What specifications in the 15 inch MBP do I need?

[mfouks]

Hi-just wonderng which MBP I should go for- i.e top of the line or something less? I will be using it mainly for lightroom and photoshop. The files that I process are huge ( i.e. Nikon D800). It will be used for travel purposes which is a fair amount. I think I am better off with the more powerful 15inch but maybe the 13inch would be good enough? I would like to keep the machine for 2 1/5 to 3 years.

Thank you for any help you can offer- I am not very technical when it comes to specs.

Marsha

 

[spork183]

Hi-just wonderng which MBP I should go for- i.e top of the line or something less? I will be using it mainly for lightroom and photoshop. The files that I process are huge ( i.e. Nikon D800). It will be used for travel purposes which is a fair amount. I think I am better off with the more powerful 15inch but maybe the 13inch would be good enough? I would like to keep the machine for 2 1/5 to 3 years.

Thank you for any help you can offer- I am not very technical when it comes to specs.

Marsha

Really? 2 1/5? Are you sure you didn't mean 2 1/7 or 2.38?

Seriously, it comes down to money. If you can afford the 15 and you'll be happy with the size traveling, go with it. Either way, with what you are describing, I'd go with a ram upgrade.

 

[Freyqq]

The ram upgrade for sure to 16GB. For heavy photowork, the more ram the better. The bigger SSD could also be useful depending on how many photos you need on your drive at one time. However, I'd suggest getting an external USB 3.0 hard drive for the overflow instead because it is a lot cheaper; just keep current projects on the SSD.

 

[mfouks]

sorry I meant to say 2 1/2 to 3 years. For sure I will go for the ram upgrade. Can you upgrade these machines to 32 or just 16?
Do I need the 2.8 processor?
Thanks.

Marsha

Really? 2 1/5? Are you sure you didn't mean 2 1/7 or 2.38?

Seriously, it comes down to money. If you can afford the 15 and you'll be happy with the size traveling, go with it. Either way, with what you are describing, I'd go with a ram upgrade.

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thanks- for sure I will go for the 16GB -not sure if you can upgrade to 32GB or not. Not sure about the processor but I think I will go for the bigger SSD and use an external drive for backup as I will be away for about six weeks.

Marsha

The ram upgrade for sure to 16GB. For heavy photowork, the more ram the better. The bigger SSD could also be useful depending on how many photos you need on your drive at one time. However, I'd suggest getting an external USB 3.0 hard drive for the overflow instead because it is a lot cheaper; just keep current projects on the SSD.

 

[runebinder]

If it's going to be used for photo work and travelling then I'd say go for the Retina if you can afford it, the screen is great for photo editing and having come from a standard 15" to a Retina the weight difference is worth it for carrying about.

RAM is more important on a Retina the max is 16GB, not sure if 32GB is possible atm on the standard as I'm not aware of anyone selling 16GB DDR3 SODIMM RAM. You'll definitely need an external for the photos, I've got a 1TB USB 3 Seagate Back Up Plus and that's fairly quick.

If you can afford it I'd go for the 2.7GHz/16GB/512GB model, should be more than enough for your needs.

 

[snaky69]

sorry I meant to say 2 1/2 to 3 years. For sure I will go for the ram upgrade. Can you upgrade these machines to 32 or just 16?
Do I need the 2.8 processor?
Thanks.

Marsha



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thanks- for sure I will go for the 16GB -not sure if you can upgrade to 32GB or not. Not sure about the processor but I think I will go for the bigger SSD and use an external drive for backup as I will be away for about six weeks.

Marsha

The processor upgrade is minimal and not worth the money unless every second counts when you're doing your photo editing.

Upgrade through a third party RAM vendor if you are not going to buy a retina, you'll save quite a bit of money, 16GB can be had for roughly $70 these days compared to what, $200 from Apple?

You cannot get 32GB in that laptop, as nobody makes 16GB SO-DIMMs yet. When they do, according to intel's chipset documentation, it will be supported though. Since RAM is soldered in on the retina, you're stuck with whatever you bought, so buy as much as you can.

 

[alphaod]

I would definitely get the 15" as screen real estate is everything. It's also a lot faster than the 13" model.

Max out the RAM, which shouldn't be an issue as the higher end channel configuration now includes that by default.

I'm using about 100GB for 3800 files, so personally I think the 256GB SSD is too small to be practical for on-the-go use since carrying an external all of the time sort of defeats the point of having an ultraportable laptop computer. 512GB should be good enough for most uses depending on your workload. 768GB upgrade is of course excellent, but quite expensive.

As I already mentioned, the top channel configuration (that's non-BTO) sold as the 2.7GHz/16GB/512GB model should be sufficient for your needs.

If price is no object, I would max it out (but then I don't know why you would even ask us). Since you said you might be out of an extended period of time, you may have to carry an external.

Good luck.

 

[PAPO]

imo if you're doing major photoshop work with the D800 I'd spec up everything you can afford on it with the 15" the D800 can pump out some HUGE files so you will NEED the ram more than anything and if you want to keep it for anywhere near 3 years you will really want every other boost you can get

that said, at this point in the life cycle I'd suggest waiting for haswel if you want 3 years out of it, and with any luck haswel might support more ram

 

[alphaod]

imo if you're doing major photoshop work with the D800 I'd spec up everything you can afford on it with the 15" the D800 can pump out some HUGE files so you will NEED the ram more than anything and if you want to keep it for anywhere near 3 years you will really want every other boost you can get

that said, at this point in the life cycle I'd suggest waiting for haswel if you want 3 years out of it, and with any luck haswel might support more ram

I've never had any issues with my D800 RAW files with 16GB of RAM. The 2.3GHz processor in the first release rMBP is more than fast enough for processor the files, let alone the current 2.7GHz top channel configuration processor.

Hell, I have a Windows 8 slate running an i5 dual core LV processor with only 4GB of RAM and I'm doing fine.

 

[PAPO]

I've never had any issues with my D800 RAW files with 16GB of RAM. The 2.3GHz processor in the first release rMBP is more than fast enough for processor the files, let alone the current 2.7GHz top channel configuration processor.

Hell, I have a Windows 8 slate running an i5 dual core LV processor with only 4GB of RAM and I'm doing fine.

he also wants to try and keep it for 3 years so the rest is more for longevity

 

[alphaod]

he also wants to try and keep it for 3 years so the rest is more for longevity

IMO, 5% difference in CPU performance isn't really going to make a difference in 3 years time. In a few years, that $250 saved can spent on upgrading say that 6 months earlier. Maybe put that towards AppleCare?

…or a new 128GB Lexar 1000x CF card

 

[spork183]

sorry I meant to say 2 1/2 to 3 years. For sure I will go for the ram upgrade. Can you upgrade these machines to 32 or just 16?
Do I need the 2.8 processor?

Marsha

Are you looking at the retina, or standard? Either one maxes out with the 2.7 i7. If you go with the standard, you can save some money with a slower i7 (not going to make a tremendous difference), and add the ram yourself to 16gb (really easy upgrade). You also get the superdrive, which may or may not be a necessity for you. One other potential advantage is the BTO antiglare hires screen. NOT as good as the retina, but not bad either, and a relatively cheap upgrade. Really cuts glare.

The Retina has that beautiful screen, but if you need a superdrive, you end up lugging an external around. Retina is also thinner and lighter, but you can't upgrade the ram, so max it out from the beginning. Best of luck, and make sure you send it to me when the 3years is up...

 

[mfouks]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I will go with a maxed out Retina. I already have a superdrive.

Marsha

Are you looking at the retina, or standard? Either one maxes out with the 2.7 i7. If you go with the standard, you can save some money with a slower i7 (not going to make a tremendous difference), and add the ram yourself to 16gb (really easy upgrade). You also get the superdrive, which may or may not be a necessity for you. One other potential advantage is the BTO antiglare hires screen. NOT as good as the retina, but not bad either, and a relatively cheap upgrade. Really cuts glare.

The Retina has that beautiful screen, but if you need a superdrive, you end up lugging an external around. Retina is also thinner and lighter, but you can't upgrade the ram, so max it out from the beginning. Best of luck, and make sure you send it to me when the 3years is up...

 

[theuserjohnny]

I don't think you need to go maxed out just get a base and then upgrade the RAM to 16GB most of the work can be done through your GPU with OpenCL for your photography.

 

[spork183]

I don't think you need to go maxed out just get a base and then upgrade the RAM to 16GB most of the work can be done through your GPU with OpenCL for your photography.

Unless she is really handy with a soldering iron, she won't be upgrading the ram in the MBP retina anytime soon. She has to max it out from apple. That model is non-user upgradeable.

 

[spork183]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I think I will go with a maxed out Retina. I already have a superdrive.

Marsha

btw-you were right on the 2.8 vs 2.7 I didn't see the bto upgrade on the topend retina...

 

[theuserjohnny]

Unless she is really handy with a soldering iron, she won't be upgrading the ram in the MBP retina anytime soon. She has to max it out from apple. That model is non-user upgradeable.

Well I knew that I mean go baseline with everything and just upgrade the RAM to 16GB. However, based on my wording I can see why you thought I meant upgrade the RAM later on.

 

[RealEyes]

Get the best you can afford. As close to ultimate as possible.