Right, and I think this eliminates the 13" from my options.
It's hard to tell how intensively I use my present Macbook, but the things that take the longest are a 40px surface blur of a .dng file. I'm not sure how much I will use the extra graphics card, but I suppose after reading the first post it would be better to not leave it out.
It is tempting to switch over to something like this given that it's almost $800 cheaper...
Sony Vaio S 15"
3rd gen Intel® Core™ i7-3632QM quad-core processor (2.20GHz / 3.20GHz with Turbo Boost)
Windows 8 Pro 64-bit [$50.00]
Fresh Start
Microsoft® Office 2010 trial version
15.5" LED backlit Full HD IPS display (1920 x 1080)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 640M LE (2GB) hybrid graphics with Intel® Wireless Display technology
512GB (256GB x2) solid state drive with RAID 0 (Save $255, reg. price $1,040.00) [$785.00]
12GB (4GB fixed onboard + 8GB removable) DDR3-1333MHz (Save $15, reg. price $90.00) [$75.00]
CD/DVD player / burner
Internal (4400mAh) + sheet (4400mAh) lithium polymer batteries
I'm not brand loyal to Apple, but in my past two Apple purchases, the price difference was worth it to be able to us the OS X. I'm not afraid about learning to use a new OS, but I also haven't read much about Windows 8, or kept up to date with what features it has and how it fares. I was just comfortable using OS X.
I'm not worries about portability too much. I don't mind shlepping a 15" MacBook around it it means I'll have the proper tool to be able to edit where ever I want without too much limitations. I'm young enough that I shouldn't be complaining about this sort of thing
I also don't like how the battery is glued in. I typically treat my batteries well (full depletion before recharging), but I still went through a battery with my last laptop. I know they are consumables, and this does worry me a bit when replacement time comes.
I suppose the ultimate decision is if OS X is worth the extra money...
I'm lucky to be faced with a choice like this, but it's still one I wish I didn't have to spend so much time on.