Is new M1 MBP big enough upgrade for me?

[thealvintran]

First off, just want to preface this by saying I'm new to posting so let me know if this doesn't belong here or if I did something wrong.

My current MBP: 2017, 4 ports, 13"MBP, 3.5GHz Dual-Core i7, 8GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Potential new: M1 MBP, 16GB RAM, 2TB SSD.

My workflow: I do UX design mostly use Figma which is a web application, Principle/Invision, Adobe suite apps (lightroom, photoshop & illustrator mainly), and potentially Adobe Sketch.

Obviously, this looks to be an upgrade, but do you think it's enough of an upgrade to make? The fact that the current M1 machines only have 2 ports make it seem like a downgrade.

I know this is very subjective, but would love to get some thoughts.

 

[HDFan]

Why are you considering an upgrade? Are you having performance problems, hardware issues, ?

 

[satcomer]

I tend to go with PixelMator Pro because it tends to use what’s already built into Mac OS and now is ready for Big!

 

[thealvintran]

Why are you considering an upgrade? Are you having performance problems, hardware issues, ?

Yes, sometimes the computer lags a lot if I’m just running Lightroom & photoshop for photos. And even sometimes chrome would lag big time too.

 

[James_C]

@thealvintran your MBP is probably not that dissimilar in performance to my late 2016 15"MBP basically the M1 Air was twice as fast in benchmarking tests - Check the thread below where I discuss comparative performance.

New MacBook Air M1 16GB 1TB SSD compared to 2016 15” MBP

Going to be comparing to my late 2016 MacBook Pro 15" Picked up this morning from the Bath Apple Store.

forums.macrumors.com

Personally I would save some money and get a 1TB Air or Pro, and get a 1TB External SSD.

 

[thealvintran]

@thealvintran your MBP is probably not that dissimilar in performance to my late 2016 15"MBP basically the M1 Air was twice as fast in benchmarking tests - Check the thread below where I discuss comparative performance.

New MacBook Air M1 16GB 1TB SSD compared to 2016 15” MBP

Going to be comparing to my late 2016 MacBook Pro 15" Picked up this morning from the Bath Apple Store.

forums.macrumors.com

Personally I would save some money and get a 1TB Air or Pro, and get a 1TB External SSD.

I have 1TB on my current MBP and it only has 90~ GB left, so that’s why I’m planning on 2TB. The external SSD is a good idea too but honestly that’s kind of inconvenient for me lol

 

[HDFan]

Yes, sometimes the computer lags a lot if I’m just running Lightroom & photoshop for photos. And even sometimes chrome would lag big time too.

I'd do some analysis to figure out what is causing the slowness so that you put your put your money in the right place.

Are you cpu bound, memory bound, or storage bound? Keep Activity monitor up and when your start running into problems check your performance.