2011 MBP dead, will a 13" be enough?

[Dave245]

As the title says, my 2011 15" MacBook Pro died the other day (it turns on with pink lines across the screen then sticks at the white screen before restarting itself after a minute or so), i'm due an upgrade and later this year i will be deciding between the 12" MacBook, new MacBook Air 2018 and the MacBook Pro, but because i've had the 2011 15" MacBook Pro for 7 years i was wondering if the 13" 2018 would be a big upgrade? i'm not very spec savvy so forgive me if it seems like a silly question

I'm thinking of the following configuration.

13" with core i5 processor, 16GB Ram and 512GB SSD storage (and of course Apple Care)

My main work consists of writing, Safari with a number of tabs open, Final Cut Pro or iMovie editing as a hobby but also i sometimes help out friends with their edits, i also play some old low powered games such as Sims and the newly released Two Point Hospital (came out yesterday), i do also plan on using it to edit photo's in Pixelmator but again nothing too heavy.

My final decision will be made later this year after Apple have announced all the MacBook updates. If you were me what would you upgrade to? if you were coming from a 2011 15" MacBook Pro?

Also if you have a 13" MacBook Pro 2018, how portable and powerful do you find it? getting that combination right seems to be tricky.

 

[Audit13]

One big change will be the loss of screen real estate by going to a 13". I suggest you compare the 15", 13", and 12" side-by-side. If anything, I would not go below 13".

 

[Dave245]

One big change will be the loss of screen real estate by going to a 13". I suggest you compare the 15", 13", and 12" side-by-side. If anything, I would not go below 13".

The reason I’m thinking about the 13” is because it’s more portable for around the house but also it has the quad core processors which according to a few videos I’ve seen on YouTube match last years 15” MacBook Pro, in a 13” form factor that seems impressive.

 

[Audit13]

The reason I’m thinking about the 13” is because it’s more portable for around the house but also it has the quad core processors which according to a few videos I’ve seen on YouTube match last years 15” MacBook Pro, in a 13” form factor that seems impressive.

I don't edit videos or pictures and I know people who do and they all prefer the larger. For portability, many of them have a 13" MBP or Air.

The 4-core 13" units are pretty impressive but there seem to be a lot of negative posts on Macrumors and other forums. I don't know whether these negative comments are or are not warranted as I'm still using a late 2013 13" MBP and an early 2015 Air.

 

[Howard2k]

For casual use if you value portability over horsepower I think it's a great choice. I use a 13" today and with virtual desktops etc I just don't find the 13" constraining.

My work laptop is a 14". I don't find the extra screen real estate useful.

The 15" would be nice. I think I'd buy a 13" again if I was buying today, but it would be a tough call. What would make it a clear cut decision is if I needed the extra horsepower for work related features. Right now if I'm editing photos on my 13" MBPro it doesn't really matter to me too much how long any edit takes. If I'm doing an HDR merge in Lightroom and that takes 30 seconds instead of 15 seconds does that matter? Not really, no. Same if I'm exporting a video from iMovie. But if I placed real tangible value on my time (such as doing these tasks in a professional capacity) then I would be much more concerned and would be taking the 15" for sure. But that's not the case. And since I leave the home with my MBPro on a regular basis then the portability and price point are more beneficial than the 15" horsepower and real estate.

 

[Dave245]

For casual use if you value portability over horsepower I think it's a great choice. I use a 13" today and with virtual desktops etc I just don't find the 13" constraining.

My work laptop is a 14". I don't find the extra screen real noticeably estate useful.

The 15" would be nice. I think I'd buy a 13" again if I was buying today, but it would be a tough call. What would make it a clear cut decision is if I needed the extra horsepower for work related features. Right now if I'm editing photos on my 13" MBPro it doesn't really matter to me too much how long any edit takes. If I'm doing an HDR merge in Lightroom and that takes 30 seconds instead of 15 seconds does that matter? Not really, no. Same if I'm exporting a video from iMovie. But if I placed real tangible value on my time (such as doing these tasks in a professional capacity) then I would be much more concerned and would be taking the 15" for sure. But that's not the case. And since I leave the home with my MBPro on a regular basis then the portability and price point are more beneficial than the 15" horsepower and real estate.

That’s a great example, the reason I say 13” for portability is because i’d like to be able to use it around the house, on the couch, sitting in bed and so on. (if I want to write something) also if i needed to take it with me when meeting with friends who I sometimes collaborate with. My video edits are simple ones, becuase it’s more of a hobby (unless I’m helping friends out) and the same can be said for picture editing in Pixelmator. I do like to use splitscreen when writing with Final Draft on one side and Safari on another, I can’t imagine that being an issue on the 13”

My actual job is writing, with my old 15” 2011 MBP it was difficult to use on the couch or even out and about, I did use to carry it around university when I first had it (back in mid 2011) and after a while it was cumbersome to take in and out of my bag. Getting something that’s more portable but also powerful enough would be great.

 

[sosumi99]

My actual job is writing, with my old 15” 2011 MBP it was difficult to use on the couch or even out and about, I did use to carry it around university when I first had it (back in mid 2011) and after a while it was cumbersome to take in and out of my bag. Getting something that’s more portable but also powerful enough would be great.

I get you. I had a 15" for years and it was always awkward to use on the couch. Carrying it around in a bag wasn't a big deal, but the bigger footprint made it hard to fit on small coffeeshop tables and other spaces. I just didn't like thinking about it.

Moreover, the discrete graphics card actually drove me nuts. It would spin up whenever I launched Chrome, and I was constantly obsessing over how much more battery power I could be saving if I forced it to rely on the integrated GPU. I also hated the fan coming on. Yes, it was neurotic, but that's the way it is.

Then I switched to a 12" MacBook and was much happier. The performance was adequate for what I wanted to do and much more portable all around.

Given your usage, I think the 13" is perfect.

 

[Dave245]

I get you. I had a 15" for years and it was always awkward to use on the couch. Carrying it around in a bag wasn't a big deal, but the bigger footprint made it hard to fit on small coffeeshop tables and other spaces. I just didn't like thinking about it.

Moreover, the discrete graphics card actually drove me nuts. It would spin up whenever I launched Chrome, and I was constantly obsessing over how much more battery power I could be saving if I forced it to rely on the integrated GPU. I also hated the fan coming on. Yes, it was neurotic, but that's the way it is.

Then I switched to a 12" MacBook and was much happier. The performance was adequate for what I wanted to do and much more portable all around.

Given your usage, I think the 13" is perfect.

Yea my 2011 didn’t have that much of great battery towards the end, I can’t complain tho really it did last 7 years and served me very well. It was my very first Mac (I do also have a 2012 iMac) and it got used everyday, at university I used it for video editing as well as writing essays and so on, i can definitely say that I had my usage out of it. I don’t know what caused it to break down but all in all it was a great machine besides it not being very portable.

Enter 2018 and I think the quad core in the 13” is a great leap forewarn for a smaller machine also I did watch a YouTube video that said the quad core in the 2018 is equal to the one that was in last years 15” MacBook Pro, all in all that sounds like a great feat from Apple. I’m going to wait and see what Updates they give to the rest of the Mac line-up but if there is nothing as good in the new MacBook Air then It will be the 13” MacBook Pro for me I think.

The i5 seems good enough, I don’t think getting the i7 would be of enough benefit to me? Also the 512GB of storage do you know how much it will actually come with out of the box? I know it won’t be the full 512GB because of the OS and any updates.