Purchase Confusion

[CDA]

Hi everyone.

I've spend a lot of time reading various threads over the last few days and i'm at quite a loss as to what to do.

I've just given my 3 year old 11" Air to a family member. It has served me well but I like to update every few years.

I'm about to start a year course in web development which encompasses a wide range of online technology learning.

At the same time I'm going to be doing an advanced photoshop course. I will be using photoshop for my online work. I'm not in to photography so won't be editing actual photo's unless it's for learning purposes or the occasional need arrises.

I planned to buy a 13" Air with 4mb of ram. However, it's now been suggested that 4mb of ram is not enough and I should be getting the Pro Retina 13" with 8mb.

Once I started looking at the Retina 13" I was drawn to the 15" quad core 8mb.

I can afford the cost of the 15" 8mb but would rather not spend that much. Also I like the smaller size of the 13".

I'm rather confused.

Is the 4mb Air enough for my needs?

If not, is the Retina 13" 8mb right for me?

Is the 15" 8mb worth the extra for Quad Core?

All advice and input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[vpro]

Also..

Hi everyone.

I've spend a lot of time reading various threads over the last few days and i'm at quite a loss as to what to do.

I've just given my 3 year old 11" Air to a family member. It has served me well but I like to update every few years.

I'm about to start a year course in web development which encompasses a wide range of online technology learning.

At the same time I'm going to be doing an advanced photoshop course. I will be using photoshop for my online work. I'm not in to photography so won't be editing actual photo's unless it's for learning purposes or the occasional need arrises.

I planned to buy a 13" Air with 4mb of ram. However, it's now been suggested that 4mb of ram is not enough and I should be getting the Pro Retina 13" with 8mb.

Once I started looking at the Retina 13" I was drawn to the 15" quad core 8mb.

I can afford the cost of the 15" 8mb but would rather not spend that much. Also I like the smaller size of the 13".

I'm rather confused.

Is the 4mb Air enough for my needs?

If not, is the Retina 13" 8mb right for me?

Is the 15" 8mb worth the extra for Quad Core?

All advice and input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

................. so go and pick up both of them and try them out for 14 days and see which one stays and which one gets shipped back, that is what i do, i get all the products and try them out and then usually somethings stays in my house.....

 

[TheIguana]

Unless you are taken by the 15" screen size, I would say the 13" retina MacBook Pro would probably be the sweet spot specifications wise for you.

 

[Freyqq]

On the apple website, you can custom order a 13 air with 8gb of ram. That should fit your needs without costing too much.

 

[fig]

On the apple website, you can custom order a 13 air with 8gb of ram. That should fit your needs without costing too much.

Seconded. The Air can handle pretty much any design/Photoshop need unless you get into needing to process huge batches of photos.

 

[christarp]

I'd suggest checking out the refurbished store as well for some nice discounts and full warranty.

 

[andyp350]

First off I'm assuming you mean GB not MB
For what you've said you'll need it for I think you need to think more about what screen size is preferable to you and what sort of portability you would like. Every machine you've suggested will do what you need it to. If you're going to do a lot of photoshop them maybe aim for 8GB RAM in whichever machine you go for.

 

[glenthompson]

For heavy duty development work a large screen is nice but it depends on how much portability you need. Some classrooms/labs don't provide a lot of space so the small form factor is helpful. My preference is to size the screen to a comfortable size then use an external monitor where it gets used the most.