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MBP 2012 Retina 8gb RAM..... Next step?

sc_john

Active member
I hope this doesn't result in Mac vs PC bashing, that is not my intention. But, here goes...

I have a MBP mid-2012 Retina, 2.6 GHz Quad Core I7 Broadwell/Haswell(?), 8GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, NVIDIA GT 650M 1024 MB, Intel HD Graphics 4000 1536 MB. I am now working with much larger raw files than when I acquired this MBP, multiple layers, filters, etc. Phase One recommends: CPU with 4+ cores, 16+ GB of RAM, Solid State Disk (SSD), a fast Graphics card from NVIDIA or AMD with 2GB+ RAM (4+ GB for 4k or multiple monitors).

I intend to run laptop with 4K or 5K monitor, editing of still images only, no video. Also, no gaming. I have looked at 2016 MBP with Touch Bar, and I do not think the price/performance makes sense for me, at this time. So, that leaves me with a couple of alternatives:

1. max'd out 2015 MBP Retina w/2.8 GHz Quad Core I7 (Haswell/Crystalwell), 16 GB RAM, 1 TB flash storage, AMD Radeon R9 M370X 2GB and Intel Iris Pro 5200 @, or
2. transition to PC such as Dell XPS 15, Quad Core I7, 2.6 GHz Sky Lake or Kaby Lake, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB PCiE , NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5, etc​

I am not a "techie", and I do not care about the last last 5% of speed. The 2015 max'd MBP is approx 15-20% more $$$ than Dell. Staying in Mac OS probably offsets that difference, but not at the expense of real world performance. Any thoughts, suggestions on these alternatives?

Again, I do not see this as a Mac vs PC issue. I see it as a price/performance/convenience.

TIA.

John
 

sc_john

Active member
After re-reading my post, I don't think I clearly asked the question I had intended. :facesmack: Again, I am not a techie on computer specs, so my question is "Are these two laptops comparable in terms of performance for photo editing?" I realize the Dell is newer, but in reality is there a significant difference in the performance I should expect. By "significant", I mean 20% or 25%+. Regarding pricing, I consider these machines to be equal, since I would have to purchase $400-$500 of Windows software, if I go in that direction. Thanks.

John
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I'm using a maxed out MBP 15 Retina 2014, 1TB SSD etc., I believe it's more or less identical to the 2015 version, and I couldn't be happier. My warmest recommendations :thumbup:
 
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