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Is $4K for MacBook Pro 16-inch 2.4GHz i9 64GB 4TB 5600M 8GB too much $ and overkill too?

olindacat

olindacat

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 15, 2011
241
46
Greenwich
I'm doing 45MP RAW photo merges, video editing in iMovie and (rarely) in Premiere, InDesign, might splurge for Office, 20+ tabs in Safari. I use a 2015 15" MBP now. It is fine, although it freezes for 3-6 seconds about every hour, I get a lot of pinwheels, and haven't had the need to edit 4K video on it. (I might buy the iPhone 12 which I think has 4K, not sure).

Is the above machine a waste of money, e.g., overkill? I can buy a 16" w/16GB RAM, 1TB SSD and AC+ for maybe $2700. The $1200 savings is a lot, but I live on my machine. (I want a new one so I can try and replace the SSD in my 2015. I do not want to mess with doing that until I get a replacement. My iMac's video card is fried, and I have yet to play with replacing that too.)

Running out of real estate in terms of my age/earing capacity. Want a machine that'll keep going for 10 years. By then I will be wandering in meadows murmuring to myself (I ought to be doing more of that now lol.)

I understand the i9 overheats too. Fans go on a lot. I see a lot of complaining about the 16" on this forum. People have all kinds of problems, staingate, etc.

Just curious if anyone else out there is in my boat? How people have come to find MBP Nirvana? Also wonder if waiting the few months, or year, for the M1 will be that much better? Seems like the switch only there to make the stockholders happier, not sure :)
 
Probably wait for the M2X 16” MBP which will be released in Q3 2021 if you can wait that long.
 
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olindacat said:
I'm doing 45MP RAW photo merges, video editing in iMovie and (rarely) in Premiere, InDesign, might splurge for Office, 20+ tabs in Safari. I use a 2015 15" MBP now. It is fine, although it freezes for 3-6 seconds about every hour, I get a lot of pinwheels, and haven't had the need to edit 4K video on it. (I might buy the iPhone 12 which I think has 4K, not sure).

... Also wonder if waiting the few months, or year, for the M1 will be that much better? Seems like the switch only there to make the stockholders happier, not sure :)
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The Apple Silicon Macs ARE that much better. Even one of the new MacBook Airs or 13" MacBook Pros would do the job for you better than your 2015 and would be faster in many tasks than the 16" is.
 
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Comparing my $4,000 MacBook Pro 16" Core i9 2.4Ghz (got from work) to a ~$1000 Mac mini (for personal use). You should absolutely wait for new MacBook Pro coming out in H2 of 2021. The M1 blows the Core i9 out of the water. It's not even remotely close. My Intel Mac gets so hot it feels like it will melt just playing a video in the background while I work. The M1 machines are blazingly fast, incredibly quiet, and super power efficient.
 
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Right now the 5600m can't be matched. But Apple is certainly working on a better gpu for their ARM chips.

I have the 16" 64GB ram, 5600M and I've been loving it. I frequently go over 32GB ram, but I haven't usually gone above 50. So everything is running super smooth. I use a lot of niche apps and plugins so it's also nice that everything has been tested and working for a many generations on the intel stuff.

I use it on a desk with a stand most of the time as I work. When I'm using the GPU to the max it gets hot but nothing I would thing it noteworthy or alarming.

With all that said, I'm sure apple's next 16" is going to be amazing. Along with the redesign. If you can wait until the fall im sure it'll be worth it.
 
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It sounds like you are in need but, in this scenario, it will pay financially and hardware wise, to wait a little longer. In my opinion, your usage shouldn't warrant spending $4k on a laptop.
 
I have a i9/5600M 16-inch and an M1 Mini. If you are using it to make money, I think that 16-inch is completely worth it–it's refined, known, established, reliable, and uses a spectacular GPU. The i9 does produce a lot of heat but the 5600M produces a lot less heat than the other GPUs, which substantially improves total system performance over the identical MacBook Pro with the identical CPU but different GPU (obviously this applies to when using the dedicated GPU.) It's an excellent system to use for work. (It's obviously not as exciting as a completely redesigned chassis, but who cares? New chassis designs seem to have new problems anyway.)

That said, do realize that the next Apple Silicon MacBook Pro will most likely make pretty big jumps in CPU performance, and that even the base model 16-inch could well match or exceed the 5600M's performance. Additionally, the usage you have described is a scenario where you are not limited to x86 and so you could probably easily transition to ASi. So it is something worth consideration before spending the money. You can always get an ASi desktop down the road to compliment an Intel 16-inch, too. The M1 Mini is outstanding and I feel like we will see either a higher tier Mini or perhaps an intermediate model between the M1 Mac Mini and Mac Pro. There really is never a bad time for a Mac Mini.

All that said, if this system is going to enable you to make more money, then I highly recommend it. It's a damned fine machine, BUT, for someone likely to use the dedicated GPU a lot, I strongly recommend investing in the 5600M.
 
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OMG the outpouring of kind support here is soooo refreshing. I am reeling from a crazy day where my iPhone 6+s hit the pavement and exploded, but promise to reply to everybody. So helpful to have other perspectives. Thank you!
 
I returned my i9 2.4 64gb 2tb 5600m ABD get a 16/1tb MacBook Air and couldn’t be happier than this.
 
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chrfr said:
The Apple Silicon Macs ARE that much better. Even one of the new MacBook Airs or 13" MacBook Pros would do the job for you better than your 2015 and would be faster in many tasks than the 16" is.
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Hmm. Good to know. Thanks!
 
er2429 said:
Comparing my $4,000 MacBook Pro 16" Core i9 2.4Ghz (got from work) to a ~$1000 Mac mini (for personal use). You should absolutely wait for new MacBook Pro coming out in H2 of 2021. The M1 blows the Core i9 out of the water. It's not even remotely close. My Intel Mac gets so hot it feels like it will melt just playing a video in the background while I work. The M1 machines are blazingly fast, incredibly quiet, and super power efficient.
Click to expand...
I was wondering about the heat and the C/GPU kernel attacks, etc., also. I had no idea the M1 was that much better. Thanks a LOT!
 
dinobear said:
Right now the 5600m can't be matched. But Apple is certainly working on a better gpu for their ARM chips.

I have the 16" 64GB ram, 5600M and I've been loving it. I frequently go over 32GB ram, but I haven't usually gone above 50. So everything is running super smooth. I use a lot of niche apps and plugins so it's also nice that everything has been tested and working for a many generations on the intel stuff.

I use it on a desk with a stand most of the time as I work. When I'm using the GPU to the max it gets hot but nothing I would thing it noteworthy or alarming.

With all that said, I'm sure apple's next 16" is going to be amazing. Along with the redesign. If you can wait until the fall im sure it'll be worth it.
Click to expand...
I will wait. It's tough as I have no space, keep juggling files around to keep this thing running, and have the Sintech adapter and a new SSD but don't want to mess with updating this thing until I have another. Can't afford a bridge machine I'll lose $s.
 
Apple_Robert said:
It sounds like you are in need but, in this scenario, it will pay financially and hardware wise, to wait a little longer. In my opinion, your usage shouldn't warrant spending $4k on a laptop.
Click to expand...
Thx. I used to fantasize about buying into RED cameras, thought I was going to be a great content creator. Made a living doing vanity publishing, but that has really tanked for me in the past 6-7 years. I used to drop a lot on my gear, but now need to be really careful. Waiting seems prudent. Thanks.
 
ght56 said:
I have a i9/5600M 16-inch and an M1 Mini. If you are using it to make money, I think that 16-inch is completely worth it–it's refined, known, established, reliable, and uses a spectacular GPU. The i9 does produce a lot of heat but the 5600M produces a lot less heat than the other GPUs, which substantially improves total system performance over the identical MacBook Pro with the identical CPU but different GPU (obviously this applies to when using the dedicated GPU.) It's an excellent system to use for work. (It's obviously not as exciting as a completely redesigned chassis, but who cares? New chassis designs seem to have new problems anyway.)

That said, do realize that the next Apple Silicon MacBook Pro will most likely make pretty big jumps in CPU performance, and that even the base model 16-inch could well match or exceed the 5600M's performance. Additionally, the usage you have described is a scenario where you are not limited to x86 and so you could probably easily transition to ASi. So it is something worth consideration before spending the money. You can always get an ASi desktop down the road to compliment an Intel 16-inch, too. The M1 Mini is outstanding and I feel like we will see either a higher tier Mini or perhaps an intermediate model between the M1 Mac Mini and Mac Pro. There really is never a bad time for a Mac Mini.

All that said, if this system is going to enable you to make more money, then I highly recommend it. It's a damned fine machine, BUT, for someone likely to use the dedicated GPU a lot, I strongly recommend investing in the 5600M.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, my money making days (in media) are over this year. I had a 25 year run so cannot complain. That said: I will continue to try, but it is speculative. Thus, I can wait. I don't want to wait, but I can wait. The money I make using my machine is not machine intensive work. (I'm brokering charter flights now.) I still produce a 414-page periodical magazine, with embedded videos, as a flip book, so have those D810 RAW files I'm always working with. Just got a 12 Pro Max so hope to edit videos from that too. Not sure how huge those files will be, but my little 250GB ssd is so small.
 
olindacat said:
Unfortunately, my money making days (in media) are over this year. I had a 25 year run so cannot complain. That said: I will continue to try, but it is speculative. Thus, I can wait. I don't want to wait, but I can wait. The money I make using my machine is not machine intensive work. (I'm brokering charter flights now.) I still produce a 414-page periodical magazine, with embedded videos, as a flip book, so have those D810 RAW files I'm always working with. Just got a 12 Pro Max so hope to edit videos from that too. Not sure how huge those files will be, but my little 250GB ssd is so small.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I think waiting in your case might make sense. If you are really struggling to wait, the M1 Mac Mini is cheap, powerful, and it has a CPU and a GPU that runs circles around that in your 15-inch. A base model M1 Mini + an external SSD could be a good holdover until you see the next 16-inch and rumored 14-inch models. At that point, you would have more options prior to committing to spending a large chunk of change.

I really like the 16-inch in the spec you are considering, but it is a lot of money if it's not going to immediately be used to generate income, IMHO, especially with respect to its pending replacement given that the base model ASi-powered 16-inch could outperform this current flagship at like half the price.
 
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ght56 said:
Honestly, I think waiting in your case might make sense. If you are really struggling to wait, the M1 Mac Mini is cheap, powerful, and it has a CPU and a GPU that runs circles around that in your 15-inch. A base model M1 Mini + an external SSD could be a good holdover until you see the next 16-inch and rumored 14-inch models. At that point, you would have more options prior to committing to spending a large chunk of change.

I really like the 16-inch in the spec you are considering, but it is a lot of money if it's not going to immediately be used to generate income, IMHO, especially with respect to its pending replacement given that the base model ASi-powered 16-inch could outperform this current flagship at like half the price.
Click to expand...
I used to own two Minis. I had purchased a 27" Apple display for one too. I found them (the minis) to be weaker than the iMac, which was an all-in-one. I would up using them on my flat screen TVs, but they were always sort of wonky. I have an HDMI cable going from my couch under the floor in the basement to the TV on our wall. I've connected my laptop to this. but never really found using the TV on the wall as a monitor very useful, a mouse and keyboard on Bluetooth wold get wired whenever my wife was using her iMac at the same time (I'm mixing up machines here, as I was using a mouse with my laptop at one point, long after getting rid of the minis lol.).

Perhaps my use of the mini wasn't 'right', as I know a lot of smarter people are here. I do remember the minis really depreciated, and I did not use them much. So, not sure. I don't sit at a desk. I am usually working on the couch. Ride bike, walk 18 holes, etc., and then recover while I work is the plan. A laptop seems ideal.

That said: my iMac is dead. It needs a video card. Is a 2011. I paid 4500 for that sucker, and back then installing SSDs (2) one in the Superdrive space, the other replacing the HDD, was an adventure I outsourced. It was a tank until it died. (I have a card I hope to shove in there but it's another mystery whether I will succeed, and a day long project at least.)

So, a desktop update and a laptop are eventually in the cards.

A mini vs iMac probably another thread for me to dig and see what people are saying. Waiting on the 16" Mac with the new M1 chip I guess is the way to go. Thanks!
 
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