MacBook Pro 15 inch late 2011 vs MacBook Pro 15 inch Retina late 2013

There really isn't that much difference. Yes the newer Retina has the Haswell CPU and because of that it will have better battery run time and of course the screen resolution. But other than that there isn't much difference. Your late 2011 can have a SSD (Flash Storage) installed and you can upgrade the RAM to 16GBs, even though Apple only lists it as accepting 8GBs (16GBs works just fine in it). With any of the retina model once you buy it you are stuck with the size of the SSD and amount of RAM you ordered with it. They can not be upgraded.

I was very disappointed Apple dropped the standard model. I will be looking someplace else when it comes time for me to buy a new notebook. I don't care for the No upgrades part and that these new MBPs are basically sealed up units. All parts are either soldered to the main board or glued into the case parts.

Many will be grabbing the standard model off the refubished list to try to stay in the Apple realm. But you see how many 17 in models appear and how quickly they vanish.

Not really. That .1 Ghz drop mean just about nothing as far as the overall speed of the CPU. Up or down that little bit you could never tell the difference in real world computer tasks. Only in benchmarks would you be able to see the difference.

The haswell is no faster than all other Gen 2 or 3 intel Core i CPUs. The big part with the haswell it the power it Doesn't consume, Uses less power than all other previous Core i CPUs.

SonJustin wrote:

Technically the processor is .1 slower than my 2011 model, does that mean the system is overall a hair slower?

What I wanted was a Standard model with the Haswell CPU. Not that I run my MBP that often on battery only or that I'm not near AC most of the time. But to have a notebook that lasts 10+/- hours would be nice.

Also the haswell doesn't heat up as much either, again because it doesn't use much power. That is another Plus for it.

You can go to the Apple store and put your hands on the new one -- that is what the "store" experience is all about.

But only you can make the decision of whether the new features are worth having a lighter wallet.

Then buy the most vociferous of them a WiFi iPad. That will make a believer of them in a hurry.

Yor current Mac is NOT Outdated. It runs every bit of software available today. It has as good a CPU as anything newer. No newer notebook computer is any faster than your current model. The only differences are the amount of RAM, which does not speed up the system one bit unless you need more RAM for the programs you normally have open, and yes the newer system use Slightly faster RAM but same as the CPU not that you could ever notice and the inclusion of Flash storage.

I have a late 2011 15" and I certainly don't think it is outdated. It is running Mavericks just fine on a Seagate 750GB XT series drive. XT series is a rotating HDD with Flash Storage built in. Not as fast as a real SSD but very close.

I have a refurbished Feb 2011 15 in, hi-res anti-glare.

I updated to 16 GB RAM, but am waiting for HD failure to drive an SSD or 750 GB HD.

I do not want to lay out more for a new one until I have to, but it was money well spent.

Steve359-

My wife and son each use that model MacBook Pro, and would not trade it for any of the current models.

I dread the day it drops and I must replace. Insurance (depending on circumstances) may pay, but the EFI will have current-only basecode and SL will not have current-device drivers.

I shudder at the thought.

This is a bit off topic, but I just purchased the 15" RMBP today to replace my 2008 first gen Unibody MBP that I had upgraded with SSD and 8GB of memory. To be honest, I'm still not sure I really needed the upgrade. With a few exceptions, the 2008 model worked fine for me. I even run an Windows XP vm on a regular basis and it runs just fine in VMware Fusion.