HELP!! ASAP!?!? Should I switch my 13" MBP for 15" MBP?

Question

HELP!! ASAP!?!? Should I switch my 13" MBP for 15" MBP?

I have 13" MBP with 2.9Ghz, 8GB, and Intel HD Graphics 4000 512MB. My MBP also has BOOTCAMP installed. My sister got the 15" MBP, 2.3GHz, 4GB, and Intel HD Graphics 4000 384 MB a few weeks after me, which also includes BOOTCAMP. She decided to swtich laptops with me and I'm trying to see if that would be the better choice. I plan on cleaning all the files off both laptops, while keeping BOOTCAMP, and switch them. I need to know by THURS. JULY 11, 2013. SO I NEED HELP ASAP!!!!

I use my MBP for a lot of things since I have a lot of hobbies and it hasn't given me any trouble.

My Hobbies are:

Photography
Producing/Recording Music
Creating Videos
Playing Video Games
Watching Online Movies
I am also a College Student studying Business Management.

The programs and games that I use are:

PS Lightroom
PhotoShop
Virtual DJ
Logic Pro
Final Cut Pro
Sims 3
Garageband
Netflix

I also do a lot of web surfing. Most of my school work is done on the Windows Vista side so I'm not to worried about that. My key thing is if I switch to the 15", I want to make sure that I will have enough memory space for all of my photos, music, videos, etc. If you could help me out, that would be great!!!

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jul 9, 2013 9:25 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

clintonfrombirmingham

Level 7

30,100 points

Jul 9, 2013 9:28 PM in response to GrizzyGrizzle

The 15" is more powerful and should suit your needs better than the 13". I would, were I you, upgrade the RAM and possibly the hard drive.

Clinton

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Answer 2

Jul 9, 2013 9:31 PM in response to GrizzyGrizzle

GrizzyGrizzle wrote:

My key thing is if I switch to the 15", I want to make sure that I will have enough memory space for all of my photos, music, videos, etc.

It's impossible for anyone to answer that but you, since you know the amount of things you already have on it, and plans you may have to add more. Storage isn't really an issue since you can upgrade the hard drive after anyway. For the applications you use, I'd get the 15" and upgrade to 8gb ram. The 15" model has 2 graphics cards, the 13" only one.

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Answer 3

Jul 9, 2013 9:33 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

Thanks a lot!!

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Answer 4

Jul 9, 2013 9:35 PM in response to GrizzyGrizzle

welcome.

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Answer 5

Jul 9, 2013 9:35 PM in response to shldr2thewheel

Thank you! I really appreciate it! Would you happen to know how much it usually costs to upgrade to 8GB?

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Answer 6

Jul 9, 2013 9:40 PM in response to GrizzyGrizzle

$50-75 or so? I don't know... I have 16GB installed in my machine, which, at the time, cost me around $100. I would suggest visiting either the Crucial or the OWC websites to see what 8GB is going for these days.

I can also highly recommend the HGST Travelstar 7K100 1 TB, 7200 rpm, 6 Gbps hard drive if you find that you need more space.

Clinton

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Answer 7

Jul 9, 2013 9:40 PM in response to GrizzyGrizzle

ram is actually more expensive than it has been in the past. RAM prices fluctuate as do hard drive prices, due to things such as availability/customer demand. At this time it is about $80 USD. Some good vendors are OWC, Crucial, and datamem.com. Getting 8gb may not be essential right now, you will know when you get the mac and run your programs if you need more right away. But, eventually you will need it.

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Answer 8

Jul 9, 2013 9:41 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

clintonfrombirmingham wrote:

I have 16GB installed in my machine, which, at the time, cost me around $100.

Lucky duck! I just checked OWC and it's $174! I shouldn't have hesitated, oh well, I'll watch for the prices to eventually go down.

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Answer 9

Jul 9, 2013 9:45 PM in response to shldr2thewheel

Lucky duck! I just checked OWC and it's $174! I shouldn't have hesitated, oh well, I'll watch for the prices to eventually go down.

Yeah, that was in March of 2012, when I first got this new (well, it used to be new) machine. OWC says that prices are going to continue to rise... so it may be a good time to buy!

Clinton

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Answer 10

Jul 9, 2013 9:45 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

thanks for the tip!

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Answer 11

steve359

Level 6

17,169 points

Jul 9, 2013 9:47 PM in response to shldr2thewheel

shldr2thewheel wrote:

clintonfrombirmingham wrote:

I have 16GB installed in my machine, which, at the time, cost me around $100.

Lucky duck! I just checked OWC and it's $174! I shouldn't have hesitated, oh well, I'll watch for the prices to eventually go down.

I paid around $100 as well in January.

If you wait too much longer, sir, you will be paying the $1500 it used to be a couple of years ago. 😀

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Answer 12

Jul 9, 2013 9:48 PM in response to steve359

noooo! 😮 lol. I better look into it.

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Answer 13

steve359

Level 6

17,169 points

Jul 9, 2013 9:58 PM in response to shldr2thewheel

For the benefit of the OP ...

Two years ago, 16 GB of MBP RAM in 2 8 GB DIMMs was about $1500.

It recently dropped to about $100, but the price of the materials and labor rates in Taiwan (where I believe much of the RAM is produced) cause the price to swing much. Although I doubt it will get even close to $1500 again, it may go up a bit more than $174.

However, shldr, just for you, special today ... 16 GB of RAM in 2 8 GB DIMMs for the low-low price of $1300 ... 👿

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