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Macbook Pro? Retina Macbook? Both?

R

roop27

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 22, 2011
82
51
London, UK
I'm undecided on what device/devices to buy.

My usage entails small gaming, browsing, basic document editting, presentation design, emails, ebay selling, music/video streaming/downloading, photo storage and organising and eventually dabbling/learning in some basic programming (as a hobby). I would even put some time in to learning to use photoshop etc as a hobby again when i have more time.

I travel quite often and spend random nights of the week in hotels for work (I also have a work iPad 2 (so slow!) and Laptop (restricted usage) but like to keep personal/work devices separate). This will be my first mac (i am waiting for the Skylake models to come out before purchasing anything) so want to know if its overkill if i go for both the 13" macbook pro and 12" rMacbook. I've had iPads before and pretty much only used them for Plex and browsing with some light gaming. All in all i found them quite restrictive (last ipad was an ipad 4)

My issue is which combination to go for:

Macbook Pro 13" + iPad Pro 9.7"? (not interested in the pen or keyboard)
Macbook Pro 13" + Retina Macbook 12"?
Just Macbook Pro 13" (is it portable enough to carry with another laptop+ipad for work)?

(Apologies about the excessive bracket use)
 
Define what you mean by "small gaming". "Small gaming" as in "playing various games, ranging from angry birds to something like Witcher 3", but only for small amounts at a time, or ... "Small gaming" as in "playing small, non-demanding games like Angry Birds, period."

If former, get a Windows gaming system. The only one Mac-side that would come close to cutting it would be the 15" rMBP with the dGPU, but given the history with heat and dGPU issues with those systems, I would stay far away from them for any gaming.

If latter, just get the rMB.
 
Thanks for the replies. I meant small games like angry birds. Nothing too strenuous. I prefer console gaming
 
Any of Apples laptops would suit your need, so there's no need to get two of them. And they are all really portable, so an iPad would just be fluff. it really comes down to wether you want the best portable, or a somewhat more powerfull machine just in case.

But neither of us can say what you want to carry around, so go down to a shop, and lift a MBP and see if it weighs too much for you.
 
It sounds like the retina MacBook would work well for you. I would have bought one last year if I didn't hate the keyboard.
 
Thank you all for your replies. I think i'm going to see how the retina macbook goes and try to make a judgement within 14 days. I'll pop to the apple store first before purchasing.
 
As a student, a 12" MacBook will easily handle 99% of what I need it to despite majoring in civil engineering. In fact, I know one girl in my major who uses a Gold MacBook.

What would prevent me from pulling the trigger is the single USB-C port and screen size. 80% of the reason why I went for my 15" rMBP is screen size(I'd get a 17" rMBP if I could), and all my peripherals are based around thunderbolt 2 and standard USB-A ports. It'd make my mobile computing life harder for no reason.
 
Last edited:
TechZeke said:
As a student, a 12" MacBook will easily handle 99% of what I need it to despite majoring in civil engineering. In fact, I know one girl in my major who uses a Gold MacBook.

What would prevent me from pulling the trigger is the single USB-C port and screen size. 80% of the reason why I went for my 15" rMBP is screen size(I'd get a 17" rMBP if I could), and all my peripherals are based around thunderbolt 2 and standard USB-A ports. It'd make my mobile computing life harder for no reason.
Click to expand...

I decided to get the 13" which is portable enough for me, but use an external monitor (24 inch) whenever I want a bigger screen.

The 15" can be used as both a portable laptop and desktop replacement but I just feel like the 13" is better at being portable, and the 24" HDMI external monitor is better at being a desktop
 
TechZeke said:
As a student, a 12" MacBook will easily handle 99% of what I need it to despite majoring in civil engineering. In fact, I know one girl in my major who uses a Gold MacBook.

What would prevent me from pulling the trigger is the single USB-C port and screen size. 80% of the reason why I went for my 15" rMBP is screen size(I'd get a 17" rMBP if I could), and all my peripherals are based around thunderbolt 2 and standard USB-A ports. It'd make my mobile computing life harder for no reason.
Click to expand...


While it might work... Probably is a bit slower with that CPU. The one USB C port isn't even an issue but the fact the keyboard is horrible
 
roop27 said:
I'm undecided on what device/devices to buy.

My usage ......

My issue is which combination to go for:

Macbook Pro 13" + iPad Pro 9.7"? (not interested in the pen or keyboard)
Macbook Pro 13" + Retina Macbook 12"?
Just Macbook Pro 13" (is it portable enough to carry with another laptop+ipad for work)?

(Apologies about the excessive bracket use)
Click to expand...

Your option 1. What would you want the iPad for? The sandboxed apps of iOS make it totally unsuitable for general computing use.
Your option 2. A 13" and a 12"? You cannot be serious!
Your option 3. Has to be the right choice.
 
Retina 13 inch is sublime machine that is very light whieght , and has a much better processor then the 12 inch macbook ( but the macbook has better battery life ).

The iPad Pro is very cool but big money , the iPad Air 2 is a great tablet for a lot less dough and is portable. I like the pro and if money isn't and issue I would but one too .

Good luck
 
Macbookclinicleadtech said:
Retina 13 inch is sublime machine that is very light whieght , and has a much better processor then the 12 inch macbook ( but the macbook has better battery life ).

The iPad Pro is very cool but big money , the iPad Air 2 is a great tablet for a lot less dough and is portable. I like the pro and if money isn't and issue I would but one too .

Good luck
Click to expand...

The 13 inch rmbp has better battery life.
 
Azl said:
The 13 inch rmbp has better battery life.
Click to expand...

I get that according to Apple info that's the case but I own a 13 inch retina and we service a fleet of the new macbook models and they do tend to have longer battery life's in simple tasks such as web browsing and word docs .

Why anybody would prefer a macbook with its one usb c port and having to buy dongles for 79.00 to use usb /hdmi and charge is beyond me . And the logic board is so tiny and fanless.

8gb ram and a 256ssd or 512ssd makes it quick but the processor is -let's say less then desirable, but for the average user it gets it done. The 13 inch rmp is a rock solid machine for about the same money and you don't need to carry around a ton of adapters , maybe thunderbolt to Ethernet but that's only when you need to use it off wifi .
 
2nd hand rMacbook Pro 15"

I had the 12" rMB but the screen was just slightly too small for me although great machine for basic tasks, even though I did through F1 and abit of Farcry on it via VMWare lol
 
Thanks guys for all your replies.

I've decided i'm an absolute idiot to buy both the 12" and 13". I'm going to wait until June to see if a newer more portable macbook pro (Skylake?) comes out and go for that; based on the rumours which came out last week. I would have only used the iPad for videos/plex so my macbook should suffice.
 
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Sounds like what you need is a Macbook air as long as apple releases the new ones with retina displays. more portable than the MBP 13", but more powerful than the 12" RMB. happy medium for you.
 
bigjnyc said:
Sounds like what you need is a Macbook air as long as apple releases the new ones with retina displays. more portable than the MBP 13", but more powerful than the 12" RMB. happy medium for you.
Click to expand...
Completely agree. I'm hoping the rumours that came out a couple of weeks back are relatively true (without the keyboard of the rMB
 
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