Debating whether to get the latest MBPs?

[laurieballard]

Hi

I have a 2018 MBA with 8Gb of RAM and the i5 dual core processor which has been fine for 18 months, no issues with the butterfly keyboard thus far! Starting to do more video editing and with the latest iPhones doing 4K, the MBA is really struggling to keep up and its getting on my nerves. Plus I would like to run something called Eve-Ng which is some Router emulation software which needs VMware and 6GB of RAM ideally for the VM itself.

The upshot is that I need to replace the MBA with a better laptop, the latest Air is not enough of a step up and the thermals look poor so its really only MBP.

I use an external 4K monitor regularly though and the running hot issues with the 16" concern me a bit, I don't want to be sitting there for hours with a hot and noisy machine and being honest, I still want portability which the 16" doesn't really give, I can't imagine myself using it on a plane for example (if we can ever fly again).

I have heard reports of the 13" running hot in general but is this just the base models with the 8th Gen? I would likely get the 10th gen with 512GB and 16GB of RAM but I am not sure if its worth holding out for the 14"? Although this could be 6-9 months away if you assume early 2021.

I am not sure, the latest MacBooks just don't fill me with confidence, I don't want a machine which is going to sit with its fans on running hot for hours on end.

Thanks

 

[velocityg4]

I think if Apple was going to do a 14". They'd have done so when they updated the keyboard on the 2020 13 model. Maybe the ARM model will be a full redesign.

Laptop Mag says it runs pretty cool. That doesn't mean the fans won't be spinning. Just that Apple did a good job moving the heat away from surface.

MacBook Pro 2020 (13-inch) Review

The 13-inch MacBook Pro gets important, incremental changes

www.laptopmag.com

Noise level is about the same as the previous 13" under heavy load. Surface temps are a bit warm but manageable.

MacBook Pro 13 2020 in Review: Apple's subnotebook only gets the mandatory update

Notebookcheck reviews the new 2020 Apple MacBook Pro 13 w/ 4x Thunderbolt 3. Except for the new keyboard, however, the update is pretty boring.

www.notebookcheck.net

Really though, if your current laptop isn't fast enough for your tasks. Nor does it have enough RAM for everything. I couldn't see holding out for a year. Just in the hopes that the next model may be quieter.

 

[pshufd]

You might consider getting a Mini. You could get 32 GB of RAM and the i3 or i5 should be enough for your needs. You could get the RAM aftermarket if you're up to changing it yourself. This would give you the additional functionality that you want for additional tasks while you continue using your MBA which you've indicated that you are happy with - just not with some additional work that you want to do.

It would also provide you with a backup machine which I think is a necessity if you depend on your system to make a living.