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Upgrade to Faster Macbook pro 2015 or Macbook pro 2019?

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Marniwild49

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 27, 2020
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I currently have the A1502 Macbook Pro 13" early 2015. Performance specs are CPU - 2.7GHz i5, Ram - 8GB DDR3 1867MHz, Intel Iris GPU - 6100 1536 Mbs, SSD - 128GB.

This Macbook's done really well over the years and I've been happy and still am happy using it although there a few things I'd like to upgrade. -Memory used is usually above 7.00gbs in activity monitor
-SSD is usually full and have been using external one for some time
-GPU is not sufficient for games that I sometimes play.
-CPU seems fine.
-Audio jack is broken so another reason to upgrade.

I use my Macbook all the time as I am a full-stack developer who works mostly from home, so performance is key. I also sometimes play games in my spear time, and do a little mixing with rekordbox which runs relatively slow on my machine.

Usually I would just go ahead and upgrade all these things but in this case it's impossible so I'm considering upgrading either to a faster 2015 Macbook Pro 2015 (probably the 15") 16GB ram, and a faster GPU. OR upgrading to the newest Macbook Pro but from what I've heard it's not worth the upgrade. This is my first time posting here so just wanting to get some advice or input to help me make a decision. Money is not a problem for me, I just think it's time for an upgrade but not sure what to buy.

Any advice would be much appreciated :)
 
I’d say that depends on your financial situation. I just upgraded to a 2019 MBP 16” base model from my 216 model, and it’s all a matter of the damn keyboard. A 2015 is certainly now up for an upgrade, but only go with another 2015 if you can’t justify the cost of a 16”
 
I bought a 2015 a few months ago because I wanted to wait to see the next version of MacBook pro before I upgraded. It's been working fine, but yeah, if I had the cash, I'd get a 2019. That said, I couldn't see myself plunking down 4k for a machine right now, and I think given how things are going, that was the right decision.
 
I have a 2012 (1TB, 16GB) and 2015 (1TB, 16GB). I now have a company provided 2019 with 32GB and 2TB.

It is definitely much snappier. If you can afford it, go 2019.
 
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The base model is plenty unless you do 4K video editing or absolutely need the high end graphics maxed out at the highest resolutions, but it’s still a Mac.
 
I’d definitely go for the latest model you can afford - a 16” one or wait for the revised 13/14”.

I know the older MacBook Pros are held in high regard due to their upgradeability, but unless you’re on a budget, go for the current model which is better in nearly every other regard. As someone who has owned a few of those, things have moved on a lot and I’m surprised they’re taking on nearly legendary status with some.
 
For me it’s not so much that 2015 is the perfect laptop. It’s that what came immediately after was such a disappointment, for typing experience and overall performance. The fact that a machine 4 years newer couldn’t run circles around the retina MacBook pros was a real mistake, both due to Apple’s obsession with thinness, and intel refusing to produce anything significantly better.

The 2019 16 inch seems like a real improvement, but since I’ve had to make do for so long with the same machine, spending 4k right now seemed like a difficult proposition unless it was a totally different experience.

That was before the economy tanked. I’m extremely lucky, all that’s happened to me is a pay cut, loss of this year’s raises, and cancellation of grants. So many folks lost their jobs or can’t find new ones that don’t involve extreme risk of exposure, in this context, a $4k investment either better guarantee my immunity or do unspeakable things to me. And yeah, if I was going to bother replacing my maxed out 2015, in order to be worth while, I’d get a 2TB, i9, 32 or 64 gig RAM model. At least with my relative jalopy 2015 model, I expanded to 2TB and if I really needed to, I could drop in a 4TB drive.
 
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@Marniwild49 if you are happy with your current 2015 MacBook Pro 13 inch, assuming you have a non-retina version then may I suggest you look for a retina version whether it is a 13 inch (not affected by the 2015 MacBook Pro battery recall) or get a 15 inch retina 2015 MacBook Pro spec'd but make sure if you go with the 15 inch have it checked out to make sure it is not part of the battery recall Apple put out due to battery related issues that plagued the 2015 15inch models. You won't spend nearly the same amount as you would for a brand new laptop and you will still have a decent laptop for your money. If I were in your shoes I my self would be looking to get a 13 inch 2015 MacBook Pro retina i7 with 16GB RAM. Storage drive is of no concern because I can easily upgrade that laptop to NVMe M.2 storage and put in a Samsung 970PRO/EVO drive and have close to 3x drive performance improvement... Good luck on your decision.
 
Lots of good advice in the thread. When Apple updates their MBP product range the new keyboard should be released in either a 13 or probably 14 inch display. We don't know when these models will be released.

If you are thinking of upgrading right now I'd suggest you go for a 2015 retina MBP and definitely buy one with 16GB RAM. You can't upgrade the RAM on this machine so whatever you buy is what you will always have. You can increase the size of the SSD if necessary but you can always use external drives.

What type of peripherals do you have? Mostly USB-A? Do you take advantage of Thunderbolt?
 
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senttoschool said:
I'll disagree. I think the 2015 is overall a much better laptop than the 2019.

I would buy a 2015 15" fully loaded. It should only cost around ~$1,000, which is 3x less than a decently equipped 2019 after taxes.
Click to expand...

we’ve got about 3-4 years of MacOS support left for the 2015s. Keep that in mind as well. A base 2019 will have several additional years of MacOS being fully supported. I’d buy a base MacBook Pro 16” over a fully loaded 2015 model.
 
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I have a 2015 13 (3.1 Ghz, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM) and I'm typing on it right now. I mainly use it for watching videos, reading books, email and web browsing. This is my work-provided laptop. Great battery life, decent performance. A lot of my coworkers have this model. I suspect that you'd be pretty happy with it.

I also have a 2015 15 (2.5 Ghz, AMD Graphics, 512 GB SSD) and I use it for work. Much better performance than the 13 and the fans don't come on under relatively low loads. The 13 has inferior air flow. I only get five hours on the battery where I can get 8 or 9 on the 13.

I also have a 2014 15 (2.2 Ghz, 512 GB SSD). I use this mainly for personal stuff (trading) and the workload can be pretty heavy. This is also a great machine but it's got a slower CPU, doesn't have discrete graphics and has a slower SSD.

My next upgrade will be the MacBook Pro 16. But I am in no hurry as these three machines are enough horsepower for me.

The 2015 15 is mostly in clamshell mode driving 2xQHD monitors. The 2014 15 is mostly in clamshell mode driving 1 4K monitor. That's why I use the 13 around the house - the other two have a bunch of plugs connected. I also have a 512 GB SD card in the 2014 and leave it in there. It's extra storage - not really fast but it's nice to have.

My guess is that you'd be fine either way. The 15 has the nicer screen and the AMD option - if you want to game then you'd probably want that. Prices for 2015s are pretty good as the 2019 16 has reduced demands for the 2015s. My 2015 15 was bought used and it has lots of scratches and dings - but runs just fine.
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robvas said:
2019 will be a huge upgrade while the 2015 will just be a "bump"
Click to expand...

Upgrading from a 2015 13 with 8 GB of RAM to a 2015 15 with 2.8 Ghz and AMD will be more than a double on performance. I think that anyone would call that a huge upgrade.
 
tbobmccoy said:
we’ve got about 3-4 years of MacOS support left for the 2015s. Keep that in mind as well. A base 2019 will have several additional years of MacOS being fully supported. I’d buy a base MacBook Pro 16” over a fully loaded 2015 model.
Click to expand...
I agree that they're getting a bit long in the tooth, but again, why not save money now and see what the next couple of years brings? Next year's machine will always (except 2016-2018) beat the previous machines.
 
If money is not a problem, I don't think you'll go wrong with the 16".

I got a new job a while back. Started developing on Windows again. Work gives me a 2015 15" MBP and an HP ZBook G3 15". Both are beasts in their own rights and are very good workstations.

And I also used a 2018 15" before so I knew what that felt like. I still have my 2018 13".

The 16" just... tops it all. It's the first MacBook in a long time I have used that doesn't overheat or throw a fuss. It's almost as quiet as the 13" when I'm just casually browsing the web watching Youtube, and it can rev up when I need the extra CPU cores to compile my personal projects. Needless to say it leaves the 13" in the dust when it comes to CPU power, and the 13" was no slouch.

Also the keyboard is finally "nice" again. Physical Esc key was much needed.

Again, if money is not a problem, get that $6K 16" MacBook Pro and don't look back. If it's your money maker, it's worth the investment.
 
profcutter said:
I agree that they're getting a bit long in the tooth, but again, why not save money now and see what the next couple of years brings? Next year's machine will always (except 2016-2018) beat the previous machines.
Click to expand...

true, but the newer the machine, the longer it’ll take to be outdated. I’d say that’s worth the cost. It’s why I’m buying base model MacBook Pros now. Save the $ I would have used to upgrade and in 3 years, I’ll be able to buy another base model.
 
tbobmccoy said:
we’ve got about 3-4 years of MacOS support left for the 2015s. Keep that in mind as well. A base 2019 will have several additional years of MacOS being fully supported. I’d buy a base MacBook Pro 16” over a fully loaded 2015 model.
Click to expand...
16" is a banger :)
 
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Another vote for the 16" here. Even if its the base model, you're getting 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, a 6 core i7, a fantastic keyboard, and a significantly better GPU than a maxed out 2015 15". The Radeon Pro 5300m with 4GB GDDR6 in the base 16" blows away the old 2GB R9 in the 2015 15" models.

(I've owned and used both as my personal machines, as well as a 2018 15" in between.)
 
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