hub for all of my usb 3 devices.
total should run me about $900 USD.

That would give me Mac OS, better performing computer than both my current setups, itll be a portable powerhouse with more than necessary battery for on the go usage. storage should not have a problem and should be plenty speedy.

my question is, is it dumb to get a mac thats almost 4 years old, to use it for another 3-4 years, even with those upgrades. or should i just stick to my current laptop and keep using my desktop and then when i save up enough get the lates mac? people generally take care of their macs and most of them are in pretty alright condition. but is it even remotely a good idea.

Portability and battery isnt AS important as im making it out to be. its a great addition if i can do my main edits on the go. one of the biggest reasons to look at this is that im gaining processing speed on this machine, and i can just upgrade the desktop with graphics for gaming, and i could either sell my current laptop or use it for web browsing (what i usually do with it).

the upgrades from my current laptop would be
1. Better screen (biggest reason)
2. MUCH more powerful processor
3. About the same or better gpu
4. way more ram to work with (al though ive hardly ever had this crash on me for insufficient ram)
5. better battery
6. about the same weight but thinner (so more portable)
7. more storage (currently only 128gb so i have to constantly back up)
8. Mac OS
9. premium quality of mac.

Appreciate any help

ferboturbo · May 29, 2015

Geekbench test cores for the two compared
Late 2011 Macbook Pro 15 Single core- 2699 Multi core- 9986

Mid 2014 Macbook Pro 15 Retina Single core- 3953 Multi core- 15143

ferboturbo · May 30, 2015

Andrei123 · May 31, 2015

Why not buy a better laptop and make it a hackintosh?

ferboturbo · May 31, 2015

its not about having a hackintosh.
1.first priority is a good screen. better than what i have and with good color accuracy (oh boy is it important, when you increase the contrast on a dull screen and its too contrasty on regular contrasty smartphone screens)
2. quad core i7 from at least 2nd gen. with discrete gpu
3. sleek form factor. not bulky. slim and sleek.
4. good battery life
5. can use for the next 3-4 years
5. cheap

and pcs which fit the bill are difficult to come by. mac is probably the only one with all these and an okay price. but is it too old to be buying in 2015 to use for another 4 years?

Getmilk · Jun 2, 2015

Ferboturbo, you really don't know what you're talking about if you're saying that the Mac comes with everything at a better price, that's not even remotely close to true.

PC's will always be cheaper for the same hardware and quality because you pay for the Apple brand, there is a premium to the price because they spend so much on marketing and advertising to convince everyone that their stuff is so amazing.

In the short time that Mac's have taken off in popularity, I have seen so many Macbooks with hardware failures, dead pixels and OS faults. There really is nothing different between the Mac and a PC besides the price tag and a half eaten apple.

If you want something 15, i7, slim and sleek and light, good battery life and use for the next 3-4 years

I would suggest the HP Envy series (if you're not going with gaming)

If you want to game as well, get the HP Omen (they're retailing for about $1200 USD, $1600CAD) and they severely outperform the macbook 2015 edition

If you want the QHD screen (which in all honesty is a mixed bag with all the laptops that offer them, I would stay away from 4k displays until next year when the tech gets better and cheaper) then I would suggest getting a 14" Razer at the same price of the Macbook (they look really similar too if that's your thing)

Either way, I cannot really recommend you get a Macbook unless you're such a raging Apple fanboy that nothing else will do.

firemaster9309 · Jun 2, 2015

instead of those options which are overpriced macs ;(, you can get a much better system for cheaper like the lenovo y50, which you can get on amazon for around 900 dollars or opt for a touchscreen(awesome addition btw) for around 1100. if you are still insisting on running os x then you can run virtual box in your laptop and that would let you run mac os. this is your best option if you want a good quality laptop which has much better specs than both the ones you listed. also it has a discrete graphics card so you can game to your hearts content. if you want a really good screen , you can get the 4k version of this laptop for 1150!i will provide the link below.
http

/www.amazon.com/Lenovo-15-6-Inch-Laptop-59425943-Black/dp/B00K6ZIMFY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433280168&sr=8-1&keywords=lenovo+y50+4k
so overall this laptop is much better than both the options you're confining yourself to.

Getmilk · Jun 3, 2015

firemaster9309 :

The thing about ferbo is that he's already showcasing the main signs of Apple brainwashed fanboyism. He assumes that their Samsung screens are better than everyone elses. (Yes that's right, Apple gets their screens from Samsung). He assumes that the prices are equivalent for performance. (Which is wholly incorrect if he even took the time to do some research).

I'm going to assume we're wasting our time here, as this guy just wants an Apple computer so he can fit in with all his friends and their overpriced, under-performing Lackbook Pros.

ferboturbo · Jun 6, 2015

hey man. if you read the op correctly i doubt you would be saying any of these

i just dont want a macbook for the sake of having a macbook! and im well aware of their pricing. which is way above similarly specced pcs. but im talking SPECIFICALLY about a 2011 model and my question was about how it holds up today and if it be good for another 3-4 years.

anyway. if i buy the latest gen laptops which have the power+screen+discrete graphics what i will not get is a powerful computer in a sleek package. razar is there..but its the same price as the MBP.
now i really like the alienware. because every other *high end notebooks* have rather poor quality build but alienware shines here with solid construction at around $1500. but what i will get is a HEAVY chunky desktop replacement with the type of display im after and i can game on it too.. but my i have a desktop for that.
if i had that much to shell out to begin with, id have plenty of options.. MBP 13, 15, XPS 13, 15, and so on. but my budget is around 500 for the laptop and about 200-300 for upgrades some of which are more necessary than others..
so lets see what pc i can get for $800 USD with
1. 500GB ssd
2. Quad core i7
3. 16gb ram
4. higher than 720p screen with 98% color accuracy
5. THIN AND PORTABLE. NOT CHUNKY AND EASILY BE MOVED AROUND. (something you guys are obviously overlooking, i want to be able to take this anywhere and still be able to edit and upload my photos and videos)
6. GOOD TRACKPAD ( my current laptop has seperate buttons and boy do i love them. its accurate and i use my thumb for clicking and middle finger to track. most pcs i tried this with the mouse would bounce around, and were very irritating)
7. good build quality. at this range. its plastic plastic plastic.

reading this post and the thread it probably sounds like im a fanboy. im not. im not bound to mac os. and trust me i would love to buy brand new! but for 800 i doubt i can get all the important things i need.
my current desktop is powerful enough for me. laptop is fast enough but doing photo editing and video editing makes it toasty, like crazy hot. it went up to 80 degree CELCIUS today, doing radial blur on a high MP image. its fine to take around for portable editing but it worries me that it just might blow up.

Giuseppe Mastandrea · Jun 7, 2015

The answer is "absolutely NO" for many reasons:

1) NEVER buy an used laptop. I'ts not worth the risk. Laptop components stress and age more than desktop ones, regardless of their user's care. Even if you buy a working used laptop you're never going to know how long it will last.

2) Spending 900 bucks to buy an old, used laptop and give it some more life is a real waste of money, even greater than buying a new, overpriced Mac.

3) You can't justify this worthless waste of money with just the BUILD QUALITY and the OS! If your current laptop handles fine then just find a way to make it cooler... and switch some heavy operations to the desktop! 900 bucks to get rid of PLASTIC? Come on!!
Same goes for the OS: of course MacOs has many good points over Windows... but it's not perfect, has its gaps, its bugs and it is not BETTER, just different.

In conclusion my advice is: DON'T WASTE MONEY JUST FOR THE SAKE OF HAVING A MAC! Keep saving up, wait of 4K hardware prices to drop and then choose wisely: if you're really into video and photo editing, consider using a new desktop (you could get a very powerful and spanking new pc with your budget). If not, buy a new laptop.

Alex R · Jun 7, 2015

DON'T get a 2011 model with the dedicated GPU.
Those models are know to have GPU failure, and it will not last long.
Personally if you have to have a Macbook, I would save up and get a used 2012 15" model. They sell for around $900-$1100, then spend $300 on an SSD and ram. Or you can find a maxed out retina 15" macbook with 16gb of ram and a 512gb SSD for around $1500-$1600 if you look around

Andrei123 · Jun 8, 2015

How about this
http

/www.amazon.com/Dell-Alienware-17-i7-4710HQ-Processor/dp/B00T8S0K5U/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1433740667&sr=8-8&keywords=980m&pebp=1433740767989&perid=15S6YY979XQKM71CG691
1. It has a 1080p display that's really good
2. It's got an i7 and a gtx 980m which obliterates the macbookpro arguably
3. ~$500 cheaper
4.16GB of ram

"But it doesn't have Mac Os X !"
Download mac os x and a virtual machine, install the os and you've got yourself mac and Windows on the same device

Steven_13 · Oct 15, 2015

Getmilk :

You're an idiot. Some of us use macbooks just because they happen to have the best operating system and best enterprise-level corporate support. Ever filmed a movie and needed to edit the footage? Mac. Ever built a website and were able to use ssh without having to download "putty"? Ever had an app store where the apps are actually vetted? Ever had a computer maker who builds the computer and the operating system? (novel concept I know...). I get that you can build a pc to perfection, but truth be told, you're not going to be able to use (legitimately) OSX on your turbo alienware speed machine. So, with regards to your mac user insults, you sound inexperienced and poor, most probably a gamer who doesn't really get value from his PC (as in make $$$) so rock on with your very opinionated opinion, BUT YOU'RE WRONG and unless you are poor or are a MMPORG gamer, you're argument is lacking legitimacy.

iHeartmacs · Oct 16, 2015

Finally, somebody who's actually answering the question instead of trying to get him to buy an HP!! Holy shit what a piece of crap that would be.

iHeartmacs · Oct 16, 2015

The 2011 is awesome if you get a refurbished one!! They initially had a problem with the graphics chip losing connection due to non-lead solder. Apple has an extended 3 year warranty that lasts until 2016 I believe. Make sure you get one that's been refurbished by Apple and it will have no problems. I had that problem and then got mine refurbished. Then I tried to get a new laptop using the "third times a charm" rule. I used crazy graphics tests that run consistently for days, weeks even and could not get the GPU to fry. Well played Apple. I thought they would just put a bandaid on it and then try to run out the 9mos of warranty but nope they fixed it. I've had other clients who say the same thing. They got theirs fixed and could not replicate the failure like many others have with the same computer before Apple fixed the situation. FYI Geekbench scores are for that early 2011 with a 5400rpm 500gb Hard drive. Compare that to a 2015 pcie SSD and yeah, the 2015 will smoke it. But put a good SSD in the 2011 and the gap gets narrow. Really narrow. Don't listen to that guy taking about never buying a used Mac. He is obviously a PC guy and has never bought a used mac himself. I've only bought used macs and I'm happier than a pig in shit.

iHeartmacs · Oct 16, 2015

Hmm my geekbench on a Macbook Pro 15" early 2011 16Gb Ram with a samsung pro 512 SSD came out to 11032 Multicore and 2411 Single. I think the 2015 is around 14000 so not too shabby when I save $1500.

ferboturbo · Dec 4, 2015

iHeartmacs :

UGH such dilemma. My uncle recently bought a MBP 15 2012 retina, the top specced one for $900.
i7 2.3 ghz, 256gb ssd, 8gb ram, 650m 1gb and not to mention a crazy display.
oh also, he bought it to do basic web browsing

anyway. the thing is, my desktop IS infact, wearing down. starting from December 1st, i have been doing daily vlogs. so i have to take loads of different shots to make them entertaining. I use 2 cameras both of which are sony.
and premiere pro HATES AVCHD. so i have to transcode all that footage first (takes about 30 mins) then edit (around 2 hours) then export (another hour usually, last night it took 2) and upload (1 hour, slow internet). by the time my daily vlogs are up its 3 am in the morning and i cant get up early for school and such.

so i need a computer. which is going to be reasonably priced. and portable so i can still edit and uplaod when im away, good display and will last me another 2/3 years.

jsmithepa · Dec 7, 2015

The thing about getting used is...

Right on top, you gotta assume the battery needs replacing, unless you buy Apple refurb, they give you a new batt.

You mentioned several times color accuracy. It's my believe, not measured, that screen wears out. I would not buy used if screen accuracy is important to you, maybe not even from Apple. They don't really tell you how many "hours" it's got on it.

If you are already complaining about your current getting too hot, and you still buying 4 years old technology?

My 2011 Air is still chucking along, am amazed I still have it, but then I only do surfing and light office. There was a big jump in battery when things went to Haswell, if that's important to you.

Another option: Fix what you currently have, perhaps a new fan and re-paste and save for a new to take you to the future.

Macbook Pro 15 (2011) $500 vs Macbook Pro Retina (2015) $2500

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