Hi everyone,
I've been following threads on the rMBP since the first generation was released, and I know that there are already a million of these threads (I've read many of them), but given that everyone's interests and needs differ, I figure one more won't hurt anyone.
I'm trying to decide between the 13" rMBP and the 15".
I'm a rather light user nowadays and typically use my current machine for Internet / YouTube / email, writing articles, occasional Photoshop, iTunes, the occasional light game (generally games that are 10 years old or so), etc. To be fair, based on reading many other threads on these forums, even a Macbook Air, or almost an iPad, could likely do any of my typical tasks in terms of power, but I am sold on the Retina screen and don't mind paying the extra money for it. Rather than power, I'm really more caught between the size of the screen, the portability of each computer, and the lifespan value of the laptop.
My current laptop is a 2007 15" MBP 3,1 with a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM and a 128 MB GeForce 8600M GT video card. It's still chugging along after 6 years amazingly, but the battery is starting to lose it's charge and the 120 GB hard drive is so overfilled at this point that I've been forced to offloaded just about all my pictures and videos. Although the 15" rMBP is way overpowered for my usage, I am concerned that I might regret dropping from a 15" screen down to a 13" one.
At the same time, the idea of a smaller laptop is appealing. In regards to portability, I carry my laptop to lunch just about every day and, although it's not that far to carry a computer, fitting my current 15" MBP on a restaurant table is tight. Panara, for example, has awfully small tables! Outside of lunch, I frequently use my laptop on my lap, so a smaller footprint there wouldn't hurt!
Seeing as I'd like to have at least a 256 GB SSD, there is, of course, roughly a $500 difference between the 15" and the 13" (comparing the base 15" with the mid tier 13"). I'm less concerned about the immediate cost to own than the long term value of the device. Given the difference in price, I'd be looking for a 13" rMBP to last at least 3-4 years, whereas the 15" would have to last 4-6 years to be worth the increase in cost (roughly $500 per year cost to own). With the stories of image retention, though it sounds to be less frequent now than it used to be (possibly due to the 2nd revision of the LG screens), and other issues, I wonder whether the current generation of rMBP will last as long as the older models and whether it wouldn't make sense to get a lower cost one and keep it for less time in hopes that future innovations such as IGZO solves such issues.
Any thoughts on what might be a good solution here? Thanks for your help!
Jim
P.S. I'm also in the market for a bag for said laptop. While I'm aware that there is a huge topic on bags for MBP's, the topic is rather overwhelming with its size. Do any of you have a bag you'd recommend?
I've been following threads on the rMBP since the first generation was released, and I know that there are already a million of these threads (I've read many of them), but given that everyone's interests and needs differ, I figure one more won't hurt anyone.
I'm trying to decide between the 13" rMBP and the 15".
I'm a rather light user nowadays and typically use my current machine for Internet / YouTube / email, writing articles, occasional Photoshop, iTunes, the occasional light game (generally games that are 10 years old or so), etc. To be fair, based on reading many other threads on these forums, even a Macbook Air, or almost an iPad, could likely do any of my typical tasks in terms of power, but I am sold on the Retina screen and don't mind paying the extra money for it. Rather than power, I'm really more caught between the size of the screen, the portability of each computer, and the lifespan value of the laptop.
My current laptop is a 2007 15" MBP 3,1 with a 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM and a 128 MB GeForce 8600M GT video card. It's still chugging along after 6 years amazingly, but the battery is starting to lose it's charge and the 120 GB hard drive is so overfilled at this point that I've been forced to offloaded just about all my pictures and videos. Although the 15" rMBP is way overpowered for my usage, I am concerned that I might regret dropping from a 15" screen down to a 13" one.
At the same time, the idea of a smaller laptop is appealing. In regards to portability, I carry my laptop to lunch just about every day and, although it's not that far to carry a computer, fitting my current 15" MBP on a restaurant table is tight. Panara, for example, has awfully small tables! Outside of lunch, I frequently use my laptop on my lap, so a smaller footprint there wouldn't hurt!
Seeing as I'd like to have at least a 256 GB SSD, there is, of course, roughly a $500 difference between the 15" and the 13" (comparing the base 15" with the mid tier 13"). I'm less concerned about the immediate cost to own than the long term value of the device. Given the difference in price, I'd be looking for a 13" rMBP to last at least 3-4 years, whereas the 15" would have to last 4-6 years to be worth the increase in cost (roughly $500 per year cost to own). With the stories of image retention, though it sounds to be less frequent now than it used to be (possibly due to the 2nd revision of the LG screens), and other issues, I wonder whether the current generation of rMBP will last as long as the older models and whether it wouldn't make sense to get a lower cost one and keep it for less time in hopes that future innovations such as IGZO solves such issues.
Any thoughts on what might be a good solution here? Thanks for your help!
Jim
P.S. I'm also in the market for a bag for said laptop. While I'm aware that there is a huge topic on bags for MBP's, the topic is rather overwhelming with its size. Do any of you have a bag you'd recommend?
