From iMac to 16" MBP questions.

[Jose17]

I´m about to order the new 16" MBP and I can´t decide about the right configuration for me
while trying no to go sky rocket high in the final price.

Questions:

1: Processor: 2.3GHZ or 2.4 ?

2: Memory: 32GB or 64 ?

3: Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 4 or 8 GB of memory ?

I use Photoshop CC to edit my RAW pictures from a high resolution Camera (Nikon D850), sometime editing Videos
with Adobe Premiere, and I use some high power consuming plug-in filters like Topaz Sharpen AI and several others.

Now I have an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) with a 4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, 32 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
memory and Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 M395X 4 GB, on a 500 SSD hard drive running Catalina 10.15.1 .

Everything runs just fine with the iMac, but it is taking long time to process large RAW pictures when edited on Photoshop
and applying some filters.

I'm planning to replace the iMac with a new 16" MBP as I need portability, and probably adding an external monitor to
use it when I stay at home after selling the iMac, and gaining process power after the change.

Which should be considered with priority when configuring the16" MBP , the Processor, RAM, Graphics ?

I'll apreciate any help regarding this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ruslan120]

If you’re a photo editor then -
[1] Video ram helps with complex scenes. and it’s $100. I would go for it
[2] RAM helps with photo editing as well. If you have the budget I would go for that as well. It’s the same price going from 16->32 as it is to go from 32->64.
[3] 2.3->2.4 is not worth it. It’s the same chip that just runs a bit faster. Even the 2.3 slows down eventually due to thermals, so you won’t really see much benefit from the 2.4

There are some good videos on YouTube by MaxTech that describe “mistakes to avoid” when buying a new macbook pro. Worth a watch.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sirmausalot]

I've done something similar, but I'm realizing that I'm not putting the iMac out to pasture. It's still a great machine that does quite a bit. But the MacBook is a stunning piece of tech, especially considering it's portable. But I'll continue to work on the iMac at home for a while, unless I need the processing power of the MacBook pro for compression/exports. Not sure if you need 64gb ram. 16 is enough for FCPX 4k. But do bump up the graphics card, but the processor only gives a 10% real world boost in very specific circumstance

 

[ruslan120]

I've done something similar, but I'm realizing that I'm not putting the iMac out to pasture. It's still a great machine that does quite a bit. But the MacBook is a stunning piece of tech, especially considering it's portable. But I'll continue to work on the iMac at home for a while, unless I need the processing power of the MacBook pro for compression/exports. Not sure if you need 64gb ram. 16 is enough for FCPX 4k. But do bump up the graphics card, but the processor only gives a 10% real world boost in very specific circumstance

It's a good thing Apple enabled Target Display Mode on 5K iMacs so that they're not completely useless after upgrading to a new machine.

.... :'[

 

[Jose17]

Thanks for your input rusian120!

After your advice and also watching the MaxTech Video I´m going for the Video RAM and still not sure about 32 or 64 RAM.

 

[ruslan120]

No problem!

I use the unhappiness benchmark on occasion. i.e. how unhappy you would be if things slow down due to lack of RAM vs how unhappy you’d be with $400 out of pocket

least unhappy wins

 

[Jose17]

I've done something similar, but I'm realizing that I'm not putting the iMac out to pasture. It's still a great machine that does quite a bit. But the MacBook is a stunning piece of tech, especially considering it's portable. But I'll continue to work on the iMac at home for a while, unless I need the processing power of the MacBook pro for compression/exports. Not sure if you need 64gb ram. 16 is enough for FCPX 4k. But do bump up the graphics card, but the processor only gives a 10% real world boost in very specific circumstance

It's a good thing Apple enabled Target Display Mode on 5K iMacs so that they're not completely useless after upgrading to a new machine.

.... :'[

Wow!!!...I didn't know about "Target Display Mode on 5K iMacs", I.m going to try the new 16 MBP connected to my iMac for a while.... Thanks again ruslan120!
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I've done something similar, but I'm realizing that I'm not putting the iMac out to pasture. It's still a great machine that does quite a bit. But the MacBook is a stunning piece of tech, especially considering it's portable. But I'll continue to work on the iMac at home for a while, unless I need the processing power of the MacBook pro for compression/exports. Not sure if you need 64gb ram. 16 is enough for FCPX 4k. But do bump up the graphics card, but the processor only gives a 10% real world boost in very specific circumstance

You are right, thanks Sirmausalot!!

After learning about "Target Display Mode on 5K iMacs" from rusian120 Ill keep my iMac connected to the 16 MBP for a while, probably better option that buying an external monitor.

 

[Jose17]

No problem!

I use the unhappiness benchmark on occasion. i.e. how unhappy you would be if things slow down due to lack of RAM vs how unhappy you’d be with $400 out of pocket

least unhappy wins

Just ordered with 32GHZ RAM and 8GB Video Card!!!!

3.799,00 € here in Spain :-( delivered from 4 Dic to 10 Dic

 

[ruslan120]

I was joking. I apologize if that wasn’t clear.

It was a joke because older iMacs that are not 5K have target display mode, but the best iMacs (5K) do not.

 

[Jose17]

I was joking. I apologize if that wasn’t clear.

It was a joke because older iMacs that are not 5K have target display mode, but the best iMacs (5K) do not.

Nooooo!!!.....now you must explain to my wife that I need a brand new external display....after expending about 4.000 Euros in the 16"MBP I'm afraid to even talk about it ...........

Seriously now, when my MBP arrives, and (crossing my fingers) if everything works OK, Im going to search for an external monitor to use it at home.......I really love my iMac 5K screen, so I'm going to look for something that delivers good color rendition, resolution, etc.etc......

 

[Sirmausalot]

Nooooo!!!.....now you must explain to my wife that I need a brand new external display....after expending about 4.000 Euros in the 16"MBP I'm afraid to even talk about it ...........

Seriously now, when my MBP arrives, and (crossing my fingers) if everything works OK, Im going to search for an external monitor to use it at home.......I really love my iMac 5K screen, so I'm going to look for something that delivers good color rendition, resolution, etc.etc......

Both Luna Display and Duet now support 5k Imacs as a second screen. however very little is out there yet about performance/resolution/quality is they both run over a network and compress the graphics somehow. Reports appreciate from macbook pro to 5k screen

 

[Jose17]

Both Luna Display and Duet now support 5k Imacs as a second screen. however very little is out there yet about performance/resolution/quality is they both run over a network and compress the graphics somehow. Reports appreciate from macbook pro to 5k screen

I'm looking from a wired display connected via Thunderbolt 3 like the ones in the Spain Apple site, here:
https://www.apple.com/es/search/Monitor-UltraFine-5K-de-LG?src=alp