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In a dilemma.. Upgrade current set up?

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dan-K

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 19, 2012
322
59
Hi Guys!

My current set up is a 2011 Macbook Pro (13", 2.3 GHx, Core i5, 4GB ram) and an iPad Mini.

I'm super interested in the retina displays and think they look amazing. I'm thinking of upgrading my set up and was looking at replacing my Pro with a new 2013 Pro.

I use my laptop every day for hours at a time for activities such as music, movies, e-mail, web and light-moderate gaming.

If I were to buy a new rMBP, I'm torn between the high end 13" model or the lowest end 15" model. My concerns are I would potentially like a bigger screen, but am not sure how portable the 15" will be. Also, I am not sure whether, if at all, I will notice obvious improved speed or performance boots on the new mac.

An alternative would be to get a powerful windows laptop for cheaper, however I'm not sure I want to leave the Apple eco-system.

Please help! I would appreciate it!

Dan
 
But if I upgrade from a 13" 2011 model to a rMBP 13" will I notice any speed different? I.e, will it be worth the money to upgrade?
 
I changed from an early 2011 MacBook Pro 17 inch to the just released retina MacBook Pro 15 inch (dedicated graphics card model)....

I am really pleased with the form factor. The screen is a lot sharper.

An SSD drive will make your Mac feel like it's 10x quicker.....
 
It's all just a matter of choice. The money worth it issue depends on how much money you have to burn. If you are not use to the retina, then you won't miss it, but once you have it it's nice.

I went from the iPad 3 to the non retina mini. I did this because the size was best for me always traveling. Going from retina to non retina is not fun but it's not drastic either. I wouldn't let the retina display be the sole purpose of upgrade, but that's my opinion.
 
Ok. I think I'm gonna upgrade and get the 15". For casual gaming and general usage, do you think the entry level 15" would be sufficient or would the higher end 15" be better? My main worry is the RAM, I'm wondering if 8Gb is enough.... Thoughts?
 
Ok thanks. So the 15" entry level would be the best option? Anyone else have any input?
 
I as well have an early 2011 MBP and would definitely have gone 15 inch. 1280x800 res just doesn't cut it, I like using a big res like 1920x1200 on my desktop pc. But my MBP still works fine so as much as I want to upgrade to a 15 I wouldn't now since it's still a pretty good chunk of money even after I sell my current MBP. But if I were you I would go 15 inch unless size really matters to you.
 
Remember also RAM is not hard to upgrade. You can often upgrade that cheaper than having it bumped up through Apple. It only costs me about $150 to upgrade from 4gig to 8gig which cut Apple's price by nearly $300.
 
If the graphics on your current MBP are good enough for how you use it, then I'd recommend buying some RAM and SSD and upgrade your current one.
 
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