Need Advice: Which MBP to upgrade to & other Q's?

Hi all:

I currently have a MBP, 13-inch, Mid 2012.
2.5 Intel Core i5
8GB Mem
Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB.
500 GB

I'm trying to decide which MBP would be an appropriate upgrade for me & to gauge certain responses about features. I'm a basic user, I do not use photoshop, final cut pro, video editing, etc. Just use the device for Microsoft Office related work, browsing the internet, watching movies/HQ content, downloading content, iMessage, taking calls on mac etc.

I'm mainly concerned with having a unit in which the performance/speed is top notch (very fast, minimal loading, very responsive) the display is great & will last me a long time like my current unit.

What would you guys recommend? Does an upgrade to 16GB of memory make a substantial difference? (I would like to experience this, but not sure if needed). Are the incremental processor bumps that can be added under the 13" dual-core i7 & 15" quad-core 17 noticeable?With the prices so expensive these days, i was initially leaning towards the 15" since me maxing out the 13" with keeping the HD at 512 is similar in price. But seeking opinions on the smartest choice.

Also, what is everyone's opinion on the touch bar? Is it smart to just get a model with that feature? Can you all see it becoming useful in the future? Also, are there are good recommendations for a USB-C Hub? I have heard of Hyperdrive & Satechi, but wanted to see what everyone was using to connect USB, SD, HDMI, etc.

Finally, will update the MBP again anytime soon? Just didn't want to purchase & then a new model/update drops.

Thank you for reading. This forum has always been helpful. I appreciate anyone's response.

 

If you're not taking advantage of any of the features that make MacBooks worthwhile, why not go for a Windows PC? It will certainly be cheaper. It will also perform better likely.

 

Hi Don:

I just enjoy the user experience on the mac a lot. I don't think i've ever dealt with a virus & I like applications such as iMessage, so that i text/call people on my cell phone from my computer, etc.

Are there some features you recommend i utilize? Thanks for your response.

 

I mean, the main appeal of MBPs is the absurdly bright and colour-accurate screen as well as the battery life. Other things are better on machines like the XPS 15 or and UX550.

Though - as to the question. If you don't NEED the "novelty" of the touchbar - skip it. It just drains battery. As for performance, ULV CPUs are moving to quad-cores in a few months and HQ CPUs are moving to 6-core chips so getting the base model 15.4" may be a better investment long-term if you are a power user.

 

Thanks for your comments Don.

 

For the OP's use case, a quad-core ULV or 6-core HQ CPU isn't going to matter. What's available currently will do just fine. Besides, even when Intel announces new products, Apple is often 6-12 months, if not more, behind the curve to update its lineup.

 

But if he is spending that much money on a luxury device such as a MBP, why not get the most value per dollar and keep it for longer? It makes sense to buy a more powerful system and have it potentially last longer overall.

 

saturnotaku & don, thanks. Yeah that is my dilemma. I know the 15" is not ideally for the type of user i am, but the prices are so similar in the TB MBP's that I almost feel compelled, as don stated, to get the most bang for buck.

For example (under education discount):
A 13" MBP, 16GB mem, 3.5 dual core i7 & 512 HD is $2500 after taxes shipped to me.
A 15" MBP (standard config) 16GB mem, 2.9 quad core i7 & 512 HD is $2800 after taxes shipped to me.

saturnotaku, Is there a 13" configuration you feel I should opt for instead of the above?

Thanks everyone for their responses and comments.

 

Pick any 13- or 15-inch from here. They're hundreds off retail, come with the same warranty as new, and can be extended with AppleCare.

 

Thank you sir

 

If your current MBP is non retina and has a hard drive (HDD) instead of a Solid State Drive (SSD) you can see a notable performance upgrade by switching and will breath new life into the machine until next year when the 32GB MBP come out. I have a 2009 MBP 13 Mom has a 2012 MBP 13 both non retina and we did this upgrade and it was like we bought new computers.

 

I have the same one as your Mom has I believe. Yeah, i know these newer computers will definitely enhance my life. Confused though, which do you recommend or are you saying to wait until next year for the 32GB version?

Thanks

 

My opinion is if you're going to drop big bucks on the MBP and you can hold off until next year you may as well wait for the MBP that people wanted, not for something that is effectively an overpriced MBAir. Dropping in a SSD will be like night and day and will get rid of the beach ball. If you don't use the optical drive at all then you can buy an adaptor and move your hard drive to that spot putting the SSD into the original hard drive spot. For my mom she kept the optical drive, my self since my optical drive was on the fritz and I'd replaced it with an external BR-DVDRW it made no sense to keep the internal DVDRW. I don't know if you would see any performance hit putting the SSD into the optical bay, and OSX doesn't care which drive it boots from so it may be easier to just yank the optical drive and put the SSD there.

Maxing out the specs on the MBP likely means you will have a usable notebook for several years depending on your needs, my 2009 MBP 13 is still quite usable after 8 years. Sure a cheap notebook will do the same now, but the way I look at it, I likely would have had to replace this notebook 2 or 3 times already and I'd have ended up paying what I paid for this notebook in the first place.

Edit: I find some office programs do use a bit of processor. Also a lot of webpages like Facebook and such are intensive pigs. Many people aren't aware of the resources some programs and webpage plug ins use.

 

Very useful information. Thank you MLO

 

Given the usage, I don't think that would matter much. The reason to upgrade is the newer Macs are significantly lighter and offer better LCDs. If you're happy with your current MBP, tossing in a SSD will make it much more peppy.

 

Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate it.