Dilemna.

[iamdavekennedy]

Hey Folks,

I'm having a bit of a crisis regarding this new Macbook Pro.

I've been daydreaming of a base iMac and base 13" MBP for a while now and had my heart set on that, however the release of the new 15" Pro today (Retina model) has left me a little confused, and the soldered on RAM and SSD a little worried about scope for the future.

I've tried searching the other million threads for the answer and had no luck so I must apologise if I've missed something, this place is a bit hyper at the moment, but basically I was just wanting to know the following.

Am I likely to see much of a difference between a base 21.5 "iMac and the new 15" Retina MBP? (The 13" doesn't matter so much as I won't be using it for 'working' purposes)

- I don't game much at all.
- Primarily use my hardware for InDesign/Photoshop/Illustrator
- As a Print/Branding designer the future-proofing regarding pixels and the Retina screen doesn't matter much to me as I mostly deal with Litho for my print set up and printers aren't going to be getting a resolution bump.

So, am I likely to notice a huge difference or do I spend £100 or so more and benefit from a 13" for on the go communications etc, and a 21.5" for office use, or do I spend a little less and just rely on the new 15 (with a bump to 16gb) and use it with my external monitor?

Really hope someone can help as I'm going to purchase tomorrow morning!

Thanks for your time in advance.

David


[Edit - Forgot to mention I have the RAM/SSD & Optibay ready to upgrade the 13" and the RAM/SSD to upgrade the 21.5" too.. I have spares lying around so this is all at no extra cost, this hopefully explains my choosing the Base models of each]

 

[Artagra]

Personally, I'd definitely go for the 15" Retina - it's lighter than the 13" (so will be a better portable machine), and faster than the stock 21.5" iMac (quicker GPU, quicker CPU). I'd sell the SSDs you've got lying around and buy a nice big display for when you are using the 15" at your desk. This way, you don't have to worry about all the annoyances of having to keep data in sync between two machines, and have a better portable and better desk based experience!

Only situation in which getting two makes sense is if you really need some redundancy (my iMac died / is busy rendering / my significant other is using it, I can use my MBP) or if the physical size advantage of the 13" is very important to you.

 

[iamdavekennedy]

I should have mentioned, I work from a server anyway on the local network so the file syncing isn't an issue as all working files are edited/created on the server and backed up within, the ssd's are currently in other machines that I'd be swapping out into these and selling off the other kit to make the money back from this purchase either way

 

[Mojo1]

Personally, I'd definitely go for the 15" Retina - it's lighter than the 13" (so will be a better portable machine

The 13" is 4.5 pounds; the 15" retina MBP is 4.6 pounds. So it comes down to physical dimensions rather than weight...

 

[Artagra]

The 13" is 4.5 pounds; the 15" retina MBP is 4.6 pounds. So it comes down to physical dimensions rather than weight...

Retina Macbook Pro 15" = 4.46 pounds

13" Macbook Pro = 4.5 pounds

But yeah, physical dimensions are the only advantage the 13" has.

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/13-and-15-inch/
http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

 

[skywalkerr69]

For what you need it for the retina would be a nice addition for your needs but a little overkill for you at this point. You would only be using it for 1/4 of its cabilities.

 

[iamdavekennedy]

For what you need it for the retina would be a nice addition for your needs but a little overkill for you at this point. You would only be using it for 1/4 of its cabilities.

That's what I was thinking initially but I figured I'd run it past other people for the time being, the new one is beautiful and actually works out cheaper for me than buying the two (after VAT returned through my business VAT Number) but I think this time aesthetics may have to take a back seat if I can get a stable and well enough equipped desktop and a laptop that will work enough for having to do last minute work on trains etc, but still be more than enough for day to day browsing/research!

 

[Mojo1]

Retina Macbook Pro 15" = 4.46 pounds

13" Macbook Pro = 4.5 pounds

But yeah, physical dimensions are the only advantage the 13" has.

I thought I read somewhere today that it was 4.6 pounds but I must have not remembered correctly (and I didn't double-check before posting).