MacBook purchasing advice

October 27, 2016 1:51 PM

I have a mid-2010 MacBook Pro that I'd like to replace with another Mac (I like the OS) given that 1) I have run out of room to store things, 2) it's been running slow and pretty hot (even when I wasn't completely out of memory), and 3) it's a little heavy for me now. I can't decide which Mac would be the best replacement, and could use some advice.

I've tended in the past to buy computers on the higher-end of my budget with an eye towards better performance given the mentality that 1) I'd like to not have to replace it for a while and 2) you never know when you'll need better performance (i.e. better safe than sorry). So I was holding off for the announcement today of the new MacBook Pros with the expectation I would pick one up. However, a combination of not-so-great updates + a high price tag have gotten me questioning if that's the best choice for me moving forward.

For the most part my usage is web surfing (with a TON of open tabs), document editing, a little bit of video editing (very rare) and music playing, and some gaming (nothing too intensive, mostly visual novels). More than anything, though, I treat my laptop as my primary storage device - all my photos, videos, etc. are on there, which is probably why I've filled up the 256gb drive.

Would a new maxed-out MacBook (1.3ghz dual-core intel m7, 8gb ram, 512gb flash storage) be a considerable improvement over my 13-inch mid-2010 Pro (2.4ghz intel core 2 duo, 4gb ram, 250GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive) while fitting my needs/wants? Or would another Mac (Air? The new Pro?) be better for me? I should also note that part of the reason why the MacBook is tempting me is coming from a shallow place - I really like the gold color - though I'm obviously willing to overcome that if it's otherwise sub-par for my purposes.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

posted by Sakura3210 to Computers & Internet (16 answers total)

Forgot to mention - lack of ports isn't really an issue for me.
posted by Sakura3210 at 1:57 PM on October 27, 2016

From looking at the Geekbench scores for your old 2010 MacBook Pro and the maxed-out 2016 MacBook, you can probably expect a pretty significant performance increase. In addition, you'll have twice the RAM which should handle the extra browser tabs and twice the disk capacity which should handle your photo/video storage requirements. Plus having an SSD instead of a hard drive should make the computer much more pleasant to use.
posted by zsazsa at 2:04 PM on October 27, 2016

I'd go with an Air for your purposes, possibly supplemented with an external hard drive. I have one (2015 model, probably, as I bought in February), and it's fantastically zippy, not to mention feather light.

The only reason to ever buy a pro (especially maxed out, wtf) is if you do really processor-intensive tasks like video editing or certain types of graphic design. Maybe console gaming?

My Air serves me well for web surfing, media viewing, Excel spreadsheeting, and other "heavy use but not like professionally whoa extreme use" tasks.
posted by Sara C. at 2:22 PM on October 27, 2016

I'm writing this on a Macbook Air right now. I also have a 13" Pro at home from the same time period (2 years ago), and I do prefer the Retina screen slightly. Since the new 13" Pro is actually lighter and thinner than the Air, I don't see a non-budgetary reason to buy an Air right now.
posted by serelliya at 2:34 PM on October 27, 2016

I love my 13" Macbook Air so much. Light, long battery, and the wedge shape that doesn't cut into my wrists when typing. I'll just say I'm extremely disappointed Apple didn't update it today and might eventually phase it out. I can look past the lack of retina screen, as I know retina means less battery life, but its processor and graphics chipset are out of date and not fast as they could be if Apple did an internal-only bump, which is frustrating if you're plunking down money for a new machine.
posted by bluecore at 2:53 PM on October 27, 2016

I _think_ my previous macbook was the exact same model as yours. I had mine upgraded to 8gb of ram and a SSD, and that gave me a massive speed boost. Might be something to consider!

Would also suggest getting a nice fast external drive for media storage.
posted by TrinsicWS at 3:48 PM on October 27, 2016

the air is classed as "don't buy" in the macrumours buying guide - may be dropped, given that it's not been updated today.

the macbook is lighter.
posted by andrewcooke at 3:48 PM on October 27, 2016

I'd go for an Air (or similar) and buy a decent external monitor. I went from a 2011 MBP to a 2015 MBP, and the performance increase was enormous.

I do some heavy graphics work, but for 99% of people, the Air is perfectly capable.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 4:42 PM on October 27, 2016

I'm considering a refurbished model purchased directly from Apple. I have zero interest in the laptops they introduced today, so think I'm going to opt for something from the last round of updates. Yes, I know that means I'm opting for older technology but I don't care. It'll be far less expensive and won't be marred by a massive touchpad, lack of ports, or stupid touchbar.
posted by jdroth at 6:50 PM on October 27, 2016

I'm in a similar boat, but with a mid-2009 MBP. Been waiting over a year for a significant upgrade to come along and these new ones look OK for that, but the price increase kills them for me, esp. as my use is likely even less intense than yours. I want a retina screen though, so the Air is out. And I'm just a little nervous about the 12" MacBook (perhaps unjustifiably) due to uncertainty about being able to adapt to the keyboard, whether it will be stable enough on a lap given it's lightness, and potential lack of future-proofed power and compatibility (the last is certainly also a concern for the Air). At the moment I'm like jdroth, considering a refurb last gen MBP. Cheap, good keyboard and screen, a pound lighter than my currrent, but not featherweight, ports that I can use old peripherals with without dongles, etc. A bit less future-proof than the new ones, but likely less so than the other options. I wish now I'd done this a year ago. Of course, YMMV.
posted by ClingClang at 8:44 PM on October 27, 2016

I love my Air 11, but the Air line is over as of yesterday, so that's not a good plan for your six-year life cycle.

The basic MacBooks come in those pretty new colors, but they're also quite underpowered.

If that six+ year lifespan is the goal, I suspect you do indeed want the new (current, October 2016) MacBook Pro, probably the 13 or 15 inch version, since those have the nifty new touch bar and represent the future of the product line. Whether you need the bigger 15-inch really just depends how you feel about the bigger/heavier for a larger screen tradeoff. I prefer smaller, myself, but the larger size is exactly one extra pound, this go-around.

Note that RAM and storage isn't upgradeable anymore, so get lots built-in to start with or you will regret it come 2022 or so. 16GB RAM is a wise move these days, and while the 512GB you are leaning toward is usually enough storage for most non-video-making people, I also note that the 15-inch version is configurable up to 1TB or even an ungodly 2TB SSD. Yikes.
posted by rokusan at 2:29 AM on October 28, 2016

Yeah the brand new MacBooks have approximately the same GeekBench score as the 2012 MBP 13" I am using right now.

The non-Retina MacBook Pros (the last generation that featured user-serviceable hard drives and memory) are still really good machines, especially given that you can add more memory or a larger HDD on your own rather than pay Apple a premium for the same thing. I dropped a 1 TB drive and 16 GB RAM into my current model and performance-wise, it's been great.

HOWEVER: I did however get a chance to help another guy with his 2015 MBP, and man does that solid state drive make a difference. From cold start to desktop, the power up sequence was practically instantaneous. And the Retina screens are really fantastic... but, to be fair, the average Windows monitor makes a standard MacBook screen look fantastic by comparison, too, so even the non-Retina screens are darn good.

I am not in the camp of people who think that a Pro is a bad investment, mostly because I know darn well the longevity of the things. My last computer (a 2007 MBP, maxed) was in use for 8 years as a daily use system before I replaced it, and the entire time I owned it, the machine was able to run the latest version of OS X without a hiccup. The non-Pro models are dropped much faster than that.
posted by caution live frogs at 9:40 AM on October 28, 2016

Thanks everyone; I tried out the keyboard on the MacBook today and found it to be terrible, so it looks like that's out of the running. As has been pointed out, Air will probably be dropped, so I think I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get a new Pro (assuming the keyboard isn't as bad as the MacBook, otherwise I'll get an older Pro). That said, I'm going to go for the cheapest one and just shell out for a little extra storage, since the touch bar seems too gimmicky for me and upping the other specs too expensive (plus probably not necessary given my usage). Thanks again!
posted by Sakura3210 at 5:27 PM on October 28, 2016

Oh, don't write off that new keyboard too quickly. I have a friend who hated it for the first day or two but has learned to love it since, and now finds the older style inferior and "cheap-feeling" in comparison. So I think there's a muscle-memory learning curve.

I also think that touchbar is going to be migrated all down the line as the economy of scale kicks in, and there may be a day when it's impossible to imagine a MacBook of any kind without it, kind of like it would be without a trackpad.

But it'll be a year or two before it's really used well by developers, I think. The MS Office example used in the demo looks awful, for example. But the TouchID and slider/picker examples? Nice.
posted by rokusan at 9:52 PM on October 28, 2016

Yeah, instead of future -proofing, I figure I'll go with the best cheapest one I can get for now and see if that's enough for a while. If not, I can just upgrade next year to whichever computer makes the improvements I most like.
posted by Sakura3210 at 6:27 PM on October 29, 2016

It turns out the new macbook pro has a removable drive so it's just a matter of time before you can buy a third party SSD upgrade. Therefore if you have to choose an upgrade now I'd max out the RAM to 16Gb.
posted by piyushnz at 10:16 AM on October 31, 2016