Retina Macbook Pro for College and Video-Editing

[kevinwhen]

I'm heading off to college this fall and I’m looking into buying a Macbook Pro with Retina Display to use mainly for video editing and college. I’m really drawn in by the resolution it has as a notebook and how it is a very portable computer. However I’m not very knowledgable with computer hardware. The more money I can save the better, and $2000 is the maximum I am willing to go. (Which is possible for the 15" because I will be receiving Apple's education pricing). I was a bit disappointed that there was no update to the rMBP at WWDC and the Haswell processor with better battery life and faster Wifi looks very appealing. I'm also anticipating a Back to School Promotion (though not sure when and what to expect from that).

Should I get the 13″ or the 15″?
Is the 15" that much more powerful than the 13"?
Would the 13″ be able to handle software such as Final Cut Pro X, 7, or Adobe Premiere CS6? Also what about how it does not come with NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, while the 15″ does?
Once the BTS promo comes out, I'm likely to make my purchase in that timeframe. Any chance for an update to the rMBP come out at that time or is that being to optimistic? Should I hold out just a little longer or just go ahead and make my purchase then? Oh and should I look into getting a refurbished one?

 

[Badrottie]

If you really want Haswell then you can buy a 2013 MBA because FCPX will run fine with Haswell CPU.

 

[iPoopeh]

Haha, I'm also going to college this fall, but I"m settling on the current models.. But I'll answer your questions in order;

Should I get the 13″ or the 15″?

For your needs, I say get a 15''. More screen real-estate plus the dedicated GPU that is included with it.

Is the 15" that much more powerful than the 13"?

Yes it is. The 15'' is a quad core machine while the 13'' is a dual core. Also you can only put 8GB of RAM in a 13''. While you can put a max of 16gb of RAM in a 15''.

Would the 13″ be able to handle software such as Final Cut Pro X, 7, or Adobe Premiere CS6? Also what about how it does not come with NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M, while the 15″ does?

Yes it is able to handle it, probably not as smoothly/quickly as the 15'' though. And I believe the Dedicated GPU isn't in the 13'' due to heat? I'll let someone else answer this part of the question. ^ ^'

Once the BTS promo comes out, I'm likely to make my purchase in that timeframe. Any chance for an update to the rMBP come out at that time or is that being to optimistic? Should I hold out just a little longer or just go ahead and make my purchase then? Oh and should I look into getting a refurbished one?

We shall not see a refresh anytime this summer. xD Doesn't matter how Optimistic we can be about it. The earliest we'll see something is October when they refresh the iMacs and release the Mac Pro. But who knows, it may be like last year with the iMacs, and may not see any shipped until November/December. =/
And I'm a person that doesn't like refurbished electronics, but the refurbished section has some great deals. If you do see any problems with your refurbished machine you can take it back to the Apple Store and let them look at it!

And to note... I'm a person that had to carry a 6lb+ Dell laptop during the four years of high school... So the weight of the 15'' rMBP isn't an issue for me. [ And this is coming from a chick btw. ] But I know everyone likes to have things lighter than air now-a-days.

 

[maxsquared]

One disadvantage (or advantage) of retina screen, once you start using it, it won't be the same when you go back to a normal screen, especially if eventually you get an additional standard screen to work on side by side.

For video editing anyway, save some money get an additional screen, at least a 27 inch one, you will need it. Also upgrade to as much ram as possible, as you can't do this in the future. A combination worth considering is an 27 inch iMac + smaller MBA to take to school with you for classes.

 

[kevinwhen]

Thank you!
Yeah, I think I pretty much decided on the 15" and I probably will get a refurbished one.

However there's another question I have.
At the university I'll be attending, I'll have access to Mac Pros for video editing on projects. But it'll be nice to have a solid computer to do my own when I'm not at one of those computers or when I'm in my dorm or whatever.
So I'm debating whether or not it'll be necessary for me to go for just the 8GBs or "overkill" it with 16GB. Would 8GBs be able to handle video-editing sufficiently with minimal hiccups and slow down?
I plan on having this computer last me throughout college as well.

 

[iPoopeh]

Thank you!
Yeah, I think I pretty much decided on the 15" and I probably will get a refurbished one.

However there's another question I have.
At the university I'll be attending, I'll have access to Mac Pros for video editing on projects. But it'll be nice to have a solid computer to do my own when I'm not at one of those computers or when I'm in my dorm or whatever.
So I'm debating whether or not it'll be necessary for me to go for just the 8GBs or "overkill" it with 16GB. Would 8GBs be able to handle video-editing sufficiently with minimal hiccups and slow down?
I plan on having this computer last me throughout college as well.

If I were you, I'd make sure to have 16GB of RAM, JUST in case. [Because we also have iMac's to handle our Art Programs at my Art School] If we had the option to change it ourselves then my answer would be different... But I know $200 is a lot just to have an extra 8GB of RAM. =/ But since you're going the refurbished route, you will most definitely find a good deal. Good Luck!

 

[whitedragon101]

The new rMBP will have a PCIe SSD (800MB/s), not sure when it will be out but that will be worth the wait for video editing use.

If its not by September something very weird is going on

 

[kevinwhen]

What makes you think it'll come out before september?

 

[whitedragon101]

What makes you think it'll come out before september?

Because apple follow the release schedule of the intel chips. Apple normally release their new laptop within one to three months of Intel's launch of new chips. If they wait longer then their laptops look out of date because everyone else is offering them. Also September is around the time of the new iPhone launch and it would clash.

Macrumours just posted an article along the same lines (see concluding paragraph of article)

https://www.macrumors.com/2013/06/13/macbook-pro-updates-still-to-come-but-what-can-we-expect/