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Macbook Pro 13" 2015 or 15" Buying Advice

K

KingZing

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 4, 2015
4
0
Hi guys,

Basically, I'm in the need for a new laptop and have decided to go with a Macbook Pro. However, I have a question which I hope you can answer! I can't decide whether a 13" or 15" would be needed, but the money for the 13" is far more tempting, anyway:

I am a Computer Science student, thus I will be programming a bit etc!

Would the 13" 2015 rMBP be sufficient to run the following? Preferably at the same time

- One VM - Parallels 10 with Win8.1 for Visual Studio Ultimate 2013 etc.
- Office Suite
- Chrome with MANY tabs
- iTunes
- Other General Stuff

Furthermore, how is the screen real-estate for, like side-by-side applications? Example being, code example and then VS.

I have a custom rig anyway w/ Windows, but everywhere I look people say more cores and more RAM is better. But the money for the base 2015 i5/8GB/256GB model fits perfectly in my budget! Plus the portability is there. But with the Broadwell processors surely they are no slouch?! Do I really need the 15"? Can I save £300 - £600?

Kind Regards,

Zing :)
 
I'd bump up the memory, but other than that you shouldn't have a problem.
 
NT1440 said:
I'd bump up the memory, but other than that you shouldn't have a problem.
Click to expand...

I could do that, but then I might aswell just get the 15" for like £150 more, as it's a bigger screen, better resolution, quad-core and Iris Pro which for £150 more can be justified. I just can't justify all that for £300 however.
 
Personal case for me was VM's with Windows 7/8 and using Revit (Didn't want to bootcamp). Went for the 15" and 8GB RAM, got my decision half right - the 15 screen resolution/size is great for intense work - the 13 is a little small. However should have gone 16GB RAM. Now I have to bootcamp rather than parallels for decent sized projects.

So my personal opinion would be Base 15, as by the time you've gone 16GB in the 13, that little extra gets you a whole lot more processor.
 
Smeaton1724 said:
Personal case for me was VM's with Windows 7/8 and using Revit (Didn't want to bootcamp). Went for the 15" and 8GB RAM, got my decision half right - the 15 screen resolution/size is great for intense work - the 13 is a little small. However should have gone 16GB RAM. Now I have to bootcamp rather than parallels for decent sized projects.

So my personal opinion would be Base 15, as by the time you've gone 16GB in the 13, that little extra gets you a whole lot more processor.
Click to expand...

Ahhh okay, do you think the 15" is the one I should get then?
 
aodesigns said:
13" with 16GB RAM if portability is important, if not i'd go base model 15".
Click to expand...

Okay, everyone seems to be saying 16GB. I will only be running 8.1 with VS so thought I could get away with 8GB. For what the 16GB upgrade costs, I may aswell get the 15". Thanks for your input!
 
KingZing said:
Okay, everyone seems to be saying 16GB. I will only be running 8.1 with VS so thought I could get away with 8GB. For what the 16GB upgrade costs, I may aswell get the 15". Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...

Noooo, don't go with the 15in model BECAUSE it's going to get upgraded soon, they will add new processor and force touch.
 
xban said:
Noooo, don't go with the 15in model BECAUSE it's going to get upgraded soon, they will add new processor and force touch.
Click to expand...

But, there are some good deals out there on the current 15".

I'm tempted to jump on a sale that Best Buy in Canada has right now. They're selling the 15" 2.5/16/512/750M for $2,499. Apple sells it for $3,049. Keep in mind, this is in Canada and we don't get the same crazy good deals like our neighbours in the US do.

But for 2500 bucks, I'm thinking of getting it. Hmmm....
 
8gb for RAM is more than sufficient for what you are doing. People saying get 16gb of RAM for your task are insane IMO. I understand it is solder on the RMBP, but still. You will never see that benefit the RAM provides unless you start doing photo/video editing.

4gb of RAM is still sufficient for the next few years, at least.

If you have one model with 16gb of RAM and one with 8gb of RAM side by side, doing the task you described there is no way you will notice the difference. I guarantee it.

I do basically the same task you are. There was no "lag" doing it with a base macbook air w/ 4gb of RAM, and there is certainly no lag doing it with 8gb of RAM on the 13" RMBP. Something will cause you to upgrade down the road, but it will not be b.c the lack of RAM from 8GB.
 
seadragon said:
But, there are some good deals out there on the current 15".

I'm tempted to jump on a sale that Best Buy in Canada has right now. They're selling the 15" 2.5/16/512/750M for $2,499. Apple sells it for $3,049. Keep in mind, this is in Canada and we don't get the same crazy good deals like our neighbours in the US do.

But for 2500 bucks, I'm thinking of getting it. Hmmm....
Click to expand...

I saw the deal I live in Canada too, good deal :)
 
xban said:
I saw the deal I live in Canada too, good deal :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm really tempted to pick one up tomorrow. I really like the new trackpad on the 13 and hopefully Apple will update the 15 in the next few months. But, I figure I can buy the current model on sale and then just sell it after the updated ones come out.

I'm on a mid-2010 right now which is so slooooowwwww.
 
ZBoater said:
$2699. I mean, if you are going to get 16GB and 1TB, you might as well get the i7 right?
Click to expand...

True, probably wouldn't skimp at that point.

That's nearly double what I paid for my 8/256 2015, $1412 out the door (with some coupon combo-ing at Best Buy)! Had my 2011 Air 13" for 3.5 years, on 4/128

I guess 16/some SSD bump is what I can look forward to next upgrade in a few years and a few architecture bumps down the road.

Went Sandy Bridge>Haswell 2014 originally, then I figured screw it and went the leap to Broadwell instead. battery life seems noticeably better so far in my day of use.
 
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