The 13" MBP isn't really "pro?"

[Orlandoech]

This thinking that devices marketed with a "Pro" moniker are ACTUALLY necessarily professional grade needs to stop.

They CAN be, but it doesn't mean that they are.

Next you're going to be telling me that the Beats Pro is a headphone for "professionals."

Beats by Dre = overpriced garbage

 

[zuckuss00]

I was recently shopping for a new MacBook a couple months ago and chose a 13" MBP over a MBA and a 15" rMBP for a few reasons.

First, I'm a college student. I feel the 13" MBP is the ideal size computer to carry around from classes. The 15" is just to large and the MBA, in my opinion, is just too nimble and not powerful enough to do what I need. I backed away from the rMBP because of the price and the fact that I have no real need for such a high resolution display. Also I do not like the fact that the MBA and rMBP are not expandable and lack a ODD, which I do need from time to time. However, the most important reason I declined to purchase either is because, the fact that if anything was the happen to the computer, I myself would be unable to work on a rMBP or MBA.

This 13" MBP was just ideal for my needs. The 2.8 GHz i7 is more than powerful enough and I already upgraded the RAM and installed a Samsung 830 SSD. This machine is plenty fast enough. Not to mention I save A LOT of money by picking up a Late 2011 model 13" instead of the Mid 2012 rMBP I was prepared to purchase if I wanted.

Also, I understand buying a 15" MBP or rMBP for photo editing or video rendering. However, the people that buy those $2000+ machines to browse the internet and watch movies are just sort of stupid or just have the need to be trendy.

 

[Sound Evolution]

A tool or computer is "pro" when the user makes it's money with it and it serves him.

I think a real "pro" can survive with any kind of tool, however better/faster tools will benefit workflow.

 

[logicpro7]

I think the 2012 base 13"mbp is great and i would regard it as a 'Pro' model as it can be upgraded cheaply and easily.

I use mine for extreme Logic Pro and Final Cut work. I have only upgraded the memory atm to 16gb, but will be adding a Samsung 256gb 830 in the next two weeks. I will re locate my 500gb Momentus XT to where the dvd drive is, so it should be super quick!

The base 13" with 16gb memory and a Samsung 256gb 830 will stand me at £900 with a 3 year warranty, im happy!

 

[AppleBoyFreak]

The reason I'm getting a 13" MacBook Pro is because of the storage. 128GB isn't big enough for almost anyone, but 500GB is big enough. Plus my dad, the one who will be buying it for me, strongly dislikes the Air and the components on the inside for some reason. Also, am I the only one that likes thicker devices? Like my first smart phone was a Pantech Duo and I loved te thickness on it.

 

[Abazigal]

I am inclined to agree with the OP - I think people tend to choose the pro over the air either because they think the air is the apple version of a netbook or believe the pro is more powerful in comparison.

Yes, the pro can be a beefier workhorse machine if you manually upgrade to 16gb ram and replace the ODD with a SSD, but I am betting the majority of people are not willing to do this, or just plain can't be bothered, and it seems to kinda defeat the point of "It just works".

 

[racer1441]

Pro means more than video production.

 

[logicpro7]

Pro means more than video production.

Tell us more.

 

[ljonesj]

i am one of those odd people i use an optical drive almost daily sometimes and there are times its weeks me i like a machine that has everything in it rather than having to buy adapters or the optical drive seperate and having to keep up with everything

 

[rockyroad55]

I was recently shopping for a new MacBook a couple months ago and chose a 13" MBP over a MBA and a 15" rMBP for a few reasons.

First, I'm a college student. I feel the 13" MBP is the ideal size computer to carry around from classes. The 15" is just to large and the MBA, in my opinion, is just too nimble and not powerful enough to do what I need. I backed away from the rMBP because of the price and the fact that I have no real need for such a high resolution display. Also I do not like the fact that the MBA and rMBP are not expandable and lack a ODD, which I do need from time to time. However, the most important reason I declined to purchase either is because, the fact that if anything was the happen to the computer, I myself would be unable to work on a rMBP or MBA.

This 13" MBP was just ideal for my needs. The 2.8 GHz i7 is more than powerful enough and I already upgraded the RAM and installed a Samsung 830 SSD. This machine is plenty fast enough. Not to mention I save A LOT of money by picking up a Late 2011 model 13" instead of the Mid 2012 rMBP I was prepared to purchase if I wanted.

Also, I understand buying a 15" MBP or rMBP for photo editing or video rendering. However, the people that buy those $2000+ machines to browse the internet and watch movies are just sort of stupid or just have the need to be trendy.

How is it stupid that they buy the machine for the Internet and such? I plan on buying a retina soon and I'm mainly going to be doing homework and playing games here and there. However, for some like me, it's going to be a desktop replacement and a 13" will not suffice for that.

 

[njean777]

I believe if apple wanted to, they could fit a dedicated gpu in the 13in pro. Of course the price would go up, but then you have the excuse to call it a pro.


Lose the disc drive, make it retina, put in a Dgpu. Then you have a reason to buy a MBP over an air.

 

[gngan]

How is it stupid that they buy the machine for the Internet and such? I plan on buying a retina soon and I'm mainly going to be doing homework and playing games here and there. However, for some like me, it's going to be a desktop replacement and a 13" will not suffice for that.

Didn't he said why it's stupid? I agree that a lot of people buy the high end MBP because they can rather than they need.

If the spec on a 13'' is enough for someone's needs then i don't see why they need 15'' because you can always connect to a bigger screen. Not saying that getting a 15''/17'' is stupid because not all people plan to get a external monitor, people will need better spec and is okay to carry around a 15''/17'' laptop.

 

[rockyroad55]

Didn't he said why it's stupid? I agree that a lot of people buy the high end MBP because they can rather than they need.

If the spec on a 13'' is enough for someone's needs then i don't see why they need 15'' because you can always connect to a bigger screen. Not saying that getting a 15''/17'' is stupid because not all people plan to get a external monitor, people will need better spec and is okay to carry around a 15''/17'' laptop.

I know what he said, I read the post so don't assume that I didn't.

Some may not want to always hook up to a larger screen. It's nice to have the extra real estate in and away from home. And cmon, you can't say having the retina isn't fun

 

[zuckuss00]

How is it stupid that they buy the machine for the Internet and such? I plan on buying a retina soon and I'm mainly going to be doing homework and playing games here and there. However, for some like me, it's going to be a desktop replacement and a 13" will not suffice for that.

I just couldn't justify spending $2200+ on a computer unless I absolutely had a need for the additional hardware specs. Again, if I edited or rendered material, then a rMBP would be ideal. However, those people who buy it just to browse the internet and do other minor things a computer 1/3 of that cost can do just as well, are stupid. They are buying a rMBP for other reasons than a justifiable need.

Also, If you think you can play games well on a laptop computer, especially a MacBook, you've got another time coming. They are not gaming machines, invest in a desktop if that's your intentions.

 

[rockyroad55]

I just couldn't justify spending $2200+ on a computer unless I absolutely had a need for the additional hardware specs. Again, if I edited or rendered material, then a rMBP would be ideal. However, those people who buy it just to browse the internet and do other minor things a computer 1/3 of that cost can do just as well, are stupid. They are buying a rMBP for other reasons than a justifiable need.

Also, If you think you can play games well on a laptop computer, especially a MacBook, you've got another time coming. They are not gaming machines, invest in a desktop if that's your intentions.

You can play BF3 and MW3 on a MBP (OC and change voltage on card), but my desktop rig is nice for that. I understand and respect your opinion, but a retina MBP is a tad overkill. Might be better to get a MBA and Thunderbolt display?

 

[zuckuss00]

You can play BF3 and MW3 on a MBP (OC and change voltage on card), but my desktop rig is nice for that. I understand and respect your opinion, but a retina MBP is a tad overkill. Might be better to get a MBA and Thunderbolt display?

My friend has a a rMBP (2.6/16/256) and we installed Steam on the Windows partition just to see how well the machine could handle games. It can render MW3 on high settings, however the get a playable FPS, we had to lower it to Medium/Low settings. We also tried Skyrim, which was completely unplayable on any settings... and those games are considered relativity old now. For gaming, stick to a desktop PC. MacBooks are just not meant for it.

 

[T5BRICK]

I skimmed through the thread and I don't think this has been said.

The equipment doesn't make the user "pro." The user makes the equipment "pro." A professional photographer doesn't always take his best pictures with a $5000 DSLR, sometimes a camera phone will do the trick. On the other hand, a high end tool is nothing if the user lacks the experience to correctly use it.

Pro is just a bit of marketing, just like "turbo-boost" on the current Intel CPUs(i.e. the chips don't really have turbos.)

 

[hellstorm12345]

My friend has a a rMBP (2.6/16/256) and we installed Steam on the Windows partition just to see how well the machine could handle games. It can render MW3 on high settings, however the get a playable FPS, we had to lower it to Medium/Low settings. We also tried Skyrim, which was completely unplayable on any settings... and those games are considered relativity old now. For gaming, stick to a desktop PC. MacBooks are just not meant for it.

What resolution were you playing at? Of course it's going to be unplayable if you are using 2880x1800.

Check out: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html

The 650m can easily play on high on MW3 and Skyrim. It's equivalent to a GTX 560m in some 2011 Asus ROG gaming laptops. If overclocked, it can top even the 6970m in the 27 inch iMac. I would say for the thinness and weight of the Macbook Pro retinas, it is very impressive.

 

[Rockoar]

The 13'' MBP is considerably cheaper than the 13'' MBA. What I don't like of the MBA is its planned obsolescence smell, you're stuck with what you get at time of purchase and there's anything you can upgrade later on if you feel you need to. Plus, you have to spend a lot of money buying accessories for it. I will admit that its form factor and weight are very attractive but the 13'' MBP isn't ugly at all.

 

[terraphantm]

I just couldn't justify spending $2200+ on a computer unless I absolutely had a need for the additional hardware specs. Again, if I edited or rendered material, then a rMBP would be ideal. However, those people who buy it just to browse the internet and do other minor things a computer 1/3 of that cost can do just as well, are stupid. They are buying a rMBP for other reasons than a justifiable need.

Also, If you think you can play games well on a laptop computer, especially a MacBook, you've got another time coming. They are not gaming machines, invest in a desktop if that's your intentions.

I personally wanted something that had similar specs to my desktop (Core i7 @ 3.8GHz, Radeon 5870, 12GB RAM). I also wanted the super high res screen. The vast majority of the time I'm not doing anything particularly demanding on the laptop, but for the 5% of the time I do, I'm glad I have the extra power.

It's just like owning a powerful car. The vast majority of time I could probably get by on something that makes 160hp. But for when I do need it, I'm really glad that my engine produces 340hp.


Really, how many things do we all own that we actually need? Even a professional can get by on a much lesser laptop than the rMBP.

 

[iMacFarlane]

There are plenty of people who just want a Macbook, and the 13" Pro is all that they could ask for. It's the cheapest option (disregarding 11" MBA) and puts up a good fight. Plus there are probably people who prefer it's form factor.

Exactly this. For what I do and what I needed in a laptop at the moment, the base 13" pro hit the spot, and hasn't stopped impressing me yet. Am I easily impressed? No, but I guess it's not important for me to render 58 petapixels per second or to access files so quickly that a singularity forms every time I check my bank account. My little MBP does it's thing, and I'm happy with it.

But don't get me wrong, I'm putting more RAM in this thing right away. Maybe then it'll at least bend light.

 

[axu539]

The 13'' MBP is considerably cheaper than the 13'' MBA. What I don't like of the MBA is its planned obsolescence smell, you're stuck with what you get at time of purchase and there's anything you can upgrade later on if you feel you need to. Plus, you have to spend a lot of money buying accessories for it. I will admit that its form factor and weight are very attractive but the 13'' MBP isn't ugly at all.

In all fairness, equally specced (with SSD), the Pro isn't that much cheaper. I agree with the "planned obsolescence" feeling, but I think this is a trend that will be unavoidable. By the time next gen comes around, I don't foresee Apple having any more user-upgradable notebooks, or even desktops except for POSSIBLY a new Mac Pro, assuming they don't just kill it off. In my opinion, the sacrifice is worth it for the form-factor improvements, but I'm also someone who sells off the old model to upgrade almost yearly at very minimal loss. For those planning to keep the machines for 3-4 years, the regular MBPs make a lot more sense.

 

[throAU]

not all pro work (well, "work" which is what the pros are aimed at, the air is a consumer device) needs dGPU

however, most pro work DOES need RAM and disk (whether or not it needs dGPU, if you need that, 15" for you)

the 13" MBP has both.

No, a 256gb SSD is not enough.

You can stick a 512GB SSD (larger, when they come out, and swapping it out is fully supported by apple, unlike on the air), 16gb of ram and a 1tb+ spinning disk in the optibay of a 13" pro.

No air comes close.

 

[axu539]

not all pro work needs dGPU

however, most pro work needs RAM and disk (whether or not it needs dGPU, if you need that, 15" for you)

the 13" MBP has both.

No, a 256gb SSD is not enough.

You can stick a 512GB SSD (larger, when they come out, and swapping it out is fully supported by apple, unlike on the air), 16gb of ram and a 1tb+ spinning disk in the optibay of a 13" pro.

No air comes close.

I would disagree that you need more than 256 GB for all professional work. In fact, I would highly recommend against sticking a 1 TB spinning disk drive in notebooks, since it's just dangerous to be carrying that much data around in a mobile machine (my 1 TB drive failed after 3 months, just taking the machine to class and using it normally, no physical drops or anything). It's too easily damaged or lost. I'd see having a large Thunderbolt RAID drive at a workstation, and a good 512 GB as the storage in the computer. After all, you really only need your working files with you at any point. I will wholeheartedly agree that pretty much any professional computer use definitely will need as much RAM as possible, and dGPU is overrated unless you are specifically a graphics professional.

 

[terraphantm]

not all pro work (well, "work" which is what the pros are aimed at, the air is a consumer device) needs dGPU

however, most pro work DOES need RAM and disk (whether or not it needs dGPU, if you need that, 15" for you)

the 13" MBP has both.

No, a 256gb SSD is not enough.

You can stick a 512GB SSD (larger, when they come out, and swapping it out is fully supported by apple, unlike on the air), 16gb of ram and a 1tb+ spinning disk in the optibay of a 13" pro.

No air comes close.

If your work is such that you don't need an ODD and a 256GB SSD is sufficient (or you're willing to get the 480GB from OWC), then what's wrong with the air? I could see the higher resolution screen being helpful to some.

Let's not forget that all Apple laptops use consumer grade components, whether they're macbook pros or not. Workstation laptops from other manufacturers will at least typically include Xeons and Quadro/FireGL graphics cards.