In need of advice before a purchase

[kashura7]

Good morning to all from sunny FL!

I am stuck with a dilemma and I hope that maybe you guys can help me a little bit.

I purchased a 13" i5 MBP from Best Buy about a week ago. It is my first Mac computer and I can't believe I have waited this long. I have iPhone 5 and Retina iPad and Mac was the only computer I was looking at.

Now I have several questions.

1) My local Best Buy has an open item 15" i7 MBP for 1499, 1600 with taxes.. It comes with 4gb, however I already purchased 8gb for my 13", so I would uprage RAM on that immediately.
I am a geek by nature. I enjoy experimenting with various OS (I was running Linux on my last laptop), trying different software, and learning new things. I purchased 13" because of the price mainly and it will be portable for schooling.

However now I am wondering if I should upgrade. I have always wanted to learn Photoshop, but never had a powerful enough computer. Also I would like to learn iMovie and/or Final Cut for home videos.

Will i5 13' with 8gb of ram be sufficient enough? And will I notice the different in performance between i5 and quad core i7? I would like to learn that software but not sure how often i will be going at it, so my doubt is that those extra 2 cores wont be used. But in the long run I feel like an i7 will stay relative a lot longer than the current i5, considering i7 can be upgraded till 16gb of RAM


2) I am getting married in 40 days, and my future wife and I will be purchasing a DSLR camera. Will my current macbook be powerful enough to keep my photo library organized with some editing? Probably will get a bigger screen to keep it in the office at home for editing purposes.


3) Anyone else notice their iPad laying useless to the side after buying a MacBook? =)


Thank you in advance!

 

[Ifti]

To answer your final question - I sold my iPad after buying my MBA

Still looking to buy a rMBP soon as my main workhorse, but my MBA pretty much replaced my iPad completely.

 

[kashura7]

To answer your final question - I sold my iPad after buying my MBA

Still looking to buy a rMBP soon as my main workhorse, but my MBA pretty much replaced my iPad completely.

I think what I will end up doing is sell my wifes iPad 2, and give her my Retina iPad. I feel like that would be a better move than leaving her with the old one =)

 

[dylin]

Will i5 13' with 8gb of ram be sufficient enough?

Yes

And will I notice the difference in performance between i5 and quad core i7?

Yes

Will my current macbook be powerful enough to keep my photo library organized with some editing?

Yes

But for the price you are getting the 15" for, i think that it would be better to go for the upgrade for longevity as well as for the fact that you mentioned quite a few things that would greatly benefit from the extra horsepower. Who knows, maybe with that added power you just might find yourself using those applications more

Most of all, just be happy with the choice you made in your purchase

 

[Rhythmic-]

Yeah it will be sufficient enough. Are you planning on doing a lot of work with PS and iMovie? Are there any other editing tools you can see yourself using a lot in the future? Aside from those, you won't really feel the difference between the i5 and i7 in your day-to-day usage. If you feel like you'll be using them a lot, then yeah you should upgrade. But if you're only gonna be using them occasionally, you should be good with what you have.

Also, do note that the your 13'' MBP can also be upgraded to 16GB ram.

 

[kashura7]

Yes


Yes


Yes

But for the price you are getting the 15" for, i think that it would be better to go for the upgrade for longevity as well as for the fact that you mentioned quite a few things that would greatly benefit from the extra horsepower. Who knows, maybe with that added power you just might find yourself using those applications more

Most of all, just be happy with the choice you made in your purchase

Thank you for the reply. I think those editing tools could be a hit a miss, so thats my worry. For the same money I could add a camera and keep the MacBook. So for the longevity yes I agree, and Im tempted.

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Yeah it will be sufficient enough. Are you planning on doing a lot of work with PS and iMovie? Are there any other editing tools you can see yourself using a lot in the future? Aside from those, you won't really feel the difference between the i5 and i7 in your day-to-day usage. If you feel like you'll be using them a lot, then yeah you should upgrade. But if you're only gonna be using them occasionally, you should be good with what you have.

Also, do note that the your 13'' MBP can also be upgraded to 16GB ram.

Really? Awesome! Even i5?

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Are you planning on doing a lot of work with PS and iMovie? Are there any other editing tools you can see yourself using a lot in the future?

Thats what Im not sure. If I was, it would only be for my home purposes, which probably wouldn't be that much. Photoshop more that videos I would guess.

 

[Rhythmic-]

Yeah even the i5. It's what I have and I installed 16GB myself. So you'll only be using those apps occasionally? Your current MBP should be fine then. Just save your money and get yourself a 16GB RAM and an SSD. Or add it towards a new camera like you said. I'd recommend the t3i.

 

[kashura7]

Yeah even the i5. It's what I have and I installed 16GB myself. So you'll only be using those apps occasionally? Your current MBP should be fine then. Just save your money and get yourself a 16GB RAM and an SSD. Or add it towards a new camera like you said. I'd recommend the t3i.

Thank you -)