Which MacBook Pro is faster ? (13" Retina 2.5GHz -HDD or 13" LED 2.9GHz - SDD )

jingoljingol
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014


Hi every body



I have decided buy MacBook Pro



I will use MacBook for browse in Internet and sometime Photoshop



Which MacBook is faster when open 10 tab with safari and play music and edit document by office at the same time ?



MD102 or MD212 ?





MacBook Pro : MD102LL

13-inch

2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7

Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz

8GB 1600MHz memory

750GB 5400-rpm hard drive

$1,499



OR



MacBook Pro : MD212LL

13-inch with Retina display

2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5

Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz

8GB 1600MHz memory

128GB flash storage

$1,499




MacBook speed with 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor but hard drive is better or 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with flash storage ?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    They're the same computer except for the CPU and display. You'll probably notice almost identical performance, because while the retina has a slower processor, it also has faster storage.


     


    Given your use case, get the retina.

  • Reply 2 of 7
    jingoljingol Posts: 7member


    Thanks a lot



    I had read a review that 13" rMBP took longer to display when several tab and app opened together because with no dedicated GPU and high resolution, processor must push it



    It's true?

  • Reply 3 of 7
    automaticftpautomaticftp Posts: 28member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Jingol View Post


    Thanks a lot



    I had read a review that 13" rMBP took longer to display when several tab and app opened together because with no dedicated GPU and high resolution, processor must push it



    It's true?





    The 2.9 cMBP doesn't have a dedicated GPU either.  I have both, and the cMBP with a 250 GB Samsung 840 SSD is sufficiently faster that you can kinda sorta see the difference if you look for it or run benchmarking software.  In real use, they are indistinguishable.  The HD 4000 is probably the absolute minimum for running a retina screen - if you want a retina you might be better served to wait for the next Intel chip iteration, which should offer a fairly substantial improvement in its integrated graphics.


     


    That said, for your usage I'd suggest the base 13" cMBP.  They're available as low as $1049, and for your usage you'll never notice the speed difference.  You can upgrade the RAM inexpensively, and it has about 4x the storage of the retina (the i7 cMBP has almost 6x the storage of the base retina - and space gets eaten up quickly, especially if you're working with photos or video).  It also has an optical drive if that matters to you, as well as Ethernet and Firewire ports.  Set against that is the retina screen, which is noticeably better than the cMBP screen.


     


    Hope that helps.

  • Reply 4 of 7
    mikeb85mikeb85 Posts: 506member


    Both will be plenty fast (both for your needs and in general).  Go for the better display, you'll have to look at it more.  You won't notice a speed difference, but you'll see the display difference...

  • Reply 5 of 7
    jingoljingol Posts: 7member


    I heard can't upgrade the 13" MBP hdd to a SSD easily ! confirm ?

  • Reply 6 of 7
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by Jingol View Post

    I heard can't upgrade the 13" MBP hdd to a SSD easily ! confirm ?


     


    Total lies.

  • Reply 7 of 7
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,326moderator
    jingol wrote: »
    I heard can't upgrade the 13" MBP hdd to a SSD easily ! confirm ?

    There's a guide on how to do it here:

    http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive/10378/1

    It's about as easy an upgrade as you can get with a laptop.
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