Real world performance on 2020 13" configurations?

[iwillbeshera]

Hi. I'm currently without a personal computer and I NEED to purchase something - despite the ARM announcements.

While I usually buy something to last me 5+ years, this year that might not be case because I'd love to upgrade to ARM in three years once the second version of the hardware comes out. Also, I don't have massive video needs and the 5600M on the 16" is an extra $1k which I don't want to spend just to not have the heat & noise issues - my use case being using an external monitor and the laptop monitor as well. So the 16" is out. That leaves the 13".

So I'm curious, for my use case, which spec would be best for me, and is the real world performance difference between these three specs worth the extra $800?

Comparing: 2020 13"

Option 1	Option 2 - extra $300	Option 3 - extra $800
2.0 i5/16GB/1TB	2.3 i7/16GB/1TB	2.3 i7/32GB/1TB

Use case (in terms of priority):

1. Music Production (semi-pro level)
2. iOS Development (professional/livelyhood level)
3. Streaming (for fun!)
4. Video Editing (also for fun and family)

Thanks

 

[jerryk]

Option 1, assuming you are starting with the 10 generation intel processor version. The i7 doesn't buy much and runs hotter. I also question spending more for the 1TB unless your really need it often, not just in case. This is because of the short time between now and the appearance of Apple Silicon versions. Trade in and resells will take a real hit when this occurs. Best not have too much money into the soon to be obsoleted units. Also, the $1799 unit has gone on sale already. I picked mine up for $1599 on a Best Buy deal.

 

[jakeuten]

Yeah I think the i5/16/512 Best Buy deal is a steal. Opt for more storage if anything, don't worry about the i7. RAM could be helpful too, but 16 is a pretty decent amount.

 

[iwillbeshera]

Yeah, Option 1 is my thinking too, but I do unfortunately need to go for the 1TB internal. I don't want to carry external HDDs and my old computer before it died was at about 630GB of stuff I needed.

 

[jerryk]

Yeah, Option 1 is my thinking too, but I do unfortunately need to go for the 1TB internal. I don't want to carry external HDDs and my old computer before it died was at about 630GB of stuff I needed.

Is getting an external Drive and moving some the stuff you are not using there an option? Those are really cheap.