Should I replace my 2016 15" MBP with a 13"?

[rooneys]

I have a 2016 15" rMBR. I'm considering selling it and getting a 13" with an i7 processor and 16 GB of RAM.

I'm not sure if I'll regret this decision. I do film editing on Premiere and FCPX. Not a ton and not with tons of effects or motion graphics, but enough that I'm concerned about losing the quad core processor and the graphics card, as well as the larger display.

But the 15" is cumbersome to carry around. I did sell my last 15" for a 13" and did miss the screen size, but I figure I could always buy an external display. So mainly I'm just worried about losing the processing power.

Opinions? As long as FCPX and Premiere will run relatively well on the 13", I'll be fine.

 

[andy9l]

Video editing is one of the only use cases where the 15" really does shine greatly. I wouldn't do it, as a 2017 13" owner myself.

 

[doitdada]

I like the 15". 15" is good enough to multitask, a bit harder to get comfortable working with two apps open and with vital info in the clear on a 13". The 15" vs 13" is more about form factor rather than weight as I have a nice brief case for both sizes. 13" if you use it on transport, and you travel extensively, but it is not for the short commute.

 

[rooneys]

Video editing is one of the only use cases where the 15" really does shine greatly. I wouldn't do it, as a 2017 13" owner myself.

I know the 15" is going to perform better than the 13", but my main question is, is the 13" sufficient? I don't need it to be super fast, I just need it to work smoothly editing video. The films I edit are at most 15-20 minutes long.

I like the 15". 15" is good enough to multitask, a bit harder to get comfortable working with two apps open and with vital info in the clear on a 13". The 15" vs 13" is more about form factor rather than weight as I have a nice brief case for both sizes. 13" if you use it on transport, and you travel extensively, but it is not for the short commute.

The screen size is definitely nice, but the 2" difference in width does make a pretty big difference both when fitting it into a bag, as well as the ease of taking it out and putting it on a table or desk. I know I can make do with the 13", I did for years before and was fine. And like I mentioned before, I can always buy an external display if I really need the screen size. I'm most worried about how a 13" will function with video editing, and if it'll be enough, like I mentioned above.

 

[xb2003]

Disable the dGPU and edit a video. That will give you an idea of what performance is like without a dGPU. I do believe the iGPUs in the 13s are a bit faster than the 15s, though that might be different with the 2017s. But either way it should give you a pretty good idea of what you would be working with.

 

[doitdada]

The screen size is definitely nice, but the 2" difference in width does make a pretty big difference both when fitting it into a bag, as well as the ease of taking it out and putting it on a table or desk. I know I can make do with the 13", I did for years before and was fine. And like I mentioned before, I can always buy an external display if I really need the screen size. I'm most worried about how a 13" will function with video editing, and if it'll be enough, like I mentioned above.

When you drag files, images etc , you need a finder window to manage it, and a dedicated sound app, then maybe some soundtrack in another window...Video editing has always been about screen estate, wouldn't fall for the temptation of portability.

 

[Jamalogo10]

I switched from an older 15 to my current spec (2017 nTb i7 16 512) and I loved downgrading. It just "fits" and doesn't seem cumbersomely large. I feel like I can take this computer anywhere at a moments notice and even share a circular table with a mate.

If you're constantly moving about your house or from location to location I think you'll grow to love the size of the 13.
A 2017 13in MBP (with 16 gbs of ram and the upgraded cpu) is more than capable of handling 4k editing duties.

the performance increases for the 13 were huge last year... apparently the 13's benefitted from kaby lake much more than the 15s. plus no touch bar is a +

my scores:
https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/3468305

 

[andy9l]

FWIW, if you do decide to go for a 13" despite the comments here - the Touch Bar model should deliver better performance during video editing.

Again, one of the very few use cases where this is true. Any task that stresses *both* the CPU and GPU, you're better off with the more efficient Touch Bar model. This is due to the more efficient CPU and cooling found in the TB model.

More details found at the end of this article:

If you’re only stress testing the CPU and not the GPU, both systems are able to maintain their peak clock speeds pretty much indefinitely—both laptops maintained their peak dual-core Turbo Boost speeds of 2.9GHz and 3.1GHz under 100 percent load for 30 minutes. It was only when I also fired up a GPU benchmark that I saw signs of the 15W model throttling more heavily than the 28W model

https://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/11/macbook-pro-touch-bar-13-15-inch-touch-bar-review/