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    Buying a new macbook pro (non touchbar)

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Peter Griffin, Jun 26, 2017.

  1. Peter Griffin

    Peter Griffin Notebook Guru

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    Hello! I am going to buy a new 256GB macbook pro 13" (non touch bar) from United States.
    My use is quite simple: Browsing, emailing, movies, music, occasionally photo and video editing, (no gaming)
    I am confused between 2016 model and 2017 model with kaby lake.
    The price difference is of 180$ for which I will get new kaby processor, higher frequency RAM (2133 over 1866Mhz).
    Does 180$ difference worth paying more or should I save and get older 2016 if you think it doesn't worth.

    Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro (Mid 2017, Space Gray) MPXT2LL/A
    or
    Apple 13.3" MacBook Pro (Space Gray, Late 2016) MLL42LL/A
     
    Peter Griffin, Jun 26, 2017
    #1
  2. don_svetlio

    don_svetlio In the Pipe, Five by Five.

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    Performance difference is less than 10% between the 2. I'd suggest saving some money and buying the 2016 model.
     
    don_svetlio, Jun 26, 2017
    #2
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  3. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    You could save even more by buying a refurbished 2016 model. The only real difference is that refurbs don't come in the fancy, white Apple packaging.
     
    saturnotaku, Jun 26, 2017
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  4. Peter Griffin

    Peter Griffin Notebook Guru

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    I am not into refurbished things except movies, games and music.
     
    Peter Griffin, Jun 27, 2017
    #4
  5. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Refurbished Macs have the exact same warranty as new ones. But if you want to waste your money, that's none of my business.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    saturnotaku, Jun 27, 2017
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  6. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Looks like the OP is from India, which will make buying a refurbed Mac from the Apple.com clearance section more difficult. I'd agree with others, the higher clocked memory and CPU will only make a noticeable difference in the benchmarks. During normal usage, you won't see any difference, so I would save the $180.
     
    ZaZ, Jun 27, 2017
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  7. Peter Griffin

    Peter Griffin Notebook Guru

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    what about keyboard has been improved a bit on the 2017 based on reports and others experience like build quality and internal maturity as it's hardware v2?
     
    Peter Griffin, Jun 27, 2017
    #7
  8. Peter Griffin

    Peter Griffin Notebook Guru

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    Peter Griffin, Jun 28, 2017
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  9. z31fanatic

    z31fanatic Notebook Consultant

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    They actually do. I had a late 2016 13" that I bought refurbished and it came in a white box and it was sealed. Only difference with a new box was that it had the word refurbished printed on the bottom half of the box.
     
    z31fanatic, Jun 29, 2017
    #9
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  10. kiomon

    kiomon Notebook Enthusiast

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    I would get the 2017 because the built in support for 4k video decoding and some other small tweaks. If you plan on keeping the computer for a long time, then it would be useful to have those optimizations. They also help if you do any light video editing as well, as some apps tie into those build capabilities.
     
    kiomon, Jul 11, 2017
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  11. Geek.Verve

    Geek.Verve Newbie

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    Another vote for the 2017, if the extra $180 isn't a big deal for you. Not only is it a little faster, it's also a little more power efficient.
     
    Geek.Verve, Jul 15, 2017
    #11
  12. kojack

    kojack Notebook Prophet

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    My Vote is buy the highest spec'ed machine you can afford. if that's the new new new one..go for it, if not...get the one you can afford. Unlike windows devices, mac's have a longer lifespan. Meaning they run smoother for longer with updates. After times, the updates for windows devices become to much for the hardware, but it seems that apples updates are very lightweight for the most part and does not bog down older machines the same.
     
    kojack, Jul 17, 2017
    #12
  13. iAhmed-07

    iAhmed-07 Notebook Consultant

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    where do you recommend buying refurb macbook
     
    iAhmed-07, Jul 19, 2017
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  14. saturnotaku

    saturnotaku Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Directly from Apple.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
    saturnotaku, Jul 19, 2017
    #14