Macbook Pro 13" configurations

[Dane95]

For the past 5 years I've been using a 12" Macbook. This was the first computer to get the butterfly keyboard, and like many other people, I've had it replaced year after year because of how faulty it was. I never fell in love with the computer, but it was a huge investment for me at the time, so I couldn't just sell it at a huge loss and buy a new one.

Prior to that I had a Macbook Pro for about 4 years and that computer was incredible (unfortunately, the battery swell up after 4 years hence why I replaced it). I loved how versatile it was and how it handled everything I threw at it. That's why I have decided I want to treat myself with one of the new 13 inch Macbook Pros, but I would like your help to figure out the best configuration for me.

The things I usually use the computer for are basic stuff like web-browsing, documents, spreadsheets, music/streaming and the occasional Football Manager. I realize most of this could be done on a Macbook Air, but I really want to go back to the versatile machine that can do even heavier tasks if I have to do so once in a while.

Although you get stuff like better speakers and two fans in the higher end 13 inch model that probably also benefits regular users, my needs would be met with the cheaper base model with the 8th gen CPU. My question is if I should go for 16 GB Ram? From reading online it seems like there's different opinions as to how much RAM you need. Some people argue you need 16 GB to "future proof" the machine and I'd honestly like to get a laptop I can use for the next 5 years or so. Other people argue memory usage is actually going down meaning 16 GB would be even less relevant in the future than today.

So where does Macrumors stand on this? Should I simply get the cheapest model or do I have to consider other configurations?

 

[LFC2020]

Base model 13" MacBook Pro sounds perfect for your needs, since the ram is cheaper on the base model it wouldn't hurt to add the extra ram.

You should easily get 5 plus years usage out of the base model.

 

[Dane95]

I appreciate your response, and I realize extra RAM never hurts, but it's still a €110 extra outlay that I'm not really sure is beneficial to my needs 😅

 

[LFC2020]

I appreciate your response, and I realize extra RAM never hurts, but it's still a €110 extra outlay that I'm not really sure is beneficial to my needs 😅

Looks like you answered your own questions save that $110 dollars, 8 gig ram should be more than enough.

 

[cambookpro]

I think the base model 13" is in a really weird position. If you are using it 90% of the time for light tasks, the i5 MacBook Air will actually be faster - it has faster RAM, and faster single core performance with the 10th gen chips which is more important than multicore in a lot of day-to-day activities. It also has slightly better battery life.

The MBA has better graphics performance in short bursts, but does throttle faster than the MBP so can't keep up in longer, sustained tasks.

Personally in your position, unless you really wanted the Touch Bar or P3 screen, I'd go for the Air. Seems like it would be better for the majority of tasks, and only a bit slower than the 13" MBP for the minority of heavier tasks. The 13" Pro is a great machine, but I think it only really gets worth the extra weight and price once you hit the £1799 model.

I realise I've gone a bit outside the scope of your original question about RAM. RAM is difficult to judge, I get by fine with 8GB (and use apps such as Xcode, FCP, Affinity Photo), but if I was buying today I'd go with 16GB. It's hard to know if your workflow will change etc. I certainly don't think macOS is going to be requiring 16GB any time soon.

 

[iDarkTraveler]

I think the base model 13" is in a really weird position. If you are using it 90% of the time for light tasks, the i5 MacBook Air will actually be faster - it has faster RAM, and faster single core performance with the 10th gen chips which is more important than multicore in a lot of day-to-day activities. It also has slightly better battery life.

The MBA has better graphics performance in short bursts, but does throttle faster than the MBP so can't keep up in longer, sustained tasks.

Personally in your position, unless you really wanted the Touch Bar or P3 screen, I'd go for the Air. Seems like it would be better for the majority of tasks, and only a bit slower than the 13" MBP for the minority of heavier tasks. The 13" Pro is a great machine, but I think it only really gets worth the extra weight and price once you hit the £1799 model.

I realise I've gone a bit outside the scope of your original question about RAM. RAM is difficult to judge, I get by fine with 8GB (and use apps such as Xcode, FCP, Affinity Photo), but if I was buying today I'd go with 16GB. It's hard to know if your workflow will change etc. I certainly don't think macOS is going to be requiring 16GB any time soon.

Following the same comparison: base 13" vs Air i5 - would the i5 handle large Excel files, Python (PyCharm) and C++ (CLion) better as well as docking to an external monitor?

 

[ascender]

I wonder how the fans on the Air will be with Football Manager?

 

[chabig]

Following the same comparison: base 13" vs Air i5 - would the i5 handle large Excel files, Python (PyCharm) and C++ (CLion) better as well as docking to an external monitor?

Yes of course.

 

[iDarkTraveler]

Yes of course.

Then what people have against the new Air?! 😃

 

[cambookpro]

Then what people have against the new Air?! 😃

Mainly that it throttles fairly quickly. I'm afraid I can't comment on Excel/Python performance - in normal times I'd suggest going to an Apple Store and downloading a project on both and having a play, but I don't think that will be doable for a few weeks at least. My instinct is that the Air would be fine, unless you're doing seriously computationally intensive work. There's always the return window!
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I wonder how the fans on the Air will be with Football Manager?

To be fair I don't think it's written brilliantly for Mac. I play in 2D on my MBP as it does struggle with the 3D match engine. I imagine the Air fans would be at full whack.

 

[iDarkTraveler]

Mainly that it throttles fairly quickly. I'm afraid I can't comment on Excel/Python performance - in normal times I'd suggest going to an Apple Store and downloading a project on both and having a play, but I don't think that will be doable for a few weeks at least. My instinct is that the Air would be fine, unless you're doing seriously computationally intensive work. There's always the return window!

I'm not doing any seriously intensive work. Just the Excel files are large and I usually have let's say: 2 - 4 Excels, PyCharm or MATLAB, Affinity, Word/TeX editor, Safari, Pages, Spotify, Mail, Skype open while using external monitor... I guess I should be more than fine not even going for 16GB RAM, maybe. Any Air with 16gb have a longer shipping times.

 

[Dane95]

Personally in your position, unless you really wanted the Touch Bar or P3 screen, I'd go for the Air. Seems like it would be better for the majority of tasks, and only a bit slower than the 13" MBP for the minority of heavier tasks. The 13" Pro is a great machine, but I think it only really gets worth the extra weight and price once you hit the £1799 model.

I realise I've gone a bit outside the scope of your original question about RAM. RAM is difficult to judge, I get by fine with 8GB (and use apps such as Xcode, FCP, Affinity Photo), but if I was buying today I'd go with 16GB. It's hard to know if your workflow will change etc. I certainly don't think macOS is going to be requiring 16GB any time soon.

The touch bar I couldn't care less about. If anything I'd prefer it without as I assume it consumes more power than physical keys. The screen is nice, I guess, but not a deal breaker.

What I don't like about the Air however, is that according to reviews I've seen, it seems like even medium tasks will cause the fans to kick in and the laptop will get very noisy and very hot. That honestly puts me off quite a bit as I don't want to carry around a laptop that'll imitate a blow dry'er every other moment.

That's why it's the Macbook Pro models I'm considering for now. And it's not that I don't see your argument that the MBP will be overkill for the majority of my work flow. To be honest, that's the exact same argument that led me to buy the 12" Macbook 5 years ago. This time around, I don't mind a bit of overkill if that means the fans will stay more quiet (having a fan-less laptop for 5 years will get you accustomed to a certain standard, lol) and the laptop won't get as hot all the time.

 

[iDarkTraveler]

The touch bar I couldn't care less about. If anything I'd prefer it without as I assume it consumes more power than physical keys. The screen is nice, I guess, but not a deal breaker.

What I don't like about the Air however, is that according to reviews I've seen, it seems like even medium tasks will cause the fans to kick in and the laptop will get very noisy and very hot. That honestly puts me off quite a bit as I don't want to carry around a laptop that'll imitate a blow dry'er every other moment.

That's why it's the Macbook Pro models I'm considering for now. And it's not that I don't see your argument that the MBP will be overkill for the majority of my work flow. To be honest, that's the exact same argument that led me to buy the 12" Macbook 5 years ago. This time around, I don't mind a bit of overkill if that means the fans will stay more quiet (having a fan-less laptop for 5 years will get you accustomed to a certain standard, lol) and the laptop won't get as hot all the time.

I'm in a similar boat, but to my findings the Air can do a lot. Fans won't kind at intensive tasks, but rather when they would be longer. However, based on your usage (you mentioned) you should be more than fine. For example my spreadsheets a quite huge and I'll be working with this data in Python / C++, so even more apps at one time.. MY believes are that i5, 8gb will be fine. I know that the i3 is not that different, but I like (at least the feeling) of the G7 and I can't persuade myself that the two additional cores doesn't matter.

 

[Christopher Kim]

If you are going to keep for 5+ years and don't like to upgrade that frequently, my personal view is that it makes sense to go with 16gb RAM. I also am not a frequent laptop upgrader as I don't need my laptop for overly heavy usage - I'm still using the 2016 13" MBP (first one with the current body / butterfly kb), and 4 years later, it has helped give me the optionality to keep for more years and stay feeling snappy.

While it sounds like 8gb may be fine for your usage now, for a relatively small cost upgrade (I hear you that €110 is still real money, it's <10% of the cost of the base 13" MBP), I think this will give you significant confidence it would still suit your needs 4-5years from now, barring a big change in your usage.

If you're already ponying up to get the "nicer, higher-end" MBP vs MBA, I think in the grand scheme of things, this is a worthwhile upgrade given length of time you'll be keeping the laptop.

 

[iDarkTraveler]

If you are going to keep for 5+ years and don't like to upgrade that frequently, my personal view is that it makes sense to go with 16gb RAM. I also am not a frequent laptop upgrader as I don't need my laptop for overly heavy usage - I'm still using the 2016 13" MBP (first one with the current body / butterfly kb), and 4 years later, it has helped give me the optionality to keep for more years and stay feeling snappy.

While it sounds like 8gb may be fine for your usage now, for a relatively small cost upgrade (I hear you that €110 is still real money, it's <10% of the cost of the base 13" MBP), I think this will give you significant confidence it would still suit your needs 4-5years from now, barring a big change in your usage.

If you're already ponying up to get the "nicer, higher-end" MBP vs MBA, I think in the grand scheme of things, this is a worthwhile upgrade given length of time you'll be keeping the laptop.

I assumed you replied to my post. The longevity of the 16GB RAM may be good, so I will think about it. I highly benefit from the CLion / PyCharm which are (to my opinion) lightweight. I will be also installing boot camp for VS and Autodesk Inventor (can't use the "AI" shortcut here ) for smaller parts / assemblies.

I'm glad your 2016 MBPro is still working snappy. What are your daily tasks? MBPro gives user more years, but I feel like this time the Air is also very interesting in the terms of future-proof.

 

[cambookpro]

The touch bar I couldn't care less about. If anything I'd prefer it without as I assume it consumes more power than physical keys. The screen is nice, I guess, but not a deal breaker.

What I don't like about the Air however, is that according to reviews I've seen, it seems like even medium tasks will cause the fans to kick in and the laptop will get very noisy and very hot. That honestly puts me off quite a bit as I don't want to carry around a laptop that'll imitate a blow dry'er every other moment.

That's why it's the Macbook Pro models I'm considering for now. And it's not that I don't see your argument that the MBP will be overkill for the majority of my work flow. To be honest, that's the exact same argument that led me to buy the 12" Macbook 5 years ago. This time around, I don't mind a bit of overkill if that means the fans will stay more quiet (having a fan-less laptop for 5 years will get you accustomed to a certain standard, lol) and the laptop won't get as hot all the time.

Just to be clear, I don't think the base 13" is overkill for you. The MacBook Air in many tasks is quicker, so I can't see how the MBP could be overkill. Both would probably suit your needs well.

My brother owns the base 2019 13" MBP (quad-core) which is very similar to the current base model. It's not shy about kicking its fans in either, so don't buy it expecting it to be silent. But you're right, it probably will be a bit quieter than the Air due to the extra thermal headroom. My 2016 13" (dual-core), on the other hand, very very rarely uses the fans. They don't even idle, they just sit at 0 rpm for 90% of my use. Although it's a bit slow by modern standards, it's one thing I do like compared to the newer models!

 

[Christopher Kim]

I assumed you replied to my post. The longevity of the 16GB RAM may be good, so I will think about it.

I'm glad your 2016 MBPro is still working snappy. What are your daily tasks? MBPro gives user more years, but I feel like this time the Air is also very interesting in the terms of future-proof.

My reply was really more for the OP, but I guess applies to both of you as you mentioned you were in a similar boat!

I use my MBP for both work and personal consumption. Work is more spreadsheets (large excel models) / presentations, where I frequently have 15-20 files open at once. Personal is the usual stuff (internet browsing, watching videos) with some lighter photo / video-editing (more for personal family albums).

While my MBP is probably on the side of "overkill", given I rarely upgrade my laptop, I was ok stretching a bit to get the MBP (which I know is a bit of a premium product, which I'll be honest is part of the "value-proposition" to me) and "future-proofing" with 16GB / 512GB at the time.

 

[iDarkTraveler]

My reply was really more for the OP, but I guess applies to both of you as you mentioned you were in a similar boat!

I use my MBP for both work and personal consumption. Work is more spreadsheets (large excel models) / presentations, where I frequently have 15-20 files open at once. Personal is the usual stuff (internet browsing, watching videos) with some lighter photo / video-editing (more for personal family albums).

While my MBP is probably on the side of "overkill", given I rarely upgrade my laptop, I was ok stretching a bit to get the MBP (which I know is a bit of a premium product, which I'll be honest is part of the "value-proposition" to me) and "future-proofing" with 16GB / 512GB at the time.

I see, thank for the answer! 😃

MBP is always a premium line (one may say that the base MBPro 2020 differs a bit, but it still handles most of stuffs). MBAir is the most accessible line to students and (in my opinion) meant for those doing "daily tasks" and want them to be done snappy.

 

[ascender]

Mainly that it throttles fairly quickly. I'm afraid I can't comment on Excel/Python performance - in normal times I'd suggest going to an Apple Store and downloading a project on both and having a play, but I don't think that will be doable for a few weeks at least. My instinct is that the Air would be fine, unless you're doing seriously computationally intensive work. There's always the return window!
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To be fair I don't think it's written brilliantly for Mac. I play in 2D on my MBP as it does struggle with the 3D match engine. I imagine the Air fans would be at full whack.

You're right... Just had a chance to play it for the first time on the new MBP 13" and the fans come on in the 3D match engine, so I'd imagine they'll be screaming on an Air.

Luckily I'm old school and prefer the 2D Classic view, with only the 3D for replays and the like.

 

[Dane95]

You're right... Just had a chance to play it for the first time on the new MBP 13" and the fans come on in the 3D match engine, so I'd imagine they'll be screaming on an Air.

Luckily I'm old school and prefer the 2D Classic view, with only the 3D for replays and the like.

Haha, old school is the way to go then!

 

[ascender]

Haha, old school is the way to go then!

Or not, I spoke too soon! Fans still come on once you've been playing it for a while, but not full-on and noisy, it just seems to be their low setting.