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Justifying Multiple Macs/Macbook Pros

L

Larrabee213

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 27, 2009
128
14
A bit of a random question, and may an irrational one.

Currently I have a 2014 15" rMBP i7/512GB/750m. I am considering grabbing a second machine for work around and out of the house/travel. Right now most of the time the 15" is docked and connected to a 27" Dell 4K monitor. And I really hate how hot the 15" gets when doing work on the road, especially in the summer.

Since I do a bit of traveling and work out of the house, I am considering a second machine, a 13" rMBP. Use that for the majority of the work outside of the house and only bring the 15" when I need the quad core for extensive video/audio work on the road.

Do any of you work with multiple MacBooks? Is this justifiable?
 
Larrabee213 said:
A bit of a random question, and may an irrational one.

Currently I have a 2014 15" rMBP i7/512GB/750m. I am considering grabbing a second machine for work around and out of the house/travel. Right now most of the time the 15" is docked and connected to a 27" Dell 4K monitor. And I really hate how hot the 15" gets when doing work on the road, especially in the summer.

Since I do a bit of traveling and work out of the house, I am considering a second machine, a 13" rMBP. Use that for the majority of the work outside of the house and only bring the 15" when I need the quad core for extensive video/audio work on the road.

Do any of you work with multiple MacBooks? Is this justifiable?
Click to expand...

Only one person you have to justify it too and that's yourself, if you have a need and the money and it improves your workflow then why not.

If it was me though I'd want a 5k iMac at home and a retina MacBook for the road.
 
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It depends on your needs! Plenty of people have a desktop mac and a laptop, so I don't see an issue with 2 laptops!
 
oldmacs said:
It depends on your needs! Plenty of people have a desktop mac and a laptop, so I don't see an issue with 2 laptops!
Click to expand...


can work out well really. If you need portability, it gets you that.

My 2015 is currently doing heavy duty FCP work for a hip hop show I shot this weekend. I let her be as ,well, me doing anything else just makes the process longer. So I fired up the 2011 I hand me downed to the son but has little interest in.

So I get my portability on this now. As I have in the past when the main mbp doing its thing.
 
I know it gets hot but as long as it gets the job done, i don't mind. I would stick with the single mac.
 
If you already have a 15", I definitely wouldn't think having a 13" would be worth it. The 15" is plenty portable. If you're having to ask this question, it's probably not worth it to you either. If it were - you'd have already bought it.

If this situation was reversed, and you already had a 13", it would make sense to buy a 5K iMac.
 
Thanks for the thoughts and feedback.

I have thought about a 5k iMac, but I like the idea I can always bring the power with me. That is why I just added a 4k Dell monitor to my 15" rMBP. So it is basically a desktop computer, and the other laptop would be what I take out with me 80+% of the time for writing, some podcast production, some video editing, email, etc.
 
Single guy here. I have 2 Macs, a Mini and a MBP. I use the mini as a "base", using it for downloading media and long-term storage of said media. I then use the MBP to connect to the Mini to consume said media. I can then use the MBP anywhere in my place and sleep it without worrying about a download in progress, I can also take it with me when I travel or go to my parents house and I can still connect to the Mini.
 
Larrabee213 said:
A bit of a random question, and may an irrational one.

Since I do a bit of traveling and work out of the house, I am considering a second machine, a 13" rMBP. Use that for the majority of the work outside of the house and only bring the 15" when I need the quad core for extensive video/audio work on the road.

Do any of you work with multiple MacBooks? Is this justifiable?
Click to expand...

Is there reason you want a rMBP vs. something smaller and lighter? I have toyed with the idea of getting a refurbed retina Macbook as a travel machine because it is so small and light.

And about having other systems, I have 6 computers in my home office and numerous tablets and phones. He who dies with the most gadgets wins!
 
Larrabee213 said:
A bit of a random question, and may an irrational one.

Currently I have a 2014 15" rMBP i7/512GB/750m. I am considering grabbing a second machine for work around and out of the house/travel. Right now most of the time the 15" is docked and connected to a 27" Dell 4K monitor. And I really hate how hot the 15" gets when doing work on the road, especially in the summer.

Since I do a bit of traveling and work out of the house, I am considering a second machine, a 13" rMBP. Use that for the majority of the work outside of the house and only bring the 15" when I need the quad core for extensive video/audio work on the road.

Do any of you work with multiple MacBooks? Is this justifiable?
Click to expand...

There is no need to justify anything to anyone. Do you want 5 new rMBPs just because you want them? Of course it's "justified" since it's your money and no one can tell you what to do with it. Have a rMBP for each room in the house if you want and can afford it.
 
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