Should I trade my current 2017 13’ macbook pro with 8 GB and an i5 for this 2014 15 inch macbook pro with 16 GB ram and 512 GB storage with a 2.5 GHZ i7 but only with built in graphics?
Also his is basically brand new while mine is dinged up a little.
I think if you don’t mind the bulk of the 15" (and potentially worse battery life) then I would pick that one. The i7 in this machine is plenty fast, even today, for most task that you would you a laptop for. Most importantly, it’s a quad core CPU with hyper threading, not a dual core.
And considering Apple is doing everything in their power to kill of support on Intel MacBooks, your 2017 might be classified obsolete very soon. Opencore Legacy Patcher works great with Sonoma on the Intel Iris lineup.
So, would you be fine with a larger and heavier laptop? I think the only other option would be to try and sell if for a decent price (because people will think 2017 = more worth) and invest in the M1 lineup, and have a powerful/efficient and lightweight MacBook for years to come.