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Exchange 13inch rMBP for 15 inch rMBP?

Z

zeeklancer

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 1, 2008
133
0
I am coming on 8 days of owning my 13 inch rMBP and I love it.

But I just can't help to think about how much more computer you get with the base 15 inch.. I bought the $1999 13 inch rMBP (256 gig ssd upgrade).

Any thoughts? I love the 13 inch size, but don't really require a small laptop. But I am worried that I will move to the 15 inch and not like it or have problems that the 13 inch does not have.

Can I even exchange for a 15 inch and pay the difference?
 
I would do it. Chances are most people don't have problems with their computers. And I do think it would be quite a bit faster. I have a 15" r for what it is worth and I have had no problems other than considerable heat when I game.
 
For the price difference ($200) the 15" is definitely worth it. You have another 6 days to return or exchange it. You should have no problem just paying the difference for the 15" rMBP.

I'd also consider just returning and ordering one with 16Gb of ram from apple website.
 
There's not enough value in the 13" to really justify spending $1999 on it. And in fact, with the student discount (find someone who's a college student, it shouldn't be hard), you end up paying the same amount of money for the 15" rMBP. In turn, you get a significantly better CPU, GPU, and larger screen.
 
I would possess both 13" and 15" with great pleasure if I could.

13" for travelling.
15" for home using.

:D
 
Depends on how and where you use your notebook. What's more important to you, power or portability?

If you're always using it on a desk and not carrying often then the 15" ... if you're using it away from a desk or on your lap more and traveling then you may prefer the 13".
 
Depends if you need the extra processing power. The 15 inch may be a better value specs wise, but the 13 inch has a much smaller footprint and that may be more important to you. Coming from a 13 inch air I can tell you that its definitely a noticeable difference in the space it uses in any sort of portable setting.
 
In a heartbeat; for me there is absolutely nothing compelling about the 13" Retina other than the size, the 15" absolutely dominates the 13" in every aspect, anyone looking to buy the 13" Retina should think about it very carefully.

Apple set the standard for performance with the 15" Retina and now they are looking to cash in on those who are not able to live with the 15" footprint. A 13" with a basic CPU upgrade (dual core i7) costs as much as a base 15" Retina in many countries which is a bad joke to say the least.

It makes little sense to go with the 13" unless you are absolutely tied to the form factor; the CPU`s performance level of the 15' over the 13" in isolation is significant to say the least, anything CPU intensive is simply going to be completed far faster, any app that can take advantage of multicore architecture more so.

GeekBench Results:
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3520M 2900 MHz (2 cores) 7797 (High end)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3615QM 2300 MHz (4 cores) 10799 (Base)

My own base 15" Retina benchmarks at over 11K systematically (Link: just hit 11040 and 11043 and 11096) and on top of the far higher CPU rating you will have both the HD 4000 and GT 650M GPU`s, superior audio, higher resolution, twice the storage capacity. If i was forced to buy the 13" Retina i would be very unhappy to say the least giving up so much, saving just a couple of hundred dollars, just for the sake of the smaller footprint

The bottom line is the 13" Retina is priced far too high, i applaud Apple`s ingenuity and engineering prowess, equally their greed is staggering just when will enough be enough $$$$. The 13" Retina should have a base price range of $1200 - $1300, in general the 13" line is grossly over priced, as fundamentally it`s a basic computer with little to nothing changing since it`s introduction in 2008 as the Aluminium MacBook; duel core CPU, integrated graphics only, and very poor resolution on the standard model.

The straight up answer is buy a bigger bag, and you will have all the performance you need, at all times ;)
 
I'd personally never switch, but unlike you I do require a small laptop. If you don't, go for the 15".
 
Nah, I also like mine. Actually, it's my first 13" notebook... been using 15"-ers for the past 8-10 years. I don't play games anymore ( not too GPU intensive ones at least ) but I do develop some games for mobile / tablets / browser though... The dual core CPU can handle the stuff I throw at it more than just "decently" ( not doing any encoding, 3D rendering or similar that could really benefit from as many cores and virtual threads as possible + dedicated GPU ).

As others have already pointed out: if portability is not a huge factor and you're not an avid gamer ( guessing you're not, otherwise you most likely wouldn't have gone with the integrated GPU in the first place ), then for sure you get a more powerful machine for a similar price by going with the 15" rMBP. Then again, although it will be more powerful in specs, if you don't use the hardware, you're kinda in the same spot... the "real world" gain that you'd be looking at are most likely: a larger screen and lower times when doing CPU heavy tasks ( stuff that you won't really notice when performing "simple tasks" though ).

PS: I did not forget about the 16 GB RAM option on the 15" rMBP, just that 99% of the people blow that option completely out of the water... they just like to bling-bling with the spec, but for sure, most of them, don't use 30% of all the available memory ( except if they start opening up all kind of garbage that they don't really "need" to be running at the same time ). The whole "future proofing" is a silly argument when comparing 13" rMBP to 15" rMBP and it's is for people who don't really know what they are talking about... by the time an average user ends up using more than 8GB of memory ( and not by opening up crap - because "he can" - as previously mentioned... but he has a "genuine need" for running more than 3-4 "heavy tools" at once ), then he'll most likely already be limited by the out of date CPU and GPU... so adding more RAM ain't gonna ( realistically speaking ) change much.

Sure, there is a relatively small group of people who actually use the memory up and really need it in order to get their work done, but they are not your "everyday user" and nor are they the majority...
 
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I had the same dilemma with the 13". I had it for a week. The best thing about the 13" is the size for portability. But the price is too high for me as portability is not the priority. In the end I decided that I wanted more bang for my buck and CTO the 15". This will be my main computer replacing my 2009 iMac and will be staying home most of the time.
 
Thanks all for the info. I just got back from the mac store and now have a 15 inch!

It feels so much faster! Way less lag (but still some) than on the 13 inch. I am currently downloading the .2 update on my works slow network :(

Onces its done I hear that things should be even smoother.

Is there a firmware update? Will that come thought he app store?

-Mike
 
I waited for the rMBP to come out for 6 months, but once I saw how disappointing the price to value is, I ended up getting the 15" rMBP. Not only is it a great value, but its also the same weight as my '09 13" cMBP.
 
I'd do it too. I think the 15" is perfect. If you need something smaller and more portable I'd see if I could make an iPad work.
 
zeeklancer said:
Thanks all for the info. I just got back from the mac store and now have a 15 inch!

It feels so much faster! Way less lag (but still some) than on the 13 inch. I am currently downloading the .2 update on my works slow network :(

Onces its done I hear that things should be even smoother.

Is there a firmware update? Will that come thought he app store?

-Mike
Click to expand...

Smart moves, unless you are stuck with the 13" factor the 15" is the way to go, it`s literally twice the machine...
 
I bought my 15 in rMBP just before the 13 was released. I had thought that I might be interested in the 13 but decided not to wait. And now that the 13 has been released, I know I made the right decision. The 15 is perfect for me and I'm loving it--I'd certainly recommend the switch.
 
Queen6 said:
In a heartbeat; for me there is absolutely nothing compelling about the 13" Retina other than the size, the 15" absolutely dominates the 13" in every aspect, anyone looking to buy the 13" Retina should think about it very carefully.

Apple set the standard for performance with the 15" Retina and now they are looking to cash in on those who are not able to live with the 15" footprint. A 13" with a basic CPU upgrade (dual core i7) costs as much as a base 15" Retina in many countries which is a bad joke to say the least.

It makes little sense to go with the 13" unless you are absolutely tied to the form factor; the CPU`s performance level of the 15' over the 13" in isolation is significant to say the least, anything CPU intensive is simply going to be completed far faster, any app that can take advantage of multicore architecture more so.

GeekBench Results:
  • MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3520M 2900 MHz (2 cores) 7797 (High end)
  • MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012) Intel Core i7-3615QM 2300 MHz (4 cores) 10799 (Base)

My own base 15" Retina benchmarks at over 11K systematically (Link: just hit 11040 and 11043 and 11096) and on top of the far higher CPU rating you will have both the HD 4000 and GT 650M GPU`s, superior audio, higher resolution, twice the storage capacity. If i was forced to buy the 13" Retina i would be very unhappy to say the least giving up so much, saving just a couple of hundred dollars, just for the sake of the smaller footprint

The bottom line is the 13" Retina is priced far too high, i applaud Apple`s ingenuity and engineering prowess, equally their greed is staggering just when will enough be enough $$$$. The 13" Retina should have a base price range of $1200 - $1300, in general the 13" line is grossly over priced, as fundamentally it`s a basic computer with little to nothing changing since it`s introduction in 2008 as the Aluminium MacBook; duel core CPU, integrated graphics only, and very poor resolution on the standard model.

The straight up answer is buy a bigger bag, and you will have all the performance you need, at all times ;)
Click to expand...
This is 100% spot on. I've been saying this since the 13" retina came out. And very good point about the whole 13" line. In my opinion the 13" classic should start at $999. You could actually argue that the 13" air should be more than the 13" pro.
 
rmcguinness9894 said:
This is 100% spot on. I've been saying this since the 13" retina came out. And very good point about the whole 13" line. In my opinion the 13" classic should start at $999. You could actually argue that the 13" air should be more than the 13" pro.
Click to expand...

Apple knows exactly where the "sweet spot" lies. The 13" for the majority is the perfect size, so Apple don't need to work at making the 13" a technological masterpiece. Apple does design great products, equally never forget Apple is about making money, they have the highest margins in the business, and yes there are many positives to owning a Mac, and as magnanimous as Apple is in some circumstance, never forget it`s paid for by someone, somewhere down the line.

Let`s be straight about it, if the 13" MBP Retina was made by Acer everyone would be laughing their asses off at the pricing, even if it was manufactured to the same standards for what is effectively a basic computer with a high resolution display...
 
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Queen6 said:
Apple knows exactly where the "sweet spot" lies. The 13" for the majority is the perfect size, so Apple don't need to work at making the 13" a technological masterpiece. Apple does design great products, equally never forget Apple is a about making money, they have the highest margins in the business, and yes there are many positives to owning a Mac, and as magnanimous as Apple is in some circumstance, never forget it`s paid for by someone, somewhere down the line.

Let`s be straight about it, if the 13" MBP Retina was made by Acer everyone would be laughing their asses off at the pricing, even if it was manufactured to the same standards for what is effectively a basic computer with a high resolution display...
Click to expand...
Yes that is certainly true. I too fall victim to that because ever since I got my first apple product (ipod nano 2nd generation when I was like 13) I have held products to a higher standard and I pretty much only shop apple when I want something.
 
As an update.

I have had the 15 inch for about a day now. I like it, but I do miss the size of the 13 inch. I am keeping it :)

Although the battery did not seem to last as long on the 13 inch, but if I remember correctly it is lasting about as long as the first cycle on my 13 inch... Only time will tell. !
 
zeeklancer said:
But I just can't help to think about how much more computer you get with the base 15 inch.. I bought the $1999 13 inch rMBP (256 gig ssd upgrade).
Click to expand...

Before owning my 15" rMBP I always had the latest 13" MBP and, like you, loved it. I've had 3 13" MBPs before this 15" rMBP. I always thought the 15" was big, cumbersome, heavy etc.

Moved up to the 15" rMBP in July for one reason and one reason only: there was no 13" rMBP!

However, I'm now used to the superb retina screen on this 15" and, best of all, it runs much cooler. I've taken a couple of looks at the 13" rMBP in the Apple store and noticed one thing both times - that it runs much warmer than the 15". I also note that you get more retina advantage from the 15" over the 13".

This 15" retina is so good, I've ditched my 27" Cinema Display and use this laptop for everyday computing, at work. It's superb - great screen, lightweight, quad-core, bigger SSD and it has the discrete GPU. You can easily run Windows 7 or 8 in a VM without it affecting Mac OS. I found on the 13", that running Win 7 in a VM, on a dual-core machine, slowed the Mac OS, slightly.

Lots of advantages of having the 15" rMBP. Only disadvantage is that the 13" is a little neater.
 
I ordered a 13" Retina MBP last week because I've always thought the 15" was too big for traveling. But the high price really nagged me, so I took another look at its big brother at the local Apple Store and decided it wasn't that much bigger. So I cancelled my order and made the switch. The 15" Retina doesn't weigh any more than my current 13" MBP, and you can't argue against a quad core processor, dedicated graphics and double the RAM. And since I work with these systems every day at the office the extra screen size is actually a plus.

I'm just praying it'll be a Samsung ;)
 
I ended up with LG. And if I have IR I don't care, I am not looking for it.

I do think the screen I had on my 13inch was better. I just can't pinpoint why though :/


So far going on 2 days the only thing I miss from the 13 inch is the size (just a bit, but I am dealing with it). But the largest issue I have is that when I plug in to the projector at work it enables the nvidia card which eats the battery much quicker than when on the 13 inch.

I am still testing, but I feel like I got better battery life on the 13 inch than on the 15 inch, but I am still working with it.
 
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