MacBook Pro questions

julianhj · 11 Sep 2012 at 21:46

I'm an Apple newbie - I've always admired their kit from a distance, not wanting to pay the premium. Recently, my Dell Studio 15 laptop has been getting a little shaky. A PC replacement looks rather steep, so I wanted to explore the dark side options. My current machine is nearly 4 years old, a P8400 with a great 1440x900 15.6 inch screen. I use it mainly for browsing, Lightroom/Elements and other photo stuff.

1) £1500 is way too steep for me, so the 15" is not an option. Will I be missing that much with a 13" model?

2) I think any MBP will be more than powerful enough for me. Am I misguided on this?

3) Are the matte and hi res sceens on the 15" that much better? Will I get annoyed with the glossy 13" screen?

4) How easy is it to set up dual boot so I can still use Windows software?

5) How easy is it to install my Samsung 830 SSD; does it void the warranty?

Thanks in advance!

Logsi · 11 Sep 2012 at 21:53

15" has the dedicated graphics chip whereas the 13" just has the onchip intel 4000.

What sort of stuff will you be doing on the computer?

The matte hi res screen is gorgeous. I much prefer the matte screen and i feel the hi res option is a must, at least for me.

Very easy to dual boot. Boot into OS X, go to bootcamp assistant and follow the steps. OS X makes you a disk or USB with all the drivers needed for windows and once windows is installed you just install the drivers and you're good to go.

Very easy to install a different hard drive. Few screws on the bottom plate, another screw on the hard drive, remove and replace the retaining screws in the existing onto the new and do the reverse. You'll need to make sure you use TRIM enabler once installed.

I'd plump for the 15" but if you don't need the resolution or graphics prowess then the 13" will be ample depending on what you do on it?

FreeStream · 11 Sep 2012 at 21:53

1) Real estate is a big thing and Lightroom on 15" is ok, 13" would be bad. Essentially my bottom line would be, don't even consider it.

2) Any MBP around the £1500 mark will well outperform your old machine so yes, they are 'overpowered'.

3) My mate has the high-res non-glossy and I have the glossy normal screen. If I had the choice I would have gone high-res and non-glossy, but the gloossy really isn't that big of a deal but the higher-res would be nice. See my comments later.

4) Piece of cake.

5) Piece of cake (need the right screwdriver bit tho, £4 from amazon) and no it doesn't.

You don't need to buy a new MBP, I bought this 5 month old 15" MBP from someone on here two years for £1100 with the 3 year applecare warranty. He had paid over £1600 for the machine new, so if you look there are bargains to be had.

I'm personally looking to move on from this MBP before the warranty runs out, hoping to pick up a second hand retina MBP for about £1200 early next year.

julianhj · 12 Sep 2012 at 08:19

Cheers for the answers. I think I know that I really want the 15" with matte hi-res screen, however my wife thinks it's too much to spend. She's right of course!

As for what I'll be doing - mainly browsing and photo editing. Possibly some video editing, however I more likely to use my desktop for that.

I'm already looking at the second hand options, but I've not found a suitable one yet. Time is running short as I'm going on a holiday in a few weeks where the laptop will be crucial - it's basically a three week photo tour of the western USA, so a reliable photo editing machine is essential.

AbsenceJam · 12 Sep 2012 at 12:57

The regular MBP + matte costs nearly the same as the Retina which is far better. Maybe wait a month and see if they really do release a 13" rMBP.

lamboman · 12 Sep 2012 at 20:27

If we take colour reproduction out of the equation, it sounds to me like the Air is actually the perfect machine for you. You get a matte display with the same resolution as the 15", for under £1100 if you go for the base model with 8GB of memory. Bump up the storage if you need to, and you end up with the perfect machine.

AbsenceJam · 12 Sep 2012 at 20:38

lamboman said:
If we take colour reproduction out of the equation, it sounds to me like the Air is actually the perfect machine for you. You get a matte display with the same resolution as the 15", for under £1100 if you go for the base model with 8GB of memory. Bump up the storage if you need to, and you end up with the perfect machine.

The Air is only glossy.

julianhj · 12 Sep 2012 at 21:05

I've just been in to the local purple warehouse for a look with my wife. I decided I could live with the 13" version, and had my Dell alongside with Lightroom open for comparison. The full screen mode and quick zoom functions seemed to make up for the missing inches. The first assistant I managed to collar knew absolutely jack about Apple products. Thankfully he beckoned an Apple Store employee, who seemed to be really switched on. The main hurdle that was pointed out was that in his opinion the glossy 13" screen might make images look better/more vibrant than on other displays. He showed us a 13" Air with the 'matte' version of the glossy screen. Not the same matte as the hi-res MBPs, but without the glossy coating signified by the black surrounds on the standard MBPs. It had a silver surround, which he said signified the matte screen. It certainly looked less glossy, and worse for it.

I had considered the Air previously, but discounted it as a less capable solution for similar money to the 13" MBP. Having seen all the options side by side, and considered the performance/pricing implications, I think I've got my heart set on the 13" MBP.

I'm going to ask on some dedicated photo forums if people have accuracy issues with the glossy screen when processing, but aside from that, I could be about to join the club...