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Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

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Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#61

Post by Razengan »

tortasaur wrote: post #60
Razengan wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So it’s disingenuous to claim “similar performance” by arbitrarily removing metrics from the mix.

On the contrary, it's disingenuous to act like resolution or color are metrics of "performance" when the colloquial usage of the word generally refers to processing speed and memory capacity. I/O speed would qualify, but is only one metric; it is correct to say it is outperformed by other machines at lower price points when accounting for the CPU and RAM.

That's cherry-picking specs and definitions.

The ""colloquial usage of the word"" very much includes I/O performance; disk speed has historically been the worst bottleneck, aside from network access.

Resolution also affects performance: it's how much information you can view at a time.

Most cheaper laptops do not present the same value as a MacBook Pro unless you ignore some of the advantages of the MBP you’re comparing against.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#64

Post by abledon »

en4bz wrote: post #24
barkingcat wrote: post #19

You don't need to buy new. I find this "new everything" by default to be very sad. As a developer, you'd be well served by a 2015 (if you like the old keyboard), 2016 or 2017 MacBook Pro. Why do you want to spend so much money to pay for Apple Corporate to get even wealthier? Even something like a certified refurbish machine will get you what you need (with full Apple warranty), AND leave you enough money for periphe…

Old laptops have old batteries that need to be replaced. Since it's Apple this will likely cost enough to justify buying new.

I got a MacBook pro 2013 15” max spec 16gb/nvidia gpu. 430 cycles (not a lot) and if it needs replacing Mac store will do it not that expensively. I paid 900$ u.s. on eBay. Model had a bit of scratches but who cares made it way cheaper . OP just buy a refurbished max spec 2013/2014 15” off eBay .

Only gripe I have is that it sometimes doesn’t ground well with the unibody casing

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#65

Post by emit_time »

abledon wrote: post #64
en4bz wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Old laptops have old batteries that need to be replaced. Since it's Apple this will likely cost enough to justify buying new.

I got a MacBook pro 2013 15” max spec 16gb/nvidia gpu. 430 cycles (not a lot) and if it needs replacing Mac store will do it not that expensively. I paid 900$ u.s. on eBay. Model had a bit of scratches but who cares made it way cheaper . OP just buy a refurbished max spec 2013/2014 15” off eBay . Only gripe I have is that it sometimes doesn’t ground well with the unibody casing

I have a late 2013 macbook pro 13" ~500 cycles and 86% capacity

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#66

Post by rfeague »

indymike wrote: post #23

I just bought a Dell XPS after eight years of Mac use. Zero productivity loss, now I can test pen and touch GUI on the laptop. Can run Linux, can run windows. Honestly, the 4k display is even better than my last Macbook's retina display. Oh, and the Dell's keyboard is much better. The big win: function keys.

Got one with high hopes, but can't stand the way the loud fan spins up seemingly at random. My 4+ year old MacBook is almost never audible.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#67

Post by tomcam »

DennisAleynikov wrote: post #43
tomcam wrote: post #7

No. I bought the $3,500 version on the advice of my partner and feel cruelly ripped off. The keyboard, which I dislike, has already been replaced. The Apple Store guy tried to accuse me of getting water on the keyboard, but that is incorrect. My partner’s identical machine also needed the keyboard and motherboard replaced. He got a loaner (I didn’t) and they tried to accuse him of the same thing. I would much rather…

you "should have" gotten the macbook air but apple isn't planning on updating them so its a stale buy. really the lineup of apple is quite confusing. What you're getting other than a mainstream Unix OS is a few hw bells and whistles.

I know it’s stale! But I still prefer it to my state of the art MBP.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#68

Post by modells »

tomcam wrote: post #7

No. I bought the $3,500 version on the advice of my partner and feel cruelly ripped off. The keyboard, which I dislike, has already been replaced. The Apple Store guy tried to accuse me of getting water on the keyboard, but that is incorrect. My partner’s identical machine also needed the keyboard and motherboard replaced. He got a loaner (I didn’t) and they tried to accuse him of the same thing. I would much rather…

Lenovo Thinkpad T series laptops are built like tanks, have proper keyboards, some have water-resistance, most have easily-removable batteries. The T480 has a 30 hour runtime with dual batteries, and starts at about $800 USD. I'd try to turn that into a hackintosh or find an A1278 because it has 2x drives (optical turns into second drive bay), works with 16 GiB of RAM and the battery isn't glued in. On the latter, I'd send it to Rossmann in NYC just to have the JTAG header removed and exposed traces sealed (Apple BOOO, poor craftsmanship)... yes, Apple sells computers with logic boards that are prone to corrosion, shorting and other damage due to substandard engineering and manufacturing.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#69

Post by golangnews »

No. I own one and regret buying it. The fingerprint sensor is the only useful bit of the touch bar, missing esc key is annoying if you use vim, and the keyboard is pretty terrible, even if I hadn't seen different keys come off or come loose. Have another appointment to get it fixed next week.

Re: Ask HN: Is the new MacBook Pro worth its value for a developer?

#70

Post by arteez »

rfeague wrote: post #66
indymike wrote: post #23

I just bought a Dell XPS after eight years of Mac use. Zero productivity loss, now I can test pen and touch GUI on the laptop. Can run Linux, can run windows. Honestly, the 4k display is even better than my last Macbook's retina display. Oh, and the Dell's keyboard is much better. The big win: function keys.

Got one with high hopes, but can't stand the way the loud fan spins up seemingly at random. My 4+ year old MacBook is almost never audible.

You should look into MacBook thermals. The fact that fans are not running does not mean hardware is not getting too hot for comfort or longevity. Fans kicking up only when temps go over 90C (IIRC in some Linus video) is very very not good for long term use.
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