Graphic Design with a 13''

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Hello guys,
I don't know if that's the good area to talk about this. Move the thread if I chosed the wrong section.
Anyway I finally decided to buy a macbook 13'' retina. I'm a graphic designer for a company but sometimes happen to me to do something as freelancer.
I was thinking to buy an external screen to use with the macbook, but right now I can't afford it.

Do you think that I could do some graphic design work even with a 13''?
I'm using a 15'' right now to freelancing and it's ok, even if it's not the best solution.
I don't know if a 13'' is really to small for this.

What do you think?
Thanks a lot!
 

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Doing graphic design on a 13" screen is possible especially since it has a retina display. You're just going to have to get used to it until you can afford a large external monitor.
 
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Thanks! That's a relief! :)
I was thinking about a 13'' cause I already have a 15'' and I think it's too big and heavy to move around the house. A 13" would be perfect.
My problem was just if it's possible to work with it before getting an external monitor.

Do you think a 2.6GHz one is fast enough to work with the Adobe suite?
 

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Do you think a 2.6GHz one is fast enough to work with the Adobe suite?

Yes. But more important - since the 13" Retina MacBook Pro can not be upgraded once you purchase it, it's paramount to order it with the upgrades you can afford. For example, order plenty of memory which is needed for graphics design and a large enough flash drive to do your work. CPU speed is not near as important as memory and flash drive size, so keep that in mind. ;)
 
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Yes. But more important - since the 13" Retina MacBook Pro can not be upgraded once you purchase it, it's paramount to order it with the upgrades you can afford. For example, order plenty of memory which is needed for graphics design and a large enough flash drive to do your work. CPU speed is not near as important as memory and flash drive size, so keep that in mind. ;)
Yeah, I was thinking to buy the best 13'' even if that costs me a lot. Anyway I saw that there are good refurbished macbook, so I could save some money there...
 
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I had also recently considered getting a new 13 inch retina for working while traveling. I work as a photo retoucher/compositor and would like a light weight easy to travel workspace. I decided to hold off for now and continue using my 15 inch macbook pro.

I can defiantly see myself purchasing one in the future though. The retina display is fantastic in terms of the extra pixel space you get.

Chsag said it well in recommending you get a nice large display at some point. I think if your doing heavy work from home or the office it would be much easier to have a bigger display to connect it with.

Regardless I think where the 13 inch really shines is if you need a mobile workstation.
 
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@3rdEye,
Do you need a mobile solution to work on stuff while out in the field? Or just show your ideas?
I know I do my work on my desktop but keep my photographic portfolio on my iPad.

I have nothing against at 13" rMBP, I just expect a MacBook Pro to have more power then a silly dual core regardless of the size of the screen. This is why I mentioned this as you can get a nice Mac Mini for less money and have lots more processing power.

I really wished they would bring back the 17" MBP for us slightly blind group. :p
 
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@3rdEye,
Do you need a mobile solution to work on stuff while out in the field? Or just show your ideas?
I know I do my work on my desktop but keep my photographic portfolio on my iPad.

I have nothing against at 13" rMBP, I just expect a MacBook Pro to have more power then a silly dual core regardless of the size of the screen. This is why I mentioned this as you can get a nice Mac Mini for less money and have lots more processing power.

I really wished they would bring back the 17" MBP for us slightly blind group. :p
Well, I already have a job as graphic designer, so I spend most of my time in office.
Anyway I do sometimes some freelance work at home, as illustrations or websites. I need something that makes my extra work comfortable and at the same time something that I can move around easily.
For the second reason I was aiming on a 13'' (my 15'' laptop is not so easy to move around).
But I wasn't so sure if it was possible to do design works with the 13", cause of the small screen and the machine power.
Anyway I saw that the most expensive 13" has far better power than my old iMac that I left at my old house, and I used to work with.
So maybe it's just a problem of screen size.

Considering that I'd like to buy an external screen in some month from now, maybe I can manage to work with a small screen for a short period...
 
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The problem with the 13" IMHO is that its Dual Core CPU and only integrated Iris Graphics. If it at least had a dedicated video or a quad core CPU with Iris Pro, then it would work well. But Dual Core with just Iris pro for graphics work is going to be sluggish IMHO. The 13" screen can be dealt with a bottle of Advil. Yea its small but man its convenient. You never know when you may have to change something on the road. If you can go with the 15" Quad Core core, then you will be better off IMHO..
 
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Yeah, this makes sense but I was thinking to use it alone for 3-4 months and then get an external monitor. So this problem with the screen would be solved, wouldn't it?
 
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Yeah, this makes sense but I was thinking to use it alone for 3-4 months and then get an external monitor. So this problem with the screen would be solved, wouldn't it?

I would have to say yes, although I would still get a economical 24 or 27" LCD later on down to road to help keep the eye strain down from continuous use.
 
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I would have to say yes, although I would still get a economical 24 or 27" LCD later on down to road to help keep the eye strain down from continuous use.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna struggle a little with my eyes for the first months and then get an economical 27"ish screen.
The one from Apple is 900£ but I think I can get something cheaper for the same quality on the market, don't you think?
 
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Yeah, I think I'm gonna struggle a little with my eyes for the first months and then get an economical 27"ish screen.
The one from Apple is 900£ but I think I can get something cheaper for the same quality on the market, don't you think?

1080p monitors are cheap. I don't mean that in a bad way. LOL.. You can get a good 1080p monitor that still will reproduce accurate color and contrast without breaking the bank.

I do photography and some graphical work and use two 23" Samsung LED displays, both at 1920x1080 each. It just took me a hour to correctly calibrate the displays. Now I have all the desk space I need and my eyes don't scream bloody marry..
 
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So I'm gonna ask again in this forum when I'm gonna buy the external monitor, cause I don't know anything about them! :)

Actually I'm choosing a MacBook because of the OSX. I'm pretty sure that technically speaking, has the same value of a laptop that costs half the price.
For this reason I think I'm gonna buy an external screen from Sansung or somebody else.
 
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I noticed that in the "refurbished" area, there are usually macbooks with Intel i7 and Intel i5.
I thought that Intel i7 is faster than intel i5 but sometimes prices don't confirm this thing...
What could be the reason?
 
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I think you'll find that any pricing discrepancies that don't "make sense" at first can be explained by one of the following factors:

a. There are quad-core and dual-core options on both chips, so a quad-core i5 might be more valuable than a dual-core i7

b. Whether or not said machine relies on SSD or traditional HD based storage.
 
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Ok, I arrived at the time of buying it.
I just have to choose between a new and a refurbished model.
What do you think of these 2 options I have? The prices are almost the same so I don't know if buying a refurbished one would be a good idea...
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The refurbished model is a better purchase in my opinion. You're not only saving money, you'll also be getting a faster machine with a more powerful CPU. And since it's the latest model, it's no different than new in that respect. Apple refurbished machines are just like new and come with the same warranty. You can also purchase Apple Care for it.
 
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Agreed, save a little money and get the better i7 chip.

I usually have my MBP connected to my Dell U3014 monitor however, last night I spilt coffee over my apple BT keyboard and thats acting up. So here I am sitting at the 15" screen running 2560x1600 as the 30" monitor using DisplayMode. Perhaps not overly readable but good enough when sitting close enough to use the laptops keyboard on a desk.

The 13" should run 1920x1200 happily which is a better resolution than cheapy 27" LCDs. Should be a perfect mobile solution for you.
 
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Thanks for your help guys! :)

Actually I was thinking on a mobile solution that could be used even as a desktop solution for works mainly with the Adobe suite. Hope it's powerful enough!
 

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