rMBP 13: Intense Photoshop and Lightroom

[Giano]

Hi everyone,

I hope not to create a 8 vs 16gb ram thread but I need a specific advice. Very soon I'll be getting a new rMBP and a Nikon d7100, dsrl with a 24 mp sensor. I work with raw files (Lightroom and then Photoshop).
I know raw files from that camera can reach around 30 mb.

Is there anybody in a similar situation using a rmbp 13 or 15 inch? Is 8gb ram too little to work with such large files? Will the 13 inch be fast enough to load and process a full sd card of photos, or would you recommend the 15 inch?

Thank you so much

 

[nateo200]

See my 13" and 15" MBP specs. I used my 13" Core 2 Duo 2010 MBP with 8GB's of RAM like a champ! Honestly lightroom was handled so easy, when I bought a 15" rMBP export times increased greatly however actual editing in Lr didn't really seam to be massively effected. Both my computers have 8GB's too. I'd get the 16GB's just so you don't stress like me about NOT getting it haha but know that its not going to ruin your experience. Photoshop is a bigger animal than Light room so if you use photoshop more than light room 16GB's would be nice. If I were you I'd grab a 15" and smile Its a great computer and honestly looking at my 13" it feels like my 15" rMBP is only a 13" and my 13" is really 11" :O Its kind of weird but they are really compact computers.

 

[Giano]

Thank you Nateo! Interesting information!
As you, I do still have a 2009 15 inch C2D MBP but I have to say that trying opening up those raw files in Ps is a real pain with mine!
I know I would be super happy with the 16gb-ram 15 inch but I was really trying to get something smaller (and cheaper) this time!
Is there someone who tried the rMBP 13 inch-8gb of ram with big raw files?
Thank you again!

 

[Macshroomer]

I shoot a D800 ( among others ) professionally and they put out 36MP 50MB raw files. I have been doing great with my new 13" 2.8/16/1TB, really not an issue at all and almost as fast as my desktop listed below. I'd say you would be OK with 8GB of ram, but since it is not upgradable, 16GB is a cheap upgrade in the long run.

 

[cbben]

The ram won't make a giant difference (atleast at 8 vs 16) unless you are editing multiple files simultaneously in photoshop, with tons of layers etc., and/or if you are doing a lot of other things while editing. I shoot with a 21mp camera and do some of my tethered capture and editing on a 3 year old 13" c2d/8gb mbp and, vs my 2012 rmbp/16gb, definitely the limiting factor is the processor. It is very, very rare that I get close to maxing out the ram usage on the 16gb machine, and going over 8gb really doesnt happen too much unless ive got browsers open, watching video etc. while working on images.

If I had to choose between a 15"/8gb and a 13"/16gb as my sole machine, I'd choose the 15" every time. That said, I'd never buy a new laptop limited to only 8gb...