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The MBP I want vs. the one I need :) *advice please*

C

crashwins

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 11, 2009
145
1
I'm a working photographer about half time...The rest is devoted to my more administrative job. That said, I crunch large RAW files from Nikon and Sony and work intensively in Capture One and Photoshop. I also do some video via Premiere and DaVinci Resolve, but not projects more than 5-10mins. I also occasionally game with titles like Fortnite and Counter Strike (these were never great on OSX, and I was considering BootCamp for this). I power one of the older 27" Cinema Displays, and will likely grab a 4K monitor soon too.

I had a 2015 MBP and sold it for the XPS 15 with the GT 1050. I had that computer for like 1 day before returning it. The colors drove me nuts, everything about it..In short, I realized I was a true-to-form Apple guy.

So, the 16" with the newer GPUs really have me interested, specifically the 8GB option. Seems like that computer will be future proof for several years. I figured I could find one with the lower processor, 32GB RAM, and the 8GB GPU option with AppleCare for like $3000. Conversely, I could find one of the 560X GPU options for probably around $15-1600 used, even with AppleCare. That's like half the price. Another concern I have is the 16" is the first iteration of the new model. I've read it's great, but I'm sure there will be tweaks for next year.

Any advice would be welcome. Yes, I could afford either, but I'm pretty pragmatic and don't buy more than I need. Thanks!!
 
It’s good to be pragmatic. I’m sure you have plenty of photography gear you could spend money on.

I don’t think there are too many 16” on the used market yet. This means (aside from being a newer and better model) you’ll pay a hefty premium over prior 15” models. I think only from about 9 months after release will you start to see good used deals on the 16”, as some people look to offload it before the warranty expires (and there might be a new model by then).

As for 15” vs 16” I think it comes down to how much you like or can tolerate the Butterfly keyboard. If you can, you stand to save quite a bit. If, like me, you can’t, then the 16” will be your only option for now. I really like good sound (and don’t always want to wear headphones) so that was another thing that swung me toward the 16”.

For photography I don’t think you need more than the base model, increasing SSD storage to suit. Installing Windows is something I do without hesitation, and if that option ever disappears I’ll likely have to move to PC.
 
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Reactions: JosepPont
Well, if the butterfly is not a problem for you, half price is a good tag. I was in the same boat as you and I decided to buy the 16 inch with i9 2.3, 8 GB GPU and 32 GB of RAM. I’m really satisfyed.
 
Thanks! Helpful advice. I have used the butterfly keyboard and I don't mind it that much (the 2018 seemed a bit better). If I wrote as a profession -- 1000s of word a day -- that would be different story. But I don't, and I'd probably use an external keyboard for that anyway.

I guess my chief concern is the GPU. The newer ones are THAT much better, are they not? Seems like the Vega is a funky middle-ground where they're still pretty pricey and I might as well upgrade to the 16. So the 560 seems more reasonable.
 
Yes, in another post I uploaded a couple of photos showing Red Dead Redepmtion 2 running in a external SSD NVME drive, so for some gaming this machine is more than enough. Is not easy recommend you wich one is best because if you want gaming, 16 inch but if the KB is not a problem (external KB) and half the price.....the 15" also is a good choice....
 
JosepPont said:
Yes, in another post I uploaded a couple of photos showing Red Dead Redepmtion 2 running in a external SSD NVME drive, so for some gaming this machine is more than enough. Is not easy recommend you wich one is best because if you want gaming, 16 inch but if the KB is not a problem (external KB) and half the price.....the 15" also is a good choice....
Click to expand...

Thanks -- this machine, meaning which machine? Also, what is KB? I want to say you meant BK for butterfly keyboard :)
 
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