Considering switching my early '11 MBP 15" for a late '13 rMBP 13", looking for input

[Neon01]

Hi all, I've been using a MBP 15 for a couple years that I picked up new from Microcenter for a song (early '11 model sold in late '11). It had several upgrades. Here are the specs:

Intel® Core(tm) i7-2820QM 2.3GHz
8GB DDR3-1333 SDRAM
256 GB SSD
15.4" LED-backlit Anti-Glare Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
8x SuperDrive
Intel® HD 3000 and AMD Radeon HD 6750M (1GB of RAM)
10/100/1000 Network
802.11n Wireless
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

I'm considering jumping on the Best Buy deal for the 13" rMBP with 8GB ram/256GB SSD. I believe it has the 2.4ghz i5 proc.

I don't do many processor intensive things on the laptop - mostly watching movies from time to time, web browsing, a little light photo editing, reading ebooks, email, and MS office-type work. I'm a little concerned I'd miss the extra screen real estate, but I figure that the retina could make up for that somewhat by allowing me to set the res higher than default.

The biggest drawback to my current MBP 15 is weight - it's just a little cumbersome to pick up and heft with a single hand. Other than that it kind of does most things I want it to do just fine. It's also a little big to use as an ereader in bed.

I'd love to get input from anyone that made the switch from 15" to 13".

Also, how the graphics compare - dedicated Radeon HD6750M to the new integrated Iris. The former was never really sufficient to let me do anything much with gaming, so I figure I can't really get much worse there.

Any comments are appreciated.

 

[tomegun]

I have almost the exact same machine - my processor is 2GHz, I have 16GB of Ram and a 500GB SSD. I am also considering selling mine to get a 13" rMBP. I will subscribe to this thread so I can see what others will advise.

 

[caughtinfire]

That's basically the same dilemma and model I had. Based off of the info here I decided to go for it but went for the 16gb BTO since I get a student discount. It sounds like the speed will be awesome but I'm really worried about the screen difference going from anti-glare to glossy. Let us know how it goes if you take the jump.

 

[stylusmobilus]

I can't give a comparison, the Haswell 13" rMBP is the first Mac our household has ever owned.

What I can tell you is that it is a fantastic little machine. We bought the i7/16gig/256SSD model, it is easily the fastest laptop we have had, the screen is beautiful and is so mobile. Battery life is amazing...on one charge, my daughter (who owns it) used it for two hours, I used it for three more, next morning used it for about 3.5 more hours, and the charge remaining was just under half. We are very happy with Mavericks as well.

I would say go for it, but spec it out with the full amount of RAM and the i7 chip.

 

[FastEddiebags]

I had the late 2011 15" with Hi-res AG and it was replaced by applecare with a base 15" retina, and I do not miss the AG one bit. The retina screen will make you forget about AG.

 

[cheesyappleuser]

You have to be conscious first of all that you own a faster machine than a 13" rMBP. At least concerning the processor.
It comes out to display and portability then. Personally I'd keep the 15".

If you're still buying it anyway, you could spec out the RAM and put the mid-tier i5 processor if you want.

 

[glenthompson]

I'd keep the current MBP and get an iPad for reading in bed.

 

[jmoore5196]

I badly wanted to do the same thing - ditch both my early '11 2.0gHz 15" MBP (with the SSD!) and my '12 11" MBA for a new retina 13". I finally decided the switch wasn't worthwhile.

My thinking was that the rMBP would be a superb desktop replacement and a good travel machine as well. I tether my MBP to a TBD. I love the portability of the MBA and I know I would miss it, but the temptation to get down to a single computer was very strong indeed.

I just decided I'd take too much of a speed hit moving from the QC 15" to the rMBP, and that the extra pound of weight would make a substantial difference as I move across the City. At the moment, however, my MBP is trucking on (although Mavericks has done its best to kill the battery) and my MBA obviously has some life left. I imagine I will upgrade to the high-end 15" rMBP at some point next year, but keep the MBA for travel.

If someone can disagree based on experience, I'd be pleased to read your post!