Upgrade or stick with 2012 MBP?

[pwnies5600]

Hi all,

I have had a macbook pro for work for a long time, but recently I've started doing some creative work in my free time with photography and videography. Using iMovie as of now but I've had one gripe with it, which is that when the timeline has alot of clips the whole iMovie slows down drastically and the whole laptop gets quite hot.

I will be getting final cut soon (for real-time rendering) so I was wondering if I should upgrade to the new macbook pro (2015 refurb or 2017 new both works). Are my current specs (below) enough for final cut to run smoothly? Should I upgrade to a newer machine to save some fuss in the long run?

Macbook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012)
Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel HD 4000 1536 MB
NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 1024 MB

Battery cycle 500+, service battery alert has come on ($400 replacement at ALabs) and the rubber gasket at the edges of the screen is peeling a little (non replaceable unless the entire screen is replaced), otherwise still fully functional.

 

[Snoweagle]

Hi all,

I have had a macbook pro for work for a long time, but recently I've started doing some creative work in my free time with photography and videography. Using iMovie as of now but I've had one gripe with it, which is that when the timeline has alot of clips the whole iMovie slows down drastically and the whole laptop gets quite hot.

I will be getting final cut soon (for real-time rendering) so I was wondering if I should upgrade to the new macbook pro (2015 refurb or 2017 new both works). Are my current specs (below) enough for final cut to run smoothly? Should I upgrade to a newer machine to save some fuss in the long run?

Macbook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012)
Processor 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics Intel HD 4000 1536 MB
NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 1024 MB

Battery cycle 500+, service battery alert has come on ($400 replacement at ALabs) and the rubber gasket at the edges of the screen is peeling a little (non replaceable unless the entire screen is replaced), otherwise still fully functional.

I'd upgrade if it were me, I'll usually buy the highest end that will last me for another 5 years or so.

Current MBPs uses high speed SSD and high-end graphics which will be very essential for final cut as it's graphic-intensive. Your current 1GB dedicated GPU will not be enough to support it for long term usage.

Prior to my current 2015 MBP, I was using 2010 model in which the HDD gave up, hence bought a new one which still is very usable now and the SSD is a huge upgrade in startup speeds too.

 

[pwnies5600]

I'd upgrade if it were me, I'll usually buy the highest end that will last me for another 5 years or so.

Current MBPs uses high speed SSD and high-end graphics which will be very essential for final cut as it's graphic-intensive. Your current 1GB dedicated GPU will not be enough to support it for long term usage.

Prior to my current 2015 MBP, I was using 2010 model in which the HDD gave up, hence bought a new one which still is very usable now and the SSD is a huge upgrade in startup speeds too.

Hm, aight. Should I buy refurb 2015 or the new 2017 one though? I don't really need the trackpad or touch bar, but battery life is a must. Also, does the lack of ports on the new MBP severely inconvenience you? Or are dongles generally ok?

Edit: Btw price wise the new one is just a little more than refurb for me cuz I will be buying with education discount so the cost is not a particular dealbreaker

 

[Snoweagle]

Hm, aight. Should I buy refurb 2015 or the new 2017 one though? I don't really need the trackpad or touch bar, but battery life is a must. Also, does the lack of ports on the new MBP severely inconvenience you? Or are dongles generally ok?

Edit: Btw price wise the new one is just a little more than refurb for me cuz I will be buying with education discount so the cost is not a particular dealbreaker

I've never used the trackpad too and neither the new MBPs. If you're the sort that don't like to lug dongles around then 2015 is for you. But do note that as time goes by, the 2015 model is getting more and more obsolete.

For me, I only use USB, hence at most I'll just carry a USB to USB-C adapter and will definitely get the latest if possible.

 

[yamakazi51]

Hm, aight. Should I buy refurb 2015 or the new 2017 one though? I don't really need the trackpad or touch bar, but battery life is a must. Also, does the lack of ports on the new MBP severely inconvenience you? Or are dongles generally ok?

Edit: Btw price wise the new one is just a little more than refurb for me cuz I will be buying with education discount so the cost is not a particular dealbreaker

Refurb 2016/2017 better. Refurb 2015 with higher spec hard to come by.

 

[pwnies5600]

Thanks to all for the info! Will be buying the 2017 one soon, so excited!

 

[Snoweagle]

Thanks to all for the info! Will be buying the 2017 one soon, so excited!

Good choice!

 

[manofsorrows]

Thanks to all for the info! Will be buying the 2017 one soon, so excited!

Great choice. I bought that too... refurbished. As good as new man.

 

[Ipptdefaulter86]

Great choice. I bought that too... refurbished. As good as new man.

Nice, how much did you bought it for? On Apple site?

 

[manofsorrows]

Nice, how much did you bought it for? On Apple site?

Yea. Only apple site sells refurbished. Bought it at $3800+ fully spec-ed 13” mac book pro 2017 edition including apple care. Damn good deal...