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Differences between the new 13 and 15 inch Macbook Pros?

S

stanw

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 29, 2007
842
5
Besides the obvious difference in size, what other differences are there between the most high end 13 and 15 inchers? Is the only difference the 2.6 vs. the 2.8GHz processor? Does this make much difference? Any other differences?

13 incher
2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage


15 incher
2.6GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

Thanks!
 
Dedicated GPU and 1TB SSD available in 15" rMBP.

Why would want a dual core machine if you can afford a quad core?
 
OK, I'm embarrassed to admit that I did not see that one was only dual core while the other a quad....I am interested in the 13-incher just because of the increased portability of it...

1. Is this going to be a significant difference in speed?
2. What about the dedicated GPU? Where will this make a difference?

Thanks!
 
stanw said:
OK, I'm embarrassed to admit that I did not see that one was only dual core while the other a quad....I am interested in the 13-incher just because of the increased portability of it...

1. Is this going to be a significant difference in speed?
2. What about the dedicated GPU? Where will this make a difference?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

1. It depends if the application can utilize more than 2 cores...if you use programs such as photoshop you will notice a big difference between dual core and quad core....if your just using the computer for email/web browsing/'casual use' then I doubt you would see much of a difference if any

2. Dedicated GPU will have an impact if you do a lot of 3D rendering/ video editing, gaming at higher resolutions , etc... you will NOT utilize the dedicated GPU for photo editing for the most part...Lightroom doesn't use it at all, and there are a very select few instances in which photoshop can utilize it... so the whether or not the GPU is worth springing for is really dependent on what you plan on using the computer for

My last laptop was a 12 inch toshiba so it took a little while to get used to the 15 inches, but now I hardly notice it (unless I'm flying economy on a cross country flight 0.o )

Im just waiting for apple to release a 13 inch quad core machine...that would be the sweet spot for me!

hope that helped !
 
Last edited:
Most differences have been mentioned already. To add one myself: the stereo speakers on the 15" are awesome. I haven't had the chance to hear the 13" speakers in a quite room (only in the store), and while the 13" is also quite loud, I think the 15" is better overall.
 
blooperz said:
2. Dedicated GPU will have an impact if you do a lot of 3D rendering/ video editing
Click to expand...

This is not true unless the application you're using supports NVIDIA CUDA. Unfortunately they're becoming more scarce as companies are moving to OpenCL.
 
stanw said:
I am interested in the 13-incher just because of the increased portability of it...
Click to expand...

I have the 15" because a smaller screen was unacceptable for me, but I must say it looks and feels HUGE next to my wife's 13" (and is ABSURD next to my mom's 11" MBA!). This is subjective, but the 13" feels so much more portable AND rugged to me, throw into bag, pop open for a sec to check email, set on a small coffeeshop table type stuff, while pulling out the 15" and unfolding it while being careful of massive fragile screen and not hitting anything in small space makes me a little less likely to use it, though I carry it most everywhere. In fact I'm typing this on an iPad on a small table at Whole Foods. The 15" in my bag would struggle to share this little table with my coffee cup. The 13" would be a perfect compromise bwtn the two for times like this, but again I want the 15" screen for working across multiple programs at the same time.

Just some thoughts as you consider portability.

As an aside, I wonder if Apple will shrink the body of 15" soon by eliminating the 1/2 inch bezels around the screen? That would shrink it an inch width-ways which would make a huge difference.....and likely better hit a sweet spot of screen vs size.
 
I picked up the late 2013 13 8/256 in November for $1250 after discounts from Apple and am pleased with it. I decided I wanted more RAM/SSD etc and picked up the 15" 2599 model thinking I would return the 13". There were things about the 15 that bugged me such as uneven screen tint, darker area in the middle of the screen, creakiness etc so I returned it. I read its pretty hard to get one with a good screen. I do like the form factor of the 13" better. It feels more solid and more portable. The only thing I wish is that I had 16GB for when I want to run more then 3 VMs using fusion at a time. The 15 handled the VMs better. I don't really listen to music on the computer and if I do when I am out its earphones and at home I stream via airplay. I just didn't feel it was worth more then twice the price. I can always sell this one and get a broad well 13" with 16GB later down the road. Hopefully SSD prices will drop a bit too by then.

My dream machine would be the 13" with quad core/16GB/512, iris pro although I don't play games or do much video/photo editing. The most important thing for me is RAM.
 
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