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Blue Sun

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 11, 2009
997
405
Australia
Hi guys,

I've been trying to decide between the quad-core 13" (i5, 16GB, 512GB) and the 6-core 15" (i7, 16GB, 512GB, 560X) for relatively light Photoshop and Illustrator work using a 4K monitor.

I currently have a late 2013 15" rMBP with the Nvidia GT750M that handles the workload fine, but the computer will be obsoleted next year and I would prefer to offload it before the battery turns it into a paperweight and Apple refuses repair (my previous 2010 MBP's battery expanded and was a bit of an issue). Its also not the most portable computer around.

I prefer the portability of the 13", but at the same time I won't be happy if the smaller ($3000 AUD) machine can't power through UI animations (such as Mission Control) on the 4K monitor without becoming choppy. Does anyone have a similar use-case scenario and/or opinion on the matter? Can the 13" readily handle a 4K monitor or does it struggle to push those extra pixels?

FWIW, I primarily use the notebook in clamshell mode so it will only have one display to power at any given time.

Thanks.
 
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