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Macbook Pro 13" Upgrade: RAM or Processor?

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  • Macbook Pro
  • Processors
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
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July 9, 2014 8:00:50 PM

Hi guys,
I'm looking at buying the 13" macbook pro with retina display with 512gb flash drive. I'm on a bit of a budget and trying to decide between upgrading to the 2.8GHz i7 processor or 16GB of ram. My uses will be as follows:

- School (office suite work)
- Internet browsing / streaming video and audio
- Logic Pro X
- Potentially CAD software (specifically "solid edge")

Which upgrade would be more beneficial to running all the programs smoothly and maintaining stability and speed in the future with software upgrades and whatnot.

Thanks in advance for your help!

More about : macbook pro upgrade ram processor

July 9, 2014 9:23:27 PM

The base configuration with the i5 processor with 8GB of ram should be more than capable handling any of that software software for at least a few years out. There are benefits to both upgrades for both Logic Pro and Solid Edge. Both applications are going to see benefits from either upgrade. For example, with Logic Pro, the i7 upgrade will give you better performance if you are going to load up a bunch of plugins and VSTs, while the additional memory will help out if you are going to be working with a lot of tracks at once.

So yeah, it's really just a toss-up. I would probably go with the i7, but the case could be made for either upgrade.

Also, you probably know this already, but you won't be able to upgrade the RAM or CPU on the current generation of Macbooks as they have soldered the RAM chips to the motherboard to allow for a smaller form factor, so whatever decision you make, you will be stuck with.
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July 10, 2014 7:55:16 AM

mgolus said:
The base configuration with the i5 processor with 8GB of ram should be more than capable handling any of that software software for at least a few years out. There are benefits to both upgrades for both Logic Pro and Solid Edge. Both applications are going to see benefits from either upgrade. For example, with Logic Pro, the i7 upgrade will give you better performance if you are going to load up a bunch of plugins and VSTs, while the additional memory will help out if you are going to be working with a lot of tracks at once.

So yeah, it's really just a toss-up. I would probably go with the i7, but the case could be made for either upgrade.

Also, you probably know this already, but you won't be able to upgrade the RAM or CPU on the current generation of Macbooks as they have soldered the RAM chips to the motherboard to allow for a smaller form factor, so whatever decision you make, you will be stuck with.


How big a difference do you think either of the upgrades would make for those programs? Do you think it's worth the additional money? Like you said, it can't be upgraded later and I want to make sure I get the right specs for the long run.
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