Why not the 13" MBP? Its still absolutely sufficient for your tasks and more mobile.
The OP doesn't need a dedicated GPU.
He or she mentioned FCPx. Albeit as a hobby. If this is the case, a dGPU is essential. The 5000 in the Air and 5200 in the base iMac and 15"rMBP aren't for video editing. Neither is the 5100 in the 13".
Read Anand's assessment. The iGPU's while computationally exceptional lag when it comes to video rendering, transcoding, editing or gaming.
If FCP indeed is indeed 'just a hobby', it's spendy software at $300. Seems the $600 upgrade makes sense to actually utilize the program efficiently.
This has always been known. Only diluted die hard Apple fans think an integrated GPU will work for a "Pro" machine.
Where did this come from? What is a "Pro" machine anyway? I know an extremely well off surgeon that carries a 13 2008 MacBook around. The white one
What does this have to do with "die hard Apple fans"? Both products are by Apple. I think it's just Intels marketing which is stuck in some peoples minds. 🙂
The Intel Iris Pro can manage low resolutions nearly as good as the nVidia 750m does. But with higher resolutions (like the Retina MacBook Pro!) this changes really substantially. We agree on this, so lets move on and don't get stuck in a Intel vs nVidia discussion 🙂
From my experience the higher resolutions on the MBP (looks like 1680x1050 and "looks like 1920x1200") are not handeled well by both graphic solutions. I don't know if MacOS is the reason for this because I can play Crysis 2 without lag, but the interface of OS X lags a little when scrolling and switching between spaces.
Agh, ya beat me
😉
Have you updated to 10.9.1?
I'm running the latest OS on a 2012 2.7/16. No. More. Lag. Anywhere. It's been pretty amazing to me. Chrome. Safari. Transitioning between apps and Miss/Con. It's smooth. As buttah! I'm really enjoying these machines.
Is RAM or processor more important when considering a laptop if you use FCP as a hobby?
Neither. The GPU. Read Anand's review of the new rMBP. And the video tests specifically. Literally 400-600% faster in many/most...maybe it was every situation
😉
I am definitely leaning towards the Retina. If you max out the MBA, its similar in cost to the retina's, but you don't have the nice screen or better speakers. I'm not sure 512GB of Flash HD is necessary, the 256 will probably do. Hard to make 'the best decision' since FCP is more of a hobby than anything, and many of these write-ups I"m reading are for serious editing.
If you own FCP, you owe yourself the ,750/512/2.3 model OR, as mentioned earlier a refurb or new 2012 model at 70% the cost! They have 650m cards, a slower version of the 750, albeit minor and the same architecture. Better battery life and PCIe storage on the 2013 models. But the storage on the 2012 models is extremely quick as well
Good Luck!
