Upgrade or not?

[circatee]

You received a free MBP (details below). Would you upgrade to an M1 (MBP or MBA), or keep the MBP?
The pro I see of keeping the old MBP, is having the option to use Boot Camp Assistance. Albeit, for me, I probably wouldn't use that feature more than a few times, at most. I have access to a Windows PC.

Thoughts...

MacBook Pro mid-2014
2.5GHz Intel i7
16GB memory
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048MB
Storage: 500GB flash
OS: Big Sur

 

[Diablo360]

Depends on what your going to use it for. If you’re just doing basic tasks then your free Macbook Pro should still be pretty quick

 

[rm5]

I've never owned one of those 2014 MBPs before, but I upgraded from a 2012 Mac mini to an M1 MacBook Air and the difference is inexplicable - it's SO much faster!

Now yes, the 2012 is slower and older than the 2014 MBP. If you need Bootcamp, you have to keep it because M1s don't have Bootcamp. But it sounds like you have a PC, so do you really need it?

 

[circatee]

But it sounds like you have a PC, so do you really need it?

And that is my dilemma, or should I say thought process. Seriously considering upgrading to a MBA M1. Then the thought is, 7 core or 8 core. See, decisions, decisions...

 

[rm5]

Upgrading to the 8-core GPU will have almost no performance increase over the 7-core. I bought mine with 7-core, 16 GB of RAM, and 256 GB of storage at the education discount.

If you need more storage, either upgrade to 512 GB and/or buy an external SSD, depends on your budget. I bought a 1 TB SanDisk which is about 1 GB/s slower than the internal SSD, but I don't really care - it's fast enough.

If you want a faster machine, just upgrade to the M1 and sell/give away the 2014 MBP. Or, you could keep the MBP (since you got it for free) and get the M1 in addition - there are many options. Maybe you can use the 2014 as a secondary laptop, and the M1 (and maybe the PC) as your primary machine.

Also, what is your workload - what do you want to do on the computer?

Hope this helps.

 

[darngooddesign]

Sell the 2014 and use the extra to upgrade from a 13" M1 to a 14" MBP.

 

[barkomatic]

Does accepting the free 2014 MBP prevent you in some way from then getting an M1 if you need it? If not, why wouldn't you see if the 2014 works for you before deciding? You could also use it until the next generation comes out to take full advantage of any new features.

 

[circatee]

If not, why wouldn't you see if the 2014 works for you before deciding? You could also use it until the next generation comes out to take full advantage of any new features.

Good point...

 

[Fishrrman]

Try the 2014 MBP for a couple of months.
Does it do what you need to do?
Is it fast enough?
Does its performance satisfy you?
If yes, then keep it (it was free, right?).

If not... think about something newer...

 

[circatee]

Try the 2014 MBP for a couple of months.
Does it do what you need to do?
Is it fast enough?
Does its performance satisfy you?
If yes, then keep it (it was free, right?).

If not... think about something newer...

This is rather spot on.

Went to Best Buy today, to look at the MBA and MBP. And, since am currently using a 15", all the models I looked at were 13" and 14". Honestly, they seem so 'small'.

For now, I will stick with this 15" mid-2014. Installing Mojave, as we speak...