From MBP 15" (2016) to MBP 13" (2019)

[Morten_Hjort]

I might get a job where travelling will be a bit part and while I love my 2016 MBP (yes the keyboard now finally works ok) and also occasionally need the speed and GPU usage (more normal UX/UI work), I'm serious considering going down to a 13". But will I gain any significant power at all with a newer CPU compared to my older 15"?

 

[kp98077]

Not sure about power. Would say it would be a wash or slightly better ? You can spec out the 13”. I was in the sameeeew boat as you a few weeks ago. Love the 15 a lot but I’m always on the go. It just felt heavier, didn’t fit well on planes even in business class. Was awkward. Not to mention it barely fit in my Tumi bag.... or couldn’t use on my lap much. So I’m happy with my 13”!

 

[CheesePuff]

The GeekBench 4 scores are much better for both single and multi core performance when comparing the base model 2016 15" vs base model 2019 13".

 

[buran-energia]

I might get a job where travelling will be a bit part and while I love my 2016 MBP (yes the keyboard now finally works ok) and also occasionally need the speed and GPU usage (more normal UX/UI work), I'm serious considering going down to a 13". But will I gain any significant power at all with a newer CPU compared to my older 15"?

Significant power? No. You won't even notice it unless you do something that pushes all cores. And if you do something that uses all cores and want to have something faster, the 8-core mbp smokes it.

 

[kp98077]

Significant power? No. You won't even notice it unless you do something that pushes all cores. And if you do something that uses all cores and want to have something faster, the 8-core mbp smokes it.

yes but for his needs it doesn't seem like he needs 8 cores, and portability is more valued? I use m little 2019 13" for a lot! and really no issues... sometimes, less is more...

 

[smirking]

I love my 2016 MBP (yes the keyboard now finally works ok) and also occasionally need the speed and GPU usage (more normal UX/UI work)

The iGPUs of the 13” MBPs outperform the iGPUs of the 15” MBPs for all of their respective model years so that can slightly narrow the graphics performance gap you’d suffer. If you run a 15” and a 13” from the same year side by side on battery power so they’re both only using their iGPUs, the 13” is going to win.

If you need to plug into a 5k external display it’ll be a little jerky though.

 

[Morten_Hjort]

The iGPUs of the 13” MBPs outperform the iGPUs of the 15” MBPs for all of their respective model years so that can slightly narrow the graphics performance gap you’d suffer. If you run a 15” and a 13” from the same year side by side on battery power so they’re both only using their iGPUs, the 13” is going to win.

If you need to plug into a 5k external display it’ll be a little jerky though.

Thanks for the replys! Then perhaps a new maxed out 13" is good with an egpu at home to drive the screen. Might be a good flexible setup.

 

[smirking]

Thanks for the replys! Then perhaps a new maxed out 13" is good with an egpu at home to drive the screen. Might be a good flexible setup.

Be wary of eGPUs as a fix if you think you'll have performance issues with an external screen. I had a maxed out 2016 15" MBP that I paired with the initial Blackmagic eGPU offering. The results were underwhelming and some programs actually ran SLOWER with the eGPU driving my 5K monitor. I'm sure some of this had to do with software that needed to be optimized to properly handle the eGPU, but it still goes to show that the results produced by an eGPU is hard to predict and even when they work perfectly, the power output isn't the same as an onboard GPU. The Radeon Pro 580 in the Blackmagic eGPU will underperform the same card installed in an iMac.

I ended up returning the eGPU. I did my homework and knew what to expect, but what I saw was even less impressive than my lowered expectations, but this is with a 5K display. If you don't need to drive an LG 5K, then you'll have a better experience than I did and also have your choice of just about any eGPU. The Blackmagics are the only ones that can drive a 5K monitor.