I'm looking to upgrade from my current MBP to a higher performing one. I bought my current mid-2011 13" for basic use, word processing, internet, etc. I now work at an internet marketing and design agency though and it's not performing well enough for my needs.
I run a fair number of programs (evernote, skype, ical, excel, word, itunes, firefox, and chrome with a bunch of tabs open at once) at the same time and my RAM (currently 4gb) is always maxed out right now. My current computer also won't handle photoshop, which I need to be able to use (not all day, everyday, but I do need to be able to use it). I'd like to be able to run Boot Camp or Parallels as well.
I spent a few hours today researching and got it down to roughly 2 options. My main issue between the two is long term value, which one will work the longest/be worth the most in 3-4 years when I want to upgrade.
Option 1. Buy a 15" MBP 2.6ghz Retina with 16GM Ram upgrade. I know this is more than enough for my needs, I would mainly be buying this with the hope it would last a long time and so be worth it. My main problem with the Retina is the inability to upgrade so I feel like I have to make sure I get everything on the front end. (Cost $3k)
Option 2. Buy a standard 15" MBP knowing that I could upgrade to a SSD and add more RAM when I need it. My thinking is that RAM and SSDs are only going to get cheaper (and are already cheaper at places lake newegg than at aple) so why not just hold out for if/when I need it.
So which option do you think I should choose? If I go with option 2, is it worth it to upgrade to the 2.6ghz processor? I would get the 8gb RAM either way so it would effectively be a $300 upgrade.
Thanks for your replies.
I run a fair number of programs (evernote, skype, ical, excel, word, itunes, firefox, and chrome with a bunch of tabs open at once) at the same time and my RAM (currently 4gb) is always maxed out right now. My current computer also won't handle photoshop, which I need to be able to use (not all day, everyday, but I do need to be able to use it). I'd like to be able to run Boot Camp or Parallels as well.
I spent a few hours today researching and got it down to roughly 2 options. My main issue between the two is long term value, which one will work the longest/be worth the most in 3-4 years when I want to upgrade.
Option 1. Buy a 15" MBP 2.6ghz Retina with 16GM Ram upgrade. I know this is more than enough for my needs, I would mainly be buying this with the hope it would last a long time and so be worth it. My main problem with the Retina is the inability to upgrade so I feel like I have to make sure I get everything on the front end. (Cost $3k)
Option 2. Buy a standard 15" MBP knowing that I could upgrade to a SSD and add more RAM when I need it. My thinking is that RAM and SSDs are only going to get cheaper (and are already cheaper at places lake newegg than at aple) so why not just hold out for if/when I need it.
So which option do you think I should choose? If I go with option 2, is it worth it to upgrade to the 2.6ghz processor? I would get the 8gb RAM either way so it would effectively be a $300 upgrade.
Thanks for your replies.