MacBook 12" maxed-out vs MacBook Pro nTB 13" maxed-out

[sakabaro]

I've just bought a 2017 MacBook Pro nTB 13" maxed-out, but I kind of considering returning it for MacBook 12" maxed-out.

It's basically trading a bit of power and screen real-estate for extreme portability, and I think I kind of like the tradeoff.

Basically, my usages are lot of browsing, lot of web development (elixir, rails, mongodb), light iOS development, light photoshop edit.

What are you guys opinion?

PS: I am cross-posting with the MacBook Pro forum to have a fairer poll.

 

[hectorvs]

I am kindof in the same boat. Just not maxed out specs.

Purchased a MBP 13" nTB with the 8gb and 256gb, and I'm considering saving some money and getting the baseline MB with the m3.

I keep going back and forth on it because the MBP gives me more "room to grow" so to speak in terms of capabilities and I/O (more processor and thunderbolt 3).

I'm a web developer and I'm starting to get into iOS dev, still pretty light usage overall. My thought is that if I ever need more power, I can sell this down the road and get a beefier machine.

I hit the "clicky keys when hot" problem with the nTB when I started setting it up yesterday... I didn't know that was a problem, thought my keyboard was broken. That is a big con on the MBP column.

 

[sakabaro]

I am kindof in the same boat. Just not maxed out specs.

Purchased a MBP 13" nTB with the 8gb and 256gb, and I'm considering saving some money and getting the baseline MB with the m3.

I keep going back and forth on it because the MBP gives me more "room to grow" so to speak in terms of capabilities and I/O (more processor and thunderbolt 3).

I'm a web developer and I'm starting to get into iOS dev, still pretty light usage overall. My thought is that if I ever need more power, I can sell this down the road and get a beefier machine.

I hit the "clicky keys when hot" problem with the nTB when I started setting it up yesterday... I didn't know that was a problem, thought my keyboard was broken. That is a big con on the MBP column.

Is that with a 2017 model? How did you get the computer that hot? I am doing a bunch of stuff, but the fans rarely kick in. I wonder if I can reproduce this issue by "heating" it up. (Will try tonight working for a coffeeshop, don't want to run off of battery.)

 

[hectorvs]

Is that with a 2017 model? How did you get the computer that hot? I am doing a bunch of stuff, but the fans rarely kick in. I wonder if I can reproduce this issue by "heating" it up. (Will try tonight working for a coffeeshop, don't want to run off of battery.)

It was during initial setup, so it was doing filevault stuff, installing updates, indexing. Fan was going on pretty hard.

there is a thread somewhere in the macbook pro forums to simulate load... you should be able to reproduce the problem.

edit: yes it's the updated 2017 model

 

[FilmIndustryGuy]

i went to apple store and played with FCPX on the 12 and the 13 and also 15. dropping color grading onto the same clips seemed 40% faster on the 13. the same result happened when comparing the 13 to 15 inch. The new 12 inch is snappy though. I opened up a bunch of programs and safari with 10 tabs and different sites. Everything operated pretty smooth. Keyboard is def better because i immediately used my 2015 12 inch after and was disappointed in my laptop keyboard errors. using the 12 inch for 15 months, i really don't see myself with the 15 inch and the 13 inch is not the 12 inch. I'm always moving around and I fly for work a few days a month. ill take the light weight over extra size and power. if you don't care for plugging in external Video card, the 12 in a real laptop.

 

[EugW]

i went to apple store and played with FCPX on the 12 and the 13 and also 15. dropping color grading onto the same clips seemed 40% faster on the 13. the same result happened when comparing the 13 to 15 inch. The new 12 inch is snappy though. I opened up a bunch of programs and safari with 10 tabs and different sites. Everything operated pretty smooth. Keyboard is def better because i immediately used my 2015 12 inch after and was disappointed in my laptop keyboard errors. using the 12 inch for 15 months, i really don't see myself with the 15 inch and the 13 inch is not the 12 inch. I'm always moving around and I fly for work a few days a month. ill take the light weight over extra size and power. if you don't care for plugging in external Video card, the 12 in a real laptop.

Yup, the 12" MacBook's keyboard is a HUGE improvement.

 

[Ixidor]

Not sure if this will matter, but the 12" MacBook can be easily charged on the go with a good phone/tablet portable power bank that can push 10 - 15 W, which adds to its portability.

To do the same with the Macbook Pros, I think you need to get "non standard" power banks that can push a higher wattage using USB-C.

I'm not an expert on power banks, but there are several threads on this.

 

[Jezak]

OP what did you end up doing? I am in the exact same boat. Have both in my cart right now and cannot decide. I have a 2015 MacBook that honestly I love, but the idea of it being faster with a new keyboard is enticing and so is getting another inch of screen real estate... decisions.

 

[sakabaro]

OP what did you end up doing? I am in the exact same boat. Have both in my cart right now and cannot decide. I have a 2015 MacBook that honestly I love, but the idea of it being faster with a new keyboard is enticing and so is getting another inch of screen real estate... decisions.

Lol yeah. I still have the 13". I think I've until the 29th to return it. Still on the verge either way. Yeah, from my understanding, the 13" has maybe 10-20% more CPU speed and 50% more GPU speed. But, the 12" is so small and no fans to worry about is so nice. The extra inch of the 13" screen is definitely nice though. I think both are great laptops, and you can't go wrong either way. But, regarding making decisions, I am still undecided!

 

[dof250]

I had the 2017 12" but returned it for the 13" TB...
Today I will pick up another 12" and return my 13" TB model because its just not what I want... The 12" has the perfect size, it has enough power for me the only thing it lacks is Thunderbolt 3 which is a bummer because I use 2 24" 1080p screens at work and have a thunderbolt 3 dock for that. With the 12" I can only use 1... I'm still hoping on a 12" with thunderbolt 3 for next year!

 

[sakabaro]

I had the 2017 12" but returned it for the 13" TB...
Today I will pick up another 12" and return my 13" TB model because its just not what I want... The 12" has the perfect size, it has enough power for me the only thing it lacks is Thunderbolt 3 which is a bummer because I use 2 24" 1080p screens at work and have a thunderbolt 3 dock for that. With the 12" I can only use 1... I'm still hoping on a 12" with thunderbolt 3 for next year!

Thanks for the feedback, it's indeed hard to see size and weight on paper.

 

[magbarn]

Not sure if this will matter, but the 12" MacBook can be easily charged on the go with a good phone/tablet portable power bank that can push 10 - 15 W, which adds to its portability.

To do the same with the Macbook Pros, I think you need to get "non standard" power banks that can push a higher wattage using USB-C.

I'm not an expert on power banks, but there are several threads on this.

The max a rMB can draw from a standard USB battery pack is only 12 watts. There's 2 reputable USB C Charging packs (that can also charge 12 watts via standard USB) that can charge the rMB AND 2016+ MBP's at the full 29 watts that the rMB standard charger can do. They're understandably bigger than your standard USB battery charger though.

BTW that 12 watts is pretty pathetic, the rMB can't really charge it's battery and will also frequently drain it's internal battery despite being connected to the external battery as the laptop can drain more than 12 watts if the screen is maxed out and you're running an intensive app.

 

[godzilla53]

I've just bought a 2017 MacBook Pro nTB 13" maxed-out, but I kind of considering returning it for MacBook 12" maxed-out.

It's basically trading a bit of power and screen real-estate for extreme portability, and I think I kind of like the tradeoff.

Basically, my usages are lot of browsing, lot of web development (elixir, rails, mongodb), light iOS development, light photoshop edit.

What are you guys opinion?

PS: I am cross-posting with the MacBook Pro forum to have a fairer poll.

you should definetely go with the MacBook 12 inch. it has mostly all the features you need and it is portable. I'm sure you will enjoy working on it even more... let us know what you think about it.