Macbook Pro 13 or 15

[Sdahe]

Hello Everyone,

Im gonna be buying a new Macbook Pro and Im in the dilemma between the 13" and the 15" Macbook Pro. I work as a graphic artist and I use Photoshop, Illustrator and 80% of the time Indesign. I don't do video editing but I could use iMovie from time to time for very simple video editing for my clients. Which one would you guys suggest?..

Thanks

 

[Cashmonee]

I just went through this and stuck with the 13". I do basic things like word, excel, email, etc mostly with Lightroom CC for hobbyist photography thrown in. The 13" has no issues with any of that and offers the amount of portability and lapability that I wanted. With a 27" external monitor I have found it to be just about perfect for my needs.

The 15" was tempting because it was more powerful for similar money to the 13" I bought. In the end I did not need the power and thought the 15" would be too large for at school, in a coffee shop, or on the couch at home.

 

[dbrothers]

If your profession is art, I’d strongly recommend the 15 inch. There’s just no substitute for screen real estate.

As a system architect and programmer, I was bummed when Apple dropped their 17 inch models and I had to make do with a 15 inch. Turned out I could configure the smaller unit to the same resolution I had used on the larger units, my eyesight is exceptional for my age, and life was good.

 

[Sdahe]

I would love to read the opinion from another graphic artist

 

[Cashmonee]

If your profession is art, I’d strongly recommend the 15 inch. There’s just no substitute for screen real estate.

As a system architect and programmer, I was bummed when Apple dropped their 17 inch models and I had to make do with a 15 inch. Turned out I could configure the smaller unit to the same resolution I had used on the larger units, my eyesight is exceptional for my age, and life was good.

I do agree with this. If you are working on graphic art often on the go, then I would really think about the 15" for the screen real estate. Especially if you are ok with the size of the 15". Really, if size is no real concern, then I would say the 15" is the way to go.

 

[dbrothers]

Cashmonee got in a little before me, but I’d like to point out that the 15 inch is still extremely portable. I’ve been using computers for over half a century, and the idea of a four-pound device that you can hold in one hand that blows away any supercomputer from twenty or so years ago just blows my mind.

 

[Sdahe]

Well.. screen is not much of an issue.. I had a 13" MBP before and it was Ok.. love the size when carrying around

 

[Howard2k]

Not a graphic designer.

I went with the 13" because it's cheaper and more portable, and it doesn't really matter to me whether a given task takes 1 minute or 3 minutes. The new 13" is smaller than my 2015 13". In fact my 2015 13" is probably closer to the 2018 15". If I was buying a 2018 then I'd still be going for the 13". The extra processing power of the 15" just doesn't matter that much to me. Having said that, it's for personal use. If it was for professional use then I would want the extra processing power. My work laptop could certainly do with some extra kick. For me that was the key differentiator. I didn't need the extra horsepower, and I did want the portability and lower price point.

Again, if I was actually using mine to generate income, I'd be going for the extra HP of the 15". I love the form factor of the 13", but when time=$ it's a really easy choice.

 

[mcpix]

My 2017 13" MBP is my favorite computer to use at home. I use it while laying in bed, sitting on the couch and eating at the table. However, when I need to do most work related tasks, I use my 15" 2015 MBP. The faster processor, more memory, dedicated graphics card and larger screen make it a no brainer for my photo/video business.

One other consideration is that all of the standard configuration 15" MBPs come with 16GB ram and are usually on sale somewhere. This means that if you need 16GB ram, you can often buy a 15" MBP for close to the same price as a 13" with 16GB. For example, today at Best Buy, the 2018 15" MBP with 16GB ram and a 256GB SSD is $2,199. The 2018 13" MBP with 16GB ram and a 512GB SSD is also $2,199 (no discount offered).

 

[fokmik]

15" for the real estate and dGPU, but you can go 13" MBP+eGPU if you need it

 

[Mackinjosh]

If you have an external monitor, don't waste your money on the 15.

 

[Ploki]

I went with the 13" + Mini, because the 15" i9 i had was terrible, running very hot and loud.

My previous laptop was a 15" retina, the 13" is much more portable than the 15" (despite 15" being fairly portable)

I think 2018 13" are more well-rounded than the 15", but that's just my opinion.

 

[Sdahe]

So for someone that is just using Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and Dramweaver the 13” is more than enough?

 

[Howard2k]

So for someone that is just using Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and Dramweaver the 13” is more than enough?

It'll work for sure. The 15" will do it faster, but the 13" is still incredibly capable.

 

[PeterJP]

The 13 is enough for almost all photography work. I do some lightroom, lots of Office and I used to do quite some programming.

I do all that on the late 2013 13" rMBP. But I would buy a 2018 15" model now. For a 15" machine, it's unbelievably small. More importantly, the real estate is much better. You still have room to work with when you put two windows side-by-side. Even moster importantly (just made that up), with 32gb RAM and Vega, it'll be pretty future proof. My current machine has been fine for 5 years, such a 15" could last 6-7 because PC tech is slowing down.

 

[Ploki]

The 13 is enough for almost all photography work. I do some lightroom, lots of Office and I used to do quite some programming.

I do all that on the late 2013 13" rMBP. But I would buy a 2018 15" model now. For a 15" machine, it's unbelievably small. More importantly, the real estate is much better. You still have room to work with when you put two windows side-by-side. Even moster importantly (just made that up), with 32gb RAM and Vega, it'll be pretty future proof. My current machine has been fine for 5 years, such a 15" could last 6-7 because PC tech is slowing down.

Future proofing is silly.
A "future proofed" 2017 15" gets wrecked by a 2018 13" base model.
10nm Sunny Cove CPUs are coming out soon and 2019 base model will outperform 2018 max model.
What I'm trying to say is, baseline 2018 model is just as future proof as top model. It just depends on your needs...

Also I don't really see PC tech slowing down. Seems it's going at a pretty steady pace.

 

[Cashmonee]

I do think we hit the point where all levels of a particular machine, base to max, are equally future proof probably about 5 years ago. The lone exception is maybe the amount of RAM. I would not increase the level of machine I am buying with the thought it will last longer. They will all receive the same number of OS updates and will perform similarly toward the end of their supported life.

 

[Sdahe]

Well I went with the Macbook Pro 15" with 256Gb and 16Gb Ram - 2.2GHz i7... Let's see if this is enough to run Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign..

 

[Howard2k]

Well I went with the Macbook Pro 15" with 256Gb and 16Gb Ram - 2.2GHz i7... Let's see if this is enough to run Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign..

Yeah. It most certainly is. Enjoy!

 

[SDColorado]

Future proofing is silly.
A "future proofed" 2017 15" gets wrecked by a 2018 13" base model.
10nm Sunny Cove CPUs are coming out soon and 2019 base model will outperform 2018 max model.
What I'm trying to say is, baseline 2018 model is just as future proof as top model. It just depends on your needs...

Also I don't really see PC tech slowing down. Seems it's going at a pretty steady pace.

I can’t disagree with anything you said, but I think I can also appreciate where PeterJP is coming from. No doubt you can never future proof to a degree where one generation won’t supplant the other in terms of performance, etc. But there are some choices you can make when buying today that might help assure the machine meets your needs, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years down the road. Even if the annual releases surpass the machine you purchased today, exponentially over that same time

 

[fokmik]

Well I went with the Macbook Pro 15" with 256Gb and 16Gb Ram - 2.2GHz i7... Let's see if this is enough to run Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign..

same here...good for you...the cpu is more than enough...the thing is if you need more GPU power..there is always eGPU..but i hardly doubt

 

[PeterJP]

Future proofing is silly.
A "future proofed" 2017 15" gets wrecked by a 2018 13" base model.
(...)
Also I don't really see PC tech slowing down. Seems it's going at a pretty steady pace.

Well, there are two things in your message. First, that future proofing is silly.

I disagree. If I buy a machine now that is precisely sufficient for my needs now, it won't be good enough in 1.5-2 years because software evolves. Let's say that machine cost me €1500. If I buy a higher spec machine at €3000 and it lasts me 5 years, I have a better deal (€600/year instead of €750). Whether or not there is a better machine available at that point is entirely irrelevant. I only use the machine I have in my hands. If that's fast enough, then I don't need to upgrade.

The second point you make is that the evolution of PC hardware isn't slowing down. Well, should I mention Intel and their last few years? AMD was miles behind and only managed to catch up because Intel slowed down. That means the entire PC world has slowed down. In the tick-tock days, there were major strides each year. Now, we had to wait for 3 years before anything moved.

But there are some choices you can make when buying today that might help assure the machine meets your needs, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years down the road. Even if the annual releases surpass the machine you purchased today, exponentially over that same time

Precisely!

 

[Ploki]

Well, there are two things in your message. First, that future proofing is silly.

I disagree. If I buy a machine now that is precisely sufficient for my needs now, it won't be good enough in 1.5-2 years because software evolves. Let's say that machine cost me €1500. If I buy a higher spec machine at €3000 and it lasts me 5 years, I have a better deal (€600/year instead of €750). Whether or not there is a better machine available at that point is entirely irrelevant. I only use the machine I have in my hands. If that's fast enough, then I don't need to upgrade.

The second point you make is that the evolution of PC hardware isn't slowing down. Well, should I mention Intel and their last few years? AMD was miles behind and only managed to catch up because Intel slowed down. That means the entire PC world has slowed down. In the tick-tock days, there were major strides each year. Now, we had to wait for 3 years before anything moved.


Precisely!

40% price increase for 10% speed bump is irrelevant.
I had "future proofed" my 2012 15" rMBP. If i haven't, i could've justified replacing it earlier. Yeah; I pushed probably what, 6 more months out of it than I would from a 2.3GHz version.
But if i didn't "future proof it" I could easily justify replacing it in 2016 to a vastly improved version.

(You only need to count the $$$ involved as regards to future proofing)
in 2018 MBPs, upgrades are expensive, and the 2019 dieshrink baseline will likely outperform the 2018 i9.
So how could one justify spending upgrade money for the cost of another new machine and call it future proofing? If you don't "future proof" you can buy next years model for the upgrade prices which will be even more "future proofed"

Buy what you need, not what you think you might need in 2 years.

I agree with regards to Intel; however, we had a major MBP upgrade just now in 2018 despite having no die-shrink in years. We had plenty of die shrinks in 2011-2017, but each generation had what, 5-10% performance boost?

 

[maflynn]

, with 32gb RAM and Vega, it'll be pretty future proof.

I think too many people fall into the trap of future proofing, there's nothing coming down the road that will require 32GB, Macs with 8GB are running extremely well now, and there are Macs with 4GB. If you don't need 32GB today, you will not need it in a few years.

The GPU is a different story, especially if game playing is in the cards, as games continually push the envelope, but Macs and games don't usually mix.

 

[Sdahe]

Is it true about the keyboard on the MBP been a problem?