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I have this 2012 Macbook Pro, with the i7. It's been my everyday machine for the last 4 years. The integrated GPU has improved dramatically, power consumption

I have this 2012 Macbook Pro, with the i7. It's been my everyday machine for the last 4 years. The integrated GPU has improved dramatically, power consumption has improved, performance has improved in the latest generation i7s. None of that matters. My computer is very rarely running flat out, and I'd venture the same is true 99% of the time for 99% of the people who own them. There's no need for a faster GPU for most people. There's no need for improved performance if the computer is idle most of the time. E.g. right now my computer is drawing 8.73 Watts. Much of that is going to the display. That's pretty darn good, overall. A little disingenuous to say performance is on par. It's very much on par, given the way 99% of people use their laptops. I don't know why you linked to those two ARK documents. Sure the newer chip has slightly better specs. But is the difference, in real life, between Max Memory Bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s vs 34.1 GB/s anything to be concerned about? Not for most people. Same with the GPU. It doesn't matter that the old one is HD Graphics 4000 and the new one is Iris™ Graphics 550. Screen redraws are almost instantaneous with either. Maybe if I played the latest games I might care, but then I'd probably be using Windows for that anyway.

ctvo 10y ago
> None of that matters. My computer is very rarely running flat out, and I'd venture the same is true 99% of the time for 99% of the people who own them. > It's very much on par, given the way 99% of people use their laptops. > But is the difference, in real life, between Max Memory Bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s vs 34.1 GB/s anything to be concerned about? Not for most people. Emphasis mine. Can you cite a source for the above? I linked the CPU specs because it shows the difference between what you're buying. The author stated "i7" like all i7s are the same. They're not. The GPU is important outside of games because the display on new Macbook Pros are retina displays. What the advances in the integrated GPUs and lower power consumption leads to is the latest generation MBPrs can power a screen much higher resolution than the 2012 MBP, but still have the same performance profile (battery life, responsiveness). To use your argument: The current generation MBPrs come with good enough specs for storage and RAM for 99% of users. No one needs to upgrade pass 16GB of RAM since it's good enough for most people or a 512GB SSD, especially when storage is being pushed to the cloud. You get a better display, better battery life, in a smaller form factor that weights less. For most people the trade off between that and the ability to open up your laptop to stick in new hardware is worthwhile.
- PhantomGremlin 10y ago
  Emphasis mine. Can you cite a source for the above? When I say something like "I'd venture ..." then my "source" is simply my opinion. Nothing more rigorous than that. You get a better display, better battery life, in a smaller form factor that weights less Yes, together that list of items can make for a compelling upgrade. But (IMO!) CPU and GPU performance improvements are less important than the other stuff you mention.

ctvo 10y ago

> None of that matters. My computer is very rarely running flat out, and I'd venture the same is true 99% of the time for 99% of the people who own them. > It's very much on par, given the way 99% of people use their laptops. > But is the difference, in real life, between Max Memory Bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s vs 34.1 GB/s anything to be concerned about? Not for most people. Emphasis mine. Can you cite a source for the above? I linked the CPU specs because it shows the difference between what you're buying. The author stated "i7" like all i7s are the same. They're not. The GPU is important outside of games because the display on new Macbook Pros are retina displays. What the advances in the integrated GPUs and lower power consumption leads to is the latest generation MBPrs can power a screen much higher resolution than the 2012 MBP, but still have the same performance profile (battery life, responsiveness). To use your argument: The current generation MBPrs come with good enough specs for storage and RAM for 99% of users. No one needs to upgrade pass 16GB of RAM since it's good enough for most people or a 512GB SSD, especially when storage is being pushed to the cloud. You get a better display, better battery life, in a smaller form factor that weights less. For most people the trade off between that and the ability to open up your laptop to stick in new hardware is worthwhile.

PhantomGremlin 10y ago
Emphasis mine. Can you cite a source for the above? When I say something like "I'd venture ..." then my "source" is simply my opinion. Nothing more rigorous than that. You get a better display, better battery life, in a smaller form factor that weights less Yes, together that list of items can make for a compelling upgrade. But (IMO!) CPU and GPU performance improvements are less important than the other stuff you mention.