Novice Mac User

The 2.6 to 2.7 is most likely not worth it for your uses. Also, do not boost it to Apple's 8 GB as it is extremely overpriced. Installing your own RAM after getting the computer is very easy and less expensive ($60 for 8 GB usually vs. Apple's $100 more). Also, on these computers the limit is 16GB even though Apple does not offer that option.

But 8 GB should be enough. I agree that high-res anti-glare is a good choice if you will be using it a lot outside or in a brightly lit room. However, if you will be carrying it around alot, a 13" MBP might be better suited.Do you need the CD slot? If you do, then the classic line is a good way to go. If you don't need the CD slot and you will be carrying is around a lot, the 13" MBA or rMBP might actually be better suited, as website creation and photo editing don't really need the power of the 15".

 

I always buy Applecare because one logic board replacement after 1 year would more than make up for it (or screen replacement, keyboard, bad HDD etc). Have you thought about a rMBP 15"? It has significant less glare than the regular MBP, the retina screen, all SSD, a 1 GB of the graphics standard and thinner and lighter.

 

I'd take a hard look at elite books, especially if retina isn't you thing.

 

I think B... is spot on with the suggestion to buy the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro rather than the classic MacBook Pro. The Retina has superior graphics and superior performance (night and day really, because of its extremely fast solid state drive) when compared to the classic MacBook Pro.

It's also much lighter, has direct HDMI connectivity and has more screen viewing space when compared to the high-res classic option (high-res classic 15" MacBook Pro has 1680 by 1050 pixels, while the 15" Retina Macbook Pro has 2880 by 1800 pixels).

 

Based on your initial post a classic MacBook Pro may be a better choice because the flexibility it offers in expanding internal storage (as well as your RAM choices). I.e. you definitely won't be able to put a 1TB HDD in a Retina MacBook. Additionally you can swap out the internal Superdrive for a secondary HDD or SSD, something that isn't an option with the Retina.

This may be less important for you if you don't mind running a portable external drive for your storage. Additionally there is of course the Retina display itself. If you haven't yet seen one, that may be the deciding factor.

 

With your intended usage, going from 2.6 to 2.7 is useless.

And unless you're running benchmarks every other day and trying to squeeze every single ounce of power out of your computer, it still doesn't matter much.

 

Unless you're thinking about gaming or certain other graphic-intensive applications, I'd suggest virtualizing with either Parallels or VMWare Fusion. It's a lot more convenient.