How long do you expect a MBP mid-2012 non-retina 15inch (MD103LL/A) to last compared to MD102LL/A?

My general rule of thumb when it comes to purchasing Macs is to get the best you can afford.

Any computer's life expectancy should be determined by the hardware - not so much the software. Hardware has a lot to do with "future proofing", especially with software upgrades like annual OS X releases. The software you have listed isn't terribly CPU intensive (outside of AutoCAD), moreso GPU and RAM "eaters".

How do you plan on treating your computer? Is it going with you every day, or is it more of a stationary machine that only requires occasional travel? Taking it with you everyday will certainly have an effect on the battery life - but for non rMBP machines, you can replace it yourself.

Ultimate Recommendation:

if you can afford it, I'd get a retina MBP. It's more future proof than the 2012 non-rMBP model since it can work with 4K video, not to mention it's thinner and lighter than the "fat" MBP, which will have a noticeable difference if it's a daily traveler. The "Iris Pro" onboard graphics are quite a bit better than the Intel HD4000. Remember to max your RAM to 16GB at purchase, since it's not upgradeable later.

if you want the non-rMBP - get the 15' model, no question. The discrete graphics card will provide more of a boost for your list of apps than upgrading RAM and HDD in the 13' alone.

With RAM, it's highly unlikely that the computer will suddenly support 32GB. 16GB should be enough even with software app improvements (that would require more base RAM) to work on at least one intensive project at a time.

You're in good shape with the GT650M GPU, as it supports DirectX11, OpenGL/CL and CUDA, which either is or will be necessary in most pro software apps.

The CPU may only be an Ivy Bridge, but compared to Haswell (current), you aren't missing out too much in performance, Haswell is more focused on power efficiency rather than raw performance. Next year's (Q1 2015) Broadwell update will most likely increase performance, but it's not like the i3/5/7 schematic is going anywhere - you should be good with OS X updates for at least a few years.

Just remember to take care of your Mac. I'm on year 4 with my 13' MBP and while it hasn't had much travel time, I'm expecting it to last at least 2 more years. Only problem I have with it is the battery, which I can just replace myself at some point. Upgrading the RAM and HDD to an SSD will help exponentially.

mrdosa wrote:

...Ideally, I would like to use this laptop for 5 years..! I am a dreamer.

Not necessarily. I'm on my fourth year with a Mac Pro and it's both current and going strong.

If you read through the posts on this forum, I think you'll find that the terminal event for a laptop tends to be coffee or soda in the keyboard or a two foot+ drop, not old age. Five years from now, it may no longer be eligible for the latest, greatest new OS, but, as the problems on the Mavericks forum suggest, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Snow Leopard has been around since 8/09 but it's only recently lost support for security issues and some people still miss it.

Personally, I agree with xtremecarbon about the Retima MBP, but what must be the longest thread on these forums is about Retina screen issues, which is something you won't have. I don't think you'll ever be able to upgrade the RAM to 32 GB since even if it's possible, the market would be very small, and the move is away from the current DIMM form factor. And with an SSD as the boot drive, any virtual memory used will still be very fast.

To keep it alive, I'd suggest treating it very carefully, keeping it away from liquids, and making sure it's capable of cooling itself (e.g., a hard surface is a lot better than a pillow for ventilation). And be aware that the threats to a computer are not only physical; it can be compromised by careless surfing on the Internet too.

Since longevity is a (legitimate) concern, I'd suggest enabling TRIM support for the SSD. SSD's are fundamentally different from HD's in the way they operate and TRIM can have a beneficial impact on the life expectancy of an SSD. Overprovisioning is a good idea too, if you can spare some of the 1TB.

This may be more than you want or need to know but here are discussions of TRIM and overprovisioning. The key idea is that Apple activates TRIM for its own SSD's (because it's a good thing) but not for third party drives; the link in my previous post is to one of a number of utilities which will do that non-Apple drives.

mrdosa wrote:

Thank you! I will do so once I receive my Mac. Just ordered it!!

And when you want to go to a desktop with a bigger screen check out this.😉