Buy now or wait?

[Sverkel]

I want to buy the 13" MacBook Pro Retina, base model. But... The thing that makes me hold back a little is the space. I don't understand why the MacBook Pro only gets 128GB space but the new 12" MacBook gets 256GB space? How does that make sense?

Since I don't have the money to get the next MacBook Pro in line with the 256GB space I was wondering if holding back to next year might bring some more space to the base model of the 13" MacBook Pro Retina?

I read the Buyers guide on this site and as it says, the MacBook Pro 15" did not get an upgrade, so I was wondering, what if when the 15" gets updated, will the 13" also be or will Apple have them "out of sync" so I might waste a year if the MacBook Pro 13" is not updated and then I will have to buy an 1 year old machine or wait another year for that one to get another update?

What do you guys think?

 

[brdeveloper]

I want to buy the 13" MacBook Pro Retina, base model. But... The thing that makes me hold back a little is the space. I don't understand why the MacBook Pro only gets 128GB space but the new 12" MacBook gets 256GB space? How does that make sense?

Since I don't have the money to get the next MacBook Pro in line with the 256GB space I was wondering if holding back to next year might bring some more space to the base model of the 13" MacBook Pro Retina?

I read the Buyers guide on this site and as it says, the MacBook Pro 15" did not get an upgrade, so I was wondering, what if when the 15" gets updated, will the 13" also be or will Apple have them "out of sync" so I might waste a year if the MacBook Pro 13" is not updated and then I will have to buy an 1 year old machine or wait another year for that one to get another update?

What do you guys think?

The SSDs on rMBPs and MBAs seem to be faster than the one found in the nMB. I don't know if this is due to a pcie controller limitation or the SSD itself is slower. I think you can solve the small capacity problem by buying a 128GB SD card like the Transcend JetDrive Lite. It's not as elegant than buying the BTO upgrade, but as an advantage, you have to do this only when your internal storage become full.

I agree that 128GB is very tight for a "Pro" laptop. My wife has a base 13" Air and it seems ok, since her usage is mainly web browsing, text processing and spreadsheets. But a Pro laptop means dealing with videos, raw photos, test databases and so on. But I think the JetDrive approach solves the issue in most cases (unless you need SSD-class I/O speeds).

 

[Sverkel]

The SSDs on rMBPs and MBAs seem to be faster than the one found in the nMB. I don't know if this is due to a pcie controller limitation or the SSD itself is slower. I think you can solve the small capacity problem by buying a 128GB SD card like the Transcend JetDrive Lite. It's not as elegant than buying the BTO upgrade, but as an advantage, you have to do this only when your internal storage become full.

I agree that 128GB is very tight for a "Pro" laptop. My wife has a base 13" Air and it seems ok, since her usage is mainly web browsing, text processing and spreadsheets. But a Pro laptop means dealing with videos, raw photos, test databases and so on. But I think the JetDrive approach solves the issue in most cases (unless you need SSD-class I/O speeds).

Well... Have to say that this changes everything

Tanks!

 

[marc55]

There are plenty of folks who want a great retina computer who don't need much storage, so that's why Apple makes them; they must sell.

Since many other folks just can't get by on only 128GB, Apple also makes 256GB and 512GB 13"rMBP's, so you have plenty of choice.

Having concern about a new model will always bee there, as new models come always are around the corner.

If you need one now, get it, you'll love it.

m

 

[Sverkel]

I know there is others to choose from but as I said, I don't have the money for the others And then I just don't get why the non-pro machine gets more space than the pro machine where it is needed?

But I think I will buy it now and just get the JetDrive at 128GB. In danish kroner it will be almost 1000 kr ($150) I save by doing that

 

[theluggage]

But a Pro laptop means dealing with videos, raw photos, test databases and so on.

...but if you're using video or audio, 256GB doesn't go very far either, so you'll probably be relying on external storage anyway - possibly separate drives for different projects. 128GB internal is enough if you're only going to use it as the system drive.

Also, don't take the 'Pro' label too seriously! Its a marketing term, not a specification.

 

[brdeveloper]

...but if you're using video or audio, 256GB doesn't go very far either, so you'll probably be relying on external storage anyway - possibly separate drives for different projects. 128GB internal is enough if you're only going to use it as the system drive.

Also, don't take the 'Pro' label too seriously! Its a marketing term, not a specification.

I know that. But in general a Macbook Pro is a mobile workstation. It has some or most of the characteristics of competitors like the Lenovo Thinkpad or the Dell Precision lineups. Battery life, processing power, case resistant to mild bumps, and so on.

You can do Pro stuff with a base Macbook Air as you can do amateur stuff with a maxed-out 15" Macbook Pro. I think "Pro" just means that the product is in their workstation range, just like Precisions and Thinkpads.