Which Macbook to go for, 2012 or 2015?

[kamikazi]

If you are going going to use it in clamshell mode and mainly for desktop type work I would suggest to Pro model. I originally had a 13" Macbook Air (2012) and my wife now uses it as her main PC and it is still doing a great job, despite the limited storage space and memory. I moved to a 15" Retina MBP (2013) model and it has been great as a desktop replacement. If you get used to the retina display you won't want to really use an external monitor due to the loss in screen sharpness, the retina screen is something else (unless you buy the Apple retina external monitor? $$$$). Have 27" Dell (2560 x 1440) for my gaming/desktop rig and it looks decidedly less sharp than the retina screen and a Dell 24" (1920 x 1200) that my wife is using on the Macbook Air that looks very low DPI in comparison. I'd actually suggest getting something like a rain design mstand so you can park your keyboard and mouse under your laptop and use the laptop screen at a comfortable height. The scaling resolutions on the rMBP are very useful, mine is permanently switched to 1920 x 1200 and has lots of space for software development IDEs and running VMs.

 

[noxibox]

That's strange. From what I've read, continuously charging shouldn't impact the health as the circuitry has been designed to deal with this. I'm especially interested in the best practice w.r.t. charging a Macbook as mine only has about 20 cycles currently.

The normal recommendation is to run it down periodically, perhaps once a month, to keep the battery in use.

 

[AgentSmith]

That's strange. From what I've read, continuously charging shouldn't impact the health as the circuitry has been designed to deal with this. I'm especially interested in the best practice w.r.t. charging a Macbook as mine only has about 20 cycles currently.

Yip. Actually once the battery is fully charged the power source (not battery) is suppose to bypass the battery altogether and feed the circuit directly (I assume with some other components to regulate current and such in between). OS X actually tells you that– if you click on the battery icon and the battery is fully charged it will say "Power Source: Power Adapter."

 

[bstarkey]

What would you advise? If you currently have the 2012 MBP with 16GB + SSD, how does it perform?

Hi Bobby, I have that exact same spec. Mid 2012 MBpro, 512 SSD, 16gb RAM and my machine flies beautifully!! I would buy another in a heartbeat if i could afford it. Though mine will probably still last a good few years.

I quite like your docking idea and the external 24" screen.... what dock do you use?

 

[bobbytb]

Hi Bobby, I have that exact same spec. Mid 2012 MBpro, 512 SSD, 16gb RAM and my machine flies beautifully!! I would buy another in a heartbeat if i could afford it. Though mine will probably still last a good few years.

I quite like your docking idea and the external 24" screen.... what dock do you use?

Thanks for the feedback. This looks like a solid option for me too. Do you have the i5 or an i7?

Although my macbook is docked in most of the time, I dont use an actual "dock". My setup is quite simple:

• Logitech Performance MX mouse wireless mouse
• Logitech K750 wireless mouse
• Laptop stand to keep macbook cool or screen vertical - like this one.

The keyboard and mouse USB port/receiver is plugged into a USB hub hidden behind the laptop stand. When I sit at my desk, I just connect the usb hub cable and the screen HDMI connector to get started. Have an identical setup at home - so just drop the macbook on the stand and connect the screen + usb. At home I also have external speakers for better audio.

The advantage of this for me is it works with my non-apple machines too.

 

[bstarkey]

Cool, I've seen some docking stations but they're quite expensive, so this is a cheaper workaround.

I have the i7 2,3Ghz

 

[bobbytb]

Cool, I've seen some docking stations but they're quite expensive, so this is a cheaper workaround. I have the i7 2,3Ghz

Yeah, I originally considered importing a dock from the US but in the end decided not to because I also have a windows laptop which couldn't have been used on the same setup. This was also very cheap to replicate at home