Two Mac(Books) Too Much?

[Agent-P]

Now I'm contemplating a 13" rMBP because my "dream" device I guess would be a system light enough to take with me everywhere that could be docked when I get home to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard with the power to run VMs and photoshop.

The only thing is, a 13" rMBP just feels like a big compromise. Less portable than the new MacBook or an iPad, and less powerful than the 15" rMBP. But I just don't want to end up like Freyqq and have a system that's rarely used.

If you are able to wait, I would say to see what Apple does with the 13" rMBP once the Skylake processors are available. It's possible at that point the 13" model could be as powerful as you need it to be while still having the smaller form factor. That could make it your ideal laptop.

 

[newellj]

Now I'm contemplating a 13" rMBP because my "dream" device I guess would be a system light enough to take with me everywhere that could be docked when I get home to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard with the power to run VMs and photoshop.

I've owned a lot of notebooks over the years and, as I've posted, I walk four miles a day and have an hour round trip train ride with my 13" rMBP. Sure, I'm toying with the idea of a rMB as a commuting/work personal secondary laptop, but that may never actually happen, and if it doesn't the truth is I'll be extremely happy with this rMBP. I think you could do a lot worse, even with the current models.

 

[Traverse]

If you are able to wait, I would say to see what Apple does with the 13" rMBP once the Skylake processors are available. It's possible at that point the 13" model could be as powerful as you need it to be while still having the smaller form factor. That could make it your ideal laptop.

How much a performance boost is Skylake supposed to bring?

 

[Agent-P]

How much a performance boost is Skylake supposed to bring?

Intel hasn't released hard numbers yet on what to look forward to, but based on Intel's past history with processors Skylake is supposed to be big. They follow a Tick-Tock schedule and the "Tock" chips always had the bigger performance gains (e.g. Sandy Bridge, Haswell, Skylake).

 

[KUguardgrl13]

For me I can say that it is too much to have two, but I didn't expect to have both my Macs, and they're very similar. I got my mid-2009 13" MBP for college and had to replace it with a late-2013 13" rMBP when I thought it was dying. Then I succeeded in resurrecting it for a friend to borrow temporarily. Now that I have it back it's basically where I store my iTunes movies and and access a SuperDrive when I need one. Most of the time it's shutdown. I can't really use it for school anymore because the SATA cable shorts out when I put it in my backpack with a bunch of books. My iPad Mini is actually a better complement to my rMBP since it's mostly consumption with a little schoolwork capability while the rMBP is where I get most of my work done.

I think if my Macs weren't so similar I'd find a use case for both. Like an iMac would be a perfect place to store my photos and other things I don't need on the rMBP. With the SATA cable issue and its age, I can't trust my older MBP to safely store anything without duplicate storage on an external drive.

 

[GrandPhrase]

Though this is more aimed at people with two MacBooks, it also relates to people who have a Mac desktop and a MacBook. I am debating getting the new MacBook as a portable complement to my 15” rMBP which stays docked at home much of the time.

- I wonder if owning two MacBooks would be too redundant.

- I considered selling my rMBP and getting an iMac and a rMB, but then two Macs seem redundant.

- Then I considered selling my 15” rMBP and getting a maxed out 13” rMBP, but I hate to lose the extra processing power.

- Of course I could just get an iPad instead of the rMB.


I know it comes down to preference/may choice, but hearing feedback from others helps. Do you use two Macs? Do you find it redundant? Is it annoying to keep them in-sync?

Thank you.
~ Traverse

Hey, just wanted to jump in the thread as I recently came across the same problem as you recently. What did it come down to for you ? And are you happy/satisfied with your choice ?

 

[Traverse]

Hey, just wanted to jump in the thread as I recently came across the same problem as you recently. What did it come down to for you ? And are you happy/satisfied with your choice ?

I actually decided against the purchase of the MacBook. If I was going to have two mobile devices, I'd rather one be an iPad and the other a MacBook so that I get the benefit of both OSes and forms.

I would rather have one machine with all of my information so that I don't have to worry about two backups, constant data sync (iTunes) for files not in Dropbox, etc. I can see the merits of two computers, but I guess I'd rather have one computer as home base and then an accessory (iPad) vs two home basis.

Now I'm waiting for a rMB with 1TB of storage!

NOTE: there are times where it would be convenient though. My 15" is docked all the time and it would be so much simpler to be able to just snatch up a rMB to take with me on quick trips to have an "anywhere office" because an iPad can't do everything I want. It comes down to whether the inconvenience of docking and undocking a larger computer outweighs the benefits of having a thin-light always ready computer. For me, it didn't. You'd have to weight the pros and cons.

I think Apple's future makes having just one computer even more practical: I'm excitedly awaiting the near future where I can come home with my rMB, plug in just ONE cable and run it in clamshell to my external monitor(s), speakers, and bluetooth accessors via Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C. Right now, I have to hook and unhook 5 cables, so less seamless.