MacBook Pro upgrade or new?

[Dee Hubbs]

My 5 year old MacBook Pro is starting to loose battery capacity. It only has %55 capacity now. I'm thinking about having a new battery installed and adding a larger SSD hard drive.
I work from home/road and its my only computer. Its a 15" Macbook Pro Retnia 10.1, Intel Core i7, 2.3 GHz with a 256GB SSD.
For $200 Apple will replace the battery, which is epoxied onto the top case, so they replace the whole top case which includes a new keyboard and new trackpad. This work is covered with a 90 day guarantee.
Once this work is complete and the computer is proved to be running fine, I want to also put a 1TB HD SSD in it. I can order the genuine parts online and self install it for $500.
So I would be in for $700 and have a refurbished laptop with a fresh battery new keyboard, trackpad and a 1TB HD.
A new MacBook Pro with a 1TB hard drive would cost me $3000 and last about 5 years, or $600 a year.
If I add $700 to mine and make it last more than 1 year I'm on the plus side. Right?
I just need to talk it out and make sure the outgoing cash to refurbish it makes sense.

Any Apple nerds have anything to weight in?

[nyskirat]

I don't think the new ones you can after-market customize like that, so I'd say go for it.

[jacob_dbu]

If you're happy with the speed of the current MacBook then I'd just pay for the battery replacement. If you upgrade the SSD you could probably re-sell the 256GB for $100 or so?

Personally, I wouldn't want to pay for the 1TB upgrade, I'd just get an external (even an SSD external) and velcro it to the top of the MacBook. The premium you pay for internal is$200. I assume you're doing video editing if you want that kind of space and speed.

The new MBP's would be significantly faster, but I don't think they are as durable. Have you thought about buying a mid-2015 Retina? It will be faster than your 2012. I think you could probably find a discrete graphics one for about $1500 new these days - maybe less - if you wait for a deal to come up. You're still on the hook for the HD upgrade probably, but you might be able to swing a 512GB and hold off - plus Apple and credit card warranty. You could also flip your current MBP for ~$700.

Just a thought...

[spindrift]

If you are seriously thinking about a new one, consider a few things:

1) The touch bar. I hate it. I really regret getting it. Play with it a bunch before buying. Best I can tell, perfect touch typists love it. The rest of us hit the immovable escape button by accident all the time. Some reviewers/whiners have posted that they have taped it over. Great concept - less than great execution.

2) USB C ports. Great, fast, & convenient ports. Or would be in a world of all USB C devices. If you have a pile of USB A cord devices, are used to popping SD cards in, etc - have fun . I've spent the past however many months toting piles of adapter pigtails and readers around. You can get some appropriate USB C cables for some devices. But not entirely.

3) The claimed battery life seems accurate for exactly what they measure. I get peanuts when editing w/ Lightroom. I live attached to the wall when messing with pictures - especially because I like editing at full brightness - which seems an extra potent battery killer. My subjective recollection/impression is that the older MBPs did at least as well or better with a new-ish battery.

4) The screen on the new ones is brighter and crisper. Just sat and compared with a few year old MBP & the difference was greater than I expected to see. So if text or image (incl video) details matter a bunch - that's a plus for the new ones.

[XXX-er]

IME 5 yrs is getting pretty old for an LT

[galibier_numero_un]

IME 5 yrs is getting pretty old for an LT

I overbuy my laptops to future-proof them as much as possible. I funnel the savings into my ski budget ;-)

The Sony VAIO I have is getting a bit long in the tooth as it's approaching it's 7th birthday next month. I replaced the keyboard last Spring, but with an early Core-i7 processor, it still sings along quite nicely.

The biggest problem I had was finding drivers as I upgraded from Win 7 to 8 to 10. Those bastards at Sony are as bad about trying to obsolesce their laptops as they are with their mirrorless camera lenses. Next time, it's a Lenovo or Dell.

... Thom

[stuckathuntermtn]

Buying an i7 doesn't necessarily protect you from long term heat degradation which laptops frequently seem to suffer from after about 5 years. (My guess is it has a lot to do with the heat in such a small, compact space.) 7 years is certainly the exception, not the rule.

And 15" screen for your only computer? Ugh. Do you at least have a bigger monitor or tv to plug it into when you're at home?
I'd also never recommend a Mac because Apple always over charges while intentionally withholding features.

[Alpinord]

I replaced my 2010 MB Pro after exhausting all upgrades, including new motherboard, battery & RAM. I bought a refurbished MacBook Pro Retina Mid-2015 - 15.4" MJLT2LL/A - 2.5GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD because I did not see a huge advantage getting the latest MB Pro. It saved quite a bit and have OK power for 3D rendering and everything less. I sold my old MB Pro to Mac of All Trades for $500. They also sell used options.

Like skis, there are those that think they need the latest and greatest and unload decent machines that are virtually new, but depreciated.

I connect it to a 32" screen, wireless mouse & wireless keyboard for office work.

[galibier_numero_un]

Buying an i7 doesn't necessarily protect you from long term heat degradation which laptops frequently seem to suffer from after about 5 years. (My guess is it has a lot to do with the heat in such a small, compact space.) 7 years is certainly the exception, not the rule.

And 15" screen for your only computer? Ugh. Do you at least have a bigger monitor or tv to plug it into when you're at home?
I'd also never recommend a Mac because Apple always over charges while intentionally withholding features.

Indeed, they're definitely not as robust as desktop hardware. Mine gets an annual heatsink cleaning/re-greasing. I realize I'm on borrowed time.

It's a 17" screen, but I plug it into a monitor when working at home (22" but lusting after a yuge screen if I can allocate the space on my desk).

Also, with the ergonomics of staring downward at a laptop screen, your chiropractor can send his kids to college.

... Thom

[XXX-er]

IME it wasn't needing the latest greatest it was about the hardware just plain waring out/phuckingup so the keyboards sticking, displays fucking up, hinges breaking yada fucking yada

we got new ones every 3 years cuz thats how long it took to write them down but of the 5 IBM/Lenovo platforms I/we went thru in 15yars I never actuly had one go the full 3 years without fucking up,

So even tho it was my job and I could order parts to fix it myself I would just phone a 1-800-ship-me-a-new-fucking-LT which got me a new box in < 24 hrs, swap in the memory, swap in the HD and Bam I am back in business, becuz I had to do business so I couldn't afford the down time and LT's are really a depot fix M/C imo

Yes I was pretty hard on them cuz we were constantly mobile, while this here box i'm looking at hardly ever moves, also LTs have got a lot better BUT if you got 5 yrs out of an LT I would make damn sure I am well backed up and be prepared to buy a new one

[oftpiste]

I'm in exactly the same boat with exactly the same machine as the OP. I just keep it plugged in.

There's nothing my 2012 doesn't do that I need it to do except for battery life and onboard storage. Love the SD card slot which seems to have gone the way of the mastodon.

I haven't looked into the battery replacement thing, but the $200 Apple job sounds like a decent solution as opposed to new machine, USB and SD issues. How do you go about replacing your 250 gb SSD with the 1TB? Simple enough job?

[Alpinord]

Check out link to ‘how to’ videos at bottom: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/SSDA12K960D/

These guys have been a good resource for upgrades.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[LeoK]

I have a 2009 MBP and the battery was down to zero like yours and my mac even told me to replace it on its on initiative. Somehow I kept it anyways and now it got significantly better to about 2-3h. But I often lower the brightness of the screen a lot. Thees days I mostly use it for surfing TGR forums and not so much for renderings etc. any more.

So: if you need your laptop just for surfing the web and not for heavy duty work - try to keep it for a while and see if it gets better!

[SupreChicken]

I replaced my 2010 MB Pro after exhausting all upgrades, including new motherboard, battery & RAM. I bought a refurbished MacBook Pro Retina Mid-2015 - 15.4" MJLT2LL/A - 2.5GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD because I did not see a huge advantage getting the latest MB Pro. It saved quite a bit and have OK power for 3D rendering and everything less. I sold my old MB Pro to Mac of All Trades for $500. They also sell used options.

Like skis, there are those that think they need the latest and greatest and unload decent machines that are virtually new, but depreciated.

I connect it to a 32" screen, wireless mouse & wireless keyboard for office work.

I strongly endorse this course. Did something similar, avoided the tool bar and usb c ports, got a 1tb ssd and a much faster more functional laptop at < half the price.

Macsales.com, likely the same group that was going to sell you that hard drive...

[oftpiste]

man, that's slick. have you checked into Apple's turnaround time for the battery replacement?

I like this way better than a new machine, as long as it works! My rule of thumb going back to before the Powerbook was that I'd only replace when form factors changed. Haven't seen a significant one of those for a long time.

My 2012 feels plenty fast for everything I do with it. The hardest I make it work is occasional Lightroom editing.

[skimaxpower]

I replaced the battery in my 2011 MB-Air last year. Back to 2-3 hour battery life. Aftermarket battery was about $90 off ebay. Lappy is still plenty fast for my needs.

[Dee Hubbs]

Pulled the trigger on a new machine.
I figured I would buy a new one while I could still get a non-touch bar machine. Ive read a bunch of reviews of people not happy with the new style machine.
I went with a:
-15" MacBook Pro Retina
-2.8GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
-16GB of 1600MHz memory
-1TB SSD

I got 61 months (5+ years) out of my current machine. Hoping to get another 4 years out of this new one.

[XXX-er]

smart choice IMO and now you got a spare MC

or use it for music/vid or sft

just always leave it plugged in

[jacob_dbu]

Awesome, how much did you end up paying?

[Dee Hubbs]

Awesome, how much did you end up paying?

$2000 base
+$300 to upgrade from 2.2GHz to 2.8GHz
+$600 to upgrade from 256GB to 1TB SSD
+$380 for apple care
$3280

[Skidog]

$2000 base
+$300 to upgrade from 2.2GHz to 2.8GHz
+$600 to upgrade from 256GB to 1TB SSD
+$380 for apple care
$3280

Wow...you'd have been better off getting a crucial drive after the fact...thats a LOT of coin. Sure SSD is still pricey, but $600 for a TB sounds spendy....

Otherwise sounds like a solid machine. I couldve built you a windows based one that would do 10x more than that and be half the price...but boy that apple on it does look pretty dont it?

[jacob_dbu]

Wow...you'd have been better off getting a crucial drive after the fact...thats a LOT of coin. Sure SSD is still pricey, but $600 for a TB sounds spendy....

Otherwise sounds like a solid machine. I couldve built you a windows based one that would do 10x more than that and be half the price...but boy that apple on it does look pretty dont it?

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...

[Groomer Gambler]

I still use the original macbook pro laptop from 9(?) years ago... It holds a charge for about 10 mins so I have to always leave it plugged in. A few years ago the battery started to swell causing the trackpad to go buck wild...added more RAM and that seemed to solve the problem.

I've been on a super tight budget for...fuck... since I got the computer and can't afford to drop $1000+ for a new laptop (probably more as the base models are crap)...but then again mine has lasted this long so far!

[loosed]

If you're going to buy a new one it's worth checking out deals on b & h photo's website.

They don't charge tax either, which is huge.

[Jonny Snow]

Fuck APPLE.