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Am I crazy to buy a 2015 Macbook Pro in 2023?
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Yes, it is much easier to just dump the 2015 MBP and spend more money and get yourself a new Apple Laptop with newer processor, GPU and much faster architecture . . . or . . . you can keep your 2015 MBP (have the ability to update your storage drive to MVNe M.2 for improved performance), save lots of money and update the OS to Ventura or Sonoma and keep using the 2015 much longer. Yes it won't be as fast as the newer Mac laptops but it will still operate at more than decent performance levels unless you require much more from your laptop such as photo/video editing.
If you're simply using the laptop for web browsing, emails, video/audio streaming then keep the 2015 MBP and upgrade the storage drive to the Western Digital Blue 2TB NVMe M.2 w/ Syntech adapter and install the newer MacOS. It will be more than good enough for this task.
If you require more intensive tasking then going with Apple's newest lineup is a good solid choice.
Getting the newest Apple laptops just so you can use it for simple web browsing, video/audio streaming and emails is simply overkill in my opinion.For what you described it will work just fine.
In my area those 2015's can be had for about $150/$200.
Picked one up for my dad a few months ago for $180. 2015/1TB/16GB.
Installed Sonoma with OpenCore and it runs great.
In my area those 2015's can be had for about $150/$200.
Picked one up for my dad a few months ago for $180. 2015/1TB/16GB.
Installed Sonoma with OpenCore and it runs great.
That is a sensational deal and incredible value
The 2015 screens are still gorgeous ... for light usages, there is no better quality/value on the planet
OCLP is a thing, and it works very very well in my experience. I am using a late 2013 MBP 15" as my main computer, bought from ebay, just fine on Sonoma OCLP. I also update every new macOS update, and it works flawlessly. Today 14.2 came out, went to system preferences, and boom, installed 14.2. Now, i am running 14.2 up from 14.1.
Where did you get it? That's a great deal! Not any locally-owned used computer stores in my area, besides the big boxes. Best Buy carries used ones for $350 but it's 8gb/256 -- a much less better deal. Only advantage with them is that I can at least test it out during the return period, but after that nothing.
Yes, you are crazy. A 2015 MBP is already obsolete and the latest software updates are unsupported. Plus it will be as slow as molasses.
I recently bought a used M2 MacBook Air off eBay at a major discount, and I'm very happy with it. It is a significant upgrade over my old 2018 15" MB Pro.
I find your first comment amusing. Speaking of natively updating you are correct however if you're using OpenCore Legacy Patcher, you are incorrect. I am using OCLP 1.3.0 on my Mid2015 15-inch MBP and have installed the most recent Sonoma MacOS 14.3 Beta on it and it is not slow as molasses. The response of my laptop is perfectly acceptable to me and seems to operate as it did when I had an older OS installed on it.
If the person is going to use the laptop for web browsing, emails, streaming some music or video then using a 2015 or even a slightly older laptop will easily serve this purpose. To me it makes no sense throwing $$$$ just to keep current when you can easily pickup a BTO/CTO 2015 laptop for under $300, and in some cases with 1TB storage in them.
Yes getting the newer M1/M2/M3 laptops will run circles around these older laptops but for some speed is not a crucial requirement.
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I sold my MBP 15” 2.8ghz 2015 a few months back, and although it was a classic, nice size display and all that…, It runs hot with fan noise, is not all that easy portable, the TB2 ports are pretty useless (and no USB-C), and compared to my MBP 14” M1 is just underpowered for even everyday tasks of video and photo editing. They were a great computer for a long time, but APPLE silicon is the way to go, and even a MBA M1 with 16gb is what I would get for a good price, general use, and real portability.
I don't think you're crazy, all things considered, as long as it's a project computer and not thing you want to use full time.
PROS:
1. This machine is the last of the Intels (excluding the 2020 models) that DO NOT have the butterfly keyboard.
2. They are dirt cheap.
3. They can run Windows 10.
CONS:
1. If security is important, they would only get updates for another year or thereabouts. However, I believe most security failures are either caused by sloppy information security practices, or Spear Fishing attacks (if you're an important person).
2. As the operating system gets older, websites will start to break. I don't know how long Google Chrome will support the machine
PROS:
1. This machine is the last of the Intels (excluding the 2020 models) that DO NOT have the butterfly keyboard.
2. They are dirt cheap.
3. They can run Windows 10.
CONS:
1. If security is important, they would only get updates for another year or thereabouts. However, I believe most security failures are either caused by sloppy information security practices, or Spear Fishing attacks (if you're an important person).
2. As the operating system gets older, websites will start to break. I don't know how long Google Chrome will support the machine
THIS!!!!!! My 2013 15 MBP runs absolutely flawlessly for what i do on Sonoma 14.2 via OCLP!!I find your first comment amusing. Speaking of natively updating you are correct however if you're using OpenCore Legacy Patcher, you are incorrect. I am using OCLP 1.3.0 on my Mid2015 15-inch MBP and have installed the most recent Sonoma MacOS 14.3 Beta on it and it is not slow as molasses. The response of my laptop is perfectly acceptable to me and seems to operate as it did when I had an older OS installed on it.
Not all people are willing to part with their laptop if they know they can install a newer OS and keep it updated, if only for a few years more. There is no issue extending the life of a good useful laptop in my opinion.
If the person is going to use the laptop for web browsing, emails, streaming some music or video then using a 2015 or even a slightly older laptop will easily serve this purpose. To me it makes no sense throwing $$$$ just to keep current when you can easily pickup a BTO 2015 laptop for under $300, and in some cases with 1TB storage in them.
Yes getting the newer M1/M2/M3 laptops will run circles around these older laptops but for some speed is not a crucial requirement.
I have both MacBook Pro Retina 13, 15 2015, it is nice, both of them are upgraded to M2 NVME SSD, it running great, upgraded to Sonoma 14.2 via OCLP, no problem at all, keep in mind, that if you want to get it, please go for 16G not 8G!
re: delamination - is this common to all retina models 2013-15?
re: dual graphics - this improves redrawing of graphics or ? and what applications would this be useful for?
also: on paper the 2014 does not seem much different than the 2015? different touchpad and ?
any older MacBook has worth depending on the situation.
today I used my MacBook Air 2010 11" for almost 2 hours
in PS4 mostly creating and exporting gifs, used the internet to grab an image
then converted some movies to 720dpi using handbrake then backed up.
I just need to refigure out that STMP mail again......unghh!
today I used my MacBook Air 2010 11" for almost 2 hours
in PS4 mostly creating and exporting gifs, used the internet to grab an image
then converted some movies to 720dpi using handbrake then backed up.
I just need to refigure out that STMP mail again......unghh!
Yes on delamination. I've been trying to find one used without it, but many suffer from it now.
The 2015 is still supported with Apple security updates until the end of this year, which makes it more valuable for now. The 2014 out-of-the-box will need OCLP to get it up to Sonoma and with the security updates. If you're comfortable doing that right away, there's not really any other major differences I'm aware of.
There are noted differences between the 2014 and 2015 MBPs, especially at the high end for each laptop...
The "Mid-2014" models have an SSD with a PCIe 2.0 x2 interface and the "Mid-2015" models have an SSD with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface making it twice as fast as the 2014 models . . . file transfers will be notably faster in comparison as a result. Also worth noting, the higher end 2014 models use the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB GPU and the higher end 2015 models use a faster AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 SDRAM (faster SDRAM) so graphics performance should be improved in comparison.
My 2015 MBP has a 2TB Western Digital Blue NVMe M.2 storage drive and this is the test result with my storage drive installed:
With older laptops the best I could get is around 1400 MB/Sec performance. This is a big change. Best part is that the Western Digital SSD cost right around $90 USD and another $10 for the Syntech adapter to use with the storage drive is all that is needed to update the 2015 MBP
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"Also worth noting, the higher end 2014 models use the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB GPU and the higher end 2015 models use a faster AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 SDRAM (faster SDRAM) so graphics performance should be improved in comparison."
The OP wants "something for general web browsing/productivity for travel"
So the dual graphics [as opposed to integrated] - this improves redrawing of graphics ? and what applications would this be useful for?
The OP wants "something for general web browsing/productivity for travel"
So the dual graphics [as opposed to integrated] - this improves redrawing of graphics ? and what applications would this be useful for?
I had a 2015 Macbook Pro I traded in towards a M2 16 inch Pro last August. I hated to part with it, but I couldn't update the O/S anymore.
with OCLP 1.3.0 or later you can run Sonoma 14.3 with no issues on your 2015 MBP.
If you do not need the brutal performance (in comparison with this 2015 Intel mac) from the newer ARM processors, you could have this machine in Monterey/Ventura or Sonoma without any issue with OCLP 1.3.0, with all the newer security patches, and with the newer App Store apps. If you do not need them in the ultimate version, and not need the power of the M2/M3 processors, the 2015 OCLPed Intell will work well.
I have been using a 2015 MacBook Pro 15" for years. I am running macOS Monterey (version 12), will not run Ventura or higher. There is a couple of reasons I am not upgrading right now. #1 is the Price of the upgrade, a new 16 inch MacBook Pro will cost you around $2500. #2 which is my main reason, I use a high end auto cad program and a few other that will not run on any macOS higher then Monterey. I also use software emulator such as VMware or Parallel to run some window programs. My Intel-based chipset set runs them better than the M1 or M2 chip set. They are always talking about speed, in most cases they are only talking about a few seconds unless you are a high end user. #3 My hardware such as printers and scanners. Someday I will upgrade just not now, it's not cost effective for me.