Should I go for a 13" retina MBP with 16GB Ram and 2.8ghz dualcore or a 15" Base model with 8 GB Ram and 2.0ghz Quadcore?

Should I go for a 13" retina MBP with 16GB Ram and 2.8ghz dualcore or a 15" Base model with 8 GB Ram and 2.0ghz Quadcore?
Strictly talking about performance/speed.
Thanks!

Hey, thanks for the response!
Heavy internet browsing and work online(30+ Tabs open at times)
Itunes Music
Iphoto video uploading
exploring Garageband
I really want this computer to last for a really long time, first-time investment in apple.
Thanks again!

Similar Messages

Audio line in for 13 inch Retina MBP

I use the Audio line in fairly regularly on my 2009 Macbook Pro. I'm looking to purchase the 13 inch Retina MBP as I like the Flash based hard drive.
Can someone tell me what my options would be for hooking a standard mini audio jack (looks like your typical small headphone plug) into a 13 inch retina MBP to record real-time audio?
Thanks

I use the Audio line in fairly regularly on my 2009 Macbook Pro. I'm looking to purchase the 13 inch Retina MBP as I like the Flash based hard drive.
Can someone tell me what my options would be for hooking a standard mini audio jack (looks like your typical small headphone plug) into a 13 inch retina MBP to record real-time audio?
Thanks

Which macbook pro configuration should i buy for the non retina line?

i can't deside if it is worth it to upgrade to the 2.9GHz dual-core intel core i7 or stick with the stock one. Also im not sure if 8gbs of ram is going to be enough even though it is the max the cpu will allow. I am planning to use my Macbook pro for highschool,photo editing in Lightroom, Photoshop, and the usual like web browsing,email,etc (I'm not using Photoshop/Lightroom for my job btw just for a hobby). also i might be playing Minecraft and might be using Adobe Premiere pro for video editing. Please leave your options i'm getting it for christmas so the faster the better.

Someone please check my math. The data I see places the rMBP with higher performance and lower cost than the MBP.
I looked at the MaBook Air (MBA), MacBook Pro (MBP), and Retina MBP (rMBP) price and performance and the 13” rMBP appears to take the cake with the MBA in second place and the MBP a distant third. The MBP has the slowest graphics and slowest standard processor for a higher price than either the rMBP or the MBA. The MBP also weights more (4.5 lbs.) and has the worst battery life (7 hours). An option in the MBP’s favor is it can have a slower but larger disk while the MBA and rMBP must use the smaller SSDs.
All the processor configurations below are (±10%) in speed compared to the MBA so processor speed is not a major differentiator. However the graphics speeds differ significantly with the MBP at the bottom with an HD 4000, the MBA in the middle with an HD 5000, and the rMBP at the top with Intel Iris Graphics.
For lower price I would choose a 1.3 GHz i5 MBA with 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD for $1,400. For higher performance I would choose the 2.4 GHz i5 rMBP with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD for $1,700. If I needed more than 256 GB of storage then I might consider the MBP with a 500 GB or 1 TB disk, but that would sacrifice performance both in graphics and I/O speed.   Instead of a larger system disk one could consider placing some of the storage on the 256 GB SSD and some on an external 1 TB hard disk.
Similar configurations:
MBA 1.7 GHz i7, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD: $1,550 <— 2nd place
          Mactracker 7284 system benchmark plus HD 5000 graphics
          3 lbs. 12 hours of battery life
MBP 2.5 GHz i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD: $1,700 <— 3rd place
          Mactracker 6690 system benchmark plus HD 4000 graphics
          4.5 lbs. 7 hours of battery life
          8% slower CPU performance on Mactracker benchmarks
          compared to the MBA
MBP 2.9 GHz i7, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD: $1,850 <— 3rd place
          Mactracker 7841 system benchmark plus HD 4000 graphics
          4.5 lbs. 7 hours of battery life
          8% faster CPU performance on Mactracker benchmarks
          compared to the MBA
rMBP 2.4 Ghz i5, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD: $1,500. <— 1st place
          Mactracker 7136 system benchmark plus Intel Iris Graphics
          3.5 lbs. 9 hours of battery life
          2% slower CPU performance on Mactracker benchmarks
          compared to the MBA
rMBP 2.4 Ghz i5, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD: $1,700. <— 1st place
          Mactracker 7136 system benchmark plus Intel Iris Graphics
          3.5 lbs. 9 hours of battery life
          2% slower CPU performance on Mactracker benchmarks
          compared to the MBA

Will a hardshell case provide some protection for the display for my 15" Retina MBP?

I am concerned about how fragile the display is. I purchased my MBP w/retina display in August, and about a month ago I got a line through the display. It had never been dropped or hit, whatever - and when I brought it in, they noticed a tiny crack in the display. They said this can occur by simpling applying to much pressure with your thumb and forefinger! Eeks!
Needless to say, I do not want this to happen again. I am obviously going to use more care when handling, but was wondering if a hardcase would help provide some extra protection for the display - or if the rigidity would actually hurt the display upon application. I'm looking at the Speck smartshell now.
Thanks!
Kensey

I am concerned about how fragile the display is. I purchased my MBP w/retina display in August, and about a month ago I got a line through the display. It had never been dropped or hit, whatever - and when I brought it in, they noticed a tiny crack in the display. They said this can occur by simpling applying to much pressure with your thumb and forefinger! Eeks!
Needless to say, I do not want this to happen again. I am obviously going to use more care when handling, but was wondering if a hardcase would help provide some extra protection for the display - or if the rigidity would actually hurt the display upon application. I'm looking at the Speck smartshell now.
Thanks!
Kensey

Should I go for the new Retina Macbook Pro 13" (announced Oct 2013) or the Macbook Air 13"?

So, I was set on the Macbook Air until Apple announced the new notebook. The reason I was set on Air previously is because I really need a portable laptop, and the Air was lighter. But the new Pro seems light enough if not as light, so I'm confused all over again.
I won't use my laptop for much. I don't use my computer for gaming or high-end photo editing. I might use it for basic photo editing, nothing too special. I'm going to start college soon, which is why I need a portable laptop with good battery life. And I will be typing a lot. I listen to a lot of music, and so, I download quite a lot of music as well. Space is not that big of an issue, since I already own an external hard drive. Other than that, I browse the Internet... basic websites... Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr etc etc.
So, input would be highly appreciated. Which laptop would meet my needs, and will be good in the long run as well? Thanks in advance.

In my opinion, a college student should get the old-fashioned MacBook, NOT the Air.
You are going to be putting this in a backpack and heading off to your next class or lunch four or five times a day. The regular MacBook Pro can stand that abuse -- the Air is much more light and delicate.
If you were an executive, slipping this (in a neoprene sleeve) in and out of your Briefcase once a day, I would say the Air is fine.

What kind of menu bar navigation should i do for my website

My website to start off is a giant tree that i created in Illustrator and i want to put the navigation dispersed throughout the tree an idea i had was a tag like the kind they used to tie to your luggage with twine made out of paper I don't really want the words to just be sitting in the tree either it looks too boring. I tried doing larger leafs but i don't like that idea either it just looks out of place. what kind of Menu bar should i do for the website?

design decisions, like beauty, is your call. but, if you like the idea of leaves and a navigation system that's not particularly easy to use, create some leaves in your tree that stand-out some way. they need not be large and certainly not large enough to display their text. but on mouseover they could enlarge and display their text.

What Mac should I purchase for our large iPhoto library?

My name is Mike. We have an iMac from ~ 2005/2006. It's the first one wit hthe Quad-Core CPU from Intel. It's body is white.
It is still solid for everything but iPhoto; iPhoto's now quite slow and frustrating to use.
iPhoto is generally ok viewing photos, but it's really slow when I add text descriptions to the pictures. I add the text to help find the photos later... mostly via Smart albums, and also via the Search function within iPhoto.
We are still on iLife 09 (maybe 08... before Faces & Places).
Given the following iPhoto specs, what minimum Mac machine tech specs do I need?
We have 27,000+ photos, consuming 105 GB disk space.
We have almost 800 events.
We have 500+ smart albums and approximately the same number of regular albums. Purpose? Make photos easier to find on the iPod, when showing others via output to their TV screen.
Do we need the max of:
- RAM?
- Video RAM
- CPU
- Other?
Can any of the Apple laptops support our needs (with a big enough hard drive assumed)?
Thanks,
Mike

They didn't have any quad core iMacs in 2005/06. The just switched them from PPC to Core Duo/Core 2 Duo chips.
All the modern Macs come with 4GB RAM standard and most of them discrete graphics chips. If you were to purchase even the newer iMac base model, it is way ahead of the early Intel Macs. Infact, I am running a new i5 Quad Core iMac. It's the base model with only a 500GB HD. I use professional apps like Final Cut and Logic Studio on a daily basis. I don't use iPhoto anymore, but my Aperture library is about 80GB so it is close to your iPhoto library. My iMac opens everything instantly. I can browse my photo library by albums, faces or all events and it never even slows down.
If you were interested in a notebook, I would recommend the 15" or the 17" Macbook Pro with quad core i7. Since you work with a lot of photos, the base model doesn't give you enough native pixels on the screen and uses dual core CPUs, and only the higher end models have a discrete graphics chip with 1GB or more of dedicated graphics memory.
So what I am saying is any modern iMac, or Macbook Pro 15" or higher should suit you well. Stay away from the Mac Mini or Macbook Air because the CPUs are slower, the new ones rely on HD 3000 integrated graphics, and you will run out of hard drive space faster!
My base model iMac only has a 500GB HD, but all other models have 1TB standard. All the audio and video files I do not store on my internal disk, I always put them on an external RAID array through firewire. But my Aperture photo library is stored locally and is super fast browsing. But I only have about 20,000 photos right now.

Is 8gb worth it for the new 13" Retina MBP? or should i stay at 4gb?

So im planning on buying the new retina MBP. Really not sure if 8gb is worth it or if i should stay at 4gb. I plan on using this as my main computer for School and Home.

Get the 8gb.
Back when it was possible to add memory yourself starting out with the minimum and adding more memory if you needed it was the way to go but now you're stuck with what you buy and if you undersize the memory you will not be happy with the system.
regards

Retina MBP- owned for 12 days

Retina MBP 13 inch - have owned it for 12 days. Closed it at 6pm w over 50% battery life, at 11pm it won't turn on, charger doesn't even light up. Not the outlet.
That happened today. Only other issue, was on day 10 it froze bcs "VLC failed to quit," so I chose the force quit and restart option.
I bought it online with Apple, there's not an apple store where I live. I've seen some info about taking out the battery, but I'm not about to attempt that. I'm still within the first 14 days...should I try to take it to Best Buy? Should I just return it and order another one? Can they just exchange it vs having to return it, get reimbursed then reorder it online?
Thank you.

Do not take your Mac to Best Buy. Best Buy cannot take a Mac as a return or exchange since you purchased directly from Apple, not to mention they have a spotty reputation for working on Macs.
Check the adapter > Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters
If it were me, I'd exchange the Mac ASAP with only two days left.
How to return an item here.
Apple will not ship a new Mac until they receive the original.

13inch MBP for 1499 or retina 15inch for 2199?

Hi, I am not able to decide on which Macbook pro to buy,
Is 15inch retina MBP for 2199 worth its price when compared to 13inch MBP for 1499.
Is 256GB flashdrive enough for future needs. I am mainly concerned about performance in long run.

If your concern is the storage you should think and see the way you keep things. Are you a guy who keeps everything including movies, music, or any other downloaded media on its laptop well the SSD is not the best choice for you at all. But if you could manage keeping your media on your external hard drives then SSD storage is the best one and 256G is going to be even more for you. I have all Microsoft Office 2011, whole Adobe CS5.5 master collection, and VMWare fusion with Windows 7 on it and it's near to 80G. What else you want to install?
But it's a big difference between 15-inch MBP and 13-inch MBP. When you mentioned size of the screen there is no reason to think of retina display. First think of the size and what you miss with 13-inch MBP and what you get from 15-inch one.
Comparing base-line MBP 15-inch with base-line MBP with retina display is a relevant comparison. You want my opinion, change the RAM of MBPR to 16G and you see it's cheaper that MBP 15-inch baseline with 256G SSD and increasing RAM to 8G.(please do not remind me I can find RAM and SSD cheaper from outside!)
I would go with the retina one if you come down to 15-inch non-retina and retina MBP baseline. But think of your needs and what you do on a regular bases, the retina baseline with 16G RAM don't even need to be upgraded! A day you need to upgrade that spec I'm sure you'd rather buy another machine
Good luck.

Upgraded 2012 MACBOOK PRO 2.6Ghz 8GB RAM 750 GB an alternate for RETINA MBP 15 or NOT?How good is its potential, reliability ?

I am a student and an aspiring filmmaker.I am also into digital cinematography (Canon 550D) and now will be venturing into editing. I am in DIRE NEED of help
I have a few problems regarding the purchase of Macbook pro.I live in Kolkata(India).I have been waiting for the past 1 and a half years to buy a Mac but after the release of Retina Macbook pro 15.I am left confused. Its near unupgradability and unreparibility rumors, delayed delivery, and 1st generation hardware issues especially the lack of Optical drive made me reconsider my decision of buying one.
I want to know whether I can go for the top model of Non Retina - 2.6Ghz 8GB RAM 750 GB 1 GB Nvidea as an alternate choice for Retina MBP pro or NOT ?
1.I wanted to buy the Retina Base model. Though it is very recently launched and there is a big risk buying it because they say it is unrepairable and unfixable as 'everything is glued into the motherboard' dialogue scares me. Something goes wrong after purchase and they send it back to US, is what the Apple officials said. Moreover they don’t keep one on a demo at Apple stores in kolkata. I have searched almost everywhere and have been to many resellers in my city but no use.
NOW,I am very sceptical about custom ordering a Macbook 15 non retina with High-Res 1680X1050p from US.I don’t know how much custom duty or expenses I have to pay and is it safe or not. Time is also a factor. Sadly, I have to buy one in Kolkata (my city) it seems.
2. I am opting for Macbook Pro 15,2.6 Ghz,8GB RAM. Buying it for the sole purpose of editing(audio, video, photos).I need something which is fast along with a good screen size. My original decision was to buy the 17inch but after the launch of Retina and the upgraded 15 inch, I am only looking forward to the upgraded models. Many say 13 inch is fast, but it features a dual core with a maximum of 2.9Ghz clockspeed. I on the other hand want a quad core i7 with good upgradability options and a good screen size. The 13 inch may be a favorite for many, but I want nothing less than a 15 inch. One good option I get with non Retina 15 is its upgradability, while many say Retina MBP 15 can be made upgradable in future but that time is yet to come and by the time the whole web becomes ‘retina friendly’ and all applications supporting its 2880X1800 resolution, I may end up waiting only. Yes the picture quality remains unbeatable when compared to Retina Pro and it will always be. Though friends, I am a student, I want something which is fast, can run almost anything and future dependable. Retina Mac book Pro in India is 2799 USD - Base model. I cannot pay that amount just for the screen. As far as speed is concerned, I plan to get an OWC SSD and a 16 GB OWC RAM in the future resulting in greater speed when comparing the configuration with Retina 15.That problem is solved.
My problem here is this: The web is filled with reviews and videos of Retina Macbook Pro and the upgraded Macbook Pro 15 is just no where, if you even find a few videos, they only feature unboxing videos of Macbook pro 15 (i7-2.3Ghz-4GB-500GB-500MB Nvidea).Other videos compare the 2.3ghz model with Retina 15 pro. They are not elaborate like the 15 Retina Pro reviews.
1. I want to know about the real performance, potential, pros, cons of Macbook Pro 15 (i7 2.6Ghz 8GB RAM 750 GB 1GB Nvidea graphics).
So my question to you is what is your opinion on the 15 inch non retina ? HOW FAST do you think is the new upgraded 15inch non retina i7-2.6Ghz-8GB-750GB model really is ?I have read on many mac forums and seen on a particular youtube video that 15inch 2.3Ghz model takes an alarming 40 seconds to start because of traditional hard drive ! A normal DELL Inspiron starts at 15 secs max with i3+4 GB RAM and this particularly confuses me about the whole quad core processing and stuff and speed when running applications like C6,FCP,Lightroom etc is to be determined in regard to the model I want to buy.
2. Is it necessary to buy APPLE CARE WARRANTY when buying a laptop from Apple.What are the benefits and how is it different form the normal customer care ?
3. Please enlighten me on some nice headphones from Sennheizer under 90 USD.I am considering Sennheiser HD 439.I am not a bass freak and I want something to use for listening to voice, loud clear. In short, a headphone for all purpose. I heard the HD 449 is not that good compared to HD 439.They say it is Jazz oriented. Another confusion !
Finally, If you know anyone who knows about this configuration (15inch 2.6 8GB RAM 750GB) and its performance than please help me out my friends. Any small detail, input, you feel like please let me know. Please help me be sure and satisfied am buying my Macbook Pro very soon and I am awaiting your response.

Well, are you talking about a 750 Hard Drive or SSD? If SSD (quite expensive) it will certainly be as fast. One option is to get the smallest HD they have and with the Non Retina you can upgrade the HD to an SSD later or now but save a little money. Check with iFixit or OWC for instructions. HD's do take longer to start up and load, but once open, the processor and video work just the same as on the Retina model. The SSD speed is nice, but really not critical. So you have to wait a minute for your computer to boot up. The other big question is you need to find out if the non-retina model will take 16GB of ram. According to OWC's site, it will, 16GB for 150USD. Once you get programs open and resident in ram, everything will fly.

MACBOOK PRO 2.6Ghz 8GB RAM 750 GB(Upgraded MBP 2012) an alternate for RETINA MBP 15 or NOT?How good is its potential, reliability ?

I am a student and an aspiring filmmaker.I am also into digital cinematography (Canon 550D) and now will be venturing into editing. I am in DIRE NEED of help
I have a few problems regarding the purchase of Macbook pro.I live in Kolkata(India).I have been waiting for the past 1 and a half years to buy a Mac but after the release of Retina Macbook pro 15.I am left confused. Its near unupgradability and unreparibility rumors, delayed delivery, and 1st generation hardware issues especially the lack of Optical drive made me reconsider my decision of buying one.
I want to know whether I can go for the top model of Non Retina - 2.6Ghz 8GB RAM 750 GB 1 GB Nvidea as an alternate choice for Retina MBP pro or NOT ?
I wanted to buy the Retina Base model. Though it is very recently launched and there is a big risk buying it because they say it is unrepairable and unfixable as 'everything is glued into the motherboard' dialogue scares me. Something goes wrong after purchase and they send it back to US, is what the Apple officials said. Moreover they don’t keep one on a demo at Apple stores in kolkata. I have searched almost everywhere and have been to many resellers in my city but no use.
NOW,I am very sceptical about custom ordering a Macbook 15 non retina with High-Res 1680X1050p from US.I don’t know how much custom duty or expenses I have to pay and is it safe or not. Time is also a factor. Sadly, I have to buy one in Kolkata (my city) it seems.
I am opting for Macbook Pro 15,2.6 Ghz,8GB RAM. Buying it for the sole purpose of editing(audio, video, photos).I need something which is fast along with a good screen size. My original decision was to buy the 17inch but after the launch of Retina and the upgraded 15 inch, I am only looking forward to the upgraded models. Many say 13 inch is fast, but it features a dual core with a maximum of 2.9Ghz clockspeed. I on the other hand want a quad core i7 with good upgradability options and a good screen size. The 13 inch may be a favorite for many, but I want nothing less than a 15 inch. One good option I get with non Retina 15 is its upgradability, while many say Retina MBP 15 can be made upgradable in future but that time is yet to come and by the time the whole web becomes ‘retina friendly’ and all applications supporting its 2880X1800 resolution, I may end up waiting only. Yes the picture quality remains unbeatable when compared to Retina Pro and it will always be. Though friends, I am a student, I want something which is fast, can run almost anything and future dependable. Retina Mac book Pro in India is 2799 USD - Base model. I cannot pay that amount just for the screen. As far as speed is concerned, I plan to get an OWC SSD and a 16 GB OWC RAM in the future resulting in greater speed when comparing the configuration with Retina 15.That problem is solved.
My problem here is this: The web is filled with reviews and videos of Retina Macbook Pro and the upgraded Macbook Pro 15 is just no where, if you even find a few videos, they only feature unboxing videos of Macbook pro 15 (i7-2.3Ghz-4GB-500GB-500MB Nvidea).Other videos compare the 2.3ghz model with Retina 15 pro. They are not elaborate like the 15 Retina Pro reviews.
I want to know about the real performance, potential, pros, cons of Macbook Pro 15 (i7 2.6Ghz 8GB RAM 750 GB 1GB Nvidea graphics).
So my question to you is what is your opinion on the 15 inch non retina ? HOW FAST do you think is the new upgraded 15inch non retina i7-2.6Ghz-8GB-750GB model really is ?I have read on many mac forums and seen on a particular youtube video that 15inch 2.3Ghz model takes an alarming 40 seconds to start because of traditional hard drive ! A normal DELL Inspiron starts at 15 secs max with i3+4 GB RAM and this particularly confuses me about the whole quad core processing and stuff and speed when running applications like C6,FCP,Lightroom etc is to be determined in regard to the model I want to buy.
A. Is it necessary to buy APPLE CARE WARRANTY when buying a laptop from Apple. What are the benefits and how is it different form the normal customer care ?
B. Please enlighten me on some nice headphones from Sennheizer under 90 USD.I am considering Sennheiser HD 439.I am not a bass freak and I want something to use for listening to voice, loud clear. In short, a headphone for all purpose. I heard the HD 449 is not that good compared to HD 439.They say it is Jazz oriented. Another confusion !
Finally, If you know anyone who knows about this configuration (15inch 2.6 8GB RAM 750GB) and its performance than please help me out my friends. Any small detail, input, you feel like please let me know. Please help me be sure and satisfied am buying my Macbook Pro very soon and I am awaiting your response.

Well, are you talking about a 750 Hard Drive or SSD? If SSD (quite expensive) it will certainly be as fast. One option is to get the smallest HD they have and with the Non Retina you can upgrade the HD to an SSD later or now but save a little money. Check with iFixit or OWC for instructions. HD's do take longer to start up and load, but once open, the processor and video work just the same as on the Retina model. The SSD speed is nice, but really not critical. So you have to wait a minute for your computer to boot up. The other big question is you need to find out if the non-retina model will take 16GB of ram. According to OWC's site, it will, 16GB for 150USD. Once you get programs open and resident in ram, everything will fly.

Can I use a retina MBP for windows - MS Office development

Hi,
I'm a windows user doing a lot of development work in MS Excel-VBA.
Because of the display I really would like to switch to the 13" retina MBP to do my daily work (using Parallels), but my question is whether it's really possible/advisable to work with Windows- MS Office 2010 on a retina machine? Does Excel (charts,forms...) behave well on the retina or would I run into too many formatting/display issues?
I plan to use Parallels 8 and Win 7 or 8.
Does anybody have experience on this?
Greetings,
BD

I can't speak to teh display quality of Office for Windows 2010 on a Retina display, but I'm successfully running Parallels 8 with Windows XP and Office 2010 - no problems with VBA at all.
But let's hear from the Retina owners - I wouldn't think that you'd have any problems.
Clinton

Where can I find a snug fitting sleeve for late 2013, 13" MBP with retina?

I was able to find many sleeves sold for MBP retina, but they also fit regular MBP. I want a snug fitting sleeve, specifically tailored for the retina display 13" MBP from late 2013. Does anyone know of any? Your help is appreciated.

I was about to provide you a link of a very nice case, but it's for the non-retina MacBook Pro's. You could use them but it your MacBook wouldn't fit tightly in them.

8GB vs. 16GB, revisited for Retina MBP, advances in tech and low prices

Hi everyone. The "How much RAM is the right amount" has been asked for a long time, but I'd like to re-ask the question keeping in mind that the Retina MBP cannot be upgraded but it already gives you a generous 8GB. I know, I know, it all depends on what you use it for, so let me give you my usage scenario: I have at least two browsers open with about 30 tabs open between them. Safari and Chrome to be precise. I haven't used Firefox in a while, but may go back to using it again as well. I also like to keep Mail, Messages, Calendar, Notes, and some monitoring utilities open at all times as well.
I also want to ask the question with OS X memory usage and how Activity Monitor reports RAM usage. For example, I had 16GB on my late-2011 17" MBP just because it was cheap and Activity Monitor breaks down RAM usage in 4 areas: Active, Wired, Inactive, Free, where the first two is RAM actually used by the system, but Inactive RAM was often used to a fairly large degree. Sometimes it would report RAM as "Inactive" to the point where only 1 or 2GB were shown as "Free". Quick disclaimer: I know that inactive RAM can be immediately assigned to applications that need it, but what I'd like to know is as to whether the overall speed and stability of so many apps would truly benefit from 16GB of RAM or not. There must be some reason for this Inactive RAM being used as what, caching? It almost has to be of some benefit, because if there wasn't any benefit to it, why have the "Inactive" category at all, or am I missing something here?
Thanks everyone. :-)

I would say you will want the 16GB for a few reasons. You are working with memory-intensive datasets, and also you are running a virtual machine. VMs tend to use up a lot of RAM since it means you are running two complete OSs at the same time, on top of any other apps you might be running.
The third reason is that the Retina models cannot be upgraded after purchase. You would not want to have an 8GB forever if you discovered that your future work needed a bit more memory. You've already demonstrated doing some tasks that can be RAM-intensive, just max out the RAM and never worry about it again.
If you still have doubts, learn how to analyze RAM usage and particularly swap file behavior in Activity Monitor. If your Mac is already paging to swap files frequently, you already need the RAM. If you do work for several days and swap paging activity is low, you don't need the RAM.

Should I go for a 13" retina MBP with 16GB Ram and 2.8ghz dualcore or a 15" Base model with 8 GB Ram and 2.0ghz Quadcore?

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