Help deciding on macbook 13inch or 15inch retina

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sparkd Author

Level 1

8 points

Help deciding on macbook 13inch or 15inch retina

II'm seeking some advice on whether to go for purchasing a 13inch MacBook Pro retina or 15inch MacBook Pro retina.

A few factors need to be considered:

My preference is for the smaller form factor of the 13inch
My preference for a quad core
My preference for 16gb ram
My preference is for i7
CIrca 80% + of files will be saved on a WD MybookWorld 2Tb external drive

To provide an understanding of intended use thus will be:

General web browsing. 60%
LIghtroom and Photoshop, for DSLR photo editing 20%
ITunes/music 10%
Creating/editing word documents and spreadsheets 10%

Im aware that apple do not do a 13inch quad core, and have concerns that the dual core may not be enough for my usage?

Finally regarding ding my budget I do not wish to spend anything more that $2499, based on the current cost of a 15-inch: 2.5GHzwith Retina display

If the advice from the community is that I can get away with a setup lower than $2499 then that will be a bonus.

Posted on Oct 2, 2014 1:05 AM

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Answer 1

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Oct 2, 2014 3:29 AM in response to sparkd

Understand a quadcore CPU is only more efficient than a dual core CPU if the application is designed to take advantage of the feature. In most cases of 'normal' usage, the advantages it may have are not utilized.

!6 GB RAM is only useful when more than 8 GB are used. This will occur in only with resource intensive applications. The increase in efficiency is not as great as the numbers may suggest.

LIghtroom and Photoshop, for DSLR photo editing 20% - These are probably the only types of applications that the 15" model with the superior GPU will have a decided advantage over the 13" model.

If you can accept the GPU limitations of the 13" model compared to the 15" model, then the choice is the smaller unit. It will be substantially less money as well. 🙂

Ciao.

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Answer 2

sparkd Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 5, 2014 6:19 AM in response to OGELTHORPE

What about the i7 versus i5 matter?

I think what I'm asking is would the following set be acceptable for my needs

Hardware

3.0GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
Intel Iris Graphics
Backlit Keyboard (British) & User's Guide (English)
Accessory Kit

OR

Hardware

2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
Intel Iris Graphics
Backlit Keyboard (British) & User's Guide (English)
Accessory Kit

The issue of "future proofing" in getting a quad core 15inch is attractive, but I like the 13inch form factor and also want to reduce costs if possible. However no quad core 13inch option is a disappointment.

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Answer 3

OGELTHORPE

Level 9

57,329 points

Oct 5, 2014 6:39 AM in response to sparkd

Clearly the i7 is a faster and more efficient CPU that the i5. The fact remains that the i5 will do everything that the i7 can, only not as quickly. If the bank account is thin, then the i5 makes sense. If funds are plenty, I would get the i7 version but even in the long term it is very unlikely that the i5 CPU will become 'obsolete'.

The real world usage differences become apparent only in resource intensive processing. In casual usage (low intensive applications) there will be no discernible difference between the two. It is my view that too much emphasis is placed on speed to the point that it borders on irrational obsessiveness. Unless one is engaged in a high tech environment, it is rare that a CPU is pressed to it's maximum limits by average users.

Ciao.

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