MacBook Pro upgrade or new?

**auvgeek** · 12-13-2017, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by thejongiest

Eh...the TB was expensive but not SUPER out of line. Still would cost you close to $400 to do it yourself.

True about the Windows machine, but it depends on your use. An equivalent build quality LAPTOP from Dell/Razer/etc would be maybe $2300. Not to mention the AppleCare which is far superior to what you can get from the Windows side...

I just got a Lenovo T470s with 24 GB RAM (8 GB soldered onto the MB and 16GB aftermarket) and aftermarket 1TB SSD for like $1700. Similar price for the T570, if you're into 15" screens.

OSX is way better than Windows, but it's hard to beat Linux. And yeah, I used a MBPr for a while before the Lenovo.

**stuckathuntermtn** · 12-13-2017, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by auvgeek

I just got a Lenovo T470s with 24 GB RAM (8 GB soldered onto the MB and 16GB aftermarket) and aftermarket 1TB SSD for like $1700. Similar price for the T570, if you're into 15" screens.

OSX is way better than Windows, but it's hard to beat Linux. And yeah, I used a MBPr for a while before the Lenovo.

Linux, lol.

**auvgeek** · 12-13-2017, 05:16 PM

I realize it varies greatly by profession, but almost everyone I know is running linux these days. Which, besides the expense, is one reason to avoid Macs -- NVIDIA drivers don't always play nice, especially on lower end GPUs. Sometimes people run windoze in a virtual machine or dual boot if they routinely run a window-specific program. If you need a mac for a certain program or whatever, then that's certainly understandable.

**mall walker** · 12-13-2017, 05:20 PM

linux is awesome if you're doing any sort of (non .NET) software development.

for my 2 cents I'm going with this next https://system76.com/cart/configure/galp3 after my current MBPr. maybe put OSX in a virtual box. not worth the cost (to me) to go MBP, for a 16GB RAM machine that'll be nearly forced into obsolescence in ~3 years

**stuckathuntermtn** · 12-13-2017, 08:18 PM

Linux has it's place for certain servers, but otherwise you are gaining nothing but a headache. Well, and Android. It's great for phones.

**auvgeek** · 12-13-2017, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Linux has it's place for certain servers, but otherwise you are gaining nothing but a headache.

What are your credentials for making such a statement? I've used all three pretty extensively -- actually have used Ubuntu the least -- and Ubuntu is the easiest to use for what I need in an OS. Sadly, it's also the least visually appealing, but I can deal with that. For software development, particularly when interfacing with real hardware, Ubuntu is definitely better than OSX. All the roboticists I know run some form of Linux but some of the pure CS guys run macOS. Windoze isn't even in the competition, except for CAD modeling. But, as mentioned before, it's pretty easy to set up a partition to dual boot.

**alect47** · 12-13-2017, 09:11 PM

I just ordered a 2015 MacBook Pro 13" with 16gb ram, 256ssd and the 2.7 gHz i5 for $1,249 from B&H. I really wanted the new one, but I thought I was just paying more mostly for it to look prettier.

Did I make the right decision?

**mall walker** · 12-13-2017, 09:18 PM

Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Linux has it's place for certain servers, but otherwise you are gaining nothing but a headache. Well, and Android. It's great for phones.

that was true at one time but has been becoming less and less true over the years, ubuntu works out of the box as well as or better than windows and even debian and fedora are pretty painless these days. I dunno if we’ll ever get to “year of the Linux desktop” but it’s pretty damn near as usable as anything else these days imo

lack of certain proprietary software is probably the major thing holding certain tech minded people back and even that is improving (albeit more slowly than the OS’s themselves improve)

**auvgeek** · 12-13-2017, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by alect47

I just ordered a 2015 MacBook Pro 13" with 16gb ram, 256ssd and the 2.7 gHz i5 for $1,249 from B&H. I really wanted the new one, but I thought I was just paying more mostly for it to look prettier.

Did I make the right decision?

Assuming you're set on a Mac, my only comment (and I'm sure there are many others who know more about this than me), would be that 256 gb SSD is pretty small. Plan to get an external HD or cloud-based storage.

**ex-powderbroker** · 12-13-2017, 09:28 PM

my coworker runs linux next to me and i’m not jealous of how his stuff looks. well, i am a little because i have a stupid windows 10 workstation. man it sucks for software development. a few times a week i get really annoying npm or git errors that seem to only be fixed with a restart. his os and clients may be primitive but at least it works.

anyway, my 2015 mbp is still obviously going fine and i hope it goes six years like the last one.

**jacob_dbu** · 12-14-2017, 04:43 AM

Everyone has their cup of tea. I don't think I will ever run Windows natively again unless somehow I become a CAD monkey in the future. I use macOS on the daily and have a Linux box at home that I can ssh into as needed. Though Mac hardware is overpriced I have (historically) enjoyed Apple products. Plus I'm locked into their ecosystem which has a lot of conveniences. The inconveniences really drive me nuts sometimes (see: secure token and encryption with the new AFS).

Another thing I like about Macs is they retain relatively high resale values so it's easy to keep upgrading without incurring a gigantic loss. I think this offsets the somewhat exorbitant cost personally.

**Alpinord** · 12-14-2017, 08:11 AM

Originally Posted by thejongiest

Everyone has their cup of tea. I don't think I will ever run Windows natively again unless somehow I become a CAD monkey in the future.

FTR & FWIW Macs have been excellent for CAD & 3D Modeling. Vectorworks is mostly used by Mac Users vs Windows.

**::: :::** · 12-14-2017, 08:35 AM

I run autocad and rhino on a Mac

**stuckathuntermtn** · 12-14-2017, 01:00 PM

My experience with Ubuntu was kind of a pain, and setting up a dual boot or VM just to run Office is fucking dumb.
As a server running a VMWare environment, it's great. For everyday computing, Windows is great. Apple has this way of not telling you where stuff is (hard disk, iCloud, wherever?!) and OS X can be just as finicky as Windows but without the ability to change the settings to make it less so. Never mind they charge at least twice as much for the same hardware.

**oftpiste** · 12-14-2017, 01:17 PM

taking my mid 2012 retina MBP in for battery replacement sunday.

new SSD to come.

**mall walker** · 12-14-2017, 01:23 PM

libreoffice and/or google docs can do virtually everything ms office can at this point...

**XXX-er** · 12-14-2017, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by thejongiest

.Though Mac hardware is overpriced I have (historically) enjoyed Apple products. Plus I'm locked into their ecosystem which has a lot of conveniences. The inconveniences really drive me nuts sometimes (see: secure token and encryption with the new AFS).

Another thing I like about Macs is they retain relatively high resale values so it's easy to keep upgrading without incurring a gigantic loss. I think this offsets the somewhat exorbitant cost personally.

a software developer bud claims the cheapest thing to do is buy a new mac loaded to the nuts every 2 years and sell the old one used while it still has some value

**auvgeek** · 12-14-2017, 01:32 PM

Originally Posted by mbillie1

libreoffice and/or google docs can do virtually everything ms office can at this point...

Agreed.

We dual boot the CAD stations in our lab so they can run solidworks natively. I'm sure there are other applications that one may need/want a dual boot. I don't know many people running VMware anymore; most have switched to dual booting with partitioned hard drives.

**stuckathuntermtn** · 12-14-2017, 03:39 PM

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/fix_computer

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/computer_phases

**S_jenks** · 12-15-2017, 03:21 PM

I run a 15" Macbook Pro that has been owned and running constantly since June 2011. Back in the late 2016 I decided to pump some money into new parts/upgrades rather than purchase something new. As I had taken decent care of it in those 5 years most every bit of the hardware was just fine (and still is!), so I opted for the following changes:

1) Replaces the 500 gb optical drive with a 250 SSD.
2) bump the RAM from 8gb to 16 gb (I know, I know, it should've happened long ago.)
3) New battery
4) Replace the graphics card (freebie, since Apple had a recall on those and mine qualified)

Since then it's ran like a speed demon, and with proper care I have to use it at least another 2 years before replacing. Not sure if the same would work for you, but my dislike for the new macbook models and refusal to toss a perfectly-working laptop led me to that conclusion. Plus I get to give Apple the finger by not buying into their 'latest and greatest' products....

**drakeson** · 12-19-2017, 04:26 AM

Nice choice. Quite pricey but I'm sure that it is beast machine.

**oftpiste** · 12-19-2017, 08:44 AM

FWIW there seems to be a supply chain issue with the replacement top case/battery part. They're saying probably available in January, but have been saying that since august is what the genius told me.

**kalisto** · 12-19-2017, 09:11 AM

lol... Some funny as conversations here. Running a server, some flavour of Linux... sure. Personal OS? I don't see the point. Is whatever distro your using really that much more stable than latest OSX? How about having to deal with bullshit kext files when shit breaks? OSX = all Unix advantages without the pains (most of the time)

Sure for WP/internet/email it's fine, but honestly... any OS is fine for that, get a Chromebook.

You're not any more 1337 because you use arch.

MacBook pros. at least the 13". spec for spec, are not any/much more expensive than your windows equivalent. CPU/ram/HD size != spec for spec. Look at bus speeds. look at R/W speeds. screen quality. screen resolution. build quality. keyboard quality. track pad quality.

XXX-er. That's about right. Full build. then sell. I usually go sort of high build, then use it til it runs like shit (4~6 years).

VirtualBox/VM Ware is great for sandboxing shit. but having to share files across VMs in shared folders is a pain in the ass. Sure you could partition some common share to exFAT or something, but there's some major disadvantages there too.

**Dee Hubbs** · 12-19-2017, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by oftpiste

FWIW there seems to be a supply chain issue with the replacement top case/battery part. They're saying probably available in January, but have been saying that since august is what the genius told me.

In June they had zero top cases in stock and made a decision to replace the whole computer with brand new computers! This was detailed in a memo distributed to all Apple stores. This is what got me interested in the whole battery replacement idea.
By the 3rd week July production started up to produce more top cases and the “replacement solution” was canceled by the first week of August.
I have read of successful top case replacements since August, but your story sounds like they are just trying to avoid having to replace full computers.
What Genius Bar are you dealing with?

**XXX-er** · 12-19-2017, 11:57 AM

I duno if its because i wasnt paying for them or i was moving them 6 times a day which might have been a little rough on the HW but I always thot of an LT as a thro away item so if they last 3years which its the time period CRA requires to write them down ... be happy

LT's are really a depot fix box cuz they have too many small parts to break on disassembly/assembly and the tech should know what he is doing because he does it every day

I hated working on them