Not caring about screen size or weight, is 15'' MBP worth $600 more than 13'' for me?

[Star Nuts]

Either one will be upgraded to 8GB of RAM and an SSD. I plan on using the internet, microsoft word, managing my large iTunes library, and amateur editing in Aperture. I don't plan on doing any gaming or heavy video editing. I feel my uses are pretty basic, aside from Aperture, and I'm hoping I won't notice a difference in performance if I just went with a 13''.

So, is a 13'' more than enough to fit my needs for at least the next 3-4 years?

 

[obamtl]

Either one will be upgraded to 8GB of RAM and an SSD. I plan on using the internet, microsoft word, managing my large iTunes library, and amateur editing in Aperture. I don't plan on doing any gaming or heavy video editing. I feel my uses are pretty basic, aside from Aperture, and I'm hoping I won't notice a difference in performance if I just went with a 13''.

So, is a 13'' more than enough to fit my needs for at least the next 3-4 years?

Perhaps. It's nice to have more, and also, if you're heavy on processing, that could be useful. Otherwise, it's probably not worth it if you don't care for size.

I should point out though, that a new 13" retina macbook pro may be announced in a few days. If it is, you may end up finding that buying that could be cheaper than upgrading the classic macbook pro to an SSD with 8GB of ram. If you can wait 2 weeks, do so, to see if it would be the 'one more thing' on September 12.

 

[gngan]

Either one will be upgraded to 8GB of RAM and an SSD. I plan on using the internet, microsoft word, managing my large iTunes library, and amateur editing in Aperture. I don't plan on doing any gaming or heavy video editing. I feel my uses are pretty basic, aside from Aperture, and I'm hoping I won't notice a difference in performance if I just went with a 13''.

So, is a 13'' more than enough to fit my needs for at least the next 3-4 years?

It really depends on what you meant by 'amateur editing'. I use PS to edit photos from my DSLR and my 13'' MBP is more than enough for the work. The fan does come on and there will be heat but it works. I am sure this will last me around 3 years before i upgrade.

My MBP has 128gb SSD + 320gb in optical bay with 8gb ram.

 

[Star Nuts]

Nice, that's good to hear. When I say "amateur," I mean amateur. Just slide a few bars around and clone the settings for a lot of different pics. I'm learning how to do more, but it's rough on your own.

That's a good point about the rMBP. We'll see if anything comes out on the 12th. Thanks.

 

[Romeosc]

Either one will be upgraded to 8GB of RAM and an SSD. I plan on using the internet, microsoft word, managing my large iTunes library, and amateur editing in Aperture. I don't plan on doing any gaming or heavy video editing. I feel my uses are pretty basic, aside from Aperture, and I'm hoping I won't notice a difference in performance if I just went with a 13''.

So, is a 13'' more than enough to fit my needs for at least the next 3-4 years?

I bought the 2012 15" MBP and added 16GB ram for $100. Works great!

I run Snow Leopard in Parallels and like the larger screen....but my last MBP was a 17".... I wish they hadn't stop upgrading it!