Hey guys, I'm looking at buying a 13" mbp. My wife likes taking a lot of photos so space is an issue. If I was to get her the retina, the 128GB is my main issue. Should I just get her the only 13" non retina pro available since it comes with 500GB? How do you guys manage the small amount of space given on the low end retina? We are on a budget so our options are limited. She currently has a 15" pro but it's going on 4 years old and she's ready for a new comp. She wouldn't mind the 13" according to her. Thanks for the help.
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rMBP vs MBP 13" for wife
- Thread starter LaloG
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Photos will look amazing on the retina display.
Even with a high quality camera, photos will rarely need more than 10 MB each... so you are looking at about 5000 pictures before space will become an issue.
Also 1-3 TB external space is really cheap.
The only thing I would recommend on the rMBP is to grab the 8 GB RAM upgrade. If the budget allows, go for the $1499 model with 8 GB RAM/256 GB storage.
That is my recommendation. In my opinion the 13'' MBP (non-retina) is overpriced, unless you can get it for $999 from the education store.
Even with a high quality camera, photos will rarely need more than 10 MB each... so you are looking at about 5000 pictures before space will become an issue.
Also 1-3 TB external space is really cheap.
The only thing I would recommend on the rMBP is to grab the 8 GB RAM upgrade. If the budget allows, go for the $1499 model with 8 GB RAM/256 GB storage.
That is my recommendation. In my opinion the 13'' MBP (non-retina) is overpriced, unless you can get it for $999 from the education store.
I feel like its a waste of ssd disk space to have photos on it. As the poster above me stated, just get an external hd. USB 3 has great transfer speeds.
Go for the rMBP. You can get a 2.5/8/256 2012 rMBP, new or used, for under $1200, so look closely. I also would recommend against the 4GB ram option, too little.
cMBP could be upgraded for years to come. What is the issue with the 2009 15" MBP? Just the size? That 15" could fetch a pretty penny, and that $$$ could be put to a more future proof version of the rMBP.
maybe go for the 128G and a couple of these for the photos?
Integral 32GB Fusion USB 3 Flash Drive
There are supposed to be 64GB versions available but I've not seen any yet. 32GB available on amazon.
Note i haven't used one so i can't speak for performance
Integral 32GB Fusion USB 3 Flash Drive
There are supposed to be 64GB versions available but I've not seen any yet. 32GB available on amazon.
Note i haven't used one so i can't speak for performance
Go for the magnum usb3.0 256gb pen drive; it is super fast and lots of space, paid around $220 for them (bought 2 for wife and myself)
That's a conundrum. The new 13" rMBP is a really great machine (much better than the 2012 and early-2013 models), but space is an issue. I have a mid-2009 MBP with a replacement 500gb drive, and I barely used its space with about 4000 photos (13.5gb). I moved all of those photos and other files to my new rMBP with a 256gb drive, and it still takes up 13.5gb of drive space, so not that much. I suppose you can add another 5.5gb from iPhoto photos (mostly iPhone). I think iTunes music and school docs take up the bulk. In total I'm using about 150gb.
If she's not going to be taking the laptop out a lot, consider the base rMBP (possibly with the 8gb RAM upgrade) with a Time Capsule or some other external drives (I recommend Western Digital). The upgrade to flash storage alone is worth the higher price. The cMBP really hasn't changed at all, so it won't feel all that much better. Although I would personally recommend the 8gb RAM and 256gb storage configuration. Despite being a little more expensive, it's a great value for the specs, and you may not need the external drives.
If you do get the cMBP, know that you're getting outdated tech, but at the same time it's upgradable and overall a very solid machine. It's a fine option if it won't be leaving the house much (personal experience says that the internal parts fail when moved around a lot).
Have you considered the MacBook Air? It's slightly more affordable than the rMBP and has more modern internals than the cMBP (flash storage, Haswell processor, better graphics). The trade-off is the display compared to the rMBP.
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re the cMBP - if I was considering one of those, i'd be inclined to wait for the launch of the nMP in december, as I've seen some speculation that the Mini and the cMBP might be refreshed at the same time
Bought a rMBP for the wife. 13" 2.4/8/256
She really likes the retina so that she can multitask, and it looks really nice. She likes to have a video running in the background so that really cuts into the desktop space. But she really likes the retina.
As for space, buy an external to store all the photos, usb3 will be decently quick. So I'd recommend retina if you can.
She really likes the retina so that she can multitask, and it looks really nice. She likes to have a video running in the background so that really cuts into the desktop space. But she really likes the retina.
As for space, buy an external to store all the photos, usb3 will be decently quick. So I'd recommend retina if you can.
Haswell processor is unimportant here on everything but battery life. Apart from that Sandy through Haswell may as well be the same thing. It'll be faster than the 15", but not that much. The ssd is nice for loading times, assuming everything is on it. If there's a difference in memory, that will probably be noticeable. Graphics won't make a significant difference in the use mentioned, and they aren't going to be better. They'll probably be roughly the same. The HD 4600 may support newer frameworks, but it's unlikely to be significantly better in terms of hardware performance. The thing I really dislike about the air for someone with an interest in photos would be the viewing angles of that display.
You can have an iPhoto library on the drive and on the rMBP. You have to tell iPhoto which library to open.
How do you plan on backing up your photos on the external hard drive?
As you can see I'm pretty new at this... My plan is to get upgrade our wifi first with a time capsule and backup everything first. According to my wife her computer is almost out of space and it runs pretty slow. After that I was going to see how it's possible to move her currently library on to an external hd. She takes tons of photos and doesn't delete any of them until she has to.
I'd recommend the rMBP 13" 2.4/8/256
If 256gb ends up not being enough, get a USB 3.0 external drive, for transferring photos, this will be quick enough transfer speeds for your needs. I would not recommend the cMBP to anyone, I know the upgradeability is great, but the price is far too close to a rMBP which is much more tech for your money.
If money is an issue and that is pushing you towards a cMBP, then I would go for a 1-2 year old pre owned or refurb model as the new price is too high
If 256gb ends up not being enough, get a USB 3.0 external drive, for transferring photos, this will be quick enough transfer speeds for your needs. I would not recommend the cMBP to anyone, I know the upgradeability is great, but the price is far too close to a rMBP which is much more tech for your money.
If money is an issue and that is pushing you towards a cMBP, then I would go for a 1-2 year old pre owned or refurb model as the new price is too high
If you haven't already, why not upgrade to an SSD in the 2009 MBP, and also max out the ram. It will be like a new machine, relatively speaking.