Best macbook for video/photo work?

[Dave00]

I'm looking to finally get a new MacBook (current model is from 2006) and am trying to determine the best model for my uses.

The main processor-intensive tasks I do involve photos and videos of my kids. I use photoshop elements generally to edit photos, and QuickTime Pro to make simple edits of video and export HD video taken with an SLR to formats compatible with Apple TV and iPad. Whenever I do a lot of photo editing, and certainly when exporting video, I get delays and lots of fan spinning. I realize I'll probably have to use something else to edit video, not sure if Quicktime Pro is compatible with Lion/Mountain Lion. I just prefer the simplicity of Quicktime over iMovie.

I have a feeling the IPS screen in the Retina MBP will give me more accurate color editing with my photos. But beyond that, I'm clueless on the relative impact of processor, graphics card, and memory on performance in these kinds of applications. I hear the benefits of the graphics card touted mainly in reference to gaming, which doesn't affect me.

Someone please help!

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Destroysall]

I'd recommend you go with the rMBP since it has a large resolution (it grants you a larger workspace with the need of an additional display), 1GB of GDDR5 Memory (graphic cards relieve the stress off of your CPU by doing most of the work), and also you can configure it to 16GB of RAM (which will come in handy).

Hope that helps,
Destroysall