Help me figure which Mac to get!

[achester]

So I currently have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro. I got it right as I was starting college, and it has been great throughout the past four years as I have been using it mainly for school purposes -- paper writing, photos, etc. Now, I'm graduating in May and needing to upgrade. (Be warned: I know next to nothing about all this, so I will in no way be using technical terms :/)

My current laptop has been getting slower and slower lately. It takes a while to turn on, and to save new things... I also have started a small side business that has me using Photoshop (PSE) for picture editing and creating graphics. PSE constantly freezes up after I've used it for awhile and I end up having to reboot the whole system. So I need something that will fix all of this.

I'm looking at the 13-in MacBook Pro with Retina. Now I need to know what model I should go with. 128 GB, 265 GB, 512 GB? What is the difference in performance between these and which would be best for my purposes? (graphic design, photo editing, some video editing, etc.)

Thanks in advance!

 

[T5BRICK]

So I currently have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro. I got it right as I was starting college, and it has been great throughout the past four years as I have been using it mainly for school purposes -- paper writing, photos, etc. Now, I'm graduating in May and needing to upgrade. (Be warned: I know next to nothing about all this, so I will in no way be using technical terms :/)

My current laptop has been getting slower and slower lately. It takes a while to turn on, and to save new things... I also have started a small side business that has me using Photoshop (PSE) for picture editing and creating graphics. PSE constantly freezes up after I've used it for awhile and I end up having to reboot the whole system. So I need something that will fix all of this.

I'm looking at the 13-in MacBook Pro with Retina. Now I need to know what model I should go with. 128 GB, 265 GB, 512 GB? What is the difference in performance between these and which would be best for my purposes? (graphic design, photo editing, some video editing, etc.)

Thanks in advance!

If your mid 2012 MBP does all of the things you need it to do, it'd be less expensive to just fix the problems your having.

The slow boot times, long save times and crashes could be related to a failing HDD. Upgrading to a SSD would cost about $150 and would possible fix all three issues. You could also look into upgrading from 4-8GB RAM to 16GB.

 

[tubeexperience]

If your mid 2012 MBP does all of the things you need it to do, it'd be less expensive to just fix the problems your having.

The slow boot times, long save times and crashes could be related to a failing HDD. Upgrading to a SSD would cost about $150 and would possible fix all three issues. You could also look into upgrading from 4-8GB RAM to 16GB.

That's what I was going to say.

 

[T5BRICK]

That's what I was going to say.

We were bound to agree on SOMETHING.

 

[snaky69]

I'm looking at the 13-in MacBook Pro with Retina. Now I need to know what model I should go with. 128 GB, 265 GB, 512 GB? What is the difference in performance between these and which would be best for my purposes? (graphic design, photo editing, some video editing, etc.)

Thanks in advance!

I'll second what T5BRICK said. Your current computer is plenty capable of the work you want it to do, it may just need a bit of TLC to get back up to speed. Sudden slowdowns and hangups and long boot times can point to a failing hard drive. It's always a good idea to keep a backup handy, especially if you are using your computer for work related purposes.

With that said, I simply wanted to mention that 128GB, 256GB and 512GB are the amount of data that can be stored on the computer. It has no bearing whatsoever on the performance of the machine, it only tells you how much data you can fit in there, period.

 

[T5BRICK]

With that said, I simply wanted to mention that 128GB, 256GB and 512GB are the amount of data that can be stored on the computer. It has no bearing whatsoever on the performance of the machine, it only tells you how much data you can fit in there, period.

This is mostly true, but the R/W speeds of a higher capacity drive are usually faster than the R/W speeds of a lower capacity drive from the same family.

*edit* I'm probably being pedantic. I should stop drinking and posting.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
If you have a platter-based hard drive, replace it with an SSD for a BIG BOOST in overall performance.
This is an easy task that ANYONE can do.... even a ham-handed neanderthal like me.
If I can do it -- you can, too.

While you're "in there", buy one 8gb RAM dimm and replace the 2gb dimm that's "at the top". Leave the bottom one there. Should get you 10gb of RAM.
Don't worry about the dimms being "unmatched in size". The extra memory will compensate for any speed losses due to the size differences.

Go to ifixit.com to see how to take the back off and change out the drive and RAM.
One tip: be sure to use THE RIGHT TOOLS for the job.
Should be a Phillips #00 driver and a TORX T-6 driver.

Add an SSD and RAM, and it will "feel like a new machine" for a fraction of the cost.
I'll reckon you can squeeze at least 1-2 more years out of it.

I'm still using my mid-2010 MBPro -- runs better than new with upgraded SSD.

 

[JTToft]

While you're "in there", buy one 8gb RAM dimm and replace the 2gb dimm that's "at the top". Leave the bottom one there. Should get you 10gb of RAM.
Don't worry about the dimms being "unmatched in size". The extra memory will compensate for any speed losses due to the size differences.

- Excellent suggestion. Cheaper and better upgrade than 2x4 GB. 16 GB is probably overkill anyway, but this route will also make that upgrade easier and cheaper later on if it becomes relevant.

 

[Spudlicious]

The comments suggesting upgrades to the 2012 make hard sense. On the other hand, four years old is four years old, and marking graduation with a new computer does not seem wild extravagance to me. I would suggest the OP gets the biggest RAM and SSD that can be afforded, plus an external SSD or two for backup. You just can't have too much backup, I've been telling people that for 20 years. None have listened!

 

[jerryk]

I agree with the other about considering upgrading the system you have.

But, if you do go with a rMBP get one with at least 256 GB of disk space. PS can eat up space very fast.

And regardless of which way you go consider an external monitor. Your eyes will thank you for getting a 24 inch display, instead of trying to edit images on a 13 inch screen.

 

[snaky69]

This is mostly true, but the R/W speeds of a higher capacity drive are usually faster than the R/W speeds of a lower capacity drive from the same family.

*edit* I'm probably being pedantic. I should stop drinking and posting.

You are being pedantic

Differences can and have shown up in benchmarks. Whether a human being can notice the difference in a normal usage scenario is debatable though

You gave me a chuckle, so it's all good.

 

[xb2003]

I would think you'd want a higher resolution display sometime in the near future. But now is a good time to not buy a MacBook Pro if you can keep from it. It would definitely be a good idea to try and suck another year and a half out of your machine, until the second generation of the new MacBook Pro.

Definately replace the hard drive an SSD , as others have suggested. Or find a friend who will do it for you. The ram upgrade is dependent on how you use the machine. If you like to run photoshop, listen to music on iTunes, and have 12 windows open in Safari then yeah, it's a good idea. But if you really only do one or two things at a time, I honestly wouldn't bother.