Macbook Pro 13" 2015 or 15" Buying Advice

Hi guys,

Basically, I'm in the need for a new laptop and have decided to go with a Macbook Pro. However, I have a question which I hope you can answer! I can't decide whether a 13" or 15" would be needed, but the money for the 13" is far more tempting, anyway:

I am a Computer Science student, thus I will be programming a bit etc!

Would the 13" 2015 rMBP be sufficient to run the following? Preferably at the same time

- One VM - Parallels 10 with Win8.1 for Visual Studio Ultimate 2013 etc.
- Office Suite
- Chrome with MANY tabs
- iTunes
- Other General Stuff

Furthermore, how is the screen real-estate for, like side-by-side applications? Example being, code example and then VS.

I have a custom rig anyway w/ Windows, but everywhere I look people say more cores and more RAM is better. But the money for the base 2015 i5/8GB/256GB model fits perfectly in my budget! Plus the portability is there. But with the Broadwell processors surely they are no slouch?! Do I really need the 15"? Can I save £300 - £600?

Kind Regards,

Zing

 

I would go for a minimum of 8 GB of RAM if you're running VMs though I'd guess that the 13 inch MBP comes with at least 8.

In general, either machine should be more than enough for your needs unless you're building 20 million LOC open source projects. CS majors typically write pretty simple stuff compared to what's done in industry and industry usually uses methods so that all of the source code doesn't have to be built in developer cycles.

On side-by-side stuff, just check the standard maximum resolutions for the two systems that you're looking at. The 15 inch model is 1920x1200. I generally use Spaces a lot but I work in emacs and terminal windows. Developer studio should work fine with 1920x1200. You can always attach a cheap external monitor too.

I'd say that you can use the 13 and get an external HD display if you need more space.

 

Okay thanks for your input! I would love the 13" but I was concerned with the whole VM thing, even though it would only be Win 8.1 with VS running. Really tempted now!

 

If you're worried about RAM, just upgrade to 16 GB.

I'm running Yosemite and it will use up to about 13 GB of RAM with a V7 VM but the VM has 5 GB allocated. I have a 2008 MacBook Pro with 4 GB of RAM running Mavericks and it can run a 1 GB Windows XP VM - not really that fast but it's running off an HDD. The Apple Operating Systems are rather amazing as they can run with small and large amounts of RAM. If you have a lot of RAM, the system caches SSD accesses. If not, then it doesn't and it pages things in and out. You're storage is an SSD so even paging is quite fast. That's why the MacBook Airs with 4 GB still perform reasonably well.

 

The current 13" MBPr (the 2015 model with the new trackpad) also got speed bumps internally all around, including x4 PCIe flash storage, which is -super- quick.

The 15" Retina will presumably get updates along the same lines, it's all likely delayed by Intel not having an updated quad-core processor.

 

definitely seems like 13'' would be too small of a screen size for your workflow

 

Go 15". The extra real estate is worth it. You're going to keep this computer for years. A few hundred dollars isn't a big deal over that sort of time period.

 

I would wait for them to update the 15 inch rmbp and get that for your needs. Seems like skylake chips will be a significant improvement over broadwell as well as it is the "tock"/architecture redesign.

 

Get a 13 and an external monitor. The 15 may have more real estate but it is still way too small for multiple shells and a VM open. I am also a CSE major and I fimd a 15" too small. Most CS programs out there can be completed with a rMBP 13 in terms of power but you will need a 24"+ monitor to have enough space. If you only have one VM for visual studio, 8GB should be enough as long as you're not trying to do to much on OS X at the same time. 16 GB won't hurt but it's not necessary.

 

The 15 inch Retina MacBook Pro will display WUXGA which is typically the highest that a 24 inch monitor will do.

I use the 15 inch Retina MacBook Pro at the office and hook it up to a 24 inch WUXGA monitor at home. Both work fine for development work.

On Skylake vs Broadwell: I have the feeling that they're going to do Broadwell this year and Skylake next year. Apple's not really known for doing two process upgrades in the same year. I think that Skylake would be nice but I've got my machine for the next several years already.

 

Maybe I have bad eyes but I find 1920x1080 on a 15.6 a little small so I wouldn't find 1920x1200 on a 15.4 ideal but that depends on the OP. Besides, he will always have an extra screen with the 13.


This is a 1440p monitor but you could have your vm running on the mac panel and all the other shells opened on the monitor. I find that it allows for a good amount of space and it's easy to see everything.

 

I have a 2560x1440 27 inch monitor but I gave it to my wife - just too much field size to view at once. I prefer multiple 24 inch monitors to a 27 inch monitor. You can put your main work on one display and ancillary stuff on another. Our remote work servers have a limit on the size of the x-display on the client too.

I use Spaces to partition my applications and the VM is in full-screen mode in its own Space.

 

Multiple 24" monitors would also be good but in a college dorm room, it's a little tight on space for that. I find 27" great but it depends on the person. You're right that virtual desktops are also an option, I personally find it a little tedious to constantly switch but I guess I'm lazy.

 

Mulitple monitors also have the advantage that you can often buy two smaller monitors for about half the price of one, larger monitor. Limited desk space, though, would be a problem. I can fit three 24 inch monitors on my desk at home and probably five of them in my office (I have two tables and a corner table).

The thing about getting used to Virtual Desktops is that your environment is the same when you're mobile so that I can have the same environment at Starbucks and the library that I have at home or in the office. It's nice that Microsoft is finally adding it to Windows as I consider it to be a must-have productivity tool.

 

I am way too lazy to switch back and forth. Don't feel bad

 

One case for more RAM would be if you use a lot of virtual desktops and go with integrated video. I noticed that my system is using 1.6 GB of system RAM for the integrated video.