Macbook Pro Retina options

[mikesjo]

I'm currently on an older 2011 Macbook Pro 15"

2.0 Core i7 15" matte display
8GB Ram
128GB SSD and 720gb HD
Radeon 6750 512mb

Will I see a significant increase in performance going to a early or late refurbed 2013 model? I mainly use Adobe Lightroom to export my RAW photos. That's the most taxing work I do. I will most likely pair it up with an external monitor.

Early 2013
2.4 i7 15" retina
8GB ram
256GB SSD
1GB Gefore 650

Late 2013
2.0 i7 15" retina
8GB ram
256GB SSD
Intel Iris Pro

Another thought was to go to an iMac if I can live without the portability though the ones with an SSD are quite a bit more. Thought about running the OS on an external USB 3 or thunderbolt drive instead.

 

[MagicBoy]

About 30%, best case scenario in either case. I really don't notice much performance difference between my old 2011 and the rMBP day to day. I'd still happily be using it now if it hadn't been replaced.

The PCIe SSD is the most noticeable improvement that I found.