Is the current 15" RMBP enough for my needs?

The retina model was not updated yesterdy so it still has the HD4000 and 650M. You will likely see a huge difference upgrading now with the quad core procesor and discrete GPU. If battery life is not a huge concern for you, current model is great. If you want to hold out until the models are refreshed, I think it will be released alongside Mavericks this fall.

 

i thnk a macbook air would run ur needs

 

Based on the usage model you've given you'd be absolutely fine with a Apple refurbished base rMBP for $1,599.00:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC975LL/A/refurbished-macbook-pro-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

Unless you're a professional photographer 8GB should be fine and should last you 2-3 years at least. Personally I don't think your needs warrants a $2,200.00 Mac, but if you can afford it why not.

EDIT: in fewer words I don't think the current 15" rMBP is worth full retail price at $2,200. If you're going to buy new wait for Haswell and get your money's worth.

 

Apple refurbished have the identical return policy and 1 year warranty as new, so no worries from that perspective. Your concern about the screen, on the other hand, is valid. The thing with refurbs though is that they have been physically re-inspected by Apple service technicians (my refurb came from an Apple service center in PA, USA), so these aren't machines that rolled right off the factory line at Foxconn. I would say there's less chance for defects right there. No guarantee as to what type of screen you'll get, though (mine was a Sammy).

There's a lot of back and forth on this, so it's hard to say. I still think you'd be fine with 8GB processing 500 RAWs/month, but that doesn't account for what may happen with your workload in the future, as well as new releases of Lightroom having bigger requirements. 16GB will always be a good idea, of course, but then you lose out on the refurb price.

You have a couple of options, though. You can buy the base rMBP and give it a test run for the 14 day no questions asked return period. If it's choking on what you're throwing at it you can always return it for a refund. Secondly you can head over to www.refurb.me and set up an email alert to warn you when a 16GB refurb model becomes available.

Or you can always buy new and add the 16GB, but it's going to cost you.

PS. Don't forget options like Open Box/Clearance at sites like Best Buy if you're in the US (link), a few posters here have scored some pretty sweet deals.

 

I swear that yesterday they had 16gb models..must have all sold out

Since they are 2012 models...how likely is it for them to get more?

 

The current 15'' RMBP upgraded to 16 GB RAM should be fine for your usage. You have to evaluate your storage needs to decide on the SSD size, and think about whether you want to spend extra cash on a faster CPU.

To me right now it is very unclear what the next rMBP will bring. I would expect an incremental upgrade (haswell CPU, PCIe storage, 750M Nvidia GPU). The biggest advantage here would be on the power consumption. The faster storage could be nice, but it's not a huge jump.

Of course Apple could be more radical with the rMBP - Iris only graphics, redesign, etc... but I would be surprised if they do it. The 15'' is designed with a discrete GPU in mind, any new design costs extra money, and I would guess that Apple will first try to earn its investment back with the current design before going for something new.

 

You're the customer every computer manufacturer loves... Any 15" from the past 5 years will do the trick for you (although honestly any computer from the last 5 years would do it).

 

Apparently they were available approximately 8 hours ago according to the refurb.me website. If you're on the lookout for a 16GB definitely use this website, it should help you track one down.

Availability will go down increasingly as the days go by, as the 2012s were officially discontinued with the release of the early 2013 models. The question then becomes when the early 2013s will become available as refurbished - nobody knows really.

 

Congrats! I think you'll be very happy with your purchase, the rMBP's all flash setup is fast, you'll be spoiled by its speed pretty quickly. And for $1600 too, at that price it's hard to beat.

 

Any Macbook is capable of running DPP and LR together. I use DPP and LR in my early 2011 MBP and it's fine. 500 RAW photos in a month does not matter because you are NOT opening/working at the same time. That makes no sense. You need to figure out why you are having page out.

I think it's more about your 10+tabs with vids sitting in the background. Is it part of your work or it's just your practice? If it's just your practice then organize your work and open those sites after you are done with the one you are currently on because you can't watch 10 vids at the same time anyway.