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15rMBP: Early2013 vs Late2013 vs ‘2014 Haswell/16GB refresh’ hardware problems

Hi GuysKinda new here…

I am a PC guy but want to start my adventure with 15 inch rMBP.

I nearly bought 2.0/16GB/256GB but then I came across an article which highlighted some serious hardware problems that the Early2013 had namely:
-display panels burn in/ghosting (LG panel)/yellow tint(Samsung panel)
-fan issues (random activation, speeding and so on)
-graphics problems (freezing, crashing)
-battery life problems

I must say I was stunned how a machine which starts at $2000 can have so many problems.
I was originally thinking of buying high spec 15 inch one but I am really interested in Broadwell and it’s fanless design (I hate fans) with possibly Beats speakers (at last some good quality speakers), maybe display bumped up to full 4K and new trackpad (what are your bets guys?).
It turns out it is not coming out for like a year now so decided on lowest spec 15 inch (maybe apart from adding 16GB) in the meantime end maybe change in one year time when the Broadwell is out on rMBPs and turns out to be a big innovation.

So the question is:
Do you know if the Late2013 (released in October 2013) has the same problems? Did Apple change panels while doing this refresh? Did they solve other hardware problems mentioned above? Where can I look for info on that please? I am really eager to research this matter and have no problem on spending time on it.
I am not looking to buy Early2013 model of course BUT if Late2013 has the same issues then…sorry Apple but I am not forking out $2k on a laptop which is not TOP QUALITY.
Ah yeah, and there is the Haswell refresh, which is going to be announced very shortly (tomorrow?). I don’t care that much for CPU speed bump but 16GB in the base model is very welcome as I wanted that anyway. In my mind if this seems to be a very minor refresh then internal architecture and components will be very similar, if not the same, to the Late2013 model so…… will have to do with same bugs and issues.
So in the end I think that with a bit of luck I could pick up Late 2013 base 15 incher (only with RAM bumped to 16GB) for a good price as they will become ‘old models’ when the minor ‘Haswell CPU bump’ update is brought to the market….

So I just want to make sure the machine I am thinking of getting (Late 2013 15inch base with 16GB) will be free (hopefully entirely) of severe hardware problems of the Early2013 model.
If not then just buy the new one, minor Haswell refresh hoping they finally fixed it? IF (still) NOT….. I will have to wait for a major upgrade that will arrive with Broadwell next year……?

Please help….. I have worked so hard to get the money for that laptop…… If it arrives and it turns out it’s not such a high quality machine I will be devasted….

thank you very much
greetinx

meekeen

ps. Can you also advise me if I am thinking correctly about Iris Pro or dedicated graphics card. At the beginning I was thinking of getting the much more expensive one with dedicated graphics as ‘more power is better’ but….. since I am so excited about Broadwell fanless/4k/Beats, and will be probably upgrading to that in a year or so when it’s out, the ‘low key approach’ of getting cheapest 15 inch for now (since I will be selling it on in a year or so) is the right one to have?
PLUS
with Iris (i.e. without dedicated graphics) the battery should last longer and laptop should generate less heat (I hate when laptops generate a lot of heat) right?
Let me just say I won’t be using my rMBP for extensive graphics apps or gaming.
Most of the time it’s listening to music, browsing www (really a lot of tabs open at the same time) and, of course, DJing using Serato DJ.
Please help and thank you so much in advance guys.

meekeen is offline

Comments

  1. Marc-Antoine Brodeur - 10 years ago

    I’m kinda in the same boat as you. I’m looking for a new rMBP 15″ but with the graphic card. Not sure if I should buy it right now or wait for the Broadwell… As we don’t know when it will come out, will it worth waiting? Leaving a comment to have follow-ups on this post.

  2. Typing to you on a Late 2013 15″ rMPB w/ GT750m

    It’s the best laptop I have ever owned. The thing never crashes on me, and Apple’s warranty service is the best I’ve encountered, you will not have problems. Even when the early models were having problems with screen burn in etc- they were being replaced quite easily at the Apple Stores. It has been such a different experience from owning any other brand of computer.

    Also the model with the larger graphics card does have Iris as well. It uses the integrated unless it needs the higher performance of the other one (or you can manual force it to use the Nvidia all the time.)

    Windows Bootcamp also works great so all my Steam games & Windows apps have worked great. It’s the most stable Windows machine I’ve ever owned ironically.

    So although you aren’t playing games, I’m sure the option of having the MUCH more powerful graphics will come in handy in some way if you can afford it, AND you’ll get the good battery life of not having it when it’s not needed so it’s really just a cost thing.

    Go get’er. You won’t be disappointed my man.

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