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A Month of Back and Forth on the Macbook Pro

F

FrakkinShip

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 11, 2010
46
0
As the title suggests, I have spent the better part of a month going back and forth on getting a Macbook Pro. Well, the issue is that I am not sure what to get. Here are my reasons for going with a Mac and the problems I'm having with the decision on what to get.

1. I am a photographer as a hobbyist and my four year old Dell PC is on its last leg. Batch editing is possible, but it isn't efficient.

2. Any PC equivalent (like Dell's ultrabook) has Windows 8.1 and a touchscreen. I have no use for either I can't stand windows 8.1.

3. I've been itching for a retina display. I think the displays on Macbooks are exquisite and something I think would be beneficial with photo editing.

Problems:

1. I am positive that the Iris Pro GPU will suffice for the type of editing that I do. 99.999999% of my edits consist of dodging, burning, healing, black and white conversion, and Google's Nik Collection. There is no graphic designing. I want to be reassured that I do not need a dedicated GPU.

2. The 15" base model is what I am eying, but the 256gb SSD makes me wary. I plan on buying a 2tb USB 3.0 external HDD to compensate for this lack of space. If I go for the 512gb option, I may as well get the 15" with the Nvidia card. But I really don't want to spend $2300+.

Given my needs, what would be the better option? Feel free to ask me questions and thanks for the help.
 
You could get the cheaper option and wait for OWC to release an SSD upgrade
 
I would recommend the base model and get the external drive. If you still feel you need more internal storage you could always pick up a 512 GB SSD from eBay. It seems there are a lot of people swapping drives that way.

Something that may sweeten the deal even more is that I just picked up my base 15" from Best Buy for $1600. They have the base 15" $200 off and they will let you stack that with the 10% movers coupon. With that extra cash you could pick up a nice external drive or shop around for an internal SSD from eBay.
 
Last edited:
Absolutely. Buy that model. You won't regret it. Seagate offer affordable USB 3.0 external hds with thunderbolt compatibility via an optional adapter. Been using them for a while and they're very reliable and reasonably fast.
 
For less than $2000, have your cake and eat it too with this model,

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

It's refurbished, but they are as good as new and carry the full warranty.

This is the 2013 model, but the 2014 was only a processor speed bump so they are the same machines with different processors.

I'm a photographer and I use Aperture and Photoshop mostly. I have a 2012 rMBP 2.7GHz/16/768. My last Mac was a 2011 with a 500GB SSD + 1TB HD in the optical bay. Since getting the rMBP, I'now store all of my data on external drives. My Aperture library is on the SSD. I've only used about 250GB of space on it so far.
 
Ditto on what duffy recommended. The Iris Pro will run Lr, Photoshop and any plugins easily. Your best bet is to keep all of your images and work on an external drive.

The discrete video comes in handy if you're doing A LOT of 3D work or video editing.
 
MacInTO said:
For less than $2000, have your cake and eat it too with this model,

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

It's refurbished, but they are as good as new and carry the full warranty.

This is the 2013 model, but the 2014 was only a processor speed bump so they are the same machines with different processors.

I'm a photographer and I use Aperture and Photoshop mostly. I have a 2012 rMBP 2.7GHz/16/768. My last Mac was a 2011 with a 500GB SSD + 1TB HD in the optical bay. Since getting the rMBP, I'now store all of my data on external drives. My Aperture library is on the SSD. I've only used about 250GB of space on it so far.
Click to expand...

I may actually go with this. It didn't cross my mind to go with an older model.
 
andeify said:
You could get the cheaper option and wait for OWC to release an SSD upgrade
Click to expand...

People have been waiting nearly 2 years SSD replacements by OWC, plus they're not really cheaper as much is providing more storage options.

As for the OP, the base model is more then up to your needs, you're correct, the Iris Pro will be up to snuff and the quad core processor is plenty powerful. Add in the gorgeous retina display and its a great machine :)
 
Will the Iris Pro support World of Warcraft adequately enough? I've poked around on various forums and that seems to be the case. That's the only game I actually enjoy, haha.
 
FrakkinShip said:
Will the Iris Pro support World of Warcraft adequately enough? I've poked around on various forums and that seems to be the case. That's the only game I actually enjoy, haha.
Click to expand...


53.3 fps on "high" according to: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Iris-Pro-Graphics-5200.90965.0.html

I have a mid 2010 MBP, with nvidia 320m that still runs WoW for questing and 5-mans steadily at 30fps all on "low" settings. So I'm thinking the iris pro will be a much better experience.
 
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