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13" retina MacBook Pro with 4GB/128GB worth it?

dmk1974

dmk1974

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Sep 16, 2008
2,513
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My wife has the base 2014 13" MacBook Air which seems to run perfectly fine with the 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD configuration. Via the Apple Refurb Store, they have the Late 2013 13" 4GB/128GB retina MacBook Pro for just $999.00.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-24ghz-dual-core-intel-i5-with-retina-display

Does anyone here actually have this model and are there any concerns with it? Mainly the RAM and driving that retina display. The 128GB storage is plenty for me, though, I have read here that the 256GB SSD is faster in benchmarks. Thanks!
 
If that does it for your workflow, then jump for it! What are you using it for? With memory compression that OS X uses now 4Gb should do the trick for most light usage scenarios. That said 8Gb is more future proof.

Personally, I'd be hard pressed to live within 128Gb of storage space - but that is just me.
 
Meister said:
What apps do you use?
Click to expand...

Mainly MS Office apps, browsing, email, iTunes, iMovie (rarely), very rarely Draftsight.

All of our media files (photos, videos, music) are stored on a Mac Mini server.
 
dmk1974 said:
My wife has the base 2014 13" MacBook Air which seems to run perfectly fine with the 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD configuration. Via the Apple Refurb Store, they have the Late 2013 13" 4GB/128GB retina MacBook Pro for just $999.00.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-24ghz-dual-core-intel-i5-with-retina-display

Does anyone here actually have this model and are there any concerns with it? Mainly the RAM and driving that retina display. The 128GB storage is plenty for me, though, I have read here that the 256GB SSD is faster in benchmarks. Thanks!
Click to expand...


Well, the ssd performance is indeed better in benchmarks, when it comes to the 256 gb model. But in the very end of the day, I doubt that you would notice any difference at all (except the capacity of course).
I would be more concerned about the 4gb's of ram in that machine as this does not make it future proof.
 
dmk1974 said:
Mainly MS Office apps, browsing, email, iTunes, iMovie (rarely), very rarely Draftsight.

All of our media files (photos, videos, music) are stored on a Mac Mini server.
Click to expand...
You will be a very happy man with the rmbp 2.4/4/128 :)
 
I have just bought this machine for similar use and I am more than happy. It's a very rapid machine tbh and I don't see any issue with 4gb ram at all. People on here make you think it's inadequate but in the real work the OS manages the ram brilliantly.

I had a 2010 machine running Yosemite without any issues. Although it was slow. So no doubt this macbook should last at least another 4 years.
 
I would never get 128GB SSD or 4GB RAM.

I thought 8GB ram would be plenty but now that I'm using my MBPr for more things than I originally thought, 16GB would have been better.

256GB is enough for me but somewhat tight. I use an external drive.

If you don't do much on your computer beyond excel, browing internet, pages, microsoft word, powerpoint, email, 128/4 is fine.
 
dmk1974 said:
Mainly MS Office apps, browsing, email, iTunes, iMovie (rarely), very rarely Draftsight.

All of our media files (photos, videos, music) are stored on a Mac Mini server.
Click to expand...

I think the linked mode is fine for your stated needs, I'd go for it :)
 
Thanks for the replies. I ordered one up from the refurb site and hope to get it Wednesday. Worst-case, it's too slow or something and then I'll return it. Best-case, it's only $1000 and suits me for a couple years or I then pass it to my wife as basically a screen upgrade compared to her MacBook Air.
 
dmk1974 said:
Thanks for the replies. I ordered one up from the refurb site and hope to get it Wednesday. Worst-case, it's too slow or something and then I'll return it. Best-case, it's only $1000 and suits me for a couple years or I then pass it to my wife as basically a screen upgrade compared to her MacBook Air.
Click to expand...
I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
The 2013 low-end model is astounishing.
 
dmk1974 said:
Why? Seems for my use 4GB should be ok, right?
Click to expand...

Yes, I had the 4/128 retina pro for some time before going back to the Air. It is a great machine and for your needs, it will work perfectly for several years. People bark for others to get 8GB of ram just for the hell of it. 4GB of ram goes a long way with your workload. My workload is the same and for the kind of users we are, 8Gb of ram is a complete waste of money.
 
capathy21 said:
Yes, I had the 4/128 retina pro for some time before going back to the Air. It is a great machine and for your needs, it will work perfectly for several years. People bark for others to get 8GB of ram just for the hell of it. 4GB of ram goes a long way with your workload. My workload is the same and for the kind of users we are, 8Gb of ram is a complete waste of money.
Click to expand...

Are u crazy ? Macbook Air is fine with 4 gb but Macbook Pro needs to drive that insane retina display and 4 gb is not enough . Intel Iris have only 1 gb of shared memory with 4 gb of ram and 1.5 gb of memory with 8 gb of ram . Even with 8 gb of ram , macbook pro retina still lags so I don't want to imagine what is the performance on 4 gb .

Also 1000 $ is way too much for this . Wait for Broadwell chips or buy the Macbook Air .
 
ChrisDB said:
Are u crazy ? Macbook Air is fine with 4 gb but Macbook Pro needs to drive that insane retina display and 4 gb is not enough . Intel Iris have only 1 gb of shared memory with 4 gb of ram and 1.5 gb of memory with 8 gb of ram . Even with 8 gb of ram , macbook pro retina still lags so I don't want to imagine what is the performance on 4 gb .

Also 1000 $ is way too much for this . Wait for Broadwell chips or buy the Macbook Air .
Click to expand...

The lag has nothing to do with RAM. If 8 GB doesn't solve it, then 4 GB didn't break it.

4 GB is fine for the OP and most of the planet.
 
This forum would tell my grandma to get 16GB if she came on here asking for advice. Hell the PCs at work and the engineering labs at my university run CAD software perfectly fine on 4GB of RAM with Windows 7. At work specifically, I have 2-3 instances of Microstation/InRoads and 3-4 instances of Excel and Internet Explorer(They won't allow us install other browsers at work)
 
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dmk1974 said:
My wife has the base 2014 13" MacBook Air which seems to run perfectly fine with the 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD configuration. Via the Apple Refurb Store, they have the Late 2013 13" 4GB/128GB retina MacBook Pro for just $999.00.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-24ghz-dual-core-intel-i5-with-retina-display

Does anyone here actually have this model and are there any concerns with it? Mainly the RAM and driving that retina display. The 128GB storage is plenty for me, though, I have read here that the 256GB SSD is faster in benchmarks. Thanks!
Click to expand...

It's just fine. I won a 13" late-2013 in a raffle (2.4/4/128) and it's fine for daily usage and some Photoshop.
 
ChrisDB said:
Are u crazy ? Macbook Air is fine with 4 gb but Macbook Pro needs to drive that insane retina display and 4 gb is not enough . Intel Iris have only 1 gb of shared memory with 4 gb of ram and 1.5 gb of memory with 8 gb of ram . Even with 8 gb of ram , macbook pro retina still lags so I don't want to imagine what is the performance on 4 gb .
Click to expand...
Capathy is not crazy. The retina screen is not driven by the RAM. All rmbp display the same slight UI lag independent from their specs. Rest assured that :apple: does not sell crippled macbooks.
 
Meister said:
Capathy is not crazy. The retina screen is not driven by the RAM. All rmbp display the same slight UI lag independent from their specs. Rest assured that :apple: does not sell crippled macbooks.
Click to expand...

You are contradicting yourself .

"Slight" UI lag ? The 13 inch model is almost unusable . I can get a better performance from an old windows desktop .
iPad Air 2 has better GPU performance than MacBooks with intel iris .
This is a crippled product .
 
ChrisDB said:
You are contradicting yourself .
"Slight" UI lag ? The 13 inch model is almost unusable. I can get a better performance from an old windows desktop .
iPad Air 2 has better GPU performance than MacBooks with intel iris .
This is a crippled product .
Click to expand...
Your rmbp must be broken.
Mine is everything but certainly not unusable
 
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ChrisDB said:
Are u crazy ? Macbook Air is fine with 4 gb but Macbook Pro needs to drive that insane retina display and 4 gb is not enough . Intel Iris have only 1 gb of shared memory with 4 gb of ram and 1.5 gb of memory with 8 gb of ram . Even with 8 gb of ram , macbook pro retina still lags so I don't want to imagine what is the performance on 4 gb .

Also 1000 $ is way too much for this . Wait for Broadwell chips or buy the Macbook Air .
Click to expand...

You have no idea what you are talking about. Not only is the performance excellent on the 4gb model, 1,000 is a great price.
 
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