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Is going from 13" to 15" really that difficult?

N

njmitchel0

macrumors member
Original poster
May 21, 2008
84
2
I was waiting on the release of the 13" rmpb, and although I am not quite sure what each spec really exactly, the announced 13 rmbp seems underwhelming.

My heart still wants to get this computer as the 13" form and has served me well and REALLY want the retina screen, but my brain is telling me to do a bit more research.

I just recently purchased a dslr so Im looking to get into a bit of video editing in fcp x along with some photo editing in cs suite. I am in no way a professional, but i want a computer that is capable. I plan on utilizing an external hdd as well so I am not too concerned with the storage. Do you believe that the new 13" rmbp upgraded to the '2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7' would be a good buy for me. Is the 2.9GHz a huge difference from the 2.5 i5??? I should note I am getting the student pricing? Push for the 15' :/ ???

Your experiences on going up in size????

Any input appreciated!
 
you will be fine with the 13", even the i5 version. maybe bump up the ram to 16gb though.

although i'm assuming you know the CS suite has not been updated for retina yet.

and no why idea why you would think its underwhelming unless you're a hardcore gamer or you're just copying what other people say without a clue.
 
I would say stay away from the 13' model and grab the 15' instead.

Can't believe someone is actually considering buying the 13 rMBP. That's just non-sense mate.

This is not about being capable or not, it is all about how much you pay for what you get in return. ;)
 
I'd go for the 15" you also have a good discount too so take advantage of it. I believe that in the long run the better specs and larger screen will make a difference and the resell value will be eventually much better. This 13 rMBP feels like too much of a compromise for the price.
If it's too heavy to carry around buy a set of dumb bells and exercise.
 
My last Macbook was 13 so I decided to jump 15 with the Retina and let me tell you! I do not regret it one bit! The extra space is perfect and now whenever I do use my old 13 I can't stand it because of how tiny it is.
 
yea I think I'm going with the 15'', the 13" just doesnt make sense. Im definitely going to go with 16gb ram, is there a significant boost that makes the 2.6 ghz a must over the base 2.3 ghz?

thanks for the replies so far
 
stevelam said:
you will be fine with the 13", even the i5 version. maybe bump up the ram to 16gb though.

although i'm assuming you know the CS suite has not been updated for retina yet.

and no why idea why you would think its underwhelming unless you're a hardcore gamer or you're just copying what other people say without a clue.
Click to expand...

I don't think you can get the 13" Retina with 16 GB. I am pretty sure you can only get 8 GB... Might be reason enough to jump to the 15" model.
 
SugaredJuggler said:
I don't think you can get the 13" Retina with 16 GB. I am pretty sure you can only get 8 GB... Might be reason enough to jump to the 15" model.
Click to expand...

yea the 13" is standard 8gb ram, this lack of bto option was ultimately the straw that broke the camels back...for me anyways
 
Get the 15". The CPU alone will be nearly twice as fast for intensive tasks like video editing, plus FCP will use GPU acceleration to speed things up and a GT650M is around 4x faster than the integrated Intel HD 4000 in the 13".

Since you'll be paying a lot for a non-upgreadable laptop, you might as well be interested in 16GB RAM which is only available on the 15".

Another thing to consider is that the 15" rMBP has a smaller footprint than the older 15" MBPs in all axises, not just thickness. It's a bit lighter than a 13" cMBP, and also a bit thinner than a 13" rMBP.

Having owned a 13" cMBP, a 15" cMBP and now a 15" rMBP, I can tell you that I feel like the level of portability of my rMBP is closer to that of my old 13" cMBP than of my 15" cMBP.
 
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