Seeking MBP buying advice

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dustin32

macrumors newbie
Hello, I am looking to buy a new Macbook Pro. I'm looking for something that is very future-proof, but for relatively light usage (web browsing, Netflix, Spotify, light MS Office). I'm hoping to buy something that will do those tasks without obnoxious lag 4-5 years from now. Maybe some DSLR photo editing, but the odds of me buying a DSLR in the next 5 years are pretty slim.

If I got seriously into photography, whether I had a 256GB SSD or 512GB, I'd need to store photos externally, so I've settled for the 256GB SSD.

My budget is roughly $1,500. I've narrowed it down to the following:

$1,199 - 2016 nTB 13" MBP with 15 watt Skylake 2.0Ghz i5/8GB RAM
$1,599 - 2017 nTB 13" MBP with 15 watt Kaby Lake 2.3Ghz i5/16GB RAM
$1,649 - 2017 TB 13" MBP with 28 watt Kaby Lake 3.1Ghz i5/8GB RAM
$1,799 - 2016 TB 15" MBP with 45 watt Skylake 2.6Ghz i7/16GB RAM (quad-core & AMD 450) - Prefer not to spend this much

Any thoughts? What do y'all reckon will be the most important spec to spend money on in order to future proof? CPU or RAM? Is having 4 cores worth the premium?

Thanks in advance!
 
The most important for future proofing is RAM and GPU. Most machines come with SSDs so things run fast and unless you regularly hit 100% CPU you likely won't notice a faster CPU. Most tasks are single core, meaning that you can run more things at once on a 4 core, but a single task will not see a difference.

There are always stories of people adding RAM to an older computer (when they used to let you) and suddenly having better performance. 8 GB is plenty today, but no one knows if it will be ok in 5 years. A old GPU can be a issue if they change the amount of pixels in use. The jump from SD to HD and now HD to UHD usually needs a corresponding jump in GPU power to be smooth.

Do you know how much RAM you currently use? Do you currently have a SSD installed?
 
First....nothing is totally future proof. Personally, I'd opt for the 15" simply because of the larger screen. if $$$ is an issue, 16GB of RAM would be a better choice.
 
Get the 2.9/460 15" for $1899.

I know you said you'd prefer not to spen that much, but it's worth it for the 460 over the 450 - likely to last longer in terms of future proofing.
 
I will throw a different spin on it. I am all for saving money but if you are planning on keeping this for 5 years the price difference in all your choices is really nothing. Your lowest to highest are $600 apart. You are talking 32 cents a day difference over the life span of it. If you throw out the $1199 option the differences are way less.

I don’t know about you but I use my computer a lot. Like hours a day. I would gladly pay an extra 32 cents a day for a better computer and skip some Starbucks or whatever now and then than live with something that was less than what I really wanted for 5 years. Then again if you are just a casual user get what serves your needs. A computer will always do the things it does today even five years from now it just might do new stuff we don’t even know about yet.
 
Thanks all for the advice!

I ended up going with the 2.9Ghz/16GB/460 15".

I figured whether I go with a cheaper option or a more expensive option, I would end up paying roughly the same per year. (A cheaper one would be replaced sooner, a more expensive one would in theory be usable for longer). However, the dedicated GPU will allow me to do some basic gaming (Cities: Skyline and maybe XPlane).

Cheers!
 
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