13" MBP Processor Advice

[dannymcg]

I'm going to be buying a new 13"MBP to replace a late 2013 15"MBP in the next week or so. I'm looking for some advice on processor choice. Can't really justify the price of another 15" and not sure I require the dedicated GPU.

In real world use is there much difference? The most tasking thing I'll be doing is some photo and home video editing. I'll also be using Prism for medical data analysis but I don't think this is particularly processor intensive.

I guess my main question is around longevity, I usually replace my laptop every 4-5 years.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ls1dreams]

I'm assuming you're mostly debating between the 15w 2.3ghz cpu and the 28w 3.1ghz cpu?

Some interesting notes worth comparing:
- The 15w (non-TB) model has only one fan that runs a little faster/louder to clear out heat vs. the 2 fans of the 28w models
- Despite having a much lower base clock, it seems those 15w chips can run for a VERY long time in turbo mode, which means they compete well
- For some crazy reason, the more expensive TB models actually have a 10% smaller battery size (49Wh vs 54Wh or so, all of which are much lower than previous models that were as high as 64Wh)

Here's a very interesting look at performance and battery life at the 2016 models from a developer who ran some build tests. Oddly the lower powered cpu was faster!

https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2017/i-returned-my-2016-macbook-pro-touch-bar

2016 Touch Bar - 3.1 GHz i5 - average build time: 8:45
2016 Fn key - 2.4 GHz i7 - average build time: 7:52 . (AND the battery lasted 24min longer)

Not sure what's going on, but I suspect the higher end macbook pros are thermal throttling quite a bit.

 

[dannymcg]

I'm assuming you're mostly debating between the 15w 2.3ghz cpu and the 28w 3.1ghz cpu?

Some interesting notes worth comparing:
- The 15w (non-TB) model has only one fan that runs a little faster/louder to clear out heat vs. the 2 fans of the 28w models
- Despite having a much lower base clock, it seems those 15w chips can run for a VERY long time in turbo mode, which means they compete well
- For some crazy reason, the more expensive TB models actually have a 10% smaller battery size (49Wh vs 54Wh or so, all of which are much lower than previous models that were as high as 64Wh)

Here's a very interesting look at performance and battery life at the 2016 models from a developer who ran some build tests. Oddly the lower powered cpu was faster!

https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2017/i-returned-my-2016-macbook-pro-touch-bar

2016 Touch Bar - 3.1 GHz i5 - average build time: 8:45
2016 Fn key - 2.4 GHz i7 - average build time: 7:52 . (AND the battery lasted 24min longer)

Not sure what's going on, but I suspect the higher end macbook pros are thermal throttling quite a bit.

Thanks for this. Really helpful. Some very odd differences there. I’m actually looking at the 2017 models and quite fancy a TB model. Any thoughts on these. I’m guessing the small differences in clock speed aren’t going to make much difference for me. I will be opting for 16Gb of ram though.

 

[ls1dreams]

Thanks for this. Really helpful. Some very odd differences there. I’m actually looking at the 2017 models and quite fancy a TB model. Any thoughts on these. I’m guessing the small differences in clock speed aren’t going to make much difference for me. I will be opting for 16Gb of ram though.

I personally am looking at the 13" / 3.1ghz TB / 16gb / 512gb model from the outlet for $1860. It's a hell of a lot of money, but you can't upgrade the ram or SSD's in these models.

You could consider the 15" models when they come to the outlet as well which will prob. be $400 more or so.