Spec query - upgrading from 2017 MBP 13 inch to new MBP 16 inch

[interbear]

Hi all - like many I'm pondering an upgrade to the new 16 inch MBP. I currently use a 2017 13 inch MBP. It has a 3.1GHz Dual-Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD and Intel Iris 650 graphics (1536 MB). I work from home with the MBP connected to a 24 inch monitor. Travel a bit with work but only every few weeks so not too often. The laptop occasionally slows down with my day to day needs and I do find the 13 inch screen too small hence the interest in upgrading. The new 16 inch MBP seems pretty compelling and is portable enough. But I'm not sure what spec to go for so advice is appreciated. My typical daily usage is:

• Heavy usage of Microsoft Office for Mac.
• Constant video calls / collaboration using Microsoft Teams and/or Skype for Business. So the improved speakers and mics of the MBP 16 inch definitely appeal as I prefer not to use a headset. I connect a Logitech Brio webcam to my Mac for better video quality (if I was to criticise Apple for one thing it would be their continues use of a 720p webcam for video).
• Multiple tabs in Safari, always on. for various work tasks. Usually between 10-20 tabs. Also use Chrome as some of the web tools used at work are not Safari friendly.
• Light video editing, usually for video podcasts or recorded Teams conversations. Nothing spectacular.
• Apple Photos app - our family iMac is the primary residence for family photos but I do download the full images in my photos library to the laptop as well, all part of the back up strategy. I don't really do photo editing, the stock Photos app is suitable for us.
• Music / Video - playing these on the laptop when on the road.
• Connectivity for Monitor, Logitech Brio webcam, Samsung SSD for Time Machine back-up, Bluetooth dongle for headset and Shure microphone currently. With the new speakers/mic I may be able to do away with the latter two items, but I still want to go with the 4 connectivity ports.

So, I'm not a creative pro but I'm a heavy user of the laptop as my primary working tool all day and I like the form factor and connectivity of the MBP vs the Air. I'd like my next MacBook Pro to be my daily driver for the next 5 years. So, my 3 spec questions are:

• Base model - I want a 1TB SSD so do I go with the base model #1 and upgrade the SSD (UK price £2,579) or should I just go straight to the base model #2 that has 1TB SSD built-in (UK price £2,799). Would my use case see any real benefit from the better i9 processor in base model #2? Would the the better graphics card in base model #2 (5500M vs 5300M) make a noticeable difference to my experience?
• RAM - for a 5 year life cycle, in either case, should I spend the extra £360 and go for 32GB RAM or would the standard 16GB be enough?
• Graphics card - I have no idea whether or not it's worth paying extra to upgrade graphics card from 4GB to 8GB but my initial opinion is that this is not worth it for me as the base graphics card in either base model is better than my current MBP.

Budget not really an issue but at the same time I don't want to overspec and waste cash on things I really won't see any benefit on, hence the queries.

Thanks for any opinions folks.

 

[leman]

I am more than confident that the base model will cover your needs just fine. You don't need the 5500M, you don't need 32GB RAM and you certainly don't need the 8 core CPU.

 

[interbear]

I am more than confident that the base model will cover your needs just fine. You don't need the 5500M, you don't need 32GB RAM and you certainly don't need the 8 core CPU.

Thanks. I think you are likely correct especially on graphics and CPU. My biggest query is probably on the RAM front as I see many comments recommending that this should be maxed out where budget allows. I'm clearly not going to do that but was pondering 32GB instead of 16GB just for a bit of future-proofing.

 

[leman]

I'm clearly not going to do that but was pondering 32GB instead of 16GB just for a bit of future-proofing.

I firmly believe future-proofing to be a myth

At any rate, 16GB were more than sufficient for me for the last few years and I do data analysis, software development, I have dozens of apps and hundreds of Safari tabs open at the same time + an occasional VM or two. And frankly I have no reason to think that the situation will change in the next 2-3 years. With new more memory-efficient programming languages (Swift), more memory-efficient data formats (HEIF), super-fast SSDs, more efficient web frameworks becoming popular, I just don't see why RAM usage should spike in the near future.

 

[interbear]

I firmly believe future-proofing to be a myth

At any rate, 16GB were more than sufficient for me for the last few years and I do data analysis, software development, I have dozens of apps and hundreds of Safari tabs open at the same time + an occasional VM or two. And frankly I have no reason to think that the situation will change in the next 2-3 years. With new more memory-efficient programming languages (Swift), more memory-efficient data formats (HEIF), super-fast SSDs, more efficient web frameworks becoming popular, I just don't see why RAM usage should spike in the near future.

Your use case sounds considerably more intensive than mine. And future proofing is, in my opinion, more of a state of mind than a reality. So not quite a myth, but almost

 

[leman]

And future proofing is, in my opinion, more of a state of mind than a reality. So not quite a myth, but almost

Exactly, just like dieting or work-life balance

 

[nbjustforfun]

I got the base i9 16” and have been going back and forth with upgrading to 32gb rams and 8gb vram. After looking at everything I could find for weeks on the base vs upgraded i9 the benchmarks across the board all came up very similar and in some rare cases the base did better than the spec’d our version. Then I said, well maybe I can run more apps at the same time. No matter how much I loaded into memory I could not get out of the green in activity monitor memory tab. See attached screenshot. So...future proof? Think of all the features that will be upgraded on MacBooks in the coming years. Will I even want this Macbook for 5-7 years? I could have used the other $600 as a discount on my next computer. Common remark across boards in the 32gb +8gb is- if you need it you already know. I do recommend the base i9 because you do double the SSD size to 1 tb, better graphics card + 8-cores All for $400! Apple did a great job on ventilation of this i9 machine and the performance is awesome Unlike 15.4” model.