Macbook Pro13 vs future Macbook pro 13

[iamwhoiwere]

I'm about to go on high school and I'm allowed to have a rMBP 13. I've checked on Apple's web and it showed some customizing options for me. I'm currently considering these options, which one of them will help me go through 3 years of high school, until I get a new one if I go on college.

2.7GHz i5 / 16GB ram / 256GB -is this good enough?
3.1GHz i7 / 16GB ram / 256GB -best I can get but money tho...
3.1GHz i7 / 8GB ram / 256GB -will it be better than first one?
(any other suggestions )

I think 256GB storage is enough, if I need more I'll get an external drive. (or should I?) However, I'm pretty sure if after three years the upgrades of MBPs will be way more powerful than previous ones, so I'm thinking about getting the most powerful/best one in case it gets too outdated, or when I need it I'll regret not getting enough power.

I'll use it for normal school use and probably some video editing and photoshop when needed. I'm also actually been looking forward to future MBP upgrades, best before Sep or Oct this year, cuz I'll need it for school. I'm not into rMBP 15s tho cuz its too large for me (and too expensive). Will Apple release updates for rMBPs 13 later this year? Or should I get one of the customized rMBPs just recently released? Or are there any better options rather than the above suggestions? Help...

 

[PaulWog]

No one can tell you with absolute certainty whether or not Apple will release a new 13" Macbook Pro this year. They refreshed the 13" Macbook Pro this year already, so in all likelihood there will be no refresh this year.

You won't need the i7 version. I do photo editing in Lightroom and Photoshop, I play games occasionally, etc. Even if money were no object, if I just won the lottery and had 30 million to spend, I would get the base i5 processor. The difference is extremely minimal.

As far as an external drive goes, the only person who can tell you if you need more storage is you. If you need it, get it when you do need it.

 

[iamwhoiwere]

Thanks for the reply. Will a 2.7GHz i5 be a great difference to the 3.1GHz i7 with hyper threading? Or is a 2.7GHz i5 worth upgrading to a 2.9GHz i5 with little added price? In 'minimal' is it noticeable? I'm afraid when Apple updates the rMBP up to 3.7/3.9<GHz it will not even be comparable. However, I'm starting to lean towards the first option
(2.7GHz i5 / 16GB ram /256GB).

 

[Samuelsan2001]

No upgrades needed

I'm about to go on high school and I'm allowed to have a rMBP 13. I've checked on Apple's web and it showed some customizing options for me. I'm currently considering these options, which one of them will help me go through 3 years of high school, until I get a new one if I go on college.

2.7GHz i5 / 16GB ram / 256GB -is this good enough?
3.1GHz i7 / 16GB ram / 256GB -best I can get but money tho...
3.1GHz i7 / 8GB ram / 256GB -will it be better than first one?
(any other suggestions )

I think 256GB storage is enough, if I need more I'll get an external drive. (or should I?) However, I'm pretty sure if after three years the upgrades of MBPs will be way more powerful than previous ones, so I'm thinking about getting the most powerful/best one in case it gets too outdated, or when I need it I'll regret not getting enough power.

I'll use it for normal school use and probably some video editing and photoshop when needed. I'm also actually been looking forward to future MBP upgrades, best before Sep or Oct this year, cuz I'll need it for school. I'm not into rMBP 15s tho cuz its too large for me (and too expensive). Will Apple release updates for rMBPs 13 later this year? Or should I get one of the customized rMBPs just recently released? Or are there any better options rather than the above suggestions? Help...

And they are unlikely to have a refresh until early next year at the earliest.

Just get a base 2.7 i5 with 8gb that will be more than enough for school. If you play games don't expect to much from the 13 inch the graphics aren't fantastic.

 

[yjchua95]

Thanks for the reply. Will a 2.7GHz i5 be a great difference to the 3.1GHz i7 with hyper threading? Or is a 2.7GHz i5 worth upgrading to a 2.9GHz i5 with little added price? In 'minimal' is it noticeable? I'm afraid when Apple updates the rMBP up to 3.7/3.9<GHz it will not even be comparable. However, I'm starting to lean towards the first option
(2.7GHz i5 / 16GB ram /256GB).

The 3.1GHz i7 is only 5% better than the 2.7GHz i5 at best, because they're both dual core parts with hyper threading.

 

[iamwhoiwere]

Thanks for the replies. I guess if 3.1GHz and 2.7GHz are only 5% better then 2.9GHz won't even be a noticeable difference. I'll take the base i5 processor.

What about ram? I've heard more ram is better and I'm quite convinced to get a 16GB ram rather than the 8GB ram. Any ideas?

Also, am I able to get an education discount when I'm in secondary school/high school/10th Grade? Or can I cheat it through online?

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Check here for how much RAM you need. Unless you are using a variety of VM's or some professional apps then 16gb is overkill.

If you need 16gb RAM then usually a quad core CPU is of as much use to you and you'd be looking at the 15 inch.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

 

[iamwhoiwere]

Thanks for the reply and the provided info I might actually have to use 16GB ram if not 8GB cuz I have to run the Parallel software half of the time, if it counts as a Virtual Machine.