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My Mid 2010 15" MBP vs. rMBP 13"

S

SvenneDK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 15, 2012
13
0
I'm beginning to consider getting one the new rMBPs but i'm unsure whether a base 13" rMBP would be equivalent to my current 15" mid 2010 MBP, or if i should go with high end 13" or even 15" with the discrete graphics:

My Macbook Pro 15" mid 2010

  • i5 2,4 GHz
  • 8GB 1067 MHz DDR3
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 330m 256MB
  • 320 GB 5400RPM HDD
  • 120 GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD in the superdrive slot
  • DVD/CD-RW Superdrive in external USB cabinet


The most heavy task it goes through are:

  • Music production (Logic Studio 9)
  • DJ'ing (Traktor)
  • Photo editing (Adobe CS6 + Lightroom 4)
  • Video editing (Bootcamp: Win 7 + Sony Vegas Pro 11)

I've seen that the Intel HD 4000 scores a bit lower than the 330m: Intel HD 4000 = 470 vs. GeForce 330m = 494. This could be a problem (?). Also the GPU in the 15" rMBP scores way higher GeForce GT 650m = 1274, but even the base 15" is a bit over budget.

The only situations where my MBP struggles are with heavy music arrangements in Logic, photo- and video editing (would like to be able to use AE which is close to impossible now, also PS is a bit slow on the 330m)

Due to the many tasks the new rMBP should be able to perform (with ease), i also need a bit more HDD space than just 128GB or even 256GB (currently 320GB + 120GB) which the base rMBPs pack, so i'm already thinking about changing the standard SSD with an 480GB OWC. Also if i could run AE instead of Sony Vegas in Bootcamp, i could spare the Bootcamp partition which make up 60GB.


What i'm looking for is some knowledge and experienced use with the above mentioned tasks, and how the different rMBPs stand up to these.


Sorry for the long thread. Thank you in advance!
 
Last edited:
WillFisher

WillFisher

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2011
387
16
I use the same kind of applications as you, minus the photo editing.
And I have a 13" 2010 similar to yours.
The way I see it, price wise, the 13" hasn't got enough storage space and only has 2 cores vs 4. In Britain the 256GB 13" rMBP is only £100 less than the base 15"
My own opinion is the 13" is just a little to overpriced or the 15" is underpriced. Either way, the 15 wins for me every time.

Basically, what I'm thinking of doing is getting a cMBP with its 500GB HDD and putting it into the ODD, then putting my current 256GB Samsung 830 in as the default drive. All I'll be losing is the retina display, which isn't exactly the most important thing! As far as I'm aware, this should give around about the same performance as the rMBP.
 
S

SvenneDK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 15, 2012
13
0
Thanks for your reply!

Actually the Retina display is (almost) the only reason why i'm thinking about getting af rMBP - want more space on the screen! :) The increased speed is just a bonus, but the reason why i'm doing all this effort is that i will not pay for diminishing performance when comparing the base ones to the high end ones.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,028
7,868
Is the 15" rMBP an option? That would definitely be faster than your 2010.
 
S

SvenneDK

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 15, 2012
13
0
Even the base 15" is $1300 above budget (Its starting costs is $1000 higher in DK than US :mad:). And that's without an OWC 480 SSD.

Else i have to save some more and be patient :)
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,028
7,868
SvenneDK said:
Even the base 15" is $1300 above budget (Its starting costs is $1000 higher in DK than US :mad:). And that's without an OWC 480 SSD.

Else i have to save some more and be patient :)
Click to expand...

Given that the maximum Turbo Boost of the i5-3210M in the base rMBP is 3.1 GHz, and the maximum Turbo Boost of the dual-core i5-450M in your 2010 is 2.66GHz, and the RAM is up to 1.6GHz from 1067MHz, I think the CPU in the 13" rMBP will be a bit faster. The microarchitecture in the Ivy Bridge i5-3210M is also more efficient than the microarchitecture in the older i5-450M. I think it amounts to about a 10% difference at the same clock speed (it depends on the application).

So, roughly speaking the 2.5GHz i5-3210M that boosts to 3.1GHz is like having a 2.75GHz older i5 that boost to 3.4GHz.

The HD4000 will be slightly slower than the 330m, but note that the 2010 MacBook also used the significantly slower integrated graphics much of the time (switching to the 330m as necessary), so it may be a wash, as the 2010 has some of the baggage of switching back and forth. A negative is that the HD4000 in the 13" rMBP has to control more than 3 times as many pixels as the 2010 15" MBP.
 
M

majkom

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2011
1,854
1,150
Remmeber, Intel HD is a bit slower and HAS TO run much higher resolution! And I am not sure, but you wont get more space with retina, just better picture
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,028
7,868
majkom said:
Remmeber, Intel HD is a bit slower and HAS TO run much higher resolution! And I am not sure, but you wont get more space with retina, just better picture
Click to expand...

If you are willing to accept a performance hit, you can scale to 1440x900 or 1650x1080. For serious video editing, the 15" rMBP is certainly a better choice, but it may be possible on the 13".
 
C

chrise2

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2012
504
70
You should also note that you can't upgrade the storage in the retina macbooks. At least not with a standard laptop SSD anyway. If you want to be able to upgrade anything, you need to get the non-retina versions.
 
S

snaky69

macrumors 603
Mar 14, 2008
5,908
488
SvenneDK said:
I'm beginning to consider getting one the new rMBPs but i'm unsure whether a base 13" rMBP would be equivalent to my current 15" mid 2010 MBP, or if i should go with high end 13" or even 15" with the discrete graphics:

My Macbook Pro 15" mid 2010

  • i5 2,4 GHz
  • 8GB 1067 MHz DDR3
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 330m 256MB
  • 320 GB 5400RPM HDD
  • 120 GB OWC Mercury Electra 3G SSD in the superdrive slot
  • DVD/CD-RW Superdrive in external USB cabinet


The most heavy task it goes through are:

  • Music production (Logic Studio 9)
  • DJ'ing (Traktor)
  • Photo editing (Adobe CS6 + Lightroom 4)
  • Video editing (Bootcamp: Win 7 + Sony Vegas Pro 11)

I've seen that the Intel HD 4000 scores a bit lower than the 330m: Intel HD 4000 = 470 vs. GeForce 330m = 494. This could be a problem (?). Also the GPU in the 15" rMBP scores way higher GeForce GT 650m = 1274, but even the base 15" is a bit over budget.

The only situations where my MBP struggles are with heavy music arrangements in Logic, photo- and video editing (would like to be able to use AE which is close to impossible now, also PS is a bit slow on the 330m)

Due to the many tasks the new rMBP should be able to perform (with ease), i also need a bit more HDD space than just 128GB or even 256GB (currently 320GB + 120GB) which the base rMBPs pack, so i'm already thinking about changing the standard SSD with an 480GB OWC. Also if i could run AE instead of Sony Vegas in Bootcamp, i could spare the Bootcamp partition which make up 60GB.


What i'm looking for is some knowledge and experienced use with the above mentioned tasks, and how the different rMBPs stand up to these.


Sorry for the long thread. Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

Your applications are not GPU bound, though the Adobe products can make use of parallel processing on CUDA enabled nVidia GPUs (I don't know if the GT330M is CUDA enabled). Basically, for your use, the integrated card will not struggle.

Most of your usage is CPU bound, so you're likely to see a bit of an increase in speed going to the rMBP. But honestly, if you truly want more power, you should step it up to the 15's quad core, which is more than twice as fast as your current configuration.
 
S

Soulweaponry

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2010
394
1
chrise2 said:
You should also note that you can't upgrade the storage in the retina macbooks. At least not with a standard laptop SSD anyway. If you want to be able to upgrade anything, you need to get the non-retina versions.
Click to expand...

There are now ssds made for the retina versions that you can upgrade with
 
jpw16

jpw16

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2010
79
6
Phoenix AZ
I had the exact same 2010 15" macbook pro and I sold it for a 13' rMBP with 256gb. I love it over my old macbook.
 
S

Soulweaponry

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2010
394
1
jpw16 said:
I had the exact same 2010 15" macbook pro and I sold it for a 13' rMBP with 256gb. I love it over my old macbook.
Click to expand...

Just wondering, but why did you choose the 256 13inch retina when it's about the same price as the base 15inch, which is way way faster? The portability that important to you?
 
khollister

khollister

macrumors 6502a
Feb 1, 2003
541
39
Orlando, FL
The GPU will not make any difference except (possibly) in your video app. What you need, based on your description, is more CPU. Your best performance for your uses (especially Logic) would be the base 15" non-retina MBP. I have a base Sandy Bridge 15" (2.2 i7 quad) with 16 GB RAM and a SSD (3rd party) and it flies thru CS6/LR and Logic.

Yes, it is not as sexy as the retina models and weighs more, but it is the performance king for the money.
 
jpw16

jpw16

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2010
79
6
Phoenix AZ
Soulweaponry said:
Just wondering, but why did you choose the 256 13inch retina when it's about the same price as the base 15inch, which is way way faster? The portability that important to you?
Click to expand...

Well it was an open box at Bestbuy with the 10% discount($1489) otherwise I would have gone with the 15 for that price. Im glad I did get the 13 though because of the portability.
 
Orlandoech

Orlandoech

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2011
3,341
887
Soulweaponry said:
Just wondering, but why did you choose the 256 13inch retina when it's about the same price as the base 15inch, which is way way faster? The portability that important to you?
Click to expand...

I wonder the same at times. Some people dont even care about the "portability" that much but prefer the size, which makes no sense on a price:value but hey, my brother is one of them weird people who opted for a 13" rMBP over 15" rMBP because of the size but he doesnt even travel with it lol.
 
S

Soulweaponry

macrumors 6502
Mar 13, 2010
394
1
Orlandoech.com said:
I wonder the same at times. Some people dont even care about the "portability" that much but prefer the size, which makes no sense on a price:value but hey, my brother is one of them weird people who opted for a 13" rMBP over 15" rMBP because of the size but he doesnt even travel with it lol.
Click to expand...

Hey, my girlfriend got a macbook air because she liked how thin it is, even though she never takes it anywhere further than the bathroom. AND she's got an iPad for when she really wants to be portable. AND when i got my 15inch retina she's all "wow. Thats big. I would never get one of those". Whyyyyy. It's more screen real estate and a ton more power for about the same price. Way better to watch your stupid girly youtube videos about applying sparkly eyeliner and crap.

I took my retina to work to show her when i first got it like..."ya jealous? Huhhh. Come on you're jealous right?". She's all..."seems like the same thing. Why be jealous". I'm doing my steve jobs presentation in the kitchen like "but this is the highest resolution screen'd laptop in the world with 5 million pixels. Thats more than the 55inch tv at home! And it's super thin. Look at it. And the new cooling system and..". "Meh...looks the same". I was almost offended at how not-impressed she was by it. I may have to find another girlfriend. She's outdated like my old dell computer. It's weird to me how impressed i can be with this thing and how blah-zay she can be with it.
 
Orlandoech

Orlandoech

macrumors 68040
Jun 2, 2011
3,341
887
Soulweaponry said:
Hey, my girlfriend got a macbook air because she liked how thin it is, even though she never takes it anywhere further than the bathroom. AND she's got an iPad for when she really wants to be portable. AND when i got my 15inch retina she's all "wow. Thats big. I would never get one of those". Whyyyyy. It's more screen real estate and a ton more power for about the same price. Way better to watch your stupid girly youtube videos about applying sparkly eyeliner and crap.

I took my retina to work to show her when i first got it like..."ya jealous? Huhhh. Come on you're jealous right?". She's all..."seems like the same thing. Why be jealous". I'm doing my steve jobs presentation in the kitchen like "but this is the highest resolution screen'd laptop in the world with 5 million pixels. Thats more than the 55inch tv at home! And it's super thin. Look at it. And the new cooling system and..". "Meh...looks the same". I was almost offended at how not-impressed she was by it. I may have to find another girlfriend. She's outdated like my old dell computer. It's weird to me how impressed i can be with this thing and how blah-zay she can be with it.
Click to expand...

Lol that was entertaining... females DONT let logic ruin an argument, duh lol. You could get into a fight with a girl you've never slept with over a child she claims is yours and say "I've never slept with your nor does this child look like me". She would return with, "Yes huh, he has your hat".


13" rMBP
size_mbp_13.jpg

Height: 0.75 inch (1.9 cm)
Width: 12.35 inches (31.4 cm)
Depth: 8.62 inches (21.9 cm)
Weight: 3.57 pounds (1.62 kg)2

VS

15" rMBP
size_mbp_15.jpg

Height: 0.71 inch (1.8 cm)
Width: 14.13 inches (35.89 cm)
Depth: 9.73 inches (24.71 cm)
Weight: 4.46 pounds (2.02 kg)2
 
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