i7 vs i9 2019 MacBook Pro 15"

[YonTom]

Hi everyone! After reading you religiously for months I decided to create a profile and start participating

So, I'm currently thinking of upgrading from my MacBook Air 2018. I feel the screen is too small in comparison with the desktops I usually work at, plus I can feel its lack of power when I open too many apps or windows.

So, naturally, I'm leaning towards the bigger-sized MacBook Pro 2019 15". My concern is whether I should upgrade to i9 from the base model, since it is only $250 more with my Education discount. However, I don't edit video or photos in my Mac, I don't game or do a lot of demanding stuff. I simply do text editing, browsing, and that's about it. I do appreciate having powerful machines that allow me to run multiple apps without things slowing down (for instance, I have an iPad Pro 2018 13" which I love and which I would never change for an Air). But is i9 really overkill for me? Would I really ever notice the difference in performance from i7 to i9?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Mac-key]

without question - go with the base model. The base model will be massive overkill for what you do, but that 15 inch screen is great!

 

[idark77]

If you go with the base model I suggest to update ssd to 512GB...

 

[YonTom]

If you go with the base model I suggest to update ssd to 512GB...

I really store all my documents on the cloud and I don’t have a lot of heavy videos etc. My current MacBook Air only has 128GB and I do not have space problems so far, so 256GB should be enough. Unless there is another compelling reason for the expensive upgrade, which if there is, I’m all ears

 

[iLloyd]

I really store all my documents on the cloud and I don’t have a lot of heavy videos etc. My current MacBook Air only has 128GB and I do not have space problems so far, so 256GB should be enough. Unless there is another compelling reason for the expensive upgrade, which if there is, I’m all ears

The i7 should be fine for your present uses, and would also be fine if you wanted to occasionally do some processor intensive tasks like video editing in the future. My 15" 2012 non-retina 2.3GHz i7 still works great with Final Cut X. That said, if you do have access to an education discount, my advice would be to take advantage of it and up the specs as much as possible for the following reasons. Unanticipated future uses, performance on everyday tasks, and resale value.

While you may not need a powerhouse processor now, you never know what you may be into in the future. Second, SSD performance decreases as its capacity goes down, so if you can afford it get a roomier drive that will allow the machine to operate at a consistently high level and/or you might also consider maxing out the RAM to 32 GB for the same reason. Lastly, in addition to future proofing your machine by upping the specs, a better spec'd machine would have a higher resale value. Get the machine you might need and others might want.

Best of luck with your decision.

 

[am2am]

Go for base model but with 512 SSD. It's faster, your storage needs today won't be the same tomorrow, better to have safe margin rather than be forced to use externals.
I would skip other upgrades in your case - there is no such a thing like future proof. Base model should serve you well many years. when you need more you'll buy new one.

 

[YonTom]

Thank you guys for your feedback. So, I just ordered the i7 yesterday. However, I checked today and I realized that the upgrade to i9 also comes with a base 512GB SSD (double of what the base i7 offers). For $250 more, I think that's a great deal. Returning my i7 as soon as it arrives in the store and getting the i9 instead, without a doubt. Thank you again!!

 

[YonTom]

Thank you guys for your feedback. So, I just ordered the i7 yesterday. However, I checked today and I realized that the upgrade to i9 also comes with a base 512GB SSD (double of what the base i7 offers). For $250 more, I think that's a great deal. Returning my i7 as soon as it arrives in the store and getting the i9 instead, without a doubt. Thank you again!!

But then again, I had a MacBook Air 2014 with 128GB and I always had it at half capacity, no issues. My current MacMini 2018, purchased when it was released, still has 189GB left from its 256GB SSD, so I'm wondering whether an upgrade to 512GB is really necessary for me (as performance is only impacted once you go over 75% capacity of your SSD, and I really can't see myself going beyond that...). First-world problems, I know, but you get me

 

[TommyBoy5]

Get the 512SSD and allocate 150Gb to Bootcamp. Windows 10 is free and is a snap to set up. I dual-boot and just enjoy playing PC games and getting familiar with Windows again has been so much fun.

 

[camedenliving]

sigh, how about my game?

 

[lcseds]

Where do you get Windows 10 free? Legally. I have never seen a full version (needed for Bootcamp) of Windows 10 for free. You can upgrade 7/8/8.1 for free (or least you used to be able to). But if buying a fresh copy for bootcamp, it's not free.

 

[TommyBoy5]

Where do you get Windows 10 free? Legally. I have never seen a full version (needed for Bootcamp) of Windows 10 for free. You can upgrade 7/8/8.1 for free (or least you used to be able to). But if buying a fresh copy for bootcamp, it's not free.

I had always thought this as well. I did a little research. You get it from Microsoft. Go ahead and visit their site. You can download the ISO directly from them. Then you run bootcamp and install the ISO. It will actually find it for you. The copy of Windows you have is not activated but it is legal. There are two very small things you can't do - you can't change the desktop picture and there's a small watermark on the bottom right corner. You'll never even see it. And EVERYTHING else works. Wifi. Edge. Software updates. It's a completely licensed and free copy from Microsoft itself. I've had a single popup come up twice in two weeks telling me to activate which I simply clicked cancel. And that's it. I love it!

 

[Hazmat401]

I would also get the base model... I would have took advantage of the best buy flash sale if all my gift cards from my hotel rewards were here

I worry about upgrading to max spec considering the keyboard issues and then there's the talk of these ARM chips going into Macs... intel macs could become obsolete like the power pc.... of course that's speculation

 

[TommyBoy5]

I would also get the base model... I would have took advantage of the best buy flash sale if all my gift cards from my hotel rewards were here

I worry about upgrading to max spec considering the keyboard issues and then there's the talk of these ARM chips going into Macs... intel macs could become obsolete like the power pc.... of course that's speculation

ARM could be two years out. There are millions and millions of Intel-based Macs out there. They'll be supported for years. Say they're supported fully for four years after ARM. That's six years from now which means you'll want to upgrade then - to a third-gen ARM-based machine with all the kinks worked out!

 

[kp98077]

Hi everyone! After reading you religiously for months I decided to create a profile and start participating

So, I'm currently thinking of upgrading from my MacBook Air 2018. I feel the screen is too small in comparison with the desktops I usually work at, plus I can feel its lack of power when I open too many apps or windows.

So, naturally, I'm leaning towards the bigger-sized MacBook Pro 2019 15". My concern is whether I should upgrade to i9 from the base model, since it is only $250 more with my Education discount. However, I don't edit video or photos in my Mac, I don't game or do a lot of demanding stuff. I simply do text editing, browsing, and that's about it. I do appreciate having powerful machines that allow me to run multiple apps without things slowing down (for instance, I have an iPad Pro 2018 13" which I love and which I would never change for an Air). But is i9 really overkill for me? Would I really ever notice the difference in performance from i7 to i9?

Thanks in advance for your input!

actually, with an education discount it should apply evenly to both the i7 and i9 models, therefore, the cost difference should be relatively the same... I just went through the same thing . ended up with the i7
[doublepost=1561782905][/doublepost]

actually, with an education discount it should apply evenly to both the i7 and i9 models, therefore, the cost difference should be relatively the same... I just went through the same thing . ended up with the i7

Another reason to get the base model is that 1-256gb should be enough really for most... I have a lot and use some could and it says now I have 201gb left of 256! Also, they may come out with a new redesign, and finally, why spend all that extra money? Doesn't seem like you need to... good luck!!

 

[nouveau_redneck]

Thank you guys for your feedback. So, I just ordered the i7 yesterday. However, I checked today and I realized that the upgrade to i9 also comes with a base 512GB SSD (double of what the base i7 offers). For $250 more, I think that's a great deal. Returning my i7 as soon as it arrives in the store and getting the i9 instead, without a doubt. Thank you again!!

Good move from a resell perspective.

 

[YonTom]

actually, with an education discount it should apply evenly to both the i7 and i9 models, therefore, the cost difference should be relatively the same... I just went through the same thing . ended up with the i7
[doublepost=1561782905][/doublepost]
Another reason to get the base model is that 1-256gb should be enough really for most... I have a lot and use some could and it says now I have 201gb left of 256! Also, they may come out with a new redesign, and finally, why spend all that extra money? Doesn't seem like you need to... good luck!!

Thanks for your feedback, I’m actually still on the fence! However, with the education discount you get $150 off on the base model (i7), but $200 if you go with the i9 (at least that’s what the education store shows on my end). I did miscalculate the price difference between the two: it’s actually $400 difference, which comes to $350 with the education pricing. For $250 more, I would have taken the plunge to i9 for sure. Now, the $350 difference makes the decision quite harder...

 

[YonTom]

I would also get the base model... I would have took advantage of the best buy flash sale if all my gift cards from my hotel rewards were here

I worry about upgrading to max spec considering the keyboard issues and then there's the talk of these ARM chips going into Macs... intel macs could become obsolete like the power pc.... of course that's speculation

I would have bought from BestBuy if I didn’t want a customized keyboard.