Should I upgrade?

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Hi there,
I'm going to buy my first mac (lucky me... actually my first computer wae an apple IIc....).
It's going to be a macbook pro retina 13', probably with 8GB ram and 256GB SSD.
I'm not a heavy user but will do some pic editing, a bit of statistics (like SPSS), net surfing and "office" stuff.
And now for the question - what do u think, should i upgrade to i7 processor, ram to 16GB or none???

Thanks,
Eran.
 
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For the use you'll give to your MBP, I'd say the current specs are enough, however whether or not to upgrade is just a matter of how much you're willing to pay for the machine. Maxing RAM or the processor through Apple can become very expensive but that a dilemma every MBPr/MBA has, that is, knowing what to buy when having a limited upgradable machine.

Consider going for the non-retina MBP, it's a powerful machine and leaves you more room for future upgrades in case you need them
 
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Thanks for your comment, let me reask -
What would make a better impact - changing the processor to i7 or upgrading the ram to 16GB?
or maybe both would be insignificant???

Thanks,
Eran.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
15" rMBP Mid-2014 ~ iPad 4 16GB ~ iPhone 6 Plus 16GB
I would say RAM. At some point down the line, a slower processor will require a bit of patience. Shortage of RAM though will = needing a new Mac.
 
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In my opinion, you won't notice an i5 vs i7. However, when it comes to RAM, or an HDD vs SSD, in these you'll notice significant difference in performance...
 

chscag

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By all means, upgrade the memory on that machine to the maximum you can afford. Also, the flash drive. The retina machines are not upgradeable once you buy them. What you buy is what you're stuck with. Keep that in mind. ;)
 
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15" MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo (Mid-2009) 2.53 GHz, 8 GB, 1 TB • iPad 1 Wi-Fi • iPad 3 Verizon 4G LTE •
Does anybody really need more than 8GB if they are only running a few programs? I have 8GB on my 2009 MacBook Pro and have never seen it filled it up (checking Activity Monitor.) Yes, sometimes I run Excel, with Chrome and 20 or 30 tabs open, and a few other things too.
 
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+1 for the non-retina version of the MBP

Ability to upgrade/replace parts is a must for me, as well as having a disc drive.

Up to 8GB is all you really need unless running logic and super multitasking, or something along those lines. I'd use the money on more SSD space instead of going for an i7. More power consumption too, right?

Also, the regular screen still of course has really great picture and is more than nice enough for most.
Although I guess with the retina display, you can see those numbers and fonts so much clearer when running your statistics and office programs lol :p
 
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Another +1 for the non-retina version of the MBP! I would never buy something that could not be easily upgraded, having upgraded RAM or disc drives or replaced batteries in nearly every laptop computer I have ever owned, at one time or another.

IF you want to spend the extra money, I would say a faster processor would have a better Cost/Benefit ratio than extra RAM would, 8GB should be more than adequate. I have been a heavy user of a MacBook Pro (upgraded from 2GB to 4GB) and rarely saw much swapping with VM (virtual memory page transfers.) I recently upgraded from 4GB to 8GB so I can run Windows under VMWare Fusion (which recommends 6GB.) The SSD will also make RAM / VM transfers much faster, alleviating any swapping delays.

You can do a lot with 4GB. Only a huge spreadsheet would need any more RAM. For your purposes, 8GB should be more than adequate.

Just my 2 ¢. Enjoy your new Mac.
 

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