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Retina Display MacBook Pro Q&A
Update Published November 9, 2016
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How fast are the 15-Inch "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro models compared to one another? How fast are they compared to the models replaced?
Please note that Apple has discontinued "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro models with dual graphics processors. The company continues to sell models with a single integrated graphics processor as new. This Q&A has been updated with the latest details.
In the company press release for the 15-Inch "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro, Apple mentions "faster flash storage" twice and "faster discrete graphics" three times.
More specifically, the company boasts that the flash storage in the "Mid-2015" models -- the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.2 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.5 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.8 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.5 15" (DG), and "Core i7" 2.8 15" (DG) -- is "up to 2.5 times faster" than the flash storage in the "Mid-2014" models -- the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.2 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.5 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.8 15" (IG), "Core i7" 2.5 15" (DG), and "Core i7" 2.8 15" (DG).
Apple also specifically mentions that the "Mid-2015" models with discrete graphics -- the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 15" (DG) and "Core i7" 2.8 15" (DG) -- "deliver up to 80 percent faster performance using new AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics for editing video in Final Cut Pro X, rendering 3D images in pro graphics apps or playing high-resolution games." These two models were discontinued on October 27, 2016.
Although performance improvements in flash storage and graphics always are welcomed, one might wonder why there is no mention of overall performance. With even a quick glance at a detailed comparison of the "Mid-2014" and "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro models, one would notice that these two lines use the same "Haswell" processors, so overall performance certainly should be quite close.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (15-Inch Retina Display MacBook Pro)
General Performance Overview
For a solid overview of the performance difference between the "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro models and earlier notebooks, EveryMac.com's own Ultimate Mac Comparison makes it quick to compare side-by-side 32-bit and 64-bit Geekbench benchmark averages with all other G3 and later Macs for thousands of possible performance comparisons.
The Geekbench 3.0 benchmark demonstrates that the "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro models are more-or-less the same overall speed as the "Mid-2014" MacBook Pro models give or take 1% or 2%.
It also demonstrates that even the entry-level 15-Inch "Mid-2015" model -- the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.2 15" (IG) -- is up to 90% faster than the entry-level 13-Inch "Early 2015" model -- the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.7 13" -- in multicore tasks as one would expect when comparing a quad core processor to a dual core one. For those most interested in performance, the 15-Inch models remain a better choice than their much slower 13-Inch contemporaries.
Other Benchmarks & Real-World Test Results
Geekbench provides a good overview of overall performance, but other benchmarks and application tests also can be particularly important in this situation given Apple's focus on improvements in SSD performance and graphics performance for these particular notebooks.
For SSD performance, site sponsor OWC independently benchmarked that the "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro models have read speeds around 2000 MB/s and write speeds around 1200 MB/s. Although this confirms Apple's claim, it also is worth noting that OWC previously discovered the "Mid-2014" MacBook Pro models can support a substantially faster SSD than the one pre-installed.
Consequently, Apple's press release is comparing the SSD pre-installed in the "Mid-2015" MacBook Pro to the SSD pre-installed in the "Mid-2014" MacBook Pro rather than the maximum SSD speed that the "Mid-2014" model can support. With a faster SSD installed in the "Mid-2014" MacBook Pro, the performance gap is narrowed considerably.
For graphics performance, ArsTechnica benchmarked:
In our gaming benchmarks, the [AMD Radeon] R9 M370X usually brings small but consistent performance improvements over the GeForce GT 750M, which in turn did the same thing when it replaced the GeForce GT 650M in the first Retina Pro. The R9 370X is about 5.5 percent faster than the 750M in the Cinebench GPU test, 14 percent faster in the GFXBench T-Rex test, and 11 percent faster in the GFXBench Manhattan test. The improvements will obviously vary depending on the game or app you're using, but you should see small increases no matter what you're doing.
In real-world application and game tests, BareFeats found graphics improvements ranging from as little as 5% to as much as 62% faster.
Performance Summary
Ultimately, the 15-Inch "Mid-2015" Retina Display MacBook Pro models do offer significantly improved SSD performance. These notebooks have a higher-capacity battery and deliver an extra hour of battery life than their predecessors, too.
The discontinued "Mid-2015" models with dedicated graphics -- the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.5 15" (DG) and "Core i7" 2.8 15" (DG) -- also provide better graphics performance than the "Mid-2014" models replaced. If performance, particularly graphics performance, is a high priority for you, a 15-Inch "Mid-2015" Retina Display MacBook Pro with Dual Graphics would be a solid choice.
However, with the overall performance difference negligible, the 15-Inch "Mid-2014" MacBook Pro models certainly remain a good value on the used market, as well.
In the US, site sponsor Adorama sells new MacBook Pro models with free shipping. Other World Computing sells used and refurb MacBook Pro models at bargain prices with free shipping, as well. On the other hand, if you need to sell a MacBook Pro, A+ BBB-rated Cash for Your Mac and GoRoostr will buy your older notebook with an instant quote and prompt payment.
In the UK, site sponsor Hoxton Macs sells used MacBook Pro models with a one-year warranty and free next day delivery throughout the UK. Delivery across Europe also is available starting at just £9.99 for two-day delivery to France and Germany.
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