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MacBook Pro decision help

S

s2000gtx

macrumors member
Original poster
May 14, 2012
79
11
good morning everyone , I been reading for weeks and weeks on this topic . I’m on the fence on which MacBook Pro model. I am going back to college for my masters degree and my 2011 MacBook Pro is a no go.

I’m not a wealthy person but I purchase a 2017 MacBook Pro nTB 8gb 256gb.

When I put it under minor load , using iMovie , Microsoft office and chome browser I am using 6.15gb of memory out of 8gb.

Since this is a expensive machine and I’m hoping to use it for another 6 years What do you guys think. I have 5 days to exchange it at Apple. For portability I can’t do a 15” screen .

Options 1. 2.3ghz MacBook Pro 256gb 16gb for 1699 NTB

Option 2. 3.1 MacBook Pro 256 touch bar 8gb.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated . I movie use my MacBook for writing school papers , and web surfing . On a small occasion since I have a small drone I use iMovie to edit videos . Other than that , nothing too technical .
 
If you want, exchange it for the 16gb version.
But what you have seems fine.

I'd avoid the Chrome browser (never touch it myself).

Don't leave iMovie loaded up all the time.
Just when you need to use it...
 
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Is your MBP feeling slow? If not I wouldn't worry about the RAM usage. For your usage 8gb is enough.

Modern OSs tend to use the RAM more fully to speed things up so it's a good thing that most of your RAM is used. If you need to open more applications it will reallocate it.

If you really want to upgrade go for the 16gb version.
 
s2000gtx said:
good morning everyone , I been reading for weeks and weeks on this topic . I’m on the fence on which MacBook Pro model. I am going back to college for my masters degree and my 2011 MacBook Pro is a no go.

I’m not a wealthy person but I purchase a 2017 MacBook Pro nTB 8gb 256gb.

When I put it under minor load , using iMovie , Microsoft office and chome browser I am using 6.15gb of memory out of 8gb.

Since this is a expensive machine and I’m hoping to use it for another 6 years What do you guys think. I have 5 days to exchange it at Apple. For portability I can’t do a 15” screen .

Options 1. 2.3ghz MacBook Pro 256gb 16gb for 1699 NTB

Option 2. 3.1 MacBook Pro 256 touch bar 8gb.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated . I movie use my MacBook for writing school papers , and web surfing . On a small occasion since I have a small drone I use iMovie to edit videos . Other than that , nothing too technical .
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1514736438][/doublepost]
Hello,

Quick reply, go with option 1. I use a similar CTO with 16gb RAM + 512 gb SSD at work, with many excel sheets, powerpoints, 20+ chrome tabs and Adobe Ps / In and it’s performing okey. You will get the beachball once in a while but if you’re on a fence that’s probably the bedt you can do for 1. your current needs
2. cater future macOs updates

Hope that helps
/MilKat10
 
s2000gtx said:
good morning everyone , I been reading for weeks and weeks on this topic . I’m on the fence on which MacBook Pro model. I am going back to college for my masters degree and my 2011 MacBook Pro is a no go.

I’m not a wealthy person but I purchase a 2017 MacBook Pro nTB 8gb 256gb.

When I put it under minor load , using iMovie , Microsoft office and chome browser I am using 6.15gb of memory out of 8gb.

Since this is a expensive machine and I’m hoping to use it for another 6 years What do you guys think. I have 5 days to exchange it at Apple. For portability I can’t do a 15” screen .

Options 1. 2.3ghz MacBook Pro 256gb 16gb for 1699 NTB

Option 2. 3.1 MacBook Pro 256 touch bar 8gb.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated . I movie use my MacBook for writing school papers , and web surfing . On a small occasion since I have a small drone I use iMovie to edit videos . Other than that , nothing too technical .
Click to expand...

If you want it to last you that long, I would suggest getting the 16gb model. 8gb today is pushing it. The HD size too I would bump it to at least 512gb but I would leave that optional.
 
I assume the video editing is for usage other than your MA/MS/MPH/etc.? If you don't mind, could you tell us a little more about your program? (someone with a similar background might be able to comment on the long-term needs that could arise!)

If so, and the rest of your usage will not change during the time you are working on this degree, then the machine you have currently will be fine for this specific type of usage. Chrome eats up a lot of memory but the effect this has on real-world performance seems to be relatively minor because of the speed that the swap between the RAM and SSD occurs at (Chrome + macOS seem well optimized to do this in harmony.) Having a lot of add-on extensions with Chrome will eat more memory, and certain ad blockers are massive culprits here.

However, if your usage will change, or if you plan to edit on a common basis, or if this is part of your degree, then swapping for a 16GB model makes more sense.

If the above holds true AND you would like to use multiple displays (especially higher resolution displays [and I mention this because without a multi-monitor setup I think I would have dropped out of my program]), then a touchbar model with 16 GB makes more sense IMO.
 
So one important question. Do you need it now? Or can you wait a bit?
If you can wait, then return it and wait for the next model to come out which should have faster cpus.
 
ZapNZs said:
I assume the video editing is for usage other than your MA/MS/MPH/etc.? If you don't mind, could you tell us a little more about your program? (someone with a similar background might be able to comment on the long-term needs that could arise!)

If so, and the rest of your usage will not change during the time you are working on this degree, then the machine you have currently will be fine for this specific type of usage. Chrome eats up a lot of memory but the effect this has on real-world performance seems to be relatively minor because of the speed that the swap between the RAM and SSD occurs at (Chrome + macOS seem well optimized to do this in harmony.) Having a lot of add-on extensions with Chrome will eat more memory, and certain ad blockers are massive culprits here.

However, if your usage will change, or if you plan to edit on a common basis, or if this is part of your degree, then swapping for a 16GB model makes more sense.

If the above holds true AND you would like to use multiple displays (especially higher resolution displays [and I mention this because without a multi-monitor setup I think I would have dropped out of my program]), then a touchbar model with 16 GB makes more sense IMO.
Click to expand...


Other than Microsoft office, photoshop, and iMovie . Everything is pretty much web surfing and using iPhoto’s. However this is a big purchase for me and hope to get 5-6 year out of it.
[doublepost=1514752910][/doublepost]
The Mercurian said:
So one important question. Do you need it now? Or can you wait a bit?
If you can wait, then return it and wait for the next model to come out which should have faster cpus.
Click to expand...

Waiting till June isn’t a option as school for me start Jan 8. Also From the research I have done I don’t foresee the June 2018 mode to be a big significant . Base model will still be 8gb . Maybe slightly higher ghz .
 
s2000gtx said:
Waiting till June isn’t a option as school for me start Jan 8. Also From the research I have done I don’t foresee the June 2018 mode to be a big significant . Base model will still be 8gb . Maybe slightly higher ghz .
Click to expand...

Where are you getting June from? And its not about RAM. They are adding cores to the CPUs. So current dual-core will become quad-core, and current quad core will become hex-core. Widely expected new chips available in early 2018. I personally cannot see Apple waiting until June to update. No guarantees of course - but if new ones drop in March you would be kicking yourself!
 
The model you have is fine. I'm using the same model and my work load is much greater! Use safari and do away with chrome also your ram will adjust based on the amount of programs opened no worries
[doublepost=1514766904][/doublepost]
The Mercurian said:
Where are you getting June from? And its not about RAM. They are adding cores to the CPUs. So current dual-core will become quad-core, and current quad core will become hex-core. Widely expected new chips available in early 2018. I personally cannot see Apple waiting until June to update. No guarantees of course - but if new ones drop in March you would be kicking yourself!
Click to expand...
Does he really need the extra ghz? And cores
 
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Lastgreen said:
Does he really need the extra ghz? And cores
Click to expand...

Who said anything about extra GHz - I would not expect that. Cores ? Yes of course. Frankly buying a machine now if you don't have to when they will have 2 extra cores in a matter of months is madness
 
The Mercurian said:
Who said anything about extra GHz - I would not expect that. Cores ? Yes of course. Frankly buying a machine now if you don't have to when they will have 2 extra cores in a matter of months is madness
Click to expand...
what do extra cores offer im a bit uneducated in that regard lol better multi tasking?
 
Zap wrote:
"Better performance with programs that can take advantage of the additional cores that can sometimes be hugely significant...marginally indifferent performance with programs that cannot."

Just wondering... is there a list anywhere of which current Mac apps support multiple cores?
I will assume that apps that DO NOT appear on such a list do not.

Having said that, I'd speculate that even today, there aren't many apps that support multiple cores as a matter of course....
 
Fishrrman said:
Zap wrote:
"Better performance with programs that can take advantage of the additional cores that can sometimes be hugely significant...marginally indifferent performance with programs that cannot."

Just wondering... is there a list anywhere of which current Mac apps support multiple cores?
I will assume that apps that DO NOT appear on such a list do not.

Having said that, I'd speculate that even today, there aren't many apps that support multiple cores as a matter of course....
Click to expand...

I'd say the opposite. Multiple cores are around a while, I would find it odd that a program would not support it. That said I have no idea of a list os such apps. The OP mentioned iMovies - I tried to find out if that supports multiple cores but I was not sure. Perhaps someone else knows
 
The Mercurian said:
I'd say the opposite. Multiple cores are around a while, I would find it odd that a program would not support it. That said I have no idea of a list os such apps. The OP mentioned iMovies - I tried to find out if that supports multiple cores but I was not sure. Perhaps someone else knows
Click to expand...
iMovie has supported multiple cores since its beginning. Even macOS9 made use of multiple cores.

Multiple-thread programs are a staple of Mac programming because you want any computation to take place off the main thread, which should be reserved strictly for UI manipulation. This is why iOS and macOS apps seem so performant; the language, tools, and APIs are structured to do any heavy lifting on separate threads. CoreData supports this via contexts, SpriteKit supports this through its built-in runloop (override func update:)_)), GrandCentral Dispatch is used to build singletons running on their own thread, etc.
 
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PBG4 Dude said:
iMovie has supported multiple cores since its beginning. Even macOS9 made use of multiple cores.

Multiple-thread programs are a staple of Mac programming because you want any computation to take place off the main thread, which should be reserved strictly for UI manipulation. This is why iOS and macOS apps seem so performant; the language, tools, and APIs are structured to do any heavy lifting on separate threads. CoreData supports this via contexts, SpriteKit supports this through its built-in runloop (override func update:)_)), GrandCentral Dispatch is used to build singletons running on their own thread, etc.
Click to expand...

Great answer thanks!
 
Thank you everyone for the help . I’ll see what my options are . I start school next week so I’ll see how things goes . From the sound of it I would love to wait for the new MacBook, but it all depends on the programs I’ll be using for class .
 
Does anyone know if the CPU variants with higher level iGPU will be in intel’s initial release wave? Waiting for CPUs with powerful (respectively) iGPUs is what has held up Apple laptop releases in the past.
 
s2000gtx said:
good morning everyone , I been reading for weeks and weeks on this topic . I’m on the fence on which MacBook Pro model. I am going back to college for my masters degree and my 2011 MacBook Pro is a no go.

I’m not a wealthy person but I purchase a 2017 MacBook Pro nTB 8gb 256gb.

When I put it under minor load , using iMovie , Microsoft office and chome browser I am using 6.15gb of memory out of 8gb.

Since this is a expensive machine and I’m hoping to use it for another 6 years What do you guys think. I have 5 days to exchange it at Apple. For portability I can’t do a 15” screen .

Options 1. 2.3ghz MacBook Pro 256gb 16gb for 1699 NTB

Option 2. 3.1 MacBook Pro 256 touch bar 8gb.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated . I movie use my MacBook for writing school papers , and web surfing . On a small occasion since I have a small drone I use iMovie to edit videos . Other than that , nothing too technical .
Click to expand...


Exchange that nTB... Get 2016 2.9Ghz 8GB/256GB TouchBar at Adorama. $1300 with code APINSIDER.
 
As long as your ram usage graph remains green you are fine, ignore everything else OSX will use as much ram as is available all the time not doing so is just a waste of ram sat idle, a lot of your ram usage will be just caches to keep things feeling as fast as possible these will be cleared for use when your system needs more RAM.
 
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