Planning for iMac AND MBP purchases?

[thefantastical]

Hi all,

I currently have a 15" MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012) with the following stats:
2.3 GHz Intel Core i7
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB
251 GB flash storage

I am planning on trading it in at Apple for a gift card (website says will be $409) when the newest 15" Retina MacBook Pro is released.

I use Adobe Creative Cloud, Pro Tools, and heavy programming - ideally, I would like to ALSO get the newest 27" 5K Retina iMac when it is released. However, I realize that it probably won't be released until fall.

Is there a suggested way of possibly purchasing the current iMac and then trading it in once the newer one comes? Will it even be that much of an improvement?

I am trying to map this all out along with getting a 3 TB AirPort capsule that could serve as the main storage (so that I can put $$ towards flash drives on both models).

Thanks for any advice! I'll of course respond to any questions and appreciate your input.

 

[pjfan]

Curious as to how, and where, is your 2012 rMBP 15" lagging? That's still a decent machine, and it seems like an economical means of updating would be to:
1) Buy iMac, which gives you a different usage environment (Desktop), FIRST
1.1) The latest iMac has amazing screen, and a solid top end performer
2) Keep you MBP until you trade in for the new one
2.1) Potentially, consider waiting until the 2016 rMBP 15" is in refurb store, which will save ~$300... maybe Q4 2016 or later. If your 2012 is lagging, then by all means, I get it - buy asap.

There are many ways to get more money for your machine... these forums being one method, Amazon.com is easy, but ultimately, the easiest is already your choice with Apple.

It just seems, to me, that your '12 rMBP is a good machine, and adding a new iMac 27" would be more influential to your productivity (if you work from your desk) than updating your mobile device. I would stagger your purchase that way... pardon me if I've made giant assumptions here.

 

[thefantastical]

@pjfan Thanks for replying! There are many issues that I've frustratingly tried to solve over the years (kernal_task being just one) especially with memory (8 GB) as well as just the overall quality of the hardware and screen/keyboard/etc just from usage overtime. I'd find it beneficial to start with everything refreshed.

To be helpful, I'm going to list the specs of the models out now (of course, MBP will be adjusted once the 2016 model comes out) that are of interest (FYI Education Store pricing).

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

• 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
• 16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB
• 256GB Flash Storage
• AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory

If I get the 3 TB AirPort capsule, is it worth adding $180 to make it 512 Flash storage? I'm confused how it impacts it.
Also, do I want the Magic Mouse 2 only or including the Magic Trackpad?

15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display (as previously mentioned, I am purchasing the upcoming model, not the one that includes these specs)

• 2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
• 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
• Intel Iris Pro Graphics + AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 memory

Also -- if the 2016 27" 5K iMac turns out to be a significant improvement, am I screwed?

Thanks

 

[Samuelsan2001]

@pjfan Thanks for replying! There are many issues that I've frustratingly tried to solve over the years (kernal_task being just one) especially with memory (8 GB) as well as just the overall quality of the hardware and screen/keyboard/etc just from usage overtime. I'd find it beneficial to start with everything refreshed.

To be helpful, I'm going to list the specs of the models out now (of course, MBP will be adjusted once the 2016 model comes out) that are of interest (FYI Education Store pricing).

27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display

• 4.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.2GHz
• 16GB 1867MHz DDR3 SDRAM - two 8GB
• 256GB Flash Storage
• AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB video memory

If I get the 3 TB AirPort capsule, is it worth adding $180 to make it 512 Flash storage? I'm confused how it impacts it.
Also, do I want the Magic Mouse 2 only or including the Magic Trackpad?

15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display (as previously mentioned, I am purchasing the upcoming model, not the one that includes these specs)

• 2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
• 512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
• Intel Iris Pro Graphics + AMD Radeon R9 M370X with 2GB GDDR5 memory

Also -- if the 2016 27" 5K iMac turns out to be a significant improvement, am I screwed?

Thanks

Firstly try reinstalling OSX on your 2012 rMBP, it sounds like you have some software issues there.

It is well worth waiting for the next rMBP to upgrade skylake and better graphics are well worth the wait but don't expect anything on the 15inch until June they may wait for AMD's new graphics cards to update, of course they may be ready before then but don't count on it.

The 27 inch iMac is a different matter there won't be canon lake CPU's until late 2017 and the upcoming Kabylake is just a skylake rebadge with very slight graphics improvement that mean nothing on a machine with a dGPU. I can't see anything this year that would make you want to upgrade that spec if you buy it.

Trading in will always lose you more money than selling the machine and a less than 1 year old iMac will lose maybe 25% if you do want sell it, a trade in more than 50%.

 

[pjfan]

Agree - iMac is a good buy currently.

I wish the pricing was better for iMac 512 SSD. I, personally, would go with top end iMac 27" with 8 GB of RAM, 512 SSD and trackpad.... I can't stand mice, but that's entirely a personal thing.

Put your money into RAM from Amazon.com. The install is a piece of cake, and you'll end up with more ram.

I still feel, with the new iMac at your disposal, you'll be enamored with using it and more able to make it to summer when new 15" might be released. Follow samualsan's suggestions and you might be very pleased with the results.

 

[maflynn]

(website says will be $409)

Why not sell it for more?

I went from a 2012 rMBP to an 5k iMac and I love it, its a great computer.

 

[briloronmacrumo]

The 27 inch iMac is a different matter there won't be canon lake CPU's until late 2017 and the upcoming Kabylake is just a skylake rebadge with very slight graphics improvement that mean nothing on a machine with a dGPU. I can't see anything this year that would make you want to upgrade that spec if you buy it.

Agreed, any iMac updates this year are likely to be late in the year ( Sep/Oct ) and/or minimal changes, so waiting probably won't yield a significantly better iMac. Possibly ( but also not real likely ) the Sep/Oct timeframe will bring other minor additions like USB-C ports, Thunderbolt 3 and, as Samuelsan2001 writes, a negligible CPU update if Intel gets Kabylake out on time ( hasn't been their strong suit lately ). Now is a good time to buy an iMac IMO.

 

[Trahearne]

Agreed, any iMac updates this year are likely to be late in the year ( Sep/Oct ) and/or minimal changes, so waiting probably won't yield a significantly better iMac. Possibly ( but also not real likely ) the Sep/Oct timeframe will bring other minor additions like USB-C ports, Thunderbolt 3 and, as Samuelsan2001 writes, a negligible CPU update if Intel gets Kabylake out on time ( hasn't been their strong suit lately ). Now is a good time to buy an iMac IMO.

You can expect better graphics this year, since at least AMD is going to have products with new manufacturing technology available in mid 2016.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Wrong place