2017 Macbook Pro buying advice. Video editing centric

[MountainDrewl]

My wife and I have a popular youtube channel and we are looking at a new 2017 macbook pro to serve primarily as a video editing laptop, some homeschool work. Hours behind a desktop, wife edits mostly, can get old and we would like to have the ability to edit, say.. on the couch or in bed. Final Cut Pro is a deal breaker, so the laptop must be a Mac. All of our videos so far are filmed in 1080p, no 4k on the horizon as of now. After visiting BestBuy a few days ago my wife thinks she will prefer the size/comfort of the 13, smaller and less weight on her lap/stomach, also 6 months pregnant currently. After studying up the past few days on this forum and reading articles, I've noticed most will advise on the 15 instead of the 13 for heavy video editing work due to a dedicated GPU, quad core i7 and so on. Should I push the 15 (lower level) or will the 13 suffice? Below is what I have in my bag on the apple website. I've decided, not completely, to opt for the 512ssd and purchase e-ssd when needed. Please also advise if the 1tb is worth it the extra initial $400. Thanks in advance.


13-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
$2,368.99

• Hardware(13-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray)
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • 3.3GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
  • 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
  • 512GB SSD storage
  • Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Backlit Keyboard - US English
  • Accessory Kit
  • Force Touch trackpad
• Software(13-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray)
  • macOS Sierra
  • Photos, iMovie, GarageBand
  • Pages, Numbers, Keynote
  • Pro Apps Bundle for Education

 

[killawat]

You can cut on a 13" but I gotta ask how popular your channel is before making any recommendations. How many subscribers? Are you committed to publishing at a certain date/time where you miss a drop and lose fans?

I would only choose the 13" if portability is the #1 factor. The 15" is pretty portable but not as portable as the 13" . But the performance gains (Two extra cores, dedicated graphics) would serve perfect for cutting video.

I wouldn't go higher than 512 unless you will go a long time without being able to save your media elsewhere. I'd spend the money on an extra external drive (unless you already have one).

 

[MountainDrewl]

Thanks for the advice killawat. Currently we have 15,000 subs with one channel but soon to be 500,000 on another. 15 worth putting my foot down about or will the 13 suffice?

You can cut on a 13" but I gotta ask how popular your channel is before making any recommendations. How many subscribers? Are you committed to publishing at a certain date/time where you miss a drop and lose fans?

I would only choose the 13" if portability is the #1 factor. The 15" is pretty portable but not as portable as the 13" . But the performance gains (Two extra cores, dedicated graphics) would serve perfect for cutting video.

I wouldn't go higher than 512 unless you will go a long time without being able to save your media elsewhere. I'd spend the money on an extra external drive (unless you already have one).

 

[killawat]

15 worth putting my foot down about or will the 13 suffice?

I'd go 15" . The 13" will work great but if you have deadlines I'd prioritize speed over all else.

 

[mcpryon2]

I'd go 15" . The 13" will work great but if you have deadlines I'd prioritize speed over all else.

I agree with this. If time matters then I'd go with the 15". If you get the higher spec 13" you're getting close to the price of a base 15". But, if you're just doing a video a day then you'd probably be fine with the 13".

If the 13" feels better in a portable environment, that's a big thing. You don't want to be unhappy if the 15" is too big in your (wife's) lap. You can put an external monitor on either one and use it like that, too.

As far at the 1TB option it's probably not needed unless you know you'll be on the road doing a project. You could get the 15" and a bus-powered external for cheaper than the 1TB upgrade. I just did a week-long project and my 1TB drive came in handy but I could have easily gotten away with using my 1TB or 500GB SSD external.

I'd go with your gut feeling.