rmbp? 13" or 15"? or MBA?

[maxou17]

Hi All,

time for me to renew my computer. I have a macbook intel core 2 duo 2.4ghz (not Pro), the one in aluminium they released in 2008... since then I upgraded to 4gb ram and 256gb ssd. computer is still working fine... but I've recently bought a Nikon D800 and the pics are quite heavy 30 to 40 mega pixels. it takes ages to load pictures to Aperture, same thing for editing them.

So I decided to change my computer. I am really tempted by the Macbook pro Retina. I like the 13" size, but will it be enough for my needs? same thing for the MBA 13"? or should I take the 15" Rmbp, I know the 15" would be the same weight than my current laptop... but still If I can carry less weight I would

I also intend to use a bit more Photoshop to edit my pictures and logic 9 as well from time to time. Apart from that, no intensive taks, browse the web, listen to music, watch movies...

any help?

thx!

 

[ColdCase]

Aperture is kinda slow, but does OK on my 15 inch rMPB 2.8.

My spouse has a late 2008 13in MB with upgraded SSD and it feels clunky relative to my recent 2013 15in rMBP. The rMBP feels more portable

Get as much RAM as you can afford. Aperture can spend a lot of time transferring data to/from disk and the SSD in the rMBP is lightning fast compared to SSDs in the 2008 MB.

You will appreciate the extra screen real estate and quality screen. My daughter has a recent MBA and its screen is no where near as good as the rMBP. You could get by with a MBA, but it will be far from ideal for your use.

 

[LeeM]

as said, whatever you do get 16gb.

 

[maxou17]

so you don't advise me to get the 13" mba or rmbp? as ram is 8gb max...

 

[576316]

so you don't advise me to get the 13" mba or rmbp? as ram is 8gb max...

That would be what they're saying. I too use photo editing programs as the only intensive task on my current PC and I'm ready to move into the world of Mac now being totally tired of Windows. The 15" rMBP seems like the only Mac I'd really want to go for, the problem for me is the price because they're so expensive and unaffordable. But I guess that's relative.

 

[LeeM]

That would be what they're saying. I too use photo editing programs as the only intensive task on my current PC and I'm ready to move into the world of Mac now being totally tired of Windows. The 15" rMBP seems like the only Mac I'd really want to go for, the problem for me is the price because they're so expensive and unaffordable. But I guess that's relative.

student store

 

[Krazy Bill]

I also intend to use a bit more Photoshop to edit my pictures and logic 9 as well from time to time.

Then I don't know why you're even considering a MBA.

I recommend:

1.) 13" rMBP (with 512GB SSD).

2.) Use the savings you have from skipping the 15"... get an external monitor (use for editing your photos)

3.) Switch to Adobe LightRoom.

I spend a lot of time in post and only edit pics when I'm at a desk anyway (hence the external). The rest of the time I enjoy the portability of the 13" form factor.

 

[LeeM]

logic will be better on a quad core, and 13" retinas dont have the option for 16gb ram

 

[576316]

student store

Only takes it down to £1,800. Still too expensive.

 

[maxou17]

Then I don't know why you're even considering a MBA.

I recommend:

1.) 13" rMBP (with 512GB SSD).

2.) Use the savings you have from skipping the 15"... get an external monitor (use for editing your photos)

3.) Switch to Adobe LightRoom.

I spend a lot of time in post and only edit pics when I'm at a desk anyway (hence the external). The rest of the time I enjoy the portability of the 13" form factor.

thanks for the feedback!

-So do you think the 13" rMBP will be able to handle smoothly photo editing with Aperture?

-why switching to Adobe LightRoom? Faster? or do you just prefer the software for editing photos?

 

[Krazy Bill]

-So do you think the 13" rMBP will be able to handle smoothly photo editing with Aperture?

I'm sure of it.

why switching to Adobe LightRoom? Faster? or do you just prefer the software for editing photos?

Aperture is a dog IMO. Between the two, LightRoom is the first choice for most photographers.

 

[mykem]

Hi All,

I know the 15" would be the same weight than my current laptop... but still If I can carry less weight I would

thx!

I was using the older Core 2 Duo (pre-unibody) MBP as well before getting the 15" rMBP.

The 15" rMBP weighs 4.46 lbs while the older MBP (both 2006/2007 pre-unibody or early 2008 unibody) weighs 5.4 lbs. The newer cMBP weighs more at 5.6 lbs.

 

[ka-spot]

I'm using base Air 13" 2011 for PS CS6 (RAW files ~25MB). Parallels + Win 7 for CorelDraw. Always on: Chrome 2 windows with 20 tabs each. WAMP server. Skype. TextEdit. Terminal. Dreamweaver. NetBeans.

The problem is when I start batch to convert 100 RAW files to JPEG. Takes time, get noisy and hot.

I'm thinking for base retina 13" (and waiting for haswell) or base Air 13" with 8GB of RAM (haswell).
Can't decide but I want the retina...

No games for me. They make me nervous...

 

[Aegelward]

I'm in a similar boat. My macbook is feeling it's age a little - though i do plan to get it a full service and hand down to someone in my family.

I'd rather have the dGPU of the 15" and at the moment i'm trying to wait until mid summer - when Haswell comes out and hopefully the MBP lineup sees a respectable specs boost, ideally with more storage as default, 512Gb standard would be great.

 

[ssmed]

I have the current 15 cMBP with 16 GB RAM and the 13 rMBP with 8 GB RAM and use D800, D300 and D2H. The image size on the D800 makes a considerable difference to things and the larger machine is much smoother. Also if you intend to do more complicated manipulations in Photoshop the 15" will be better. Keeping you library size down is useful, but makes comprehensive searching more awkward.

I have 20 years of scanned and digital photographs in Aperture and have a large TB RAID to manage disk access. I have not gone for the library on the internal disk and images on the external which is considered to be helpful by some, but overall Aperture is slow and had fallen behind Lightroom. If it wasn't such a massive project I would consider moving over, but transferring libraries from Aperture to LR is not a quick and easy task.

HTH

P.S. Make sure you get the new firmware for your D800 which seems to be a good improvement.

 

[ShiggyMiyamoto]

I have the current 15 cMBP with 16 MB RAM and the 13 rMBP with 8 MB RAM and use D800, D300 and D2H. The image size on the D800 makes a considerable difference to things and the larger machine is much smoother. Also if you intend to do more complicated manipulations in Photoshop the 15" will be better. Keeping you library size down is useful, but makes comprehensive searching more awkward.

I have 20 years of scanned and digital photographs in Aperture and have a large TB RAID to manage disk access. I have not gone for the library on the internal disk and images on the external which is considered to be helpful by some, but overall Aperture is slow and had fallen behind Lightroom. If it wasn't such a massive project I would consider moving over, but transferring libraries from Aperture to LR is not a quick and easy task.

HTH

P.S. Make sure you get the new firmware for your D800 which seems to be a good improvement.

I think you mean 16 GB and 8 GB as what you posted would barely boot a modern OS these days.

 

[ssmed]

I think you mean 16 GB and 8 GB as what you posted would barely boot a modern OS these days.

Now edited -thanks

 

[ShiggyMiyamoto]

now edited -thanks

np.

 

[Krazy Bill]

when Haswell comes out and hopefully the MBP lineup sees a respectable specs boost

I'm thinking for base retina 13" (and waiting for haswell) or base Air 13" with 8GB of RAM (haswell).

You guys waiting for a refresh just because of Haswell are probably going to be underwhelmed. Sure, if you can wait then do so but I'd be almost tempted to skip it entirely.

 

[Aegelward]

You guys waiting for a refresh just because of Haswell are probably going to be underwhelmed. Sure, if you can wait then do so but I'd be almost tempted to skip it entirely.

Honestly it's not so much about the processor, i'm mostly hoping that with reduced SSD prices and a die shrink of GPUs Apple will introduce improved components.

512 Gb SSD standard in the 15" and a GT760m/HD8850M would be quite respectable chips to put into a refresh.

 

[Mercmanman]

I run a 15,000 picture aperture library on an i7 13"rMBP with 512gb ssd. Works perfectly well. When doing larger editing sessions, I use an external Thunderbolt Display for the room. Otherwise I run in 1680x1050 screen resolution.

My main library sits on my 2010 iMac at home with about 75,000 pictures. I will be moving it to a new 2013 iMac with ssd later in the year.

I would not get an MBA, as the processor is slower and it's fans kick on far more often than the rMBP. I just came from a 2012 i7 MBA.

Obviously 15" rMBP is faster, but I chose the 13" for portability. I travel a lot and the size difference matters to me

My camera is a canon 5DIII, so file size not quite as large as your D800.

 

[Krazy Bill]

I run a 15,000 picture aperture library on an i7 13"rMBP with 512gb ssd. Works perfectly well. When doing larger editing sessions, I use an external Thunderbolt Display for the room. Otherwise I run in 1680x1050 screen resolution.

We have similar setups and I use 5D3's. Except I use LR for most all post work.

I do recall managing large RAW files on a 2008 white "girly-book" years ago. Even then things were fine simply because I had no knowledge of what I was missing. Ignorance is truly bliss.

Having used both Aperture and LR, I'd say switching to LR was as big a speed improvement as changing machines. Mainly because I can stay out of bloated photoshop 90% of the time now.

 

[maxou17]

thanks to all, after reading all your posts, I have to say I am really tempted by transfering all my photos to Light Room.

I really want to buy a new laptop now, the rMBP 13" would be perfect with 16gb ram... but not available now. I think this will be a part of the next upgrade... I personally do not care much about Haswell, but 16gb ram would have been great.

Then I can still get the 15" rMBP... I am travelling to London in 1 week, so one more week to decide!

 

[IlikeMacsSoMuch]

thanks to all, after reading all your posts, I have to say I am really tempted by transfering all my photos to Light Room.

I really want to buy a new laptop now, the rMBP 13" would be perfect with 16gb ram... but not available now. I think this will be a part of the next upgrade... I personally do not care much about Haswell, but 16gb ram would have been great.

Then I can still get the 15" rMBP... I am travelling to London in 1 week, so one more week to decide!

Would you use an external monitor? If not go for the 15 inches with a quad core, when I buy a computer I have a 3 year rule: It has to suit my needs for 3 years without having to spend more money on it. It might sound stupid but considering how much a good computer cost, it has to last. Personaly, I think that a quad core is more future proof then a dual core. And probably a better resell value.

 

[maxou17]

Would you use an external monitor? If not go for the 15 inches with a quad core, when I buy a computer I have a 3 year rule: It has to suit my needs for 3 years without having to spend more money on it. It might sound stupid but considering how much a good computer cost, it has to last. Personaly, I think that a quad core is more future proof then a dual core. And probably a better resell value.

I could use an external monitor. I do not have one at the moment, but always thought about it. I could, then buy a 13" rMBP but again will it be enough for Aperture? will I see a big difference with my mb? it seems that everyone has a different opinion on the forum on whether or not the 13" rMBP is powerful enough vs the 15" rMBP to handle photo editing.

At the moment, my macbook is sometimes taking more than 30 seconds to open pictures in Aperture and to display them correctly, then editing them is quite slow as well! do you think the Adobe LR will be faster? if so, LR users: what are the downsides of LR vs Aperture 3?