Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MBPr 13" sufficient?

H

hrv888

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 17, 2009
269
35
Is the MBPr 13" 2.6ghz i5 8gb ram 256gb ssd sufficient for the following? Or should I upgrade the ram to 16gb or upgrade the cpu to 2.8 or even 3.0 i7?

Usage for:
Windows 8.1 or 10(when it comes out) bootcamp setup
Microsoft Office (word, excel, powerpoint) Heavy usage
Other apps that are needed for business school.

Yosemite, Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, Safari, Skype, iPhoto, FaceTime

That's all I can think of right now. Planning to keep it for the next 5 years. Currently using a mid 2009 MBP 13" 2.53ghz, 256gb (not ssd) 4gb ram, and I am feeling that it gets a little slow at times.

Thanks for any input
 
More than sufficient for your needs, you shouldnt see any issues :D
(unless you are planning to do some heavy stuff in that windows bootcamp)
 
Or should I just hold off for next year with the new cpu's and just upgrade my current to a 8gb ram? ssd? battery?
 
Any CPU configuration is more than enough for your need really. But one question though why do you want to install Windows on that poor thing, just because you need for Office softwares? I mean you can use the Mac versions. Word and Excel okay but Keynote is so much better than PP :D
 
You'd be fine with a MacBook Air, so the 13" rMBP as described by you is more than sufficient.
 
Thank you for your replies.

Installing windows is for Microsoft Office since business school requires heavy usage of excel and I think the mac version is still lagging behind as compared to the windows version.

Looks like I do not need to upgrade anything on the 2.6 rMBP 13.
But another question is future proofing it a little if I would use it for the next 5 years. Should I upgrade the ram now?

My previous mbp had 4gb of ram which was more than enough at that time but now it seems to be the recommended size of ram to run yosemite.

----------
cjmillsnun said:
You'd be fine with a MacBook Air, so the 13" rMBP as described by you is more than sufficient.
Click to expand...

I would love a MacBook Air but I wish it had retina display.
 
hrv888 said:
Thank you for your replies.

Installing windows is for Microsoft Office since business school requires heavy usage of excel and I think the mac version is still lagging behind as compared to the windows version.

Looks like I do not need to upgrade anything on the 2.6 rMBP 13.
But another question is future proofing it a little if I would use it for the next 5 years. Should I upgrade the ram now?

My previous mbp had 4gb of ram which was more than enough at that time but now it seems to be the recommended size of ram to run yosemite.
Click to expand...

If you want to future proof it then yes, upgrade the RAM. You can't do it later.
 
Your current 2009 MBP should be sufficient for that. Any laptop in current production should handle it with ease. Have you checked to see if there are processes taking up CPU or RAM resources?
 
556fmjoe said:
Your current 2009 MBP should be sufficient for that. Any laptop in current production should handle it with ease. Have you checked to see if there are processes taking up CPU or RAM resources?
Click to expand...

I just did a clean install of Yosemite last night and haven't had the chance to put anything on it yet. I'll take a look at that later. Also thinking if I should just upgrade the ram and wait for next years new laptops.
 
Honestly, it sounds like your current computer should be able to do the kind of work you want with little trouble. Upgrading the HDD in your computer to an SSD could potentially be a 100$ solution to your problem.
 
Basically this

paolo- said:
Honestly, it sounds like your current computer should be able to do the kind of work you want with little trouble. Upgrading the HDD in your computer to an SSD could potentially be a 100$ solution to your problem.
Click to expand...

For your needs your current MBp with an SSD will be like a new machine.
 
hrv888 said:
Is the MBPr 13" 2.6ghz i5 8gb ram 256gb ssd sufficient for the following? Or should I upgrade the ram to 16gb or upgrade the cpu to 2.8 or even 3.0 i7?

Usage for:
Windows 8.1 or 10(when it comes out) bootcamp setup
Microsoft Office (word, excel, powerpoint) Heavy usage
Other apps that are needed for business school.

Yosemite, Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, Safari, Skype, iPhoto, FaceTime

That's all I can think of right now. Planning to keep it for the next 5 years. Currently using a mid 2009 MBP 13" 2.53ghz, 256gb (not ssd) 4gb ram, and I am feeling that it gets a little slow at times.

Thanks for any input
Click to expand...
A base MBA can do all that without batting an eye.
 
paolo- said:
Honestly, it sounds like your current computer should be able to do the kind of work you want with little trouble. Upgrading the HDD in your computer to an SSD could potentially be a 100$ solution to your problem.
Click to expand...

I definitely agree with this. Even a friend of mine's Lenovo T60 (2006 I guess) with 3 gigs of RAM is running smooth on Windows 8.1 after he put an SSD into it.
In your case, you could simply upgrade your RAM and put an SSD in. Maybe, replace its battery as well. You'll like it just fine. I believe your traditional HDD is more of a bottleneck than anything.
 
Your current machine will get the job done just fine. Like others said, the SSD is the difference maker. However, if you are doing relatively complex calculations in Excel, bumping the ram to 8GB can be beneficial.

Additionally, unless you need direct hardware support for what you are doing in Windows, after an SSD and ram upgrade, you can run Windows in a virtual machine and the machine won't bat an eye. It really is incredible the difference the SSD makes. If I need Windows to run a demo during one of my lectures, I can launch a virtual machine and be ready to go before the projector gets warmed up and focused.

Personally, I would do the upgrades and wait for the Skylake update if possible. I think there may be some really cool things in the works if all of the wireless technologies associated with it come to fruition. I would still be on my early 2008 MB had it not met an untimely death this spring, as it was still plenty of computer for what I asked of it.
 
If you plan to install Windows, then go with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD. If you run Windows on Parallels, 16 GB of RAM will be welcome. And 512 GB of disk space is worth it to have if you plan to run two operating systems.
 
Upgrade the HDD

I would recommend upgrading to an SSD in your current MBP. I just put one in my mid 2010 13" for ~$130 and it feels like a new machine. Really snappy now.
Give that a go and possibly the upgrade ram in the future. It should meet all of your needs that you would be buying a new rMBP for.

Maybe upgrade down the road when Broadwell is released?
 
BigBuns said:
I would recommend upgrading to an SSD in your current MBP. I just put one in my mid 2010 13" for ~$130 and it feels like a new machine. Really snappy now.

Give that a go and possibly the upgrade ram in the future. It should meet all of your needs that you would be buying a new rMBP for.



Maybe upgrade down the road when Broadwell is released?
Click to expand...


This would be an option. You could put 8 GB on your Mac (if it is supported) and an SSD. And buy a new laptop later.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back