Are these specs good?

[thedude731]

Hello there buddy,
Looking for a macbook pro 2015 15''
Im going to use it mostly for photoshop, internet browsing maybe video editing or in general graphic desigh.
What specs are going to be best.

Thanks for the help.
Ps. Really really aprreciate it.

Btw are these specs good for the job


- macOS High Sierra
- Retina Display
- Intel Iris Pro
- AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics
- Intel Core i7-4980HQ @ 2.80GHz
- 1TB SSD
- 16 GB RAM

 

[Jac Robinson]

Well, those are the max specs for a 2015 model. If a 2015 MacBook Pro is what you want, then that is as good as it gets without any non-oem upgrades. I don't really know how performance will be relative to your listed tasks, namely photoshop. I use my 13" from that year for the same purposes and more with the exception of photoshop. 16GB of Ram has been plenty. I sometimes wish for a faster processor when doing video exports.

 

[thedude731]

Well, those are the max specs for a 2015 model. If a 2015 MacBook Pro is what you want, then that is as good as it gets without any non-oem upgrades. I don't really know how performance will be relative to your listed tasks, namely photoshop. I use my 13" from that year for the same purposes and more with the exception of photoshop. 16GB of Ram has been plenty. I sometimes wish for a faster processor when doing video exports.

If not those specs that I pointed wich is best in your opinion for the job, and money stand point

 

[pshufd]

If not those specs that I pointed wich is best in your opinion for the job, and money stand point

We can't answer that question. Usually someone states how their current system is handling their workload and we can give an estimate based on the difference in specs between machines. Tools vary widely in machine demands as do workloads. Working on low resolution video is a lot different from working on high resolution video.

 

[Jac Robinson]

If not those specs that I pointed wich is best in your opinion for the job, and money stand point

For me a lot of it comes down to money and personal preference. I like more battery life and a more portable computer, that's why I use a 13". You may prefer a faster processor, larger screen, and a dedicated graphics card. That's why there is a 15" MacBook Pro.

MacOS is very well optimized to work on less-than top of the line hardware specs. What web browser do you plan to use? What video editor do you plan to use? What resolution video do you plan to edit? If you're not exactly sure what you need, I would start on the lower end.

Consider how much space you need/want and if you are willing to keep stuff on an external drive. You probably don't need the BTO 2.8GHZ processor. If you want my personal recommendation for a 15" from that year, I would go with a 2.5GHZ processor if you want a dedicated graphics card. Otherwise, get the 2.2GHZ for better battery life. I think 512GB of storage is the sweet spot between performance and price at this point in time. That could change as early as next week. Only you know how much storage you need.

Good Luck!

 

[pshufd]

For me a lot of it comes down to money and personal preference. I like more battery life and a more portable computer, that's why I use a 13". You may prefer a faster processor, larger screen, and a dedicated graphics card. That's why there is a 15" MacBook Pro.

MacOS is very well optimized to work on less-than top of the line hardware specs. What web browser do you plan to use? What video editor do you plan to use? What resolution video do you plan to edit? If you're not exactly sure what you need, I would start on the lower end.

Consider how much space you need/want and if you are willing to keep stuff on an external drive. You probably don't need the BTO 2.8GHZ processor. If you want my personal recommendation for a 15" from that year, I would go with a 2.5GHZ processor if you want a dedicated graphics card. Otherwise, get the 2.2GHZ for better battery life. I think 512GB of storage is the sweet spot between performance and price at this point in time. That could change as early as next week. Only you know how much storage you need.

Good Luck!

Why do you think that lower-clocked CPUs give you better battery life?

 

[Jac Robinson]

Why do you think that lower-clocked CPUs give you better battery life?

It's not about the CPU. It is because there is no dedicated graphics card, which may consume more battery life. (Depending on how often and how hard it is used).

 

[jandrso]

Really it boils down to how much time is dedicated to video?
That other stuff is secondary unless Photoshop is the main business. What makes you money if this is a business? If you are going to do any serious editing, real time redaction, or SFX, then core count matters for threading, turbo speeds be damned. Get the most cores with a discrete GFX in a MBP you can afford. Gen 8 Coffees are really a sweet spot if you can afford it. Thunderbolt ports 4k monitor driving is also a discrete GFX must.
I guess knowing your price point would be a bit helpful. There are some great deals on banging used or refurbed systems that will do what you want and last for a number of more years. But you will pay US$1500 or more<-- emphasis on the more depending on where you get them.

My post script is, I agree that the 512gb internal SSD (NVMe is better of course as it uses PCI-e) is sweet enough to move your video files to and process. A 2Tb external ThunderBolt drive is perfect for storage/transport.

So how much you wanna spend?

 

[thedude731]

Really it boils down to how much time is dedicated to video?
That other stuff is secondary unless Photoshop is the main business. What makes you money if this is a business? If you are going to do any serious editing, real time redaction, or SFX, then core count matters for threading, turbo speeds be damned. Get the most cores with a discrete GFX in a MBP you can afford. Gen 8 Coffees are really a sweet spot if you can afford it. Thunderbolt ports 4k monitor driving is also a discrete GFX must.
I guess knowing your price point would be a bit helpful. There are some great deals on banging used or refurbed systems that will do what you want and last for a number of more years. But you will pay US$1500 or more<-- emphasis on the more depending on where you get them.

My post script is, I agree that the 512gb internal SSD (NVMe is better of course as it uses PCI-e) is sweet enough to move your video files to and process. A 2Tb external ThunderBolt drive is perfect for storage/transport.

So how much you wanna spend?

Around 1000$ i want to buy it from ebay
So video editing the videos duration wil be less then 1 minute, ill work on making adds and stuff

 

[thedude731]

For me a lot of it comes down to money and personal preference. I like more battery life and a more portable computer, that's why I use a 13". You may prefer a faster processor, larger screen, and a dedicated graphics card. That's why there is a 15" MacBook Pro.

MacOS is very well optimized to work on less-than top of the line hardware specs. What web browser do you plan to use? What video editor do you plan to use? What resolution video do you plan to edit? If you're not exactly sure what you need, I would start on the lower end.

Consider how much space you need/want and if you are willing to keep stuff on an external drive. You probably don't need the BTO 2.8GHZ processor. If you want my personal recommendation for a 15" from that year, I would go with a 2.5GHZ processor if you want a dedicated graphics card. Otherwise, get the 2.2GHZ for better battery life. I think 512GB of storage is the sweet spot between performance and price at this point in time. That could change as early as next week. Only you know how much storage you need.

Good Luck!

hey bud, just wondering what means a dedicated graphics card.
And a question that i saw, i plan to use the Adobe Premiere Pro

 

[MBAir2010]

i love the intro: "hello there buddy" we need more spontaneity here!
if you are investing in a laptop that will perform all your tasks for a couple more years i would invest in a new laptop that will browse the web, and perform all your computing tasks because my mba2010 is limited now and i just use that for photoshop and saving ipad photos. I was considering getting a 2013-2015 MBpro this winter as well.

 

[pshufd]

hey bud, just wondering what means a dedicated graphics card.
And a question that i saw, i plan to use the Adobe Premiere Pro

Most modern Intel consumer CPUs have display graphics on the CPU. This is good enough for a lot of consumer applications but Intel Integrated graphics usually don't perform as well as dedicated graphics chips that usually come from AMD or nVIdia. Also, Intel Integrated graphics uses System RAM to hold graphics data so you lose memory, up to 1.5 GB for graphics use. Discrete graphics solutions usually come with their own dedicated RAM to hold graphics data.

So discrete graphics will generally give you better performance for some workloads and leave all of your system RAM for system and application use.

 

[Jac Robinson]

Most modern Intel consumer CPUs have display graphics on the CPU. This is good enough for a lot of consumer applications but Intel Integrated graphics usually don't perform as well as dedicated graphics chips that usually come from AMD or nVIdia. Also, Intel Integrated graphics uses System RAM to hold graphics data so you lose memory, up to 1.5 GB for graphics use. Discrete graphics solutions usually come with their own dedicated RAM to hold graphics data.

So discrete graphics will generally give you better performance for some workloads and leave all of your system RAM for system and application use.

∆ Great explanation!

hey bud, just wondering what means a dedicated graphics card.
And a question that i saw, i plan to use the Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premier... I have used it a fair amount in years past. It has in many ways become a resource monster. Adobe does not do a very good job of optimizing it to run on lesser specs. I do not recommend using Premier on a Mac in general. It is usable. Adobe has done a good enough job with previews and such that Premier is pretty usable on Windows. If you really want to use Premier, I would probably recommend that you buy a windows desktop with the specs that you need to run it. (On a side note, some of my buddies use Premier on their MacBook Pros all the time, but they also keep up with newer specs more than I do.)

I have not been doing a lot of video editing as of late, however, I am considering trying Final Cut Pro. (If I can afford it up front... it's cheaper as a college student, but I still don't have a lot of money and am hoping to get married in the next half decade... I can dream)