First MacBook Pro Configuration ?

I am looking into getting my first MacBook Pro near late August. I am a long time PC user, and have never really used a MacBook Pro outside of the Apple Store. I have had iPad’s, iPod's, and iPhone's and have loved them all, so I am sure I am going to love the MacBook Pro. I would like to get the 13” Retina, however I am having a little trouble decided on which configuration would be best for me. To be honest, I am clueless in this area so any advice is appreciated.

Here are some info about my windows PC.

• Intel Core i7-3632QM Processor (2.2 GHz)
• 8 GB DDR3 RAM
• 750 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive (441 GB is used)

I use my computer for:

• Photo editing (Adobe Photoshop)
• Video editing (Sony Vegas Pro)
• Movie streaming & downloads (Netflix, Amazon, iTunes)
• Music files (28,000+)
• Media conversion software
• YouTube
• General web surfing
• Social networking
• Skype & Oovoo
• RP gaming (2-3 times a week)
• Creating document (word, excel, access)

80% of the time, I will be multitasking doing as least one of the mentioned items paired with using Adobe Photoshop or Sony Vegas Pro.

Right now it is really difficult to multitask. I can’t have anything else open if I have Skype, Adobe Photoshop or Sony Vegas Pro open. The computer buckle downs and things start to freeze. I am assuming that the multitasking issues are due to the 8GB of RAM. Is it necessary to bump this up to 16GB? I have read that 16GB of ram is pointless, so I am kind of confused. It is necessary that I run multiple programs at once without any issues. Also, I do plan to clean up my computer and not transfer everything over to the MacBook Pro. However, most of the files on my computer are media and software files that I use regularly. I do have things backed up on an external hard drive, but would still like to keep things on my computer (ie. current movies that are synced to my iDevices, entire music collection, current media projects, school documents, and photos).

What do you guys think the best configuration for my needs would be? Thanks in advance.

 

What is dGPU?

 

Is this the info that you are asking me about? Sorry, as I said before I don't know much about this.

 

I have started looking into the higher end 15” due to graphics like you suggested. Do you think that the i7 2.6GHz with turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz has a huge performance/speed boost over i7 2.3GHz with turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz? Or is the difference between the two unnoticeable?

I looked up some info about my current processor (Intel Core i7-3632QM Processor 2.2 GHz), and apparently that is quad core too. This confused me a bit, because I am assuming the 2.3GHz is a minimal upgrade compared to the 2.2 GHz so the MacBook Pro would be running at about the same speed as my current computer. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

Thanks guys. I think I am going to go with 2.3GHz/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/Iris Pro + GT 750M