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Aside from size, would I notice much of a difference between the 13'' and 15'' MBP?
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Well, I dont think the extra processing power would make too much of a difference because all your using is aperture and likely dont need dual GPUs for any of your work. But, you do get a higher resolution display with the 15".
If the laptop's never going to leave your desk, then why not an iMac? That way you don't have to sacrifice quad-core processors and dedicated GPU for portability you won't be using anyhow.
I would still get the 15" with a much better GPU, if you want smooth graphics on a TB display from a 13" forget about it. I bet it won't even do dashboard without lagging on the 27". Future proof is key especially in the graphics department which is the primary bottleneck when running an external monitor.
Then settle for the 13" MBP. Its more than capable of doing aperture. You don't need all that extra processing power if you're not doing heavy video editing or playing games. And like you said, it will save you $$$ that you can put towards a nice TB display.
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I beg to differ, for applications like aperture, you shouldnt have a problem at all with a 13" MBP or TB lag. I had no issue with lag with my ACD and dont expect it to with a TB display.
In that case, I would suggest that you downscale to a MacBook Air 11.6", even...
The 11.6" MBA has roughly the same screen resolution as the 13" MBP. $1199 nets you 8GB of RAM with 128GB SSD standard, both of which I see you mentioned in your first post.
When you connect to a Thunderbolt Display, the MBA will take much less desk space than the MBP, and you don't lose that much in processing power thanks to Intel's Turbo Boost.
Then when you need to travel, the MacBook Air is also inherently much more mobile than the MacBook Pro.
If you end up not traveling that much, or at all, then I'd say get an iMac and then use the extra leftover cash to grab an iPad... much more practical route, and you get a lot more processing power + upgradability (iMac can be upgraded to 32GB of RAM for cheap now).
Thanks for all the feedback. The reason I don't want to get an iMac is because I want as SSD but don't want to pay $500 more for Apple to do it and it looks like way too much work to do it myself. I've changed the HDD before and that was bad enough. I would hate to have to take pretty much everything out. If it were as easy as changing the HDD, I'd probably reconsider.
It's also nice to have my laptop for when I do need to take it. I'm stationed in Europe and I have my iPad for short trips and it'll be nice to have a laptop for longer trips.
That's interesting about the lag in display from the 13''. I'll have to look more into that. Thanks for all the help.
It's also nice to have my laptop for when I do need to take it. I'm stationed in Europe and I have my iPad for short trips and it'll be nice to have a laptop for longer trips.
That's interesting about the lag in display from the 13''. I'll have to look more into that. Thanks for all the help.
Might be worth booting from an external SSD. A seagate goflex + a 2.5" SSD of your choice should do the trick. I believe the desktop version (STAE122) supports sata III speeds.
Adding SSD makes it as expensive as getting the rMBP, i suggest you wait till the 13" rMBp comes out and get 16 gb of ram as using aperture + ML uses an easy 6GB of ram...
If you buy the SSD from Apple, yes. You can get a good 256GB SSD these days for as low as $180 on a good sale.
Exactly and the 2.5" HDD that comes with the MBP can be put into an external USB 3.0 case for a couple bucks and used as a backup/data drive.
My 13" MBP has 8GB ram and a 240GB SSD and Aperture is smooth as butter. I have the best processor for my model, however.
I can also fun FCP but have yet to do so from an external drive.
With my set up I mainly use an external monitor as well. If you go into Aperture preferences, you can use the second display as a "mirror" and when you click thumbnails, the full size image appears on your external display, so nice.
Also, upgrading the SSD and even adding another drive in the optibay is super easy and consider future ram upgrades to keep up to date. All possible on the 13". And the 13 has the 6GB/s connection in its optibay, making for 2 SSDs and a fast raid set up if desired.
I can also fun FCP but have yet to do so from an external drive.
With my set up I mainly use an external monitor as well. If you go into Aperture preferences, you can use the second display as a "mirror" and when you click thumbnails, the full size image appears on your external display, so nice.
Also, upgrading the SSD and even adding another drive in the optibay is super easy and consider future ram upgrades to keep up to date. All possible on the 13". And the 13 has the 6GB/s connection in its optibay, making for 2 SSDs and a fast raid set up if desired.