Help Picking Out a MacBook Pro!

[sermac]

Hi all!! I am a college student and small business owner who is looking for some insight and recommendations as to what MacBook Pro I should get. I have done quite a bit of research and I think my best fit would be a Pro, but as for the specifications and possible upgrades I have to choose from as far as processors, memory, storage, etc. I am totally lost as to what I might need. As for size, I am leaning more towards the 13-inch because I really need something that is smaller and easily portable, but I’m not totally against the 15-inch. I will mainly be using the laptop for homework and maintaining my business website. I use Adobe apps like Photoshop and Illustrator for my business content. I also do a bit of video editing for my website. I just want to make sure I invest in a laptop that meets my needs and will last me a long time, even if that means spending a little extra on some of the upgrades. But I also don’t want to get an upgrade that that I don’t need. Thank you all so much!!

 

[Steve Jobs.]

If I were you, I'd choose between two options:

1) A base level 15" MacBook Pro(~$2400) if you don't plan on buying a monitor or have a more dedicated desk setup. The screen real estate will definitely come in handy. Being stuck with a 13" and no monitor would be tough on programs like Photoshop or Illustrator.

or

2) The high end 13" MacBook Pro (The 2.4Ghz Quad Core model, runs about $1800 - I'd also advise upgrading the RAM to 16GB if you plan on keeping the machine for a while) along with a 4k monitor for when you need more screen real estate. That way you can have something portable on the go as well as a bigger desktop workstation for when you need to really dig into some stuff.

Between those two options, I think I'd lean towards the second option since you said you value portability.

If you want something a little cheaper, you can get the mid-level 13" MacBook Pro (one level down from the one I mentioned). I'd also upgrade the RAM to 16GB here as well. The RAM in these machines is not upgradable after purchase and having a bit more will make a difference in your daily usage and the computer will be zippy for longer.