2017 13 non-TB MBP vs 2016 13 TB MBP

[abmak]

I need some help in finalizing between 2017 13 non-TB MBP i5 and 2016 13 TB MBP i5.
My main usage is for software development. Will be running a couple of VSCode/Eclipse editors and a couple of node/Tomcat servers. Currently, my work machine is a 2015 15 2.5GHz i7 MBP with 16GB RAM and still I occasionally see the colorful loading icon. This new one would be my home development laptop.

My budget is $2K with AC. (Both cost around the same mark so no issue with the price)
Performance is the top most priority.
16GB RAM and 256GB SSD are must.
TB looks gimmicky and is optional.

The Geekbench scores shows that 2017 non-TB MBP leads the 2016 TB MBP by 500 points for single core.
The question I have is how will this difference translate to real world CPU and GPU performance?
And will I have a considerable performance gain for my development purposes?

TIA.

 

[pallymore]

I don't think you will notice a big difference since you've got a 2015 model w/ i7 - it's probably much faster than both 2017/2016 models you listed here.

if you don't plan on traveling with the new one I'd recommend getting an iMac with SSD.

 

[maerz001]

Pallymore is right. Alternatively for that money buy refurb 2016 15" when u wanna see real performance increase

 

[Samuelsan2001]

You won't see much difference to your 2015 to be honest. I would echo Maerz and say a 15 inch is your only option for increased performance of any meaning. Althouigh the 64MB of eDRAM cache in the IRIS GPU may which can be used both by the CPU and GPU may help a little.

 

[jrasero]

I need some help in finalizing between 2017 13 non-TB MBP i5 and 2016 13 TB MBP i5.
My main usage is for software development. Will be running a couple of VSCode/Eclipse editors and a couple of node/Tomcat servers. Currently, my work machine is a 2015 15 2.5GHz i7 MBP with 16GB RAM and still I occasionally see the colorful loading icon. This new one would be my home development laptop.

My budget is $2K with AC. (Both cost around the same mark so no issue with the price)
Performance is the top most priority.
16GB RAM and 256GB SSD are must.
TB looks gimmicky and is optional.

The Geekbench scores shows that 2017 non-TB MBP leads the 2016 TB MBP by 500 points for single core.
The question I have is how will this difference translate to real world CPU and GPU performance?
And will I have a considerable performance gain for my development purposes?

TIA.

I looked at kind of the same models. 2017 MBP 13" Non TB i7 16GB 128GB $1800 or a 2016 refurbished MBP 13" TB i7 16GB 25GB for $1880.

I have nothing against refurbished computers, actually all my previous Macs have been refurbs and I highly recommend them since they come in pristine condition and are usually 15%-20% off retail, but I wanted a 2017 for the performance bump and if Apple ironed out any of the 1st year problems. The Touch Bar model would have been nice but not really needed since I am a believer that the TB is kind of useless for me besides the Touch ID, plus it takes up more battery and the TB version overall has a smaller battery.

With this said the performance bump of the 2017 compared to the 2016 in real world use is minimal for my use (streaming, and writing). For you and many other 128GB will not be enough so upgrading to the 256GB for the 2017 at $200 will be mandatory making the 2016 a better value. I personally don't need the extra space, since 128GB or about 100GB after Apple formats it w/ it's OS and apps is enough for me since I don't really store anything of my laptop.


Oh btw Geek Benched my unit last night and got 4859 single core and 9629 multi

 

[jerryk]

Your work 2015 15 inch unit is close to the performance of 2016/2017 15 inch units for the programming you are doing. The 13 inch units are considerably behind. So if your workload occasionally causes stalls on your work system system, these stalls will occur more frequently on either of the 13 units.

I would look a refurbed 15 unit.

 

[maerz001]

oh jerrky u r right. i just saw OP wrote he has 15". I thought 13" because he wants to replace it with 13" cos of performance problems. is this right? why? Abmak do u really expect any upgrade from a 15W dualcore CPU compared to a 45W quadcore in 2 years time? not your ernst

well that really makes no sense than. even 2015 to 2017 15" MBP won't give substantial upgrade. forget the 13". and forget anything u can buy for $2000 high end imac or pro or nothing

 

[abmak]

oh jerrky u r right. i just saw OP wrote he has 15". I thought 13" because he wants to replace it with 13" cos of performance problems. is this right? why? Abmak do u really expect any upgrade from a 15W dualcore CPU compared to a 45W quadcore in 2 years time? not your ernst

well that really makes no sense than. even 2015 to 2017 15" MBP won't give substantial upgrade. forget the 13". and forget anything u can buy for $2000 high end imac or pro or nothing

I'm not planning to replace my current machine. The 15" will continue to be my workhorse.
I'm planning to have this new one as a personal laptop on which I can learn and practice new technologies.

Yeah, high end iMac's are definitely out of my league. And I understand that I can not get high end performance for $2K. But I'm really on a tight budget and can not go beyond that mark. So, I'm looking to buy the best performance for my budget.

I was almost in line to buy 2017 13 non-TB MBP. But then I heard from my colleagues that it has a TDP of 15W unlike 28W for the 2016 13 TB MBP. And they said even though the non-TB is geekbenched higher than TB, under load the TB one will perform better. This is what confused me. So I thought I can get some advice from the macrumors forums.
[doublepost=1497736267][/doublepost]

Your work 2015 15 inch unit is close to the performance of 2016/2017 15 inch units for the programming you are doing. The 13 inch units are considerably behind. So if your workload occasionally causes stalls on your work system system, these stalls will occur more frequently on either of the 13 units.

I would look a refurbed 15 unit.

I was not looking at 15" because of the portability. But looking at the posts, I think I have to trade off the portability if I want to have the expected performance.
[doublepost=1497736523][/doublepost]

I don't think you will notice a big difference since you've got a 2015 model w/ i7 - it's probably much faster than both 2017/2016 models you listed here.

if you don't plan on traveling with the new one I'd recommend getting an iMac with SSD.

Since portability is also a factor, I did not think of an iMac.
[doublepost=1497736934][/doublepost]

Pallymore is right. Alternatively for that money buy refurb 2016 15" when u wanna see real performance increase

I read that there are many complaints with the keyboard, graphics on the 2016 15". Not sure if it's a good buy.
[doublepost=1497737158][/doublepost]

I looked at kind of the same models. 2017 MBP 13" Non TB i7 16GB 128GB $1800 or a 2016 refurbished MBP 13" TB i7 16GB 25GB for $1880.

I have nothing against refurbished computers, actually all my previous Macs have been refurbs and I highly recommend them since they come in pristine condition and are usually 15%-20% off retail, but I wanted a 2017 for the performance bump and if Apple ironed out any of the 1st year problems. The Touch Bar model would have been nice but not really needed since I am a believer that the TB is kind of useless for me besides the Touch ID, plus it takes up more battery and the TB version overall has a smaller battery.

With this said the performance bump of the 2017 compared to the 2016 in real world use is minimal for my use (streaming, and writing). For you and many other 128GB will not be enough so upgrading to the 256GB for the 2017 at $200 will be mandatory making the 2016 a better value. I personally don't need the extra space, since 128GB or about 100GB after Apple formats it w/ it's OS and apps is enough for me since I don't really store anything of my laptop.


Oh btw Geek Benched my unit last night and got 4859 single core and 9629 multi

I think Geekbench scores will not convey the full story. I heard that even though the non-TB is geekbenched higher than TB, under load the TB one will perform better because of 28W TDP (>15W).

 

[maerz001]

I'm not planning to replace my current machine. The 15" will continue to be my workhorse.
I'm planning to have this new one as a personal laptop on which I can learn and practice new technologies.

Yeah, high end iMac's are definitely out of my league. And I understand that I can not get high end performance for $2K. But I'm really on a tight budget and can not go beyond that mark. So, I'm looking to buy the best performance for my budget.

I was almost in line to buy 2017 13 non-TB MBP. But then I heard from my colleagues that it has a TDP of 15W unlike 28W for the 2016 13 TB MBP. And they said even though the non-TB is geekbenched higher than TB, under load the TB one will perform better. This is what confused me. So I thought I can get some advice from the macrumors forums.
[doublepost=1497736267][/doublepost]
I was not looking at 15" because of the portability. But looking at the posts, I think I have to trade off the portability if I want to have the expected performance.
[doublepost=1497736523][/doublepost]
Since portability is also a factor, I did not think of an iMac.
[doublepost=1497736934][/doublepost]
I read that there are many complaints with the keyboard, graphics on the 2016 15". Not sure if it's a good buy.
[doublepost=1497737158][/doublepost]
I think Geekbench scores will not convey the full story. I heard that even though the non-TB is geekbenched higher than TB, under load the TB one will perform better because of 28W TDP (>15W).

Oh man u really should have explained that better...

Yes the nonTB has the MB Air CPU type. This move by apple was not really honest. And naming it Pro took a lot of courage

the TB has also two fans instead of one. So expect better performance for longterm tasks. But still Dual Core.
U can order and try it for 30days how it performs