13” MBP 2.4 i5 1TB or 2.8 i7 512GB

[galactic orange]

I’m looking at the 2019 MBP 13" 2.8GHz i7 with 512GB vs staying with the 2.4GHz i5 and upping the storage to 1TB. The latter option ends up costing about $100 less since Apple reduced the price of higher tier storage upgrades. If not for that I was going for the i7/512.

My primary use is Logic Pro X with some synth instruments that perform better with a higher single-core score (U-he Diva, Massive X). But I also use sample instruments and that extra storage space on Apple’s fast SSD would be useful for sampled virtual instruments, large downloads/extractions, etc.

Would you go for the extra speed or extra space? I primarily use a 2018 Mac Mini 6-core i7 512/32GB but will be traveling soon and need something portable. My 13” 2009 MBP weighs a ton and is long in the tooth. Also, I prefer the 13” form factor for the portability and desk space aspects.

 

[Trey M]

Totally an opinion question but I would go for the storage upgrade. You already have a Mac Mini for tasks where you really need the power, and generally the Intel chip upgrades provide nominal performance differences. In fact, depending on the binning process, you may get an almost identical processor with the i5 though it won’t be clocked as high.

On top of that, resale value you’ll see much more bang for you buck with the storage upgrade and you’ll have the piece of mind knowing you don’t have to micro manage your drive space.