Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacBook Pro 2016 purchase advice

L

laf1desharicots

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 10, 2017
10
1
Hello,

I have started a PhD in geography and I would like to upgrade my gears. I use Texpad, Firefox with a lot a tabs open with Zotero plug-in, ArcGis with parallels , Qgis, Illustrator, Lightroom. I will only play Civ VI if I have a Mac powerful enough...

Actually I have one iMac 27 mid-2010 (I5 2,8 16gb) at home and one MBA mid-2013 (I5 1,3, 8gb, 256go) for the university and field work (6 months abroad per year).The iMac is full of dust with no SSD and the fans are turned on every time I do something. The MBA is fast, efficient, good battery life but the screen is awful.

I would like to sell the MBA and buy a new MBP 13" 2016 with an LG 5K display or an Ultrawide. But I don't know if I may keep the MBA until a rev B for the MBP 13 ? Is the MBP 13" 2016 can replace my MBA and iMac in terms of puissance ?

Should I keep my MBA for light work and upgrade my iMac with a SSD and a I7 processor (but it will always lack the USB 3) or even build a powerful hackintosh and buy a beautiful monitor.

I have the impression the new MBP don't worth the money (and lack a Rev B) and a Hackintosh will suit my needs better but only at home. And during field work I would have to keep with the old MBA.

Any thoughts or advices ?

(Sorry for my poor English)
 
Check but I think your Imac 27 can be used as a monitor so you can still get a bit more use out of it if you get a desktop and wait for some deals on monitors :)

Just to give you an idea you could even get something amazing like this for example:

https://petapixel.com/2017/04/08/5660-mac-pro-crushed-photoshop-test-1530-pc-amd-ryzen/

Sell your old MBA and what you have saved by (Desktop/Imac/sale MBA) over a new tbMBP should still give you enough change for a new rMB and a battery pack if you need really long run time in the field
 
laf1desharicots said:
Thanks for the reply. Yes my iMac support target display. Do you thinks the base tbBMP will suit my needs ?
So I sell all my old stuff and go for a tbMBP and a Hackintosh.
Click to expand...

I only based my reply on financials ie the price of a reasonable tbMBP and sale of your MBA :) would cover a Win10/hackingtosh desktop and a budget rMB plus your old Imac as a monitor

If your budget stretches that far then a tbMBP seems a good option if your field trips are 6 months duration where some compromise and price reduction using a rMB for shorter trips could be a consideration
 
Price is not really a problem, I just want to spend my money on efficient stuff.
I will go with the tbMBP on field trip, so no need for a rMB. Using the iMac in target display is not very convenient.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: SteveJUAE
If you need the power of a desktop and are fairly good with computers, a Hackintosh can be a great option. But I find that people often run into issues way more often than the tonymacx86 site would imply. So, if you have never done it before, make sure you are ready to take on the and troubleshoot the project if/when it doesn't work.

In my opinion, the gem in the MacBook Pro line is the 2015 15" with the iGPU. You get a lot of computer for $1800 compared to about any other notebook Apple offers. But it seems like you want a 13" so...

If I was in your situation, I'd probably consider upgrading my desktop to either a Hackintosh or an iMac and keep using the air for a year or two.
 
Thanks for your advice. If I have to much trouble/issues with the Hackintosh I will install Win10 to have the work done until I fix it. And if I mount à Hackintosh, I will do it with a popular configuration for no surprise.

Yes for me the 13" format is more convenient for travelling and in everyday use.

So I dont know if I have to prioritize the MacBook Pro or the desktop because I spend half the time at university-home and abroad for phd field work.
 
laf1desharicots said:
Thanks for your advice. If I have to much trouble/issues with the Hackintosh I will install Win10 to have the work done until I fix it. And if I mount à Hackintosh, I will do it with a popular configuration for no surprise.

Yes for me the 13" format is more convenient for travelling and in everyday use.

So I dont know if I have to prioritize the MacBook Pro or the desktop because I spend half the time at university-home and abroad for phd field work.
Click to expand...
Laptop as you can use it at all locations :)
 
Have you considered a 2016 15-inch? It's a reasonable bit more portable than the 2015 15-inch.

I think the 2016 15-inch is a good match for your needs, because you would have a computer that maintains good portability, while having enough power to function as a desktop replacement. The CPUs in the 15-inch can make a big difference over the CPUs in the 13-inch with virtualizing, and some of what you are running could really benefit from this CPU and the dGPU. When mobile and without an external display, you may really appreciate the larger screen real estate when looking at tiny maps all day, along with the longer battery life! :)

You could offset the price by going for a 4k display (as it's over $500 less than the 5k), and this single system would then be able to function as your portable and your desktop?
 
Hey ZapNZs thanks for the advice. I was thinking about it too, because of the larger screen and the quad core processor. Indeed I can reduce the budget for a monitor.

So I have the choice between the 13" tbMBP with 16go (2104,80€ with apple education reduction) or the base 15" tbMBP (2482,80€). Is the 15" worth the money more than the 13" ? The difference of price is not so much at this level. But I really prefer the size of the 13", I thinks I should test it in a apple store or buy it and return it if I dont like it.
 
Last edited:
It's not a fair comparison between the 13" and the 15". 13" is dual core, 15" is quad. 15" has dedicated GPU, 13" does not. 15" has 4 TB 3 ports, 13" has either 2 TB 3, or 2 TB3 and 2 USB-C [I don't know if they're 5 gig or 10 gig ports on the RH side]

Honestly the 15" is a heck of a lot more portable than I realized when I got it. It'll fit in a slightly oversized vertical messenger bag. DEFINITELY worth looking at.
 
laf1desharicots said:
Hey ZapNZs thanks for the advice. I was thinking about it too, because of the larger screen and the quad core processor. Indeed I can reduce the budget for a monitor.

So I have the choice between the 13" tbMBP with 16go (2104,80€ with apple education reduction) or the base 15" tbMBP (2482,80€). Is the 15" worth the money more than the 13" ? The difference of price is not so much at this level. But I really prefer the size of the 13", I thinks I should test it in a apple store or buy it and return it if I dont like it.
Click to expand...

In my opinion, provided the 15-inch is portable enough for you, it is worth the price difference because the 15-inch could fill the roles of two computers, even when you find yourself needing more processing power than a dual core can provide, and it sounds like some of the tasks you perform may run happiest on the 15. The dGPU might really come in handy with extremely high resolution maps.

You would also get some serious display flexibility. The 15-TB can drive four 4k displays. Or when 5k displays get more common and less expensive, you also have the option of driving two 5k displays. I'm not even sure what a workspace with four 4k's would look like, but I imagine it would be pretty badass...

I use two externals with my 2014 15-inch with the built in display open and running as well, totaling three separate displays setup inline. For me, this is a huge productivity booster, as I like putting a VM on one display in full screen mode, a second VM on another display or several native Apps on my physical OS that I use intermittently, and reading material and my planning software on the third smaller built in display. Being able to see all at once is something I don't think I could live without now. This is an area where the 15-inch has historically kicked butt in doing and the 2016 15-inch takes this to the next level! :D
 
Last edited:
Nice move ZapNZs ! I was coming for a 13 inch and now I want to try the 15-inch ! But the form factor scare me a little and the 13inch too can drive two 4k monitor or one 5K. I dont think I need a wall of 4 4k displays (even is it tempting).
The 13 inch lack a quad core processor... Even if I max out the 13", the 15 is still the best rapport money/power.
 
Mindinversion said:
It's not a fair comparison between the 13" and the 15". 13" is dual core, 15" is quad. 15" has dedicated GPU, 13" does not. 15" has 4 TB 3 ports, 13" has either 2 TB 3, or 2 TB3 and 2 USB-C [I don't know if they're 5 gig or 10 gig ports on the RH side]

Honestly the 15" is a heck of a lot more portable than I realized when I got it. It'll fit in a slightly oversized vertical messenger bag. DEFINITELY worth looking at.
Click to expand...

The 13 inch with touchbar has TB3 all round but 2 are downclocked to 20Gb/S (ie thunderbolt 2 speeds due to the number of PCIe lanes used.
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
The 13 inch with touchbar has TB3 all round but 2 are downclocked to 20Gb/S (ie thunderbolt 2 speeds due to the number of PCIe lanes used.
Click to expand...

Yes I know it, but I dont think I will saturate the controller even with two 4k display and one samsung T3 SSD. And I can use a thunderbolt 3 hub to had connectivity.

Is the 13" maxed out a waste of money ? The benchmarks looks deceiving.
 
laf1desharicots said:
Yes I know it, but I dont think I will saturate the controller even with two 4k display and one samsung T3 SSD. And I can use a thunderbolt 3 hub to had connectivity.

Is the 13" maxed out a waste of money ? The benchmarks looks deceiving.
Click to expand...

Not a waste of money, if portability is your most important consideration then a maxed out 13 inch will be your best option. If performance is your most important consideration a little heavier and bigger may well be worth it for you the 15 inch machines are still very portable not too much bigger than the old rMBP 13 inch.
 
Thanks all for you reply. I'll have to check by myself at the AS to judge if the 15" is not big enough for me unless I'll go for the 13".

Thanks again from France
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back