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Which MacBook Pro should I get?

W

Windows&Apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 1, 2013
198
0
Hello, I'll keep it short, I'll list what I need the machine to do and I'll list my options.

  • 3Ds Max and Maya (Medium to large animations)
  • Adobe Suite (Photo/Video/Web)
  • Logic Pro
  • Accounting software (Sage 50, Excel)
  • Windows 7 (Not 8, or 8.1)
  • Gaming (BF3, BF4, basically modern games)
  • Note taking, MS word.

Here are my options:

A)

Macbook Pro 15
  • 2.3Ghz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5Ghz
  • 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
  • 512GB PCI-e SSD
  • NVIDIA GT750M 2GB
  • Iris Pro 5200 1GB

The 2.6 is an option, but only if I really, really need it. Read below before you comment :)

B)

Macbook Pro 13
  • 2.6GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
  • 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
  • 256GB PCI-e SSD
  • Iris Pro 5100

Note from above: I do have a plan to build a custom desktop within the next year or so with the broadwell chips, the budget will be around $1500-2000 and I expect a very strong PC as an end result.

Additional information:

I will be keeping this machine for at least 6 years, I don't expect it to be very useful, but I don't expect it to be completely useless either. I also get the student discount, if that impacts your opinion.

Obviously if you have other suggestions, please feel free to post them.

Thanks! :D
 
simon48

simon48

macrumors 65816
Sep 1, 2010
1,315
88
If you plan on doing gaming, especially if you don't plan on moving all of it to your custom-built PC get the 15" with the 750M. The 750M is substantially faster at higher level graphics on modern games.

You don't really, really need the 2.6GHz at all.
 
W

Windows&Apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 1, 2013
198
0
simon48 said:
If you plan on doing gaming, especially if you don't plan on moving all of it to your custom-built PC get the 15" with the 750M. The 750M is substantially faster at higher level graphics on modern games.

You don't really, really need the 2.6GHz at all.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear it. I don't trust FedEx or UPS when it comes to shipping items, I'd rather check it out in store and have a face to yell at if something is screwy :eek:

----------

Also, how do I check which display and SSD I have in my machine? I'm not sure if I want to know, but it'd be nice to know if needed for the future. Also, which screen is prefered and which SSD is prefered?
 
simon48

simon48

macrumors 65816
Sep 1, 2010
1,315
88
Windows&Apple said:
Glad to hear it. I don't trust FedEx or UPS when it comes to shipping items, I'd rather check it out in store and have a face to yell at if something is screwy :eek:

----------

Also, how do I check which display and SSD I have in my machine? I'm not sure if I want to know, but it'd be nice to know if needed for the future. Also, which screen is prefered and which SSD is prefered?
Click to expand...

If it shows up screwy you can alway go to the Apple store to yell. :p

Go to :apple: > About This Mac > More Info for hardware info.

What you mean by which screen is preferred? Between the 13" and the 15"?

All the SSDs are great, but the bigger you go the faster they will get, not huge changes, but ~10% each jump.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,489
43,414
I like the 15" over the 13" myself. The weight/size difference isn't huge and I appreciate the power :)
 
Starfyre

Starfyre

macrumors 68030
Nov 7, 2010
2,905
1,136
Because its gonna need to last for years..

2.6GHz!
- Battery life might not be so bad based on certain posters just disabling the dGPU with gfxcardstatus when not used
- Highest clock speeds to last longer
- Higher clocks for iris pro (for those times when you dont want to use dedicated and save some life)

I use SolidWorks, so the more performance that can be get, the better especially nice when the integrated has that extra kick.

A desktop is a desktop. A macbook pro should be your desktop while your on the go, but very portable and has decent battery life, which it appears to be getting better for the 2.6 today. If its more than 7.5 hours, i'd say thats pretty decent and at the very least better than the last generation.
 
Last edited:
W

Windows&Apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 1, 2013
198
0
Starfyre said:
A desktop is a desktop. A macbook pro should be your desktop while your on the go, but very portable and has decent battery life, which it appears to be getting better for the 2.6 today. If its more than 7.5 hours, i'd say thats pretty decent and at the very least better than the last generation.
Click to expand...

I agree, completely, but if I'm going to go with the 2.6, I'd like to look for a little bit to make sure battery life does in-fact increase.
 
W

Windows&Apple

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 1, 2013
198
0
rabidz7 said:
The 15". You need those graphics.
Click to expand...

Yup, I didn't know how capable the graphics in the 13 were and although they are perfectly fine, I think the 15 would be better for my needs. What would you say about the processor? I so far got one person saying 2.3 and one saying 2.6. Still on fence. If it helps
I'd like more than 7 hours or battery life. My school is anal about outlets and have a severe lack of them.
 
rabidz7

rabidz7

macrumors 65816
Jun 24, 2012
1,205
3
Ohio
Windows&Apple said:
Yup, I didn't know how capable the graphics in the 13 were and although they are perfectly fine, I think the 15 would be better for my needs. What would you say about the processor? I so far got one person saying 2.3 and one saying 2.6. Still on fence. If it helps
I'd like more than 7 hours or battery life. My school is anal about outlets and have a severe lack of them.
Click to expand...

CPU won't even matter!!!!!!
GPU will make huge difference!!!!
 
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