Performance-wise (Lightroom, Photoshop) - 2017 MacBook Pro: With or Without Touch Bar

[onyskj]

I'm considering buying a 2017 macbook pro 13''. I'll use it mainly for Lightroom(Develop mode) and Photoshop, working with 24MP RAWs. I tend to multitask, so I sometimes have Lightroom, Chrome, Spotify and rarely Photoshop running at the same time. I expect it not to freeze, crash or lag significantly.

My question is whether to buy a non-touchbar model: 2.5GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, or a touchbar one: 3.5GHz i7(or perhaps 3.1GHz/3.3GHz i5 - no hyperthreading though), 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD. At first glance, touchbar one seems to be faster due to a processor and slightly better graphics. But is it really noticeable - and would it be noticeable with my needs (Lightroom, Chrome, Spotify, Photoshop at the same time)?

I am not sure about a touchbar one because of the touch bar, which is a gimmick, might become annoying at some point and unreliable - physical buttons seem sturdier, it has shorter battery life and is more expensive if my needs are satisfied by a non-Touch-Bar one. Yes, I am aware it has 4 ports, but I think I'll manage with 2.

So, basically, will a non-touchbar macbook pro, with the specs as above, fulfill my performance needs?

Thanks!

 

[kschendel]

I'd have to double check, but I'm 90% certain that the i5 model used in the MBP does in fact hyperthread: 2 cores, 4 threads. My recollection is that the i5 has a higher base clock, the i7 a higher boost clock and maybe more cache or something. They both do 4 threads.

Unfortunately that doesn't answer your main question, to which I don't know the answer...