Which 2015 MBP 13" spec should I get?

[thenewflynbo]

Morning all,

I hope I can poll opinion from you all on what MBP I should get based on the following:

- Upgrading from 2010 MBP (using Photoshop on a different machine at present)
- Need at least 512gb, for preference 1TB of disk space
- Using it mainly for internet, word processing, travelling, watching movies and Photoshop.

My instinct is to get it fully loaded in the hope that it will last four-five years but maybe I should get a medium-loaded unit with the view to selling in two years. Its impossible to predict but given present trends which strategy would you all advise?

Thank you so much!

Flynbo

 

[geoelectric]

Morning all,

I hope I can poll opinion from you all on what MBP I should get based on the following:

- Upgrading from 2010 MBP (using Photoshop on a different machine at present)
- Need at least 512gb, for preference 1TB of disk space
- Using it mainly for internet, word processing, travelling, watching movies and Photoshop.

My instinct is to get it fully loaded in the hope that it will last four-five years but maybe I should get a medium-loaded unit with the view to selling in two years. Its impossible to predict but given present trends which strategy would you all advise?

Thank you so much!

Flynbo

Well, you're definitely getting the high-spec since you need 512GB minimum. For what you describe, I'd just buy the basic high-spec model. You don't sound like you'll stress even 8GB of memory, but that's the one upgrade you might consider. The $500 extra for a 1TB drive is insane, and I wouldn't even consider it.

FWIW, I nearly bought a loaded one, then thought about the price of a loaded 13 vs. the 15 and the vastly better performance, and realized I just couldn't justify more than a basic model before I really just needed to wait for the 15" release instead.

But since I did want a 13" retina screen and wanted something now, I bought a base 2.7/8/256 mid-spec instead. That put me around $800 ahead of my original 3.1/16/512 budget.

Given that there's probably a major redesign around the corner, that sets me up for a 2 year computer that I think will be just fine. In two years, a redesign will probably be coming out with the second revision (less bugs, and an Intel performance-increase release) I'll either sell or pass this on to my gf, then buy that.

Since I'm only going to keep it that long, I might skip AppleCare since my credit card should give me some level of coverage for the second year. With the 4-5 year plan of the loaded model, I was definitely getting AppleCare, so that's actually more like $1000 savings.

Anyway, just stuff to think about. But in your shoes I'd definitely just do the 2.9/8/512 and plan on two years out of it. If you get more, great.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Well

Morning all,

I hope I can poll opinion from you all on what MBP I should get based on the following:

- Upgrading from 2010 MBP (using Photoshop on a different machine at present)
- Need at least 512gb, for preference 1TB of disk space
- Using it mainly for internet, word processing, travelling, watching movies and Photoshop.

My instinct is to get it fully loaded in the hope that it will last four-five years but maybe I should get a medium-loaded unit with the view to selling in two years. Its impossible to predict but given present trends which strategy would you all advise?

Thank you so much!

Flynbo

The i7 will make practically no difference so not worth it, you don't need 16gb of RAM by the sounds of it but check here.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

The mark up on 1TB ssd is insane as said before, but if you really want or need it go for it its the only thing that will make any difference in a few years time as 4K video becomes more widespread.

I would say get the stock 512 GB version and some network attached storage for large files.

 

[thenewflynbo]

I really appreciate the advice proffered thus far. Thank you very much.

It would seem the 2 year strategy makes a lot more sense than the 5 year strategy at this stage.

Agreed on HD. It is a lot of money and I am sure I can live without that amount of space baked in. I will search other forums for the best Networked storage solution...

I ran the RAM test and got a score of 11 so it would seem sensible to plump for only 8 GB of RAM. Not sure if it is a hangover from trying desperately to get Doom running properly on my 4mb RAM 286ghz Packard Bell but I've always thought the more RAM the better. Is that a misnomer these days? One thing I would say is that I flit pretty rapidly between programs (Mail / Spotify / Chrome / MS Office / iPhoto primarily) and get terribly upset if there is too much lag. Do I just need to meditate more, or would the 16 GB of RAM make a difference to performance?

Thank you so much again!

Flynbo

 

[AFEPPL]

I have both the i7 and the i5, day to day there's not much in it in all truth.
But i do notice the beach ball appearing on the i5, i don't recall seeing it on the i7. If i was doing it again, i'd probably go for the i7 again even though its not night and day difference.

Agree with above, i'd get NAS storage rather than upgrade the internal storage.
Its much more flexible going forward.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

That use case .....

I really appreciate the advice proffered thus far. Thank you very much.

It would seem the 2 year strategy makes a lot more sense than the 5 year strategy at this stage.

Agreed on HD. It is a lot of money and I am sure I can live without that amount of space baked in. I will search other forums for the best Networked storage solution...

I ran the RAM test and got a score of 11 so it would seem sensible to plump for only 8 GB of RAM. Not sure if it is a hangover from trying desperately to get Doom running properly on my 4mb RAM 286ghz Packard Bell but I've always thought the more RAM the better. Is that a misnomer these days? One thing I would say is that I flit pretty rapidly between programs (Mail / Spotify / Chrome / MS Office / iPhoto primarily) and get terribly upset if there is too much lag. Do I just need to meditate more, or would the 16 GB of RAM make a difference to performance?

Thank you so much again!

Flynbo

.... will run fine on 4GB to be honest.

Don't think of it as a 2 year strategy though the stock 512gb rMBP will be a top notch computer for your use case for 4-5 years at least. Of course if your needs change you'll have to rethink.

I upgraded from a 2010 to a haswell rMBP last year and it is awesome the new ones can only be better!!!

 

[thenewflynbo]

Super. Thanks so much everyone. My confidence in this purchase is building post by post. Please do keep the thoughts coming in!

There is a chance I will commence more intensive Photoshop work in the next year or so. Would that make the RAM upgrade a worthwhile consideration?

On a separate but related matter- which is the best NAS system to use in your experiences? WD MyCloud seems popular but slow. It would mainly be for backup and media access...

Thanks so much again and, oh, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Flynbo

 

[Android300zx]

Super. Thanks so much everyone. My confidence in this purchase is building post by post. Please do keep the thoughts coming in!

There is a chance I will commence more intensive Photoshop work in the next year or so. Would that make the RAM upgrade a worthwhile consideration?

On a separate but related matter- which is the best NAS system to use in your experiences? WD MyCloud seems popular but slow. It would mainly be for backup and media access...

Thanks so much again and, oh, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Flynbo

I say max the RAM out.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

It might do

Super. Thanks so much everyone. My confidence in this purchase is building post by post. Please do keep the thoughts coming in!

There is a chance I will commence more intensive Photoshop work in the next year or so. Would that make the RAM upgrade a worthwhile consideration?

On a separate but related matter- which is the best NAS system to use in your experiences? WD MyCloud seems popular but slow. It would mainly be for backup and media access...

Thanks so much again and, oh, HAPPY FRIDAY!

Flynbo

to be honest there is intensive and then there is intensive, however modern versions of photoshop will use as much RAM as you can throw at it so it is up to you on the RAM.

I have no NAS drive myself I just use USB 3 external drives.

Have a great weekend.

 

[thenewflynbo]

Great stuff. So general feeling is 2.9/8/512 but if I feel flush go for 16GB RAM over uprated processor, right? I shall ready my button clicking finger accordingly.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Great stuff. So general feeling is 2.9/8/512 but if I feel flush go for 16GB RAM over uprated processor, right? I shall ready my button clicking finger accordingly.

Yep that about sums it up. Get it and enjoy, remember you can return in 14 days no questions asked so it's not too much of a gamble.