Macbook Pro 13 / 15 for Windows Web Development

[Heliosoz]

Hello,

I was looking for advice on which Macbook Pro w/ Retina Display to go with if for 50% of time the usage would be primarily for web development on Windows (Visual Studio, .NET, MS SQL etc.) This would be my first mac, so I'm not sure how both models fair on BootCamp and VMware. I understand that the 13 inch only has dual core with Intel Iris 6100 whereas the 15 inch has the i7 quad core with the Iris Pro/AMD card on the high-end model. I know that the 15 inch model would probably handle all the tasks at hand, but would the 13 inch model be sufficient enough for my needs, that is primarily for development on Windows and to learn Final Cut Pro on OSX. Either laptop I would be connecting to an external monitor for work, so I was just wondering what the better option was.
Also, if quad core is the big deciding factor between the two, I was just curious to know how the iMac i5 quad core compare to the i7 of the macbook pro?

Thanks!

 

[Tony Danger]

You will be better with the 15". I used to be on the 13" but the screen annoyed me when it came to Photoshop and Dev work.

 

[Heliosoz]

You will be better with the 15". I used to be on the 13" but the screen annoyed me when it came to Photoshop and Dev work.

Thanks for the response, from a performance stand point did the 13" have any issues ? As I said, I'd be connecting it to an external monitor so the screen size isn't an issue. Did the 13" have any issues while handling VMware / Bootcamp / compiling code during dev work ?

 

[Tony Danger]

Nah it was fine. It was all in the screen for me.

 

[kurzz]

Unless you're plugging in an external monitor, I also think you'll feel very cramped on a 13. I'd say 15" is minimum for that kind of work. Even on a 15, I sometimes find the need to plug in a monitor. If you stay in OSX, you can make use of virtual desktops.

 

[aloshka]

Used both 13" and 15", performance is about the same and i run 100gb databases and do a lot of .net development. Just max out memory and if you run more than 1 vm, be sure to get the 1tb SSD. VM's grow very quickly. If you just run one, 512 is good.

As for differences, the 15" feels just a little faster, but runs a little hotter too (note the word little and i'm very paranoid over heat and noise). I've been on the 13 for the last 7 months and actually going to move to 15". The extra screen feels worth it.