First Time MBP Buyer, What To Look For In Specs When Building?

[Brandy-Boi]

I've always been an Apple person (iMac, iPhones) but as of recent I've been looking into the Macbook Pro for my more personal and work use. I don't deal with laptops too often and not sure what to look for spec wise, since this is my first laptop in ages and considerng how pricey they are I'd like to hopefully future proof it so it lasts a long time. I'm not sure if any of the options for picking out specs helps it become future proof but I'd like to ask regardless. I'm mainly trying to figure out what kind of build will suit my needs without going overboard on spending. I'm looking at the 16 inch MBP, it seems like it'd suit someone my size.

I plan to buy the Pro Apps Bundle, mainly to use PLX and FCPX. I've been voice acting for a bit and would like to use Pro Logic, Reaper has been giving me issues. I have a usb interface for utilising my mics XLR capabilities so not sure if that would affect anything. For Final Cut I plan on teaching myself how to video edit, nothing wild or beyond 1080p videos. It would be simple things like demo reels, review style videos where its me talking and various kind of footage in the background, maybe ********-y kind of things too lol. Personal use like web browsing, YouTube and mild gaming of course come into play. Given all of that I compiled what I think would be a good build without breaking my budget:

2.4GHz 8‑core 9th‑generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz

32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory

AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory

1TB SSD storage

All that together according to the Apple Macbook Pro page equals to $3199. Do you think that sounds about right for my needs? I'd like this to last as long as it can, the only thing I'm wondering about is the 32 ram vs 64 ram, what would constitute 64? I've read mixed feelings on if its overkill or laptops or not or depending on whats being worked on. Any thoughts on my build, things to improve or knock down? Any feedback is helpful since this is all guesswork on my end and I'm looking for any kind opinions on the matter. I just don't want to walk into Best Buy and deal with being talked into buying the most expensive model is all lol.

 

[ruslan120]

It looks great to me.

Unless you’re multi tasking with heavy applications, or running super intensive RAM applications like photo editing in high resolution, you don’t need 64GB. At that point you’d probably be at the thermal capacity of the machine anyway.

You might even get away with 16GB RAM but I would recommend breathing room so this is great.

 

[Mark_EL]

Not really sure if the upgrade from the 2.3Ghz to the 2.4Ghz will be worth it?

 

[ruslan120]

Not really sure if the upgrade from the 2.3Ghz to the 2.4Ghz will be worth it?

Apparently there’s a solid chance it’s a better bin processor and the performance difference is not insubstantial.

I forget which thread it was on MacRumors.

 

[leman]

I‘d say that it’s an overkill for your needs. You will be fine with the slower CPU and the 5300M. You also most likely will be fine with 16GB RAM.

 

[Steve686]

I've always been an Apple person (iMac, iPhones) but as of recent I've been looking into the Macbook Pro for my more personal and work use. I don't deal with laptops too often and not sure what to look for spec wise, since this is my first laptop in ages and considerng how pricey they are I'd like to hopefully future proof it so it lasts a long time. I'm not sure if any of the options for picking out specs helps it become future proof but I'd like to ask regardless. I'm mainly trying to figure out what kind of build will suit my needs without going overboard on spending. I'm looking at the 16 inch MBP, it seems like it'd suit someone my size.

I plan to buy the Pro Apps Bundle, mainly to use PLX and FCPX. I've been voice acting for a bit and would like to use Pro Logic, Reaper has been giving me issues. I have a usb interface for utilising my mics XLR capabilities so not sure if that would affect anything. For Final Cut I plan on teaching myself how to video edit, nothing wild or beyond 1080p videos. It would be simple things like demo reels, review style videos where its me talking and various kind of footage in the background, maybe ********-y kind of things too lol. Personal use like web browsing, YouTube and mild gaming of course come into play. Given all of that I compiled what I think would be a good build without breaking my budget:

2.4GHz 8‑core 9th‑generation Intel Core i9 processor, Turbo Boost up to 5.0GHz

32GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory

AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory

1TB SSD storage

All that together according to the Apple Macbook Pro page equals to $3199. Do you think that sounds about right for my needs? I'd like this to last as long as it can, the only thing I'm wondering about is the 32 ram vs 64 ram, what would constitute 64? I've read mixed feelings on if its overkill or laptops or not or depending on whats being worked on. Any thoughts on my build, things to improve or knock down? Any feedback is helpful since this is all guesswork on my end and I'm looking for any kind opinions on the matter. I just don't want to walk into Best Buy and deal with being talked into buying the most expensive model is all lol.

You can get this model at B&H Photo, minus the processor upgrade, for $3150...normally $3299. It's the exact model I have bought from them and could not be happier.

I use FCPX in conjunction with a Sony A7iii and this machine flies through my workflow really well. For your 1080P edits, this will eat them alive.

This model should give you at least very playable and probably very high FPS in most medium setting games.