13" ntb macbook vs 2015 15" macbook lightroom

[carperjosh]

Hi guys,

after much research it seems apparent that the old 2015 15" macbook pro will be the best buy for my needs. I normally have up to 10 tabs web browsing and multi tasking with heavy useage of adobe lightroom. most people say you need at least 16gb RAM for this task and the price of the ntb model with 16gb ram is the same as the 2015 model 15inch so it's a no brainer for the quad core processor. i hope this can help others out

 

[NickPhamUK]

For photo/video editing it's a no brainer to go with the 15". Unless you plan to connect your 13" to a screen (so extra money here).

Also, the nTB has a 15W processor, so it might throttle after long use.

I have a 13" and it's super small and light, but I'm happy because I only need Office 365 on the road .

 

[kwandrews]

I had a 13" non-touch 13" and now a 15" TB 2016...night and day for me. Love the 15". I'm sure the 2015 15" (which I considered very strongly) would work just as well for LR6/CC.

 

[David58117]

I have both of those and will be selling the 15" and keeping the non-tb 13.

The portability of the 13" is just crazy, and it's much nicer to travel with. I use Logic Pro x, and the base 13" model seems to handle all of my projects perfectly well.

I haven't experienced throttling at all with the 13", but I don't have use for the igpu.

 

[kwandrews]

Yes. Glad they make both sizes to fit different needs. Now, if they had a quad core 13", I'd be all over that!

 

[carperjosh]

I have both of those and will be selling the 15" and keeping the non-tb 13.

The portability of the 13" is just crazy, and it's much nicer to travel with. I use Logic Pro x, and the base 13" model seems to handle all of my projects perfectly well.

I haven't experienced throttling at all with the 13", but I don't have use for the igpu.

interesting have you used lightroom/photoshop?

 

[David58117]

interesting have you used lightroom/photoshop?

Nope, don't use either.

 

[coopercoop]

I have both of those and will be selling the 15" and keeping the non-tb 13.

The portability of the 13" is just crazy, and it's much nicer to travel with. I use Logic Pro x, and the base 13" model seems to handle all of my projects perfectly well.

I haven't experienced throttling at all with the 13", but I don't have use for the igpu.

Any chance you have used ableton? I am waiting for mine to arrive, my thought was that there is not need for the iGPU in music production so the processor would not be likely to throttle

 

[David58117]

Any chance you have used ableton? I am waiting for mine to arrive, my thought was that there is not need for the iGPU in music production so the processor would not be likely to throttle

I haven't used ableton, sorry.

I would imagine it's fine though. Throttling hasn't been an issue, and I've seen weaker processors running protools/logic/cubase fine.

In logic there's a "Helena beat" demo with 80 something tracks - during it my base config 13" showed over 70% CPU idle, with memory pressure green and about 1/3rd full.

 

[kwandrews]

interesting have you used lightroom/photoshop?

Yes, to LR. I had the 13" NT version. Now a 15" base. Both are usable. I've found that the 15" handles my larger libraries much better (but that was vs. the lowest 13"). I prefer the larger screen for mobile LR work / any photo video work.

 

[carperjosh]

Yes, to LR. I had the 13" NT version. Now a 15" base. Both are usable. I've found that the 15" handles my larger libraries much better (but that was vs. the lowest 13"). I prefer the larger screen for mobile LR work / any photo video work.

do you shot Raw 20megapixel+ pictures?

 

[kwandrews]

do you shot Raw 20megapixel+ pictures?

Even my 12" MBr m5 can handle that easily. Not a big deal. Yes, my GX8 in RAW and 4K.

 

[andrewj]

Have used both 13" and 15" MB and now the 2016 15" MBP. Definitely prefer the 15" for handling Lightroom. Waiting for Lightroom to incorporate the Touch Bar. On the other hand, the TB 15" MBPi is about the same speed as my 2013 15" MBP with respect to LR, so not a big speed improvement.