Specs for a new MBPr

[Repp]

So I've decided that it's time to update my 2011 MBA 11-inch laptop. After the announcement of the new MacBook and seeing how it's likely to phase out the MBA, I've decided to go with a MBP instead (that and I really wanted an built in SD card reader). So, my question is what would people recommend being the min/max specs for the hardware? I'm looking at the 13" not the 15". Besides LR/PS, I'll probably be doing some light editing in FCPX and maybe try Flixel, but everything else is pretty low requirement wise (Scrivener, normal web browsing, music, movies, etc..) Oh, and when at home I have a Asus PA249q that I'll be using for a monitor.

Is 8gb of ram enough, or should I go for 16gb to increase longevity of the laptops usability?
i5 2.7/2.9 or go for the i7 3.1?
I'm also thinking that 512gig is big enough for the internal ssd, I have a 9tb NAS, and a few external usb drives for travel backup.

 

[ahinesdesign]

I think you'll find the most recent processors to be much faster than the 2011 generation (I know I did when I recently upgraded) especially going from an Air to a Pro. Go for as much RAM as you can, you won't be disappointed. FCPX (and everything, really) is lightning fast on my 15" MBP, even compared to the 12-core Mac Pro I use at work.

 

[Repp]

ahinesdesign, I'm not really wanting to go larger than the 13", but do you think I'd see a drastic difference between the new 5th gen i7/3.1 Dual Core in the 13MBP vs the 4th Gen 17/2.5 Quad Core in the 15MBP?

 

[ijm5012]

How much heavy video editing do you do? If you're not digesting tons of 4k footage in FCPX, then you'll be fine with a 13" MBP. I have a 13" MBP (late 2013 model) that was one step up from the "base" model (sorry, can't remember the CPU/GPU/RAM specs OFTOMH), but I have no problem running LR5 or PSE13 editing my RAW files.

I think you'll be more than OK with a 13", and the size difference between the two is a big difference IMO.

 

[tyrphoto]

IMO, for what you described, I wouldn't bother upgrading to the i7. Instead spend the extra $200 to upgrade to 16GB of RAM on the top model with 512GB HD.

My main editing Mac is a mid-2011 27" iMac with the 2.7GHz i5 processor, 16MB RAM and AMD 6770M 512MB. Plenty fast for any photo editing and light video editing.

I bought a mid-2011 13" MBA at the same time thinking I wanted to use it for light photo editing when traveling thinking that the built-in SD card slot would be perfect. Found the colors to be too inaccurate for that purpose so it now serves as just a general use laptop. I've also been considering picking up a 13" MBP, as described above for $1999.

 

[Repp]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I ended up getting the 13" MBPr wit the i7/3.1 and 16gig of ram (as I got a bit of a discount, I got both). I didn't opt for the 1tb HD, as it was just a bit too much cost for the storage, even though it would have probably let me keep more photos/video on the HD... Lightroom's smart preview + externals will be more than adequate. It runs everything, especially Lightroom, so much faster.

Now I'm just trying to stretch out the leather a tiny bit in my main edc/laptop/camera bag (a saddleback satchel) so that I don't have to fight to get it in and out.