13" MBP (Mid 2012) to 15" rMBP (Mid 2014)... Enough?

[thekeyring]

Currently using a 13" MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) with a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 and 4GB of RAM.

I was thinking of upgrading to a 15" MacBook Pro (retina) (Mid 2014) with a 2.2 Quad-Core i7, 16GB of RAM and flash storage (not a slow traditional hard drive).

For basic tasks, my Mac works just fine. However, FCP X is slow, Toon Boom Studio is slow, Flash is slow, boot up is slow, waking from sleep is slow, etc etc.

Do you think this spec bump is enough for me? I'm hoping the move to a SSD will help the system run more quickly, and an up-to-date Intel chip with 4x the RAM I currently have enable me to animate without tearing my hair out.

 

[D.T.]

Currently using a 13" MacBook Pro (Mid 2012) with a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 and 4GB of RAM.

I was thinking of upgrading to a 15" MacBook Pro (retina) (Mid 2014) with a 2.2 Quad-Core i7, 16GB of RAM and flash storage (not a slow traditional hard drive).

For basic tasks, my Mac works just fine. However, FCP X is slow, Toon Boom Studio is slow, Flash is slow, boot up is slow, waking from sleep is slow, etc etc.

Do you think this spec bump is enough for me? I'm hoping the move to a SSD will help the system run more quickly, and an up-to-date Intel chip with 4x the RAM I currently have enable me to animate without tearing my hair out.

I just updated my wife’s 2010 MBP 13”, from 4GB to 8GB, and from a 250GB 5.4K HDD to a 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD. It feels faster than my quad i7 2.3 15” (with 16GB and a 7.2K HDD).

The jump in system architecture + 4GB to 16GB + the super fast PCI based SSD should be a substantial boost in performance. With your 4GB, you’re probably hitting the HDD quite a bit running RAM intensive apps like FCP, so it’s a "double dip” into slower performance so to speak.

Do it. Enjoy

 

[Meister]

Put an ssd in your mbp and see it fly

 

[thekeyring]

I just updated my wife’s 2010 MBP 13”, from 4GB to 8GB, and from a 250GB 5.4K HDD to a 256GB Crucial MX100 SSD. It feels faster than my quad i7 2.3 15” (with 16GB and a 7.2K HDD).

The jump in system architecture + 4GB to 16GB + the super fast PCI based SSD should be a substantial boost in performance. With your 4GB, you’re probably hitting the HDD quite a bit running RAM intensive apps like FCP, so it’s a "double dip” into slower performance so to speak.

Do it. Enjoy

Thanks, mate, great advice. It will take me a bit of time to get the funds together, but you've just helped me pick my next Mac.

 

[Abstract]

If you did nothing but switch to an SSD, your laptop would feel 10x faster. Processing in FCP may still feel slow, because an SSD doesn't really help your relatively low processing speed, but it would help make everything else snappy.

If money isn't a massive concern, then buy a new laptop. Your laptop is pretty old, and it may not be worth spending money to upgrade it.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I think that the increase in RAM and going from a HDD to a SSD will show you a significant increase in performance.

 

[Synchromesh]

The 2012 model is still pretty up to speed. The Retinas do feel a little faster and more integrated than older systems even with an SSD upgrade but it's a very expensive feeling.

Like others here suggest, bump up the RAM and the disk and you should be able to squeeze a couple more years out of it pretty easily.

 

[mwa]

Not to thead-hijack, but I'm wondering if it would be feasible to upgrade my current laptop - last-gen 2.3ghz 17" MBP - to a latest-gen MacBook Air with an external 20" monitor, more mobile, and easier to haul when I need to. Having an iPad for the past year has really made me value portability and using smaller screens on the go. 17" is just too big for a coffee shop or my lap...

Specifically, mostly I'm doing SEO with is browser and text-y stuff. Some Photoshop work as well.

Is the difference in Sandy Bridge to Haswell that good that I could make the move? Ideas? Thanks for your input

 

[Thejrace]

If money isn't a massive concern, then buy a new laptop. Your laptop is pretty old, and it may not be worth spending money to upgrade it.

I agree with everything else you said besides this. Laptops not old at all. New ssd will give of years of life.