Maxed out 13" or dGPU 15" rmbp?

And a bigger screen!

The 15" is bigger and a little heavier but considering what I've carried around in the past the 15" is extremely portable though the 13" would be more so, if you know what I mean.

It's a lot extra for the price you've quoted imho. It depends really on what makes you happier.

Good luck with your decision

 

I debated between a fully specced 13, or a higher-end stock 15.

I went for the 15, because I wanted the bigger screen and better performance. Wasn't a hard decision at all.

It's by no means "unportable".

 

Do you really need the power that the 15" offers? Or are you just dreaming about it? I'll take the 13" every time.

 

I went for the 13" for the portability, I will be carrying it around a lot at college every day.

 

I compared the 13" 2.6/16/512 to the 15" 2.3/16/512/750m. I ended up going for the 15" instead as it offered a bigger screen and a gpu. The fact that the BTO 13" wasn't much cheaper than the stock 15" helped in the comparison.

 

Yes, portability is the only deciding factor here. For some is important, for some is not. If portability can be scrapped for you, definitely 15'' value-wise.

I go for 13''.

 

Since you mentioned gaming.

Just go for the 15". You will not be too pleased with the gaming performance of the Iris.

But good luck makin your pick

 

depends on how much u really game.. if its a daily thing...then sure...but how fun can playing on a laptop be..might as well go with a TB display...I am not a gamer so I cant tell you for sure whats sufficient and whats not.

if you have the money why not.. but back in the day before retina and the cut in weight.. I got rid of my 15" in favour of the 13" because it was WAYYYYY to heavy to carry around even on trips was such a pita... now it might be much lighter but if it weighs much more than a standard mbp 13" I wouldnt get it myself.

 

im in the exact situation.... cant decide......

 

theres no point spending an extra €350 on something you don't need even if its a better deal

its like in a store you can buy 3 items for the price of 2 when you only need 1... save even more money and just buy 1...

 

Ordered the 13" and when it arrived I decided it was too small since it will be my main computer at home. Ordered a 15" to replace it. "Go big or go home!!!"

 

The 13" is still considerably more portable. If you have no real need for the performance the 15" offers and plan to drag the thing around a lot, go for the 13". It's not just lighter, it's much smaller in size also (obviously). So it fits in a lot more bags and stuff. Then again, if you need the power and it's your only computer, it's obvious, go for the 15". It's all about whether you really need power or not. Most people don't.

 

the cpu on the 13" is slower, the gpu is marginally slower but honestly both the new iris pro and the 750m have mid range graphics capabilities. If you absolutely HAVE to have the best graphics apple can put in a notebook at the moment, then go for the 15". If not, and you're not going to running intensive graphics and cpu tasks every day, go for greater mobility.

 

Sounds like you want the extreme power that the 15" offers.

 

I just did the same!!!

but dont have my hands on it yet, cant wait!

 

Glad I didn't have to persuade another over the internet to stick with the 15" camp Quad-Core > Dual-Core. Also maybe I'm just used to carrying like 50lbs of camera and computer equipment with me but the 15" rMBP is sooooo light...it feels so much more portable than even my regular 13" MBP...Idk how people can justify weight for performance when the weight is so miniscule and the performance gain is so giant.

 

I agree but my primary reason for 15" has always been that I think a 13" screen is just too small. When I want to code somewhere without a power outlet I don't want to deal with a 13" mini screen. I never understood what is the problem of lugging around a 15" notebook. The bag I would carry it around in wouldn't shrink to some girl sized purse and what do I gain if the notebook takes less space in my normal sized bag than the 15". They equally thick so there is no real gain.

@op just the Iris Pro is also about 70% faster in most things than the Iris of the 13". dGPU or not that quad core chip is much faster.
The downside is battery life. I am quite sure in any real life usage scenario the 13" lasts a lot longer. Yeah those extremely unrealistic light weight battery life tests don't have that much of a difference. In reality you don't load a webpage by issueing command in a tenth of millisecond and then stare at the screen for 40 seconds until you load the next one. In these test the whole cheap can go into the deepest sleep state for most of the time. A real human, scrolls around and clicks link far more frequently than every half minute, installs plug ins and what not or has some music playing constantly. I also don't understand who sits in a brightly lit coffee shop with a dimmed screen all the time.

I think it is speed or max battery life, size really shouldn't be an issue.

 

Glad you made a choice you are happy with OP.

Must say though, a lot of people are dismissing the 13" (unless you want to be portable is the consensus). I'd disagree with that.

I have just ordered a 13" to use almost primarily at home, I'll add a few points of reasoning below:

- I don't need the processing power of quad core (so why pay extra for it)
- 13" screen is big enough for most tasks as I am not a graphic designer or anything (especially if resolution upped to give more screen real estate)
- If I need a larger screen I can connect my external monitor (not retina but ok for those rare occasions)
- It's a lot lighter for casual usage at home eg sitting on the couch with it on my lap
- Personally I think it looks nicer being more compact (I don't like the extra width and casing either side of the keyboard on the 15", don't think it looks as good aesthetically)
- I don't think the GPU on the 15" is worth the extra money from a gaming perspective, especially as the cost is a lot more for high end model (about £800 more than my 13" model). Unless you need the GPU for work purposes in which case it's worth it. For that extra money I would rather build a windows gaming PC that's upgradeable GPU wise and will perform better, or buy a PS4 for much less money.

Just my 2 cents to add to the discussion and why I think the 13" is a very viable model for some uses and much better value for money in a lot of cases. Glad you are happy with your 15" though OP, at the end of the day, that's all that really matters