Macbook Pro 13" - Yay or Nay?

[iFan]

Hi Guys

I am a Graphic Designer/multimedia designer and have worked on mac's here and there and have always been a fan of them. I also recently purchased an Iphone and I am over the moon with it. I have always needed/wanted a mac for my given field and am finally in the situation to get it.

At work we use Windows Machines and although I am freelancing on the side, I don't have much freelance work at the moment. I am looking at getting the mid range 13" Haswell through FNB (R815.- per month x24) with the plan on using it for graphic design/multimedia design and web design. I am happy with the specs and know this is the machine for me, but am basically contemplating giving my old windows laptop at home a few more months or investing now into this laptop for future

Baring in mind that I would need to pump about 2 - 3 k into my old windows machine to keep it going...

Going forward I would also get a bigger screen for home use and thus retain mobility

Any opinions welcome

Thanks!

 

[Cassady]

Why send good money after bad... If you're happy with the specs, then I'd say - go for it. Especially given your design field.

But keep in mind that the 2013 rMBP is no longer upgradeable. At least - not easily so (for the foreseeable future). SSD maybe sometime in the next year or so, but you're stuck with the RAM you purchase... So when making any decision on future-proofing your MBP, that's a big consideration...

Regarding the external screen - it works a treat - best of both worlds. Let us know what you decide on in the end, and good luck!

 

[Space_Chief]

Hi Guys

I am a Graphic Designer/multimedia designer and have worked on mac's here and there and have always been a fan of them. I also recently purchased an Iphone and I am over the moon with it. I have always needed/wanted a mac for my given field and am finally in the situation to get it.

At work we use Windows Machines and although I am freelancing on the side, I don't have much freelance work at the moment. I am looking at getting the mid range 13" Haswell through FNB (R815.- per month x24) with the plan on using it for graphic design/multimedia design and web design. I am happy with the specs and know this is the machine for me, but am basically contemplating giving my old windows laptop at home a few more months or investing now into this laptop for future

Baring in mind that I would need to pump about 2 - 3 k into my old windows machine to keep it going...

Going forward I would also get a bigger screen for home use and thus retain mobility

Any opinions welcome

Thanks!

You want a machine with a dedicated GPU. Someone here is selling a rMBP Retina 15 for R16K. It will be a faster computer than an i5 Haswell with Intel HD5000. It also has dedicated graphics and if you get a machine with a Samsung 830 SSD, it has some of the best longetivity on the market - at least 3x the Samsung 840 series. (They tested it to write over 4 Petabytes of data at 180 days of non-stop writes/rewrites.)

 

[Space_Chief]

You want a machine with a dedicated GPU. Someone here is selling a rMBP Retina 15 for R16K. It will be a faster computer than an i5 Haswell with Intel HD5000. It also has dedicated graphics and if you get a machine with a Samsung 830 SSD, it has some of the best longetivity on the market - at least 3x the Samsung 840 series. (They tested it to write over 4 Petabytes of data at 180 days of non-stop writes/rewrites.)

Note that you can upgrade the SSD of the rMBP 15 (2012) at OWC (Macsales.com) for about R6K, to a 480GB SSD. But I wouldn't even bother depending on what you do. With 2 Thunderbolt and 2 USB 3 ports you can hook up external storage easily. The display is also larger and that helps.

 

[iFan]

You want a machine with a dedicated GPU. Someone here is selling a rMBP Retina 15 for R16K. It will be a faster computer than an i5 Haswell with Intel HD5000. It also has dedicated graphics and if you get a machine with a Samsung 830 SSD, it has some of the best longetivity on the market - at least 3x the Samsung 840 series. (They tested it to write over 4 Petabytes of data at 180 days of non-stop writes/rewrites.)

Thanks a mil for the advice. Unfortunately the new ones are out of my price range and buying second hand does not allow me to pay it off monthly, unfortunately. The longetivity is a good point! In general I want the laptop to last me a good while over all aspects. I originally was going for the entry level and then thought I better get the upgraded specs. However I dont think I will be doing any intensive rendering and such for the next bit, hence the choice of this model.

Note that you can upgrade the SSD of the rMBP 15 (2012) at OWC (Macsales.com) for about R6K, to a 480GB SSD. But I wouldn't even bother depending on what you do. With 2 Thunderbolt and 2 USB 3 ports you can hook up external storage easily. The display is also larger and that helps.

The larger diaply is nice, and I think I must actually go look at a few to decide again, but saying that I need the portability and thus the 13" speaks to me for traveling to clients etc, with the thought that I will get a bigger display going forward as a proper work station. I also have a 23" display at work, so if I decide to use it there when I want to, then I can hook up that screen.
I am also a big fan of external storage!

I think I am going the right way, just have to be sure as its a helluva lot of money!

I did also consider the old MD101, for the upgradebility...but then I think that may be a step backwards..?

 

[Space_Chief]

Thanks a mil for the advice. Unfortunately the new ones are out of my price range and buying second hand does not allow me to pay it off monthly, unfortunately. The longetivity is a good point! In general I want the laptop to last me a good while over all aspects. I originally was going for the entry level and then thought I better get the upgraded specs. However I dont think I will be doing any intensive rendering and such for the next bit, hence the choice of this model.

OK. The biggest problem is that Iris Pro graphics does not work with some 3D rendering programs which require dedicated 3D hardware. So if you're sure you won't need that, it's not a big problem.

As for the CPU:
Ivy Bridge 2.3 GHz i7
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3615QM+@+2.30GHz Passmark score: 7303
Haswell 2.4 GHz i5
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4258U+@+2.40GHz&id=2069 Passmark score: 4381

The larger diaply is nice, and I think I must actually go look at a few to decide again, but saying that I need the portability and thus the 13" speaks to me for traveling to clients etc, with the thought that I will get a bigger display going forward as a proper work station. I also have a 23" display at work, so if I decide to use it there when I want to, then I can hook up that screen.
I am also a big fan of external storage!

The 15 inch is quite light, compared to the non-retina versions which are heavy. It's quite portable I'd say. The difference is less than 500g. 1.563 vs 2.020 kg.

I think I am going the right way, just have to be sure as its a helluva lot of money!

I did also consider the old MD101, for the upgradebility...but then I think that may be a step backwards..?

Well you can't upgrade the CPU either way.

If you could work out a nice loan and/or pawn off some stuff, and get a rMBP 15 2012 with some Applecare left I'd go with that. But if you really can't or you don't think you'll need a dedicated GPU, the i5 should be ok.

 

[iFan]

OK. The biggest problem is that Iris Pro graphics does not work with some 3D rendering programs which require dedicated 3D hardware. So if you're sure you won't need that, it's not a big problem.

As for the CPU:
Ivy Bridge 2.3 GHz i7
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i7-3615QM+@+2.30GHz Passmark score: 7303
Haswell 2.4 GHz i5
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=Intel+Core+i5-4258U+@+2.40GHz&id=2069 Passmark score: 4381



The 15 inch is quite light, compared to the non-retina versions which are heavy. It's quite portable I'd say. The difference is less than 500g. 1.563 vs 2.020 kg.



Well you can't upgrade the CPU either way.

If you could work out a nice loan and/or pawn off some stuff, and get a rMBP 15 2012 with some Applecare left I'd go with that. But if you really can't or you don't think you'll need a dedicated GPU, the i5 should be ok.

The dedicated GPU is a good thing to consider, but for now I don't think I will be doing any 3D rendering, or anytime in the near future anyways.

The weight difference is quite little I suppose, considering the bigger screen. But on the flip side if it is just for the screen that I am buying the 15" then it becomes pricey. I rather spend the extra bucks on an external screen.

Yeah, dont think the MD101 would be worht it much...its is R615.- per month through FNB, for the extra R200, I rather get the new mid range 13"...

Thanks for all the advice!