As the title states, sorry! But I'm starting to lose sleep over it - please help!
Currently I'm using a 2010 17 MBP 2.66Ghz i7 (dual-core Sandybride I believe..) with 8GB RAM. It also has the Hi-Res Anti-glare (matte) screen. I've also added an Optibay and SSD drive for booting (actually love this set up).
For a start, the machine is running fine with the SSD. Battery life has degraded a little but otherwise, it's holding up well. Recently I've become more mobile, on a more regular basis, and the size/weight is starting to be a hindrance (at times I'm also carrying a hefty 17" Dell laptop for work).
So I'm thinking of selling up and buying a new rMBP; my worry is that my desire to get a smaller machine is clouding judgment on other features. My primary purpose is coding and command line stuff, nothing particularly heavy-tasking though the size of the projects and assets can vary. The screen real-estate and having many open windows is a factor (it's the reason I bought a 17" Hi-Res after all). However, I do spend a lot of time in Photoshop and Aperture for digital photo post-production and this is leading on to small video projects. Invariably I will also be running multiple VMs for testing environments. I also use my MBP for any DVD ripping for backups for my HTPC, though it's rare I buy any DVDs these days - it's all about the Netflix now. On top of that some potential light gaming but this is very low in my priorities.
So the way I see it is I have two options; go for a 13 rMBP and keep my 17 for any heavy grunt and photo work, or go all in on a 15 rMBP to replace my 17.
The small footprint of the 13 is appealing, especially tucking it away into non-computer specific bags, but it means I'll have to manage my work environments across machines (shouldn't be too much of an issue). The added power (and therefore longevity) and screen space of the 15 are obvious benefits but is the reduction in size going to make that much difference to portability?
Has anyone else had to make the same call when moving on from a 17?
Currently I'm using a 2010 17 MBP 2.66Ghz i7 (dual-core Sandybride I believe..) with 8GB RAM. It also has the Hi-Res Anti-glare (matte) screen. I've also added an Optibay and SSD drive for booting (actually love this set up).
For a start, the machine is running fine with the SSD. Battery life has degraded a little but otherwise, it's holding up well. Recently I've become more mobile, on a more regular basis, and the size/weight is starting to be a hindrance (at times I'm also carrying a hefty 17" Dell laptop for work).
So I'm thinking of selling up and buying a new rMBP; my worry is that my desire to get a smaller machine is clouding judgment on other features. My primary purpose is coding and command line stuff, nothing particularly heavy-tasking though the size of the projects and assets can vary. The screen real-estate and having many open windows is a factor (it's the reason I bought a 17" Hi-Res after all). However, I do spend a lot of time in Photoshop and Aperture for digital photo post-production and this is leading on to small video projects. Invariably I will also be running multiple VMs for testing environments. I also use my MBP for any DVD ripping for backups for my HTPC, though it's rare I buy any DVDs these days - it's all about the Netflix now. On top of that some potential light gaming but this is very low in my priorities.
So the way I see it is I have two options; go for a 13 rMBP and keep my 17 for any heavy grunt and photo work, or go all in on a 15 rMBP to replace my 17.
The small footprint of the 13 is appealing, especially tucking it away into non-computer specific bags, but it means I'll have to manage my work environments across machines (shouldn't be too much of an issue). The added power (and therefore longevity) and screen space of the 15 are obvious benefits but is the reduction in size going to make that much difference to portability?
Has anyone else had to make the same call when moving on from a 17?