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2015 MBP 13" or wait for the 15"?

H

happle

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
501
0
I'm wondering what your opinions are about buying the new 2015 13" MBP or to wait for the 15" to update. I currently have a broken 15", and used it for Logic Pro and the occasional game, but no games lately.

I'm really wanting to get a new MBP and an wondering if the 13" will cut it nowadays with the retina display and dual core broadwell cpus, will the best upgraded options 13" work well for me or would it be more wise to wait for the 15"?

It's going to be hard to wait and I do like the portability of the 13" and more screen real estate with retina. However the 15" would be nice to have more cpu power, a dedicated GPU, and even more screen real estate. Opinions?
 
happle said:
I'm wondering what your opinions are about buying the new 2015 13" MBP or to wait for the 15" to update. I currently have a broken 15", and used it for Logic Pro and the occasional game, but no games lately.

I'm really wanting to get a new MBP and an wondering if the 13" will cut it nowadays with the retina display and dual core broadwell cpus, will the best upgraded options 13" work well for me or would it be more wise to wait for the 15"?

It's going to be hard to wait and I do like the portability of the 13" and more screen real estate with retina. However the 15" would be nice to have more cpu power, a dedicated GPU, and even more screen real estate. Opinions?
Click to expand...

For Logic Pro, would work fine. If you're not using especially resource-heavy instruments you'd probably be great even with one of the base models.

For games...eh. The Iris 6100 is better than the past GPUs, but it's still pretty slow. A 15" would be much better there.
 
geoelectric said:
For Logic Pro, would work fine. If you're not using especially resource-heavy instruments you'd probably be great even with one of the base models.



For games...eh. The Iris 6100 is better than the past GPUs, but it's still pretty slow. A 15" would be much better there.
Click to expand...


The 13" retina would work well for logic even in the screen real estate department? I probably won't play games but I do a ton of processing in logic with 3rd party plugins so I will be going for the i7, will the dual core be enough or shroud I wait for the 15"?
 
You don't have to settle for the 13 or wait 6 months for the new 15. I found a pretty much brand new rMBP 15 on CL for $1540. Only $136 more then a new rMBP 13 with tax. If the new 15 is that big of a jump compared to the current, I'll sell my current one on CL and buy the new one.
 
happle said:
I doubt they will do that. They already cut the 17, I think the 15 is hear to stay
Click to expand...

On the contrary - I get jittery when Apple "forgets" to update a product. Given the history of the iPod line, the cMBP and maybe even the iPad Mini and ATV product lines: it is not a good thing to be in Apple's neglectland.
 
mtneer said:
On the contrary - I get jittery when Apple "forgets" to update a product. Given the history of the iPod line, the cMBP and maybe even the iPad Mini and ATV product lines: it is not a good thing to be in Apple's neglectland.
Click to expand...

They didn't "forget" to update anything. The quad core Intel chips for the 15 have not come out yet...
 
It really depends on your needs. I had always been a 13" user but now I'm afraid that I had to switch to the 15" due to some increment in my workloads. I also like to play with some VMs on my Mac so having that extra cores could definitely help. If you do not do a lot of multiprocessing then 13" is surely just fine for you. Only go for the 15" if you need the extra power and a dedicated GPU.

As a side note I'm still waiting for the Skylake CPU.
 
mtneer said:
On the contrary - I get jittery when Apple "forgets" to update a product. Given the history of the iPod line, the cMBP and maybe even the iPad Mini and ATV product lines: it is not a good thing to be in Apple's neglectland.
Click to expand...

Like the other poster said, it's hard to update a laptop when there's no chips to put inside. Apple didn't forget to update the 15", they are simply waiting for Quadcore Broadwell chips to reach the market.
 
Antairez said:
It really depends on your needs. I had always been a 13" user but now I'm afraid that I had to switch to the 15" due to some increment in my workloads. I also like to play with some VMs on my Mac so having that extra cores could definitely help. If you do not do a lot of multiprocessing then 13" is surely just fine for you. Only go for the 15" if you need the extra power and a dedicated GPU.



As a side note I'm still waiting for the Skylake CPU.
Click to expand...


So I guess I don't need the GPU as I won't be gaming. I may do some minor photo/video editing but nothing too crazy.

The bulk of the work will be in Logic Pro X with many plugins and processing going on. Will the quad core be necessary for this?

And lastly Iv never seen Logic Pro X on the 13" retina screen so I'm wondering if that will be fine or if I should go for the 15"
 
happle said:
So I guess I don't need the GPU as I won't be gaming. I may do some minor photo/video editing but nothing too crazy.

The bulk of the work will be in Logic Pro X with many plugins and processing going on. Will the quad core be necessary for this?

And lastly Iv never seen Logic Pro X on the 13" retina screen so I'm wondering if that will be fine or if I should go for the 15"
Click to expand...

Quadcores is something nice to have, but definitely not necessary. Before you make your decision you should ask yourself a few questions first:

1. Will I be carrying the laptop around?
2. If yes, will I be comfortable with the weight of a 15"?

Judging by your answer you could come to a conclusion quite easily. A 13" should suit your described workload nicely, now if you are also seeking mobility then 13" is surely the answer.
 
2015 MBP 13" or wait for the 15"?

Antairez said:
Quadcores is something nice to have, but definitely not necessary. Before you make your decision you should ask yourself a few questions first:



1. Will I be carrying the laptop around?

2. If yes, will I be comfortable with the weight of a 15"?



Judging by your answer you could come to a conclusion quite easily. A 13" should suit your described workload nicely, now if you are also seeking mobility then 13" is surely the answer.
Click to expand...



How about 4k monitor support the new 13" should handle 4k monitors @60hz no problem right. Also would a 5k monitor be possible when using both thunderbolt port?

Having 4k external support would pretty much reduce the need for a 15" since I could do all my home work in a henge dock and a 4k monitor and have the best of both worlds.
 
happle said:
How about 4k monitor support the new 13" should handle 4k monitors @60hz no problem right. Also would a 5k monitor be possible when using both thunderbolt port?

Having 4k external support would pretty much reduce the need for a 15" since I could do all my home work in a henge dock and a 4k monitor and have the best of both worlds.
Click to expand...

A 5K wouldn't be possible for now.

The Iris 6100 can handle 4K at 60 Hz. I tested it on my Sharp PN-K322B, via DP1.2.
 
yjchua95 said:
It's not about the resolution, but rather, the PPI.

Anything above 300PPI would be useless to the eye for the most part.

4K at 300 PPI would have to be around 15" or less.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info.

I'm tempted to wait for skylake but idk if it will happen until next year this time or later. So I think I'm going to buy the 13" now.
 
happle said:
The 13" retina would work well for logic even in the screen real estate department? I probably won't play games but I do a ton of processing in logic with 3rd party plugins so I will be going for the i7, will the dual core be enough or shroud I wait for the 15"?
Click to expand...

Looks like you're taking the plunge, but I've been pleasantly surprised that my 13" is perfectly usable at 1680x1050. I imagine that would be enough screen real estate. If it's too small, 1440x900 would also work.

Of course, by the same token the 15" looks great up to 1900x1200, so just depends on what you need.
 
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