Macbook or MacBook Pro with Retina?

[Dave245]

Ok so I'm looking around for a new Macbook, I'm a univeristy student and get 15% discount here in the UK, the cost between the new 12" Macbook and the "13 MacBook Pro retina is not that much difference. I use my current 2011 MacBook for mainly things such as writing essays on pages, script writing in Final Draft, web browsing, a small amount of editing on iPhotos and iMovie, watching YouTube videos, iTunes TV shows and movies.

Battery life and screen quality are the most
Important features I want for any future MacBook I buy. In terms of future proofing would maxing out be the best thing to do?

 

[yjchua95]

Ok so I'm looking around for a new Macbook, I'm a univeristy student and get 15% discount here in the UK, the cost between the new 12" Macbook and the "13 MacBook Pro retina is not that much difference. I use my current 2011 MacBook for mainly things such as writing essays on pages, script writing in Final Draft, web browsing, a small amount of editing on iPhotos and iMovie, watching YouTube videos, iTunes TV shows and movies.

Battery life and screen quality are the most
Important features I want for any future MacBook I buy. In terms of future proofing would maxing out be the best thing to do?

Get the rMBP all the way. The 12" MB is for people who only do iPad tasks but want OS X on something slightly heavier than an iPad.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

Get the rMBP all the way. The 12" MB is for people who only do iPad tasks but want OS X on something slightly heavier than an iPad.

+1. No question that the rMBP is a better choice for almost the same price.

 

[Hieveryone]

Go on ahead and get that MBPr. You're going to need the extra power and versatility. It's very portable as well. Don't buy into this new MacBook. You don't want to be that guy with only 1 port.

 

[sqa4life]

I just bought a 2015 MBP 13 can't be happier.

 

[jclardy]

Get the rMBP all the way. The 12" MB is for people who only do iPad tasks but want OS X on something slightly heavier than an iPad.

Did you read his post? His uses include text editing, light photo/video editing and media playback...that is essentially what the new Macbook was built for.

Is the rMBP a better bang for your buck? Yes of course. Will the rMBP do everything the Macbook does but faster? Yes, but the macbook is selling portability.

That said...I would still buy the 13" just because first-gen Apple products tend to have a higher share of issues than products that are on further revisions (Though my 2012 rMBP was just fine as a gen-1 product, minus GPU performance of course.) Also if it is your only computer then I would say for sure to go with the MBP.

 

[dexterbell]

Ok so I'm looking around for a new Macbook, I'm a univeristy student and get 15% discount here in the UK, the cost between the new 12" Macbook and the "13 MacBook Pro retina is not that much difference. I use my current 2011 MacBook for mainly things such as writing essays on pages, script writing in Final Draft, web browsing, a small amount of editing on iPhotos and iMovie, watching YouTube videos, iTunes TV shows and movies.

Battery life and screen quality are the most
Important features I want for any future MacBook I buy. In terms of future proofing would maxing out be the best thing to do?

Why would you pay the same price for a Macbook with a smaller display, less powerful CPU/GPU and only one port? Tack on another $70 just to be able to upload photos or anything meaningful. If the new Macbook were like $999, then it would be up for discussion but at the same price? The rMBP 13 is the obvious answer.

 

[mtneer]

Ok so I'm looking around for a new Macbook, I'm a univeristy student and get 15% discount here in the UK, the cost between the new 12" Macbook and the "13 MacBook Pro retina is not that much difference. I use my current 2011 MacBook for mainly things such as writing essays on pages, script writing in Final Draft, web browsing, a small amount of editing on iPhotos and iMovie, watching YouTube videos, iTunes TV shows and movies.

Battery life and screen quality are the most
Important features I want for any future MacBook I buy. In terms of future proofing would maxing out be the best thing to do?

Are you a road warrior, traveling businessman who values thin and light and will pay the price (in many ways) to get the thinnest and lightest computer? Then yes, go get the new 12" MacBook.

If you are going to work at a desk most of the time - then the rBMP 13" is better value for money. And its not like the rMBP is a battery guzzler or a beast to carry around - its plenty thin and light for the average user.

 

[Dave245]

After reading your comments I'm leaning towards the retina Macbook Pro, I'm thinking the 13" because it has just been updated and the 15" hasn't, I'm also thinking of the following specs:

13" 2.9ghz or 3.1ghz, 8 or 16GB Ram, 512SSD

The SSD will probably be the biggest upgrade from my 2011 MacBook Pro which uses a 750HDD, however I'm thinking because it's the 15" and has the 2.2 quad core that the processor will be a downgrade.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

The MacBook will do all those things, but is far more portable. On the downside it costs far too much and has limited wired connectivity.

It comes down to personal preference. Do you want more power (not the same as needing it) and a bigger screen, or do you want portability and efficiency?

Personally I would go with the MacBook and use a desktop for the heavy lifting so to speak, but that's just MHO.

 

[yjchua95]

After reading your comments I'm leaning towards the retina Macbook Pro, I'm thinking the 13" because it has just been updated and the 15" hasn't, I'm also thinking of the following specs:

13" 2.9ghz or 3.1ghz, 8 or 16GB Ram, 512SSD

The SSD will probably be the biggest upgrade from my 2011 MacBook Pro which uses a 750HDD, however I'm thinking because it's the 15" and has the 2.2 quad core that the processor will be a downgrade.

Just stick to the standard 2.7/8/256 configuration.

 

[Dave245]

With the University student discount i get the prices would be this:

£859.20 - entry 13" (2.7 i5 8GB Ram, 128GB SSD)
£1,03.80 - middle 13" (2.7 8GB Ram, 128GB SSD)
£1,203.60 top end 13" (2.9 8GB or 16GB Ram, 512SSD)

Those prices are UK and with the student discount, with the first 2 working out cheaper than the new 12" Macbook which with student discount would be £1,117.20

Because i'm planning on keeping the machine for another 4 - 5 years (same as my 2011 MBP) i was thinking of either the middle 13" or the high end but i'm not sure if that would just be wasting money or a good investment?

 

[yjchua95]

With the University student discount i get the prices would be this:

£859.20 - entry 13" (2.7 i5 8GB Ram, 128GB SSD)
£1,03.80 - middle 13" (2.7 8GB Ram, 128GB SSD)
£1,203.60 top end 13" (2.9 8GB or 16GB Ram, 512SSD)

Those prices are UK and with the student discount, with the first 2 working out cheaper than the new 12" Macbook which with student discount would be £1,117.20

Because i'm planning on keeping the machine for another 4 - 5 years (same as my 2011 MBP) i was thinking of either the middle 13" or the high end but i'm not sure if that would just be wasting money or a good investment?

If you plan to keep for another 4-5 years, buy the best one you can afford.

 

[827538]

I bought my 15" rMBP as soon as they updated them with the Haswell chips in Late '13. I also got the 15% UK student discount and 3 year warranty.
Have to say it's probably the best purchase I've ever made. You won't be disappointed but I agree with the other people here and go for the 13" rMBP, you will have a faster machine with far better usability, choose 16GB of RAM if you can, will be the best option for future proofing it as OS X does like to eat a lot of RAM, I use mine a lot for gaming under Windows and I've yet to see it break 7GB, while on OS X I've seen it at over 10GB while just browsing the web with Safari and having a few programs open.

I think the new Macbook is a stunning product with some great little innovations. Like the new keys - the keyboard on this is lovely but it is annoying how the keys sort of bend if you press them at the corners. I like the idea of the feedback from the touchpad too and the better single LED to a key illumination. But I seriously feel they've messed it up, my overwelhming gripe is with a single port. I could have understood having two - one on each side. But with the way it is just now I could never own one. If I'm charging how am I supposed to plug my USB stick/Mouse/Ethernet/headset in? It's far too much form over function.

Also a 480p Facetime camera... On a laptop costing over £1000 in 2015? Is this some sort of joke?

 

[Dave245]

I bought my 15" rMBP as soon as they updated them with the Haswell chips in Late '13. I also got the 15% UK student discount and 3 year warranty.
Have to say it's probably the best purchase I've ever made. You won't be disappointed but I agree with the other people here and go for the 13" rMBP, you will have a faster machine with far better usability, choose 16GB of RAM if you can, will be the best option for future proofing it as OS X does like to eat a lot of RAM, I use mine a lot for gaming under Windows and I've yet to see it break 7GB, while on OS X I've seen it at over 10GB while just browsing the web with Safari and having a few programs open.

I think the new Macbook is a stunning product with some great little innovations. Like the new keys - the keyboard on this is lovely but it is annoying how the keys sort of bend if you press them at the corners. I like the idea of the feedback from the touchpad too and the better single LED to a key illumination. But I seriously feel they've messed it up, my overwelhming gripe is with a single port. I could have understood having two - one on each side. But with the way it is just now I could never own one. If I'm charging how am I supposed to plug my USB stick/Mouse/Ethernet/headset in? It's far too much form over function.

Also a 480p Facetime camera... On a laptop costing over £1000 in 2015? Is this some sort of joke?

With the student discount it makes the rmbp a more attractive purchase, and to future proof it (i plan on keeping for 4-5 years) i was thinking the middle to high end 13" my current 2011 15" mbp has been a great machine, it has never let me down but it is now starting to slow and with Yosemite it takes longer to boot up and iPhoto and iMovie takes a while to open up and can be a little sluggish when using. I've also been attracted to the new rmbp because of the SSD speeds (i hear they are a lot better than my current machine) and the retina screen would probably be a nice addition too.

Also because i'm on my third and final year at university i think it would be best to make final use of my student discount before i graduate and can no longer use it.

 

[yjchua95]

With the student discount it makes the rmbp a more attractive purchase, and to future proof it (i plan on keeping for 4-5 years) i was thinking the middle to high end 13" my current 2011 15" mbp has been a great machine, it has never let me down but it is now starting to slow and with Yosemite it takes longer to boot up and iPhoto and iMovie takes a while to open up and can be a little sluggish when using. I've also been attracted to the new rmbp because of the SSD speeds (i hear they are a lot better than my current machine) and the retina screen would probably be a nice addition too.

Also because i'm on my third and final year at university i think it would be best to make final use of my student discount before i graduate and can no longer use it.

Then in that case...why not go all out and buy the i7/16/512 variant

That said, if I were you, I'd just get the 2.9/16/512 and be done with it. There's barely any difference between the i7 and the 2.9GHz i5.

 

[Dave245]

Then in that case...why not go all out and buy the i7/16/512 variant

That said, if I were you, I'd just get the 2.9/16/512 and be done with it. There's barely any difference between the i7 and the 2.9GHz i5.

That's what i was thinking altho i have read some threads on the forum that say most people don't need 16GB Ram,

I'm hoping to see some battery improvement as well from my current 2011 to the 13" rmbp.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

RAM use is vastly misunderstood

Please read this before ordering more RAM you certainly won't need.


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

 

[yjchua95]

That's what i was thinking altho i have read some threads on the forum that say most people don't need 16GB Ram,

I'm hoping to see some battery improvement as well from my current 2011 to the 13" rmbp.

That's why I suggested the 2.7/8/256 configuration in the first place lol

 

[Dave245]

Please read this before ordering more RAM you certainly won't need.


https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

Thank you for this i just checked using activity monitor and i'm in the green with the following:

Physical Memory: 8.00 GB
Memory used: 6.43GB
Virtual memory: 8.00GB
Swap Used: 0 bytes
App Memory: 2.69
File Cache: 2.53
Wired Memory: 1.20GB
Compressed: 0 bytes

NOTE: The activity monitor was used while i had a couple of things running in the background Pages, and 2 tabs open on Safari browser.

Some of this i don't understand, but because it's in the green i'm guessing it means i'm good with 8GB Ram?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yeah as long as it's green

Thank you for this i just checked using activity monitor and i'm in the green with the following:

Physical Memory: 8.00 GB
Memory used: 6.43GB
Virtual memory: 8.00GB
Swap Used: 0 bytes
App Memory: 2.69
File Cache: 2.53
Wired Memory: 1.20GB
Compressed: 0 bytes

NOTE: The activity monitor was used while i had a couple of things running in the background Pages, and 2 tabs open on Safari browser.

Some of this i don't understand, but because it's in the green i'm guessing it means i'm good with 8GB Ram?

in the memory pressure graph you are fine. The File cache is just stuff that OSX keeps loaded for instant access and will be freed up if apps need more RAM. The Virtual memory can get as high as 12gb on 8gb physical memory using RAM compression before your computer starts to struggle too....

If you open up and run your worst case workload and then take a look and see how it's going.

To be honest unless you are running multiple VM's or using very RAM hungry apps then 8GB is usually a great amount.

I'd reccomend the 2.9 i5/8gb/512 standard configuration, it'll save you some cash and do everything you need and then some...

 

[Android300zx]

This is crazy. Would you rather get a hot chick or an average chick if you had to put the same amount of effort in?

Get the Macbook Pro. I don't see how someone would even get the new Macbook with its one port. The crazy part is people are crying portability but you'll see people lugging around accessories like hubs and stuff with this new portable laptop.

 

[Woochoo]

He said light Photo/Video Editing. New MB wasn't designed for that, not for video editing (even if it's light), so why are some people telling him to go for it? If he doesn't care so much about weigh/portability, the new rMBP is the one go to for.

This is crazy. Would you rather get a hot chick or an average chick if you had to put the same amount of effort in?

Hahaha best comparision ever.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

He said light Photo/Video Editing. New MB wasn't designed for that, not for video editing (even if it's light), so why are some people telling him to go for it? If he doesn't care so much about weigh/portability, the new rMBP is the one go to for.



Hahaha best comparision ever.

Not really the Macbook is the hot chick, young beautiful slim, and empty headed....

 

[Dave245]

He said light Photo/Video Editing. New MB wasn't designed for that, not for video editing (even if it's light), so why are some people telling him to go for it? If he doesn't care so much about weigh/portability, the new rMBP is the one go to for.



Hahaha best comparision ever.

Weight and portability isn't really an issue as i already carry around my 15" 2011 Macbook Pro everyday to university and back home (I commute).