Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Advice buying rMBP 13

J

jcmpdo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 1, 2013
13
0
Hi

I am going to buy a new retina MBP 13'' but I need some help.
In terms of SSD I know that I need 256GB.

I need advice on the CPU and RAM.

CPU: i5 2.4 GHz or i5 2.6 GHz
RAM: 8 or 16 GB

I am going to use it for web browing, pages/office, a Linux VM, java and c++ programming with eclipse, some Matlab, lots of pdfs.

What do you think?
Thanks
 
jcmpdo said:
Hi

I am going to buy a new retina MBP 13'' but I need some help.
In terms of SSD I know that I need 256GB.

I need advice on the CPU and RAM.

CPU: i5 2.4 GHz or i5 2.6 GHz
RAM: 8 or 16 GB

I am going to use it for web browing, pages/office, a Linux VM, java and c++ programming with eclipse, some Matlab, lots of pdfs.

What do you think?
Thanks
Click to expand...

How long do you plan on keeping it? VMs eat RAM for breakfast, but Linux isn't as needy as Windows. I'd lean towards 16GB
 
I'd wait as long as you can, or even buy the classic macbook pro. The retina line still has issues. I just a 13" with bad image retention.
 
BlueMoonForever said:
I'd wait as long as you can, or even buy the classic macbook pro. The retina line still has issues. I just a 13" with bad image retention.
Click to expand...

If you get a bad display you just exchange it. There's no need to wait, the problems are not that common.
 
jcmpdo said:
Hi

I am going to buy a new retina MBP 13'' but I need some help.
In terms of SSD I know that I need 256GB.

I need advice on the CPU and RAM.

CPU: i5 2.4 GHz or i5 2.6 GHz
RAM: 8 or 16 GB

I am going to use it for web browing, pages/office, a Linux VM, java and c++ programming with eclipse, some Matlab, lots of pdfs.

What do you think?
Thanks
Click to expand...

simon48 said:
I would say 16GB and you don't really need the CPU bump. I'd get a few more opinions though, but get out before the inevitable RAM argument starts. ;)
Click to expand...

Yea I agree with simon48. I used to use VM a lot, and since I only have 8GB of RAM it's very power-hungry.
 
I agree mostly with the above...

Get the RAM now because you can't upgrade later. You'll be glad you have 16GB if you plan on keeping it for more than two years.

The CPU speed most likely won't be noticeable. Stick with the i5. These new retina machines get their speed from the PCIe based flash.

Hope that helps.
 
Groovemaster17 said:
I agree mostly with the above...

Get the RAM now because you can't upgrade later. You'll be glad you have 16GB if you plan on keeping it for more than two years.

The CPU speed most likely won't be noticeable. Stick with the i5. These new retina machines get their speed from the PCIe based flash.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

+1 for 16GB Ram and I5 processor. If you have some extra cash beyond the 16GB Ram, go for a bigger SSD drive rather than a faster CPU.
 
I'm using the exact configure you're looking at with 16GB ram, I'm loving it.
Truly a great machine for everything and more you would plan on using it.
 
Ssd

Yeah, the storage would be the next place I look to with extra $$.

256GB is nothing to sneeze at, but you have to look long term. Just another thing to consider.

BTW, I use a new, 2013 15" MBPr with 16GB/512SSD/Nvidia GPU. If I didn't need the graphics power, however, I'd go with the 13". IMO, it's a very nice size with a killer display :D
 
In terms of storage 256GB is more than enough for me.

So between a 2.4GHz/16GB or a 2.6GHz/8GB configuration, you would choose the first one?

Dont you think is worth the upgrade from the i5 2.4 to the i5 2.6 GHz? You get more 0.2 GHz on cpu and 0.1 GHz gpu, for 100$.
 
jcmpdo said:
In terms of storage 256GB is more than enough for me.

So between a 2.4GHz/16GB or a 2.6GHz/8GB configuration, you would choose the first one?

Dont you think is worth the upgrade from the i5 2.4 to the i5 2.6 GHz? You get more 0.2 GHz on cpu and 0.1 GHz gpu, for 100$.
Click to expand...

I would favor 16GB Ram over the 2.4 to 2.6 Ghz increase, but if you can do both it is not a bad idea. Before I got a great deal for my 2.8/16/1TB 13" rMBP I had my mind set on 16GB Ram and the 2.6 GHz chip since most say it is the best bang for the buck CPU upgrade.
 
8gb really is a lot of RAM and more than enough for most people. I too would agree that I would rather have the 16gb or RAM over a small CPU bump that you will probably never notice. However, I would watch the refurb store and wait for the 2.6/8gb/512gb model to pop up again for $1,529.

I really think this combo in the refurb store is the best bang for your buck. That is unless you figure you absolutely need the 16gb, which it doesn't sound like it's a necessity.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back