Sorry for the long post, but I appreciate any help on this:
I have been using Macs and Lightroom for a number of years now. I know how to use both, but my question is specific to upgrading hardware.
CURRENT
I have a 2009 13" MBP. It has:
The laptop is getting older, and LR is running a little slower than I'd like. Also, the battery is toast, so it needs to go in to have that replaced.
I could upgrade, but my budget would be under $1500, and would prefer closer to $1100. My options seem to be:
CONSIDERING FOR UPGRADE
I usually buy refurbs
Would one of these minis outperform my current MBP? Or, am I just better off getting the battery replaced, and saving my money?
I put in a poll, but comments are appreciated, too.
I have been using Macs and Lightroom for a number of years now. I know how to use both, but my question is specific to upgrading hardware.
CURRENT
I have a 2009 13" MBP. It has:
- 8GB RAM
- C2D 2.26GHz
- NVIDIA 9400M 256MB graphics card
- 750GB Western Digital HDD (can't remember if it's 5400 or 7200 RPM)
- Hooked to Dell SIPS panel
- Mountain Lion (plan to upgrade to Mavericks)
The laptop is getting older, and LR is running a little slower than I'd like. Also, the battery is toast, so it needs to go in to have that replaced.
I could upgrade, but my budget would be under $1500, and would prefer closer to $1100. My options seem to be:
CONSIDERING FOR UPGRADE
I usually buy refurbs
- Replace the battery, and keep what I have.
- MBP 13" retina, but I need more storage. I am using about 500GB on my current drive. I'd have to use an external HDD for video and photo master files. This might negate any performance improvements of the CPU and bus, and I only have FW800 drives currently.
- Upgrade to an i5 or i7 MBP13" regular display, but I generally find I don't like to picture edit on 13" Just not enough real estate, so I leave it hooked up to my Dell panel a lot.
- i5 or i7 mini? I might even be able to get one of those and a lower end 11" MBAir for when I want to have my laptop remote, but would 11" drive me crazy? And what about syncing the LR library files.
Would one of these minis outperform my current MBP? Or, am I just better off getting the battery replaced, and saving my money?
I put in a poll, but comments are appreciated, too.
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