Pimp out the MBP 13" and get a better setup than the MBPR 13"

[iMore Question]

Argh, I am on the fence, should I go to town on the old MBP and do this:

2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM ? 2x4GB
512GB Solid State Drive
SuperDrive 8x (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW)

or

Go Retina and do this:

2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
512GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

This is for graphic design and photography, old school looks like it has more punch. Please help me make the call!

Thanks

 

[anon(4698833)]

If I were to go the non-retina route...I would get either an '11 or '12 model and deck it out myself. You'd save up front on the system because it's a couple of years old, and you'd have the ability to up the RAM to 16GB, dual boot an SSD with an HDD, and you'd still be enjoying the performance of the i7 processor. You might take a hit on battery life a tad with the older sandy bridge or ivy bridge processors, but honestly, for horsepower...you'd be right in line.

I'm using a spec'ed up 2012 model and love it. Had a retina model for about 3-4 months and just didn't see the need, and absolutely hated the limitations set with customizing the internals. I sold it and quickly went back to the non-retina model and have zero regrets. The retina display is absolutely beautiful...there's no comparison between the two in that approach.