rMBP 13" Processing Power

[slackmachine]

I'm a photographer who currently uses a 2011 iMac i5 (quad core of course) and 20gb of RAM. I need a new laptop, and I'm wondering if I should get an air to supplement the iMac or just replace the iMac with the 13". The 15" is too large to be an option.
So how does the speed of my iMac i5 (quad + 20gb Ram) compare to a 13" retina (dual core + 16gb RAM)
Is the 13" powerful enough to replace my desktop, edit heavy raw images and often hook up to an external display?
Thanks!

 

[Steve121178]

Is the 13" powerful enough to replace my desktop, edit heavy raw images and often hook up to an external display?

Yep.

 

[Agnoslibertine]

I just got the macbook retina 13.
I mostly edit videos with final cut pro on my mac mini that has a quad core (i7). and I can tell that the 13 is not as powerful when it comes to exporting. (still am rather impressed with the power, i can definitely edit on this machine.

I haven't worked with raw photo editing yet, so I can't help you there. but to give you a idea, when it comes to processing power, the rMBP 15 is probably better.

 

[slackmachine]

I just got the macbook retina 13.
I mostly edit videos with final cut pro on my mac mini that has a quad core (i7). and I can tell that the 13 is not as powerful when it comes to exporting. (still am rather impressed with the power, i can definitely edit on this machine.

I haven't worked with raw photo editing yet, so I can't help you there. but to give you a idea, when it comes to processing power, the rMBP 15 is probably better.

How much slower would you say it is? Are you running 16gb and the 2.3ghz i5?