Worth upgrading from mid-2012 to Mid-2015 MBP?

[gumbyx84]

Hello all. My mid-2012 MBP is starting to show its age: battery drains quickly, it doesn't always charge when I connect my charger, fans kick up randomly, and it runs hot. When it behaves it works for my daily usage. I know I could take it apart to replace the thermal paste on the CPU, which might help with thermals, but I hear strain and clicks from either the optic drive (with no disk installed), fans, or both. I'm also worried about doing the work myself due to iFixIt guides showing that it's a 2+ hour job and requires removing the logic board. I checked on eBay and found that mid-2015 Retina i7 2.8GHz 16GB MBP going for $400-$700. The size of the SSD doesn't bother me much as I know it's user replaceable.

Here are the specs of my current MBP:
Mid-2012 15" MBP (MacbookPro9, 1)
Quad-Core i7 2.3GHz
16GB RAM (1600 MHz) (Maxed out)
1TB SATA SSD
Discrete Graphics Card: GeForce GT 650M 2GB RAM

I don't do much heavy lifting on it besides 100 tab browser windows, light VM use for Windows-only apps for Android and gaming adapters, and very rarely light gaming in BootCamp (I'm talking like TF2 or Borderlands 2). In your opinion, is it worth the upgrade? My mid-2012 MBP is no longer getting OS updates so after a few years I'll be stuck using workarounds to keep the OS up-to-date. I can't afford to get an M1 chip MBP or Mac Mini with similar specs nor could I use VMs or dual boot on them. I'd like MBP as I do bring my laptop out with me to coffee shops or along for computer repairs for friends and family. My only other option is to try and run MacOS in a VM on a Linux box which will cost more than a used mid-2015 MBP and have more power than I really need.

Any help or recommendations you could provide would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[glenthompson]

I think it’s a worthwhile upgrade as long as you can get one in good shape for a decent price. Check other sources like Craigslist or pawn shops. I consider 16gb imperative for running VMs.

 

[gumbyx84]

I think it’s a worthwhile upgrade as long as you can get one in good shape for a decent price. Check other sources like Craigslist or pawn shops. I consider 16gb imperative for running VMs.

Same. I found one on eBay for around $330 (currently). I'm currently waiting from them to confirm if it has discrete graphics or not.

 

[bobnugget]

I use a 2012 unibody for home and a 2015 for work. The 2015 runs hotter and is noisier than the 2012 due to the fans.

The 2015 Retina display is far better than the unibody one (although I prefer my matte display). The disk is ridiculously faster (even before you put an NVMe drive in it), but you may not notice in day to day use. The thunderbolt is faster, and IIRC the Wi-Fi is too.

I’m tempted to upgrade myself too, but suspect the 2012 will be easily hackable for macOS until the later NVidia graphics cards lose support.

 

[LordeOurMother]

Worth it? I'm not sure. The 2012 is really solid and will work basically indefinitely if it's lasted
this long. The 2015 is comparably less upgradable and is, like the 2012, on its way out since it's an intel Mac.

My suggestion would be to save your money and wait for the M1 ecosystem to mature over the next few years. That's what I'm doing (for reference, my MacBook Air is basically identical to 2012 13 inch MacBook Pro in Geekbench scores, minus obviously having less RAM, and I've elected to keep it until the date where an M1 is absolutely necessary in my workflow).

But then again, if you're uncomfortable replacing the thermal paste and solving this obvious problem, then the 2015 isn't a bad computer. Keep in mind the 2013-15s are basically identical so you may save money going for a year or two behind. Try and get one with discrete graphics and look out for screen de-lamination.

 

[gumbyx84]

Worth it? I'm not sure. The 2012 is really solid and will work basically indefinitely if it's lasted
this long. The 2015 is comparably less upgradable and is, like the 2012, on its way out since it's an intel Mac.

My suggestion would be to save your money and wait for the M1 ecosystem to mature over the next few years. That's what I'm doing (my MacBook Air is basically identical to your MacBook Pro in Geekbench scores, minus obviously having less RAM, and I've elected to keep it until the date where an M1 is absolutely necessary in my workflow).

But then again, if you're uncomfortable replacing the thermal paste and solving this obvious problem, then the 2015 isn't a bad computer. Keep in mind the 2013-15s are basically identical so you may save money going for a year or two behind. Try and get one with discrete graphics and look out for screen de-lamination.

I know I should probably wait, but there is a good chance we will never get x86/x64 virtual machines on the M Series chips and that is worries me. I use a number of Android and retro emulation tool and utilities that I don't forsee jumping to ARM anytime soon. Crossover only work with some of them. Add to that VirtualBox not getting ARM support any time soon abd in kinda stuck. I may break down and try replacing the thermal paste. The only difference between my current MBP and the mid-2015 in watching on eBay is .5 GHz and a better screen. I need to compare benchmark scores between the two.

 

[LordeOurMother]

I know I should probably wait, but there is a good chance we will never get x86/x64 virtual machines on the M Series chips and that is worries me. I use a number of Android and retro emulation tool and utilities that I don't forsee jumping to ARM anytime soon. Crossover only work with some of them. Add to that VirtualBox not getting ARM support any time soon abd in kinda stuck. I may break down and try replacing the thermal paste. The only difference between my current MBP and the mid-2015 in watching on eBay is .5 GHz and a better screen. I need to compare benchmark scores between the two.

If you have a specialised work case, then obviously it's a different discussion and you should continue to use what works with that. A 2015 or the 2020 intels without the butterfly keyboard wouldn't be bad. The 16 inch MBP if you can get the money for it is basically the highest spec intel that will ever exist, too.

If this is for work, a 2015 might be worth it for a few more years of official OS support. Dosdude1 patchers are acceptable on home machines, less so when revenue is on the line I'd say.

 

[gumbyx84]

If you have a specialised work case, then obviously it's a different discussion and you should continue to use what works with that. A 2015 or the 2020 intels without the butterfly keyboard wouldn't be bad. The 16 inch MBP if you can get the money for it is basically the highest spec intel that will ever exist, too.

If this is for work, a 2015 might be worth it for a few more years of official OS support. Dosdude1 patchers are acceptable on home machines, less so when revenue is on the line I'd say.

This is just for home use. Sadly a MBP beyond a mid-2015 is probably going to be outside my price range since I need 1TB of storage and a minimum of 16GB for VMs. Not to mention the lack of I/O (I don't use a dock).

 

[4sallypat]

Same. I found one on eBay for around $330 (currently). I'm currently waiting from them to confirm if it has discrete graphics or not.

Wow, that's a good deal!

I just sold my 2015 Dual / Discrete Graphics (DG) i7 w/ 16GB RAM on eBay for $800.
eBay $795 2015 Macbook Pro
They are workhorses for sure - love them a lot!

I have another 2015 base i7 w/ 16GB RAM that I will be selling when my new M1 iMac comes in...