URGENT: 13 inch Haswell Retina MacBook Pro 2.6GHz vs 2.8GHz

[boombox15]

Hi everyone

I want to buy a 13 inch Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD. But with the $1799 version having a 2.6GHz processor, I am wondering if that will be enough for my needs.

The things I would do on the computer

Use all of the pre-loaded apps
Download More from the Mac App Store
Store photos in iPhoto
Edit photos in Aperture
Make movies in iMovie and export movies
Use iWork for making documents

Would I be fine with the 2.6GHz? Or should I do 2.8GHz? I have no idea how they differ in speeds and I will only go for 2.8GHz if I REALLY need it

I have a 27 inch iMac coming soon with a 3.2GHz Quad-Core i5, but I must stick to the 13 inch for portability purposes

 

[adjohan]

Hi everyone

I want to buy a 13 inch Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD. But with the $1799 version having a 2.6GHz processor, I am wondering if that will be enough for my needs.

The things I would do on the computer

Use all of the pre-loaded apps
Download More from the Mac App Store
Store photos in iPhoto
Edit photos in Aperture
Make movies in iMovie and export movies
Use iWork for making documents

Would I be fine with the 2.6GHz? Or should I do 2.8GHz? I have no idea how they differ in speeds and I will only go for 2.8GHz if I REALLY need it

I have a 27 inch iMac coming soon with a 3.2GHz Quad-Core i5, but I must stick to the 13 inch for portability purposes

Ummm… you have a 27-inch iMac with a 3.2GHz Quad-Core coming in? That is seriously a powerful computer which could handle everything you mentioned fast and efficiently. If you really need something with portability, maybe you should check out the Macbook Air?

http://www.macworld.com/article/204...13-holds-its-own-against-the-macbook-pro.html

 

[yjchua95]

Hi everyone

I want to buy a 13 inch Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD. But with the $1799 version having a 2.6GHz processor, I am wondering if that will be enough for my needs.

The things I would do on the computer

Use all of the pre-loaded apps
Download More from the Mac App Store
Store photos in iPhoto
Edit photos in Aperture
Make movies in iMovie and export movies
Use iWork for making documents

Would I be fine with the 2.6GHz? Or should I do 2.8GHz? I have no idea how they differ in speeds and I will only go for 2.8GHz if I REALLY need it

I have a 27 inch iMac coming soon with a 3.2GHz Quad-Core i5, but I must stick to the 13 inch for portability purposes

Trolololol....even a 2.4GHz would be fine for your needs, although I suggest at least 8GB of RAM.

 

[maflynn]

Would I be fine with the 2.6GHz? Or should I do 2.8GHz? I have no idea how they differ in speeds and I will only go for 2.8GHz if I REALLY need it

The 2.6HGz will be more then enough for your intended purposes. If the iMac will be your main machine for doing the majority of work, then consider a less expensive rMBP such as the 2.4GHz or even a MBA (though it does not have the retina screen)

 

[zI INFINITY Iz]

I've been investigating the performance difference between these two options as well. Here is one of the nicer comparisons I found:

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Core-i7-4558U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-4288U

2.6GHz = 4288U
2.8GHz = 4558U

They both get a 7,4 overall.

Single core performance,
- the 2.8GHz gets a 9,2/10
- the 2.6GHz gets a 9,1/10
(tiny difference, not worth the extra 200 dollar upgrade)

Multi core performance,
- the 2.8GHz gets a 7,2/10
- the 2.6GHz gets a 7,3/10 (it even scores higher)

They are very close in performance. The 2.8GHz might be a bit better, but usually the difference is 0-5% max. If you scroll down a bit more on that page, you see the differences they list between the processors. The 2.6GHz gives you about 60% better performance/per dollar wise.

Personally, I would go for the 2.6GHz, since that seems like a worthy upgrade over the 2.4GHz and it's not that expensive. But I wouldn't go for the 2.8GHz, it's a tiny-small improvement for that much money. If you are taking the 2.8GHz upgrade, your overall price for the machine will probably get close to the base 15" rMBP, which comes with the 4750HQ.

 

[Windows&Apple]

Dude, if you use most of the App Store apps, you can get away with a MacBook Air. So, the 2.4 would be fine. If you need the 512GB, just buy the regular one you get in store, you won't need to wait and you won't be disappointed.

 

[GSPice]

lol @ $$$$$ for MHz

 

[boombox15]

Ok, the differences in the processor are clearly marginal, if any. I'll go with the 2.6Ghz

But, at the same price, I can upgrade to 16GB. That might be worth it, but with my uses, should I be fine with 8GB of RAM or should I do the upgrade to 16GB?

My 27 inch iMac due to arrive later this week has 8GB of RAM, but may upgrade that in the future, and I will only keep the MacBook Pro and iMac until the new models come out in 2014.

 

[GSPice]

For design apps, ram is king. I changed my mind about getting the high end processor because performance difference was marginal, and it doesn't hold its value proportionately to the base CPU.

 

[leman]

Any of the laptops Apple currently sells will be more then enough for your needs.