Another "Which rMBP?" Thread

[cove828]

I know a bunch of people have been posting the same question, but I was hoping to get some opinions on my situation. Anything is going to be a major upgrade for me, as I'm coming from a early 2008 MBP, 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM. I don't really know much about all of the options, but here are my needs:

I'm a graphic designer that does a lot of photo work on the side, so Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator and InDesign are my main priorities. I am interested in doing more video in the future, but not sure what program(s) that will involve...currently only using iMovie. I have used 3D modeling software in the past, and may want to get back to that in the future, though again, not sure what software I would use at that point.

I have a late 2011 iMac as well, but would like to be able to do more work on my laptop, and will definitely be getting the 15". Battery life is important, but doesn't need to be crazy, as I'm getting about 2h currently, so anything else is going to seem so much better. Also, I keep my computers for a long time, so I'd like to get something that will last 5-6 years.

Thanks for any input! Price is a factor, but getting the right computer for my needs is the most important thing.

 

[mitch1211]

I know a bunch of people have been posting the same question, but I was hoping to get some opinions on my situation. Anything is going to be a major upgrade for me, as I'm coming from a early 2008 MBP, 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM. I don't really know much about all of the options, but here are my needs:

I'm a graphic designer that does a lot of photo work on the side, so Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator and InDesign are my main priorities. I am interested in doing more video in the future, but not sure what program(s) that will involve...currently only using iMovie. I have used 3D modeling software in the past, and may want to get back to that in the future, though again, not sure what software I would use at that point.

I have a late 2011 iMac as well, but would like to be able to do more work on my laptop, and will definitely be getting the 15". Battery life is important, but doesn't need to be crazy, as I'm getting about 2h currently, so anything else is going to seem so much better. Also, I keep my computers for a long time, so I'd like to get something that will last 5-6 years.

Thanks for any input! Price is a factor, but getting the right computer for my needs is the most important thing.

Seeing you will be doing a lot of graphic design, I'd say a 15 inch macbook would be the better option; more screen real estate to play with.

In terms of SSD space thats up to you whether to go with 256gb or 512gb. There is a possibility as PCIe SSD drives become more popular to upgrade this in future. Also you can connect to your iMac as a file server or use a 1TB external HDD.

RAM I would go with 16GB if you can afford it, means you can have multiple programs running at once and view/edit multiple images and videos.

For the processor the 15 inch already comes with 2.0Ghz and its quad core, this should be sufficient. I'd upgrade it if you can afford it, but it won't be a let down by any means having the 2.0Ghz.

The major difference between the two 15 inch models is the top one having dedicated graphics as opposed to inbuilt iris pro graphics. Depending how intense you photo and video editing becomes this may be something to consider.

If you do go with the top model 15 inch, it has 16GB of ram standard, the faster processor and 512GB SSD. But if you go with the base model and upgrade the ram only, you will still have a killer machine.

Hope this helps

 

[cove828]

Thanks so much for the input! I do want the 512gb and am leaning towards the 16GB, so I suppose it just makes sense to go with the stock 2.3Ghz for a $100 more, right? Rather than upgrading the 2.0Ghz option? After reading through many of the other posts, I'm still a bit confused about the benefits/drawbacks of the dedicated graphics vs. the Iris Pro, particularly for my situation.