Deciding between early and late 2013 MacBook Pros

Ive been trying to decide between buying an early 2013 MacBook Pro from MacMall and a late 2013 MacBook Pro from the Apple Store. For the configurations I'm considering, both machines are 15", have basically the same price (around $2,300), and have the same amount of RAM, although they have different HD sizes and processors as described below. Here are the advantages and disadvantages I see in buying the late 2013 model, based on the specs of the two particular machines in question::

Advantages of late 2013 MacBook Pro:

- Thunderbolt 2 instead of Thunderbolt
- 802.11ac wifi instead of 802.11a/b/g/n
- newer Haswell processor (faster/more efficient)
- newer SSD architecture (PCIe instead of SATA)
- longer battery life as per the improvements to the whole line
- slightly lighter

Disadvantages of late 2013 MacBook Pro as compared to early 2013 MacBook Pro:

- single graphics processor instead of dual
- smaller hard drive (500GB instead of 750GB)
- slower processor (2.0 instead of 2.8)

Considering that I'm not a graphics-heavy user (i.e., I'm not much of a gamer, don't edit video often, etc.), I'm thinking that the lack of dual graphics processing is probably not that important. I'm more curious about whether the slower processor in the late 2013 model (2.0 instead of 2.8) is outweighed by the Haswell chip and the faster SSD bus.

Cheers,
John

The bench test don't show the late model as being slow also the late model has Iris for video which is pretty outstanding HD performance.
If you use wireless a lot then the late 2013 with 802.11ac and a router with the same will show a vast improvement in throughput which if using Time Machine to a new Time Capsule will show very fast back-ups
for wireless.

Can't have an advantage being a faster processor and a con being a slower processor either - gotta be one or the other.

You also shouldn't be comparing the processor in the lowest priced MBP in the late '13 model - the 2.0 I7-4750HQ - to the processor in the most expensive MBP in the early '13 model - the 2.8 I7-4558U.

However, realizing you're comparing price only of a last gen vs current gen - in this case you would find a Passmark score of 4487 for that 2.8 Ghz and a score of 7880 for the 2.0 Ghz - about a 75% speed bump in the current model while reducing the speed by almost a third - and partly responsible for the increased battery life.

The GeForce 650M score - 1298
The Intel Iris Pro score - 1057

RAM is non-upgradeable - so upgrade at time of purchase.

bobtomay, I realized my question was somewhat awkwardly phrased (which is what led you to believe I was saying the processor was both slower and faster in the newer model), so I edited it to be a bit clearer, just for future reference.

You said:

You also shouldn't be comparing the processor in the lowest priced MBP in the late '13 model - the 2.0 I7-4750HQ - to the processor in the most expensive MBP in the early '13 model - the 2.8 I7-4558U.

Click to expand...

I assume you meant 15", not 13", as that was the nature of my question. But also, I wasn't certain why you suggested I shouldn't be comparing those two models (highest-end early 2013 vs. entry-level late 2013). The comparison seemed apt since the prices were virtually identical. But it's a moot point, since the Passmark scores you provided were very helpful!

I'm fully aware about maxing out the RAM. On that front, the inflexibility of the new MacBook Pros with respect to upgrading is not something I'm happy about (soldering the battery to the board? Ridiculous) but I've decided to live with it.

No typos here - I was referring to the 15" models: '13 would be 2013, not 13".

The 2.8 Ghz of the previous gen was only available in the most expensive MBP sold or as an upgrade while the 2.0 Ghz of the current gen is sold in the least expensive model. Hence, my comment stating you were only comparing the price point of 2 different generations of notebook - The old and the new.

For everyone checking this thread, the days of comparing CPUs based on Ghz has been dead for quite a number of years.
Just don't do it. Easy way - check the Passmark charts.

To find the specific CPU model # in any Mac, you can head to everymac.com.