I did find that to be the case with Yosemite on my Intel Iris mid-2014 15", but since El Capitan, it's been buttery smooth. Like @turbineseaplane, I too would notice if it gets laggy. Maybe it stays smooth because I don't have any graphically intensive apps open though.
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MacBook Pro 15 2015 still worth it
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I did find that to be the case with Yosemite on my Intel Iris mid-2014 15", but since El Capitan, it's been buttery smooth. Like @turbineseaplane, I too would notice if it gets laggy. Maybe it stays smooth because I don't have any graphically intensive apps open though.
I just wanted to add that I've been doing a FCPX project on just the laptop and also with an eGPU connected to my 4k 32" external, and nothing has been lagging (even in laptop only mode) there either.
I'm actually really pleased with the performance in this regard. The fans aren't even turning on when doing several minutes of compressing/exporting of test versions of the final output.
Granted, it's only a 1080p level FCPX project....I would expect a 2015 perhaps to have issues with 4k editing, but I don't know as I haven't captured any yet really.
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Get one for cheap if you can. I'm using one, feel like the new MacOS versions are not doing well on this platform
I'm using a 2015 (13") and with a clean install of Mojave it's rock solid. My power settings got messed up somehow (again, clean install - shouldn't happen) but I was able to get that solved. Loving Mojave, it's a night and day improvement over HS for me.
Wha?
Which are you using - couldn't disagree more and I have 2 of them, right here.. typing this on one right now
I'm using MBP 15" 2015 with iGPU but 512ssd.
Excellent laptop. No kernel panics and other things which are present in newer models due to huge amount of manufacture defects.
If you no need eGPU performance (because radeon m370 is not enough in 2019) it's the best choice because you have at least HQ CPU (instead of *U in 13").
For coding life with couple external monitors you have great performance at all with absolutely silent fans.
And I'd strongly recommend do not buy 15" with eGPU because when you connect it with couple external monitors the fans noise is annoying.. Look only for MBP 15" 2015 without external GPU, only with iGPU.
But it's only my IMHO. I just like to work in absolute silence.
Excellent laptop. No kernel panics and other things which are present in newer models due to huge amount of manufacture defects.
If you no need eGPU performance (because radeon m370 is not enough in 2019) it's the best choice because you have at least HQ CPU (instead of *U in 13").
For coding life with couple external monitors you have great performance at all with absolutely silent fans.
And I'd strongly recommend do not buy 15" with eGPU because when you connect it with couple external monitors the fans noise is annoying.. Look only for MBP 15" 2015 without external GPU, only with iGPU.
But it's only my IMHO. I just like to work in absolute silence.
Just to be clear, the poster above means discrete GPU, not external.
He’s saying don’t get the one with AMD m370x + Intel Iris Pro inside.
I agree about eGPU also.
I’m using one at my 4K monitor docking setup and it’s great.
Mega thanks to eGPU.io community for enabling this functionality in Mojave still, as Apple naturally disabled the ability for TB1/2 Macs to use eGPU, even though it works great.
Yes it’s not the full bandwidth that you’d get with TB3, but it’s far from “useless” - quite the opposite.
Of course, Apple didn’t do anything like this to drive sales to newer TB3 Macs vs continuing to use older ones.
They would never do something like that.
Never.
I promise.
Pinky swear
He’s saying don’t get the one with AMD m370x + Intel Iris Pro inside.
I agree about eGPU also.
I’m using one at my 4K monitor docking setup and it’s great.
Mega thanks to eGPU.io community for enabling this functionality in Mojave still, as Apple naturally disabled the ability for TB1/2 Macs to use eGPU, even though it works great.
Yes it’s not the full bandwidth that you’d get with TB3, but it’s far from “useless” - quite the opposite.
Of course, Apple didn’t do anything like this to drive sales to newer TB3 Macs vs continuing to use older ones.
They would never do something like that.
Never.
I promise.
Pinky swear
i totally agree, i have the one with the m370x which i swapped with a coworker for the 2017 model but i wish it was the cheap one with integrated gpu only for quietness (less important while in windows) i use volta to help keep it silent but it can only do so much, there is a github thing for throttling the gpu too, didn't try it yet tho.
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I'm right there with you guys..
I had a totally maxed dGPU model and swapped it down to iGPU only 2.2 model
Does all I want when on internal display and I go eGPU for external display and the MBP stays essentially always quiet so far. Loving it!
Haha.. seems the stories are similar.
First time I bought MBP 13" 2015 and I really loved it but after some time I need more performance, thus I decided to buy 15" 2015. I've bought it with dGPU and.. it's pretty awful. The throttling so huge.. and the fans almost the whole time is soundable (I just got used to work in silent with my old MBP 13" 2015).
And when I was playing... for example, in CS: GO, the FPS could be decreased to 50-70fps (from 150+), but with iGPU I have stable 80-100 the whole time. However, games is not prior tasks I'm doing on my laptop
It was just like experiments.
Thus I decided about.. why I need dGPU? It is throttling toooo much and I have annoying noise the whole time.
Then I just sold it and buy the same laptop with iGPU only. And I'm pretty happy. It is silent the whole time, I'm not concerning about whether I'm going with dGPU or iGPU (because it could be switched almost randomly), and a lot issues with stuck on dGPU after disconnecting external monitor. Google Chrome can randomly enable dGPU (for example when you're going on google maps, or other activity).
I understood one mandatory thing: MacBook with dGPU is not worthy completely. It has annoying noise, huge throttling.
And "iGPU <-> dGPU" auto-switcher is awful, I'm not able to run only with iGPU when I no need huge graphics performance and the external monitor is always connecting to dGPU (because of circuit design). It's completely not convenient (especially for me).
In this case I like how this technology made on Windows where I'm able to select exact application to run with dGPU (or eGPU).
(BTW: when windows laptops will have a great trackpad I'll sell my mac forever )
First time I bought MBP 13" 2015 and I really loved it but after some time I need more performance, thus I decided to buy 15" 2015. I've bought it with dGPU and.. it's pretty awful. The throttling so huge.. and the fans almost the whole time is soundable (I just got used to work in silent with my old MBP 13" 2015).
And when I was playing... for example, in CS: GO, the FPS could be decreased to 50-70fps (from 150+), but with iGPU I have stable 80-100 the whole time. However, games is not prior tasks I'm doing on my laptop
It was just like experiments.Thus I decided about.. why I need dGPU? It is throttling toooo much and I have annoying noise the whole time.
Then I just sold it and buy the same laptop with iGPU only. And I'm pretty happy. It is silent the whole time, I'm not concerning about whether I'm going with dGPU or iGPU (because it could be switched almost randomly), and a lot issues with stuck on dGPU after disconnecting external monitor. Google Chrome can randomly enable dGPU (for example when you're going on google maps, or other activity).
I understood one mandatory thing: MacBook with dGPU is not worthy completely. It has annoying noise, huge throttling.
And "iGPU <-> dGPU" auto-switcher is awful, I'm not able to run only with iGPU when I no need huge graphics performance and the external monitor is always connecting to dGPU (because of circuit design). It's completely not convenient (especially for me).
In this case I like how this technology made on Windows where I'm able to select exact application to run with dGPU (or eGPU).
(BTW: when windows laptops will have a great trackpad I'll sell my mac forever
)I don't know. When I first the computer with Mavericks I noticed it before I installed anything. It got much worse when I increased the screen resolution. The upgrade to Yosemite made it much worse (and for some reason made the computer slow to a crawl when the battery percentage was low, but that's probably irrelevant). El Capitan helped a bit but it's definitely there. Only when using the Nvidia does it become smooth for me.
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Yosemite made my computer much worse, and while El Capitan improved a bit, it didn't go back to Mavericks smoothness levels on my computer. Having said that, Mavericks wasn't that smooth with the Intel GPU to begin with. Maybe it's because I increased the screen resolution, but I have no lag whatsoever with the Nvidia and those resolutions.
I really have no idea how anyone is having any stuttering or lagging on these machines.
I’m nearly done with a multi-day FCPX project and not only have I heard no stuttering or lagging, I’ve never even heard the fans even when using just the iGPU and an external HD monitor.
Have you done a fresh install of Mojave?
Reset PRAM/SMC/etc all that stuff?
I’m nearly done with a multi-day FCPX project and not only have I heard no stuttering or lagging, I’ve never even heard the fans even when using just the iGPU and an external HD monitor.
Have you done a fresh install of Mojave?
Reset PRAM/SMC/etc all that stuff?
All the stuff. Had them from brand new (before installing any apps) too. Tried clean installs on external SSDs too. I can't try external monitors, however, because they are wired to my Nvidia.
I've owned the 2016 13" MacBook Pro for the past two years and really hate it between the awful keyboard, the 3-4 hours of battery life I've gotten since fresh out of the box and set up as new, and the gimmicky touchbar. I'm so fed up with it that I just bought a great condition, used 2015 15" MacBook Pro with AppleCare+ until 2021 on eBay and get it later this week. I can't wait! I previously had a 2009 17" MacBook Pro that I kept until 2016, and I loved the design quality on there, much like the 2015 models. I think the 2015 will last many years.
Nice, it's a timeless machine, hope you will enjoy it! I wish the 2016+ models were just a spec bump, with thinner bezels, all the ports, better display & speakers, little bigger trackpad... and a matte black color option. It was that simple, that simple...
In 2017, i bought the 15 MacBook Pro 2015 for school. granted that the new models were available. the price difference for the 15 inch and the latest 15 was about 1k+ , in my country Singapore. I was luckily and able to choose either the 2015 or the 2017. I decided that I shan't take the risk of the butterfly keyboard and also I dont really like the sound that the butterfly keyboard, I bite the bullet and got the 2015 MacBook Pro, despite being a 2 years old machine at that point in time.
I asked the genius, do people still buy the 2015, he said yes, for those who still rely heavily on the ports.
today, 2019, as the 2015 is a 4 years old machine, I'm lucky that it has served me well, with minimal issue. the only issue I had was a little creaking palm rest. I tried several ways to solve it, and seems better now. But I felt that, maybe I should have taken the 2017.
lets be blunt, I dont think that apple would revert back to the old traditional keyboard used in the 2015. we can only accept and hope for improvement made to the butterfly keyboard.
also, not owning a macbook with USB C could be a game changer in future. USB C is much faster in terms of charging and data transfer rate. So, I suggest that those who are lamenting or criticising the new macbook without the USB A to stop thinking and view that as a negative point. its totally flawed. on the other hand, I hope that in future there is a device that allows me to read USB C device with my 2015 macbook
I asked the genius, do people still buy the 2015, he said yes, for those who still rely heavily on the ports.
today, 2019, as the 2015 is a 4 years old machine, I'm lucky that it has served me well, with minimal issue. the only issue I had was a little creaking palm rest. I tried several ways to solve it, and seems better now. But I felt that, maybe I should have taken the 2017.
lets be blunt, I dont think that apple would revert back to the old traditional keyboard used in the 2015. we can only accept and hope for improvement made to the butterfly keyboard.
also, not owning a macbook with USB C could be a game changer in future. USB C is much faster in terms of charging and data transfer rate. So, I suggest that those who are lamenting or criticising the new macbook without the USB A to stop thinking and view that as a negative point. its totally flawed. on the other hand, I hope that in future there is a device that allows me to read USB C device with my 2015 macbook
There are many adapter that allow you to use USB-C on that computer. Also, while thunderbolt 2 devices might be expensive, they also have double the speed of USB-C.
I agree it would be uncharacteristic for apple to reverse course and dump the butterfly keyboard. I had hoped that the 3rd generation was the version that apple got right, but sadly its not.
Agreed. I have a 13" 2015 that is Intel only and the graphics are as smooth as butter! Opening stacks, launchpad, the applications folder etc, all open as they should...with zero lag.
I would have to say that something else is causing the lag on the machine in question.
As for the OP's question: The 2015 MacBook Pro's are excellent computers, some say the last "truly great" Mac laptop. Like others have said, do not pay full price for a 2015 in 2019, but if you find a good deal price wise and the machine is in good condition, go for it. Here are a few articles (out of the many) that discuss why they are so great, enjoy:
https://medium.com/@Pier/why-i-bought-a-2015-macbook-pro-fadf27ab4b
https://mashable.com/article/rip-2015-15-inch-retina-macbook-pro/#QJU4HNyBtiqG
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/macbook-pro-2015-is-best-macbook-in-2017
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I have the base 2015 15" MBP, and other than some lamination issues on the screen, it's been a great machine. Runs everything I throw at it without missing a beat. Plus it has a great keyboard and lots of ports. That being said, the 2018 MBP's are also nice, so I think either way, you're going to win. But I definitely recommend the 2015 MBP if you can find a pristine one. Edit: one just popped up on the refurb store--$1699.
If you must get a Mac, then yeah 2015 is the model to get, but with that said, buying from Apple for 1,700 dollars is just plain insane. You're spending almost 2k on a 4 year old computer
You can get a base Thinkpad X1E for less and its using a Coffee lake processor and a Nvidia GTX 1050-TI. That's just crazy that apple selling such an old computer for such a high price.
15" 2015 2.2ghz - MacBook Pro just popped up on the Apple site. But in 2019 I can't believe they are still selling this machine with 5 year old tech at this price point...This is in Canadian Dollars without the 13% TAX SMH!!
At those quoted prices I think the MacBook Pro is absolutely the way to go (the 2015 version). Maybe unless the equipment for the Dell is unbelievably good and you don't care about macOS.