MacBook Pro 2014

[Rhinoe]

Hello,

I have been more of a Windows user all of my life, but have been using Apple iPad's and iPhone's within the last three years and I have developed an appreciation for the Mac OS. However, I have an extremely limited understanding of this OS.

I have recently graduated with a bachelor's in business administration and, while I am not certain as to where I will be career-wise, once I find a better job I will again be going to school to receive a master's degree, hopefully within a year. This laptop would primarily be for business and school.

With this said, I am looking to buy a laptop for the sole purpose of writing papers, web work, and the occasional media use. I will not be gaming on this and there will be very limited use of Photoshop. I feel that the 13" MBP would suffice, but I am wondering if there is point in me upgrading the CPU and RAM for my uses. Is 8gb of RAM enough? If I were to get the base 2.6ghz dual core i5, is the turbo boost to 3.1ghz always active? Also, how much of the SSD is taken up by the OS? I store all of my music, movies, and photos on an external dive and all of my documents are saved to Dropbox, so I am not in need of a large SSD, but I do not want to be hurting for space.

Also, I know that the Apple press event is coming soon, but rumors of a MBP overhaul are thought to be in 2015, is this right?

Thanks.

 

[HipsterGG]

Hello,

I have been more of a Windows user all of my life, but have been using Apple iPad's and iPhone's within the last three years and I have developed an appreciation for the Mac OS. However, I have an extremely limited understanding of this OS.

I have recently graduated with a bachelor's in business administration and, while I am not certain as to where I will be career-wise, once I find a better job I will again be going to school to receive a master's degree, hopefully within a year. This laptop would primarily be for business and school.

With this said, I am looking to buy a laptop for the sole purpose of writing papers, web work, and the occasional media use. I will not be gaming on this and there will be very limited use of Photoshop. I feel that the 13" MBP would suffice, but I am wondering if there is point in me upgrading the CPU and RAM for my uses. Is 8gb of RAM enough? If I were to get the base 2.6ghz dual core i5, is the turbo boost to 3.1ghz always active? Also, how much of the SSD is taken up by the OS? I store all of my music, movies, and photos on an external dive and all of my documents are saved to Dropbox, so I am not in need of a large SSD, but I do not want to be hurting for space.

Also, I know that the Apple press event is coming soon, but rumors of a MBP overhaul are thought to be in 2015, is this right?

Thanks.

Have you thought about pick up a MacBook Air since it does suit your needs if you ask me. If you really want the Retina display then I'd say go for it but since you're not an extremely advanced user the MacBook Air 13" might be a good option to go for even with 128GB and 4GB Ram memory.

 

[Rhinoe]

Have you thought about pick up a MacBook Air since it does suit your needs if you ask me. If you really want the Retina display then I'd say go for it but since you're not an extremely advanced user the MacBook Air 13" might be a good option to go for even with 128GB and 4GB Ram memory.

I had some hands-on time with both the MacBook Air and the new MacBook Pro and while I did like the MacBook Air, the new Pro seemed to be about the same thickness at the Air's thickest point. I also preferred the feel of the Pro's keyboard and I will always love a nice screen.

 

[2984839]

The base model will be fine, probably even overkill for those uses.

 

[Rhinoe]

The base model will be fine, probably even overkill for those uses.

I would really like to check out Aperture at some point and I could see myself using it often, perhaps more often than Photoshop. Is Aperture any more resource intensive than Photoshop?

 

[ValSalva]

I would really like to check out Aperture at some point and I could see myself using it often, perhaps more often than Photoshop. Is Aperture any more resource intensive than Photoshop?

It's my understanding that Aperture is being abandoned for a new app called "Photos" at some point in the next several months. Aperture is not likely to be developed beyond bug fixes for Yosemite at this point.

 

[TechGod]

It's my understanding that Aperture is being abandoned for a new app called "Photos" at some point in the next several months. Aperture is not likely to be developed beyond bug fixes for Yosemite at this point.

Hopefully the "Photos" app also incorporates many of the Aperture features otherwise I will be very upset.

 

[capathy21]

8GB of ram is more than enough and don't upgrade the CPU, it's a waste of money for your usage.

Get a 2013 refurb and save some cash.

 

[someoneoutthere]

With this said, I am looking to buy a laptop for the sole purpose of writing papers, web work, and the occasional media use. I will not be gaming on this and there will be very limited use of Photoshop.

I have seen articles like this with regards to photoshop/photo-editing capabilities of the MBA.
Feel free to ask for the community members' feedback/opinion, then perhaps you could go ahead and get a MBA.
Best,

 

[Sirmausalot]

Get a retina screen. Anyone who says different is wrong. For your work, the lower end processor will be fine. Try to get on the higher end of the SSD size if it doesn't break your budget as you may end up wanting to store some media locally and photo files, especially if you start shooting RAW can start to add up.

 

[maflynn]

I have seen articles like this with regards to photoshop/photo-editing capabilities of the MBA.
Feel free to ask for the community members' feedback/opinion, then perhaps you could go ahead and get a MBA.
Best,

Get the retina MBP, the screen is a lot better. The 8GB/256GB is a nice configuration as well. I'd stick with that.

 

[ValSalva]

Hopefully the "Photos" app also incorporates many of the Aperture features otherwise I will be very upset.

Everyone is hoping this. I have a feeling we'll be in the same situation with Photos as we were with Final Cut Pro and iWork. It will seem somewhat dumbed down at first but Apple will gradually add functionality and relative complexity back over time.

 

[Rhinoe]

Get the retina MBP, the screen is a lot better. The 8GB/256GB is a nice configuration as well. I'd stick with that.

Thank you. Do you know how much of the hard drive is taken up by the OS??

 

[Rhinoe]

It's my understanding that Aperture is being abandoned for a new app called "Photos" at some point in the next several months. Aperture is not likely to be developed beyond bug fixes for Yosemite at this point.

I see, thank you. I wonder if Photos will cost as much as Aperture.

 

[Rhinoe]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input. I picked up my MacBook Pro an hour ago. I went with the 13" and kept the processor and RAM as is, while upgrading to the 256gb SSD. Love it.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Aperture

Photos will replace iPhoto as the free app that comes with all macs and will also replace aperture as the mac midrange photo app. I imagine it will be somewhere between the 2 in functionality iPhoto is very basic (but very good) and aperture is full of twiddly bits but no photoshop (although very good at what it does).
Try out iPhoto and see if that will see you through if not aperture may well be worth your money till next year when photos comes out.

 

[fcortese]

Aperture will remain alive until the next OS after Yosemite gets released. The only "support" that will be lost are updates to accommodate RAW files from newly released cameras. Aperture in its present state can do 90+% of the most commonly needed post-processing actions, albeit some not as easily as PS. The free Photos app will initially not be a potent as Aperture, but as mentioned will more than likely grow in capabilities. Especially with the ability to have "extensions" created by 3rd parties such as NIK, even Adobe, take the place of present plug ins by these companies. What that will mean is that you will not have to export your photo out to another app then save it back into Photos, like you have to do now. Some of these are in the form of big TIFF files that take up space on your HD. It'll be interesting to see how Apple handles all this and how quickly the initial Photos morphs into something more powerful...if it ever does. I believe the potential will be too hard for Apple to ignore. With its cloud saving feature, IMO, I think Apple is looking at being the pioneer of a whole new way of handling, saving and processing photos for all different skill levels of photographers.

 

[Rhinoe]

Aperture will remain alive until the next OS after Yosemite gets released. The only "support" that will be lost are updates to accommodate RAW files from newly released cameras. Aperture in its present state can do 90+% of the most commonly needed post-processing actions, albeit some not as easily as PS. The free Photos app will initially not be a potent as Aperture, but as mentioned will more than likely grow in capabilities. Especially with the ability to have "extensions" created by 3rd parties such as NIK, even Adobe, take the place of present plug ins by these companies. What that will mean is that you will not have to export your photo out to another app then save it back into Photos, like you have to do now. Some of these are in the form of big TIFF files that take up space on your HD. It'll be interesting to see how Apple handles all this and how quickly the initial Photos morphs into something more powerful...if it ever does. I believe the potential will be too hard for Apple to ignore. With its cloud saving feature, IMO, I think Apple is looking at being the pioneer of a whole new way of handling, saving and processing photos for all different skill levels of photographers.

This does sound very interesting. I think I may have to hold out on purchasing Aperture.

 

[simonsi]

The only "support" that will be lost are updates to accommodate RAW files from newly released cameras.

Apple RAW support is in the OS, not in Aperture per se and will still be required for Finder, Preview etc etc. RAW support ongoing will be one of the few updates that will almost certainly apply, subject to OS changes post-Yosemite.

I'm more concerned if Photo's requires a library update that will mean Aperture cannot then read upgraded libraries....that will kill off Aperture ASAP even if users stay on Yosemite.

 

[TechGod]

I see, thank you. I wonder if Photos will cost as much as Aperture.

Photos will be free. Or so Apple indicates.

 

[nostresshere]

....With this said, I am looking to buy a laptop for the sole purpose of writing papers, web work, and the occasional media use. I will not be gaming on this and there will be very limited use of Photoshop. ....

I do way more on my MBP and have 8gb ram and 256 HDD, and base CPU.

You really do not need any more than that.

I often have a dozen apps open incl photo editing, browser with 20 tabs, etc. It runs great!

 

[Rhinoe]

Photos will be free. Or so Apple indicates.

Can't wait to see what it's like. I would still like to check out Aperture at some point.

I do way more on my MBP and have 8gb ram and 256 HDD, and base CPU.

You really do not need any more than that.

I often have a dozen apps open incl photo editing, browser with 20 tabs, etc. It runs great!

Sounds perfect for me in that case.

 

[pragmatous]

I'm using illustrator and iphoto. You don't need a high end macbook pro for that. The low end is still fine.

By the way that low end macbook pro is considered a high end PC. Don't let "low end" sway you from getting the 15" low end macbook pro. It's a fantastic machine. One that you'll use for 10 years or until something goes bad. Like any other purchase.

If you choose the 512GB drive option you might as well get the high end macbook pro.

Thank you. Do you know how much of the hard drive is taken up by the OS??

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Ahh. I always come late to these parties...

congrats!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their input. I picked up my MacBook Pro an hour ago. I went with the 13" and kept the processor and RAM as is, while upgrading to the 256gb SSD. Love it.