Would the base macbook pro 16" be good enough

[roeliepoelie]

Hello.
I currently own a 'old' macbook pro that is beyond the point of fixing/running smoothly.
So i am up to a new machine. My first idea was to get an imac, but wanted to wait for the new macbook pro line.
Now it is there i am a bit in doubt.
I really love the macbook for it's portability, I can use it everywhere i want. If i go for the imac i have the make a desk in the living room where it sits al the time...
But, that is more something i have to figure out myself, the 16" looks like a lot of machine to me..
And than it is, which 16" to choose.
I have a lot of home video's i want to combine into some nice videos, my plan is to buy final cut pro. It is al HD, no 4K or something. The video editing is going to be the hardest task it has to do, some other tasks will be photoshop (or similar) on an home user basis.

I just don't know which one to choose;
Can i get the base model, 2,6-GHz i7, 16GB DDR4, AMD Pro 5300 4GB and 1 TB SSD (the SSD i want to get to 1 TB at all machines)
And if to upgrade anything, which on would be wise? Go from 16 GB DDR4 to 32 GB? AND/Or is it better to upgrade the AMD Radeon 5300 for an 5500 with 4 (or 8GB)

Or would it be better to go for the other one, the 2,3 GHz i9, 16GB DDR4, AMD Radeon pro 5500 4GB and 1 TB SSD?

I rather get something ready for the future, so it has to last me for another 10 years hopefully..
I'd rather spent now a bit more and get it good, but i am not really into all that hardware stuff...
If i would choose an imac i can upgrade the RAM myself, even in an later stadium.
With an macbook you have to choose now, if you find out you need more power than an upgrade is not possible...

Anyone any advice for this home user.....

 

[revmacian]

You might want to hop on YouTube and do some research on this subject considering you'll be spending a lot of money on the laptop. I am seeing videos of people editing 4k video in Final Cut Pro X on a 2018 MacBook Pro 13", i5, 8GB RAM, Intel 655 graphics. I would think that the base 16" 2019 MacBook Pro would suffice for video editing.

I've edited video on a refurbished base model 2017 MacBook Pro 13", so I know the 13 inch models from 2017 can handle the load.

 

[throAU]

I have a lot of home video's i want to combine into some nice videos, my plan is to buy final cut pro. It is al HD, no 4K or something. The video editing is going to be the hardest task it has to do, some other tasks will be photoshop (or similar) on an home user basis.

That workload runs just fine on my 2015 13" Macbook Pro with 8 GB. Rendering takes a while but that's something you can leave running in the background...

Depending on how long your videos are, you may want more storage or more RAM, but if it is just general home user stuff, any mac from the past 5 years with an SSD will do the job for HD and typical home user length video editing.

Faster/better hardware will be faster/better of course...


For your workload, I'd consider more storage/more RAM - if you have money burning a hole in your pocket and you want to buy more hardware.

Both the inbuilt GPUs are pretty weak (and also not really required to do what you want to do) and you can get more GPU power if required with a thunderbolt box at a later date anyway - with a far more powerful desktop class GPU.



edit:
spending more money to try and last for 10 years is total folly. The additional spend you get to go from base model to high end to try and "future proof" is going to be a lot. For maybe 10-20% additional performance? Money vs. performance improvement at the high end is exponential cost for diminishing returns. Fine if you MUST have the best performance possible today, but very expensive and largely a waste of time if you're doing it purely trying to buy longevity.

Going from base to high end would be about as much as you could just spend on a new machine in 3 years time.... to get FAR more performance than that. Additionally, your machine will be out of applecare in 3 years anyway, so if it was to break in say, year 5 - that money you spent trying to keep it relevant for 10 years was wasted.

In your specific circumstance, i'd throw the "i want it to last 10 years" thinking out the window, buy the base model, and put the money you would have spent aside to upgrade in a more reasonable 3-5 years.

The performance per dollar improvement you will get will FAR outweigh what you will get by trying to future proof today. This is especially relevant right now, as we are on the cusp of several things happening (we're right at an inflection point that hasn't been the case since 2010-2011 or so):

• intel and AMD are engaged in a core count war. AMD have fired the first salvo, intel are yet to respond properly. if you think 6-8 cores for a laptop is a lot today, in 5 years time we're going to be seeing 16-32 core laptops. I'm not even joking. Just look at what is happening with AMD on the desktop today. it took forever to go from 4 cores to more than that in the 15" form factor, it is not going to be long before we see many more than that.
• intel is set to switch from their 14nm+++ CPU process to something a lot better 10nm or 7nm when they get it working. this will bring a big gain in efficiency and core count
• Apple are rumoured to be switching to their own CPUs soon. in 5 years time i have no doubt they will have their own high end architecture and intel in macbooks is going to be like PPC was in 2010

In other words, we're right at the point where performance improvement is going to ramp up, drastically.


If you sell the machine in 3 years or so, you may even get a significant portion of it back to go towards the next machine.

 

[roeliepoelie]

thank you both for the quick reply.
As I understand you both correctly than the base model would be good enough to work with Final cut pro.

So the 16 Gb of RAM would be sufficient, if i go to 32 of RAM than it will work faster.?
Or if i go to 32 GB i can do more tasks at the same time? That is not important for me, I can wait sometime, i just need a machine that can handle the task that is ask of him.
An upgrade to 32 GB will cost me 480 euro's. Better to keep that in my pocket?

The AMD Radeon Pro 5300M could also do a good job on my home video tasks.? Or would it be wise to go to the 5500M 4 (or 8) GB. Were will I notice the difference in these cards. In speed or will the 'lower' cards don't handle bigger files?
Here is an upgrade not that much money, compared to the RAM upgrade. But if it is not necessary i'd rather spent it on more SSD memory, say 1 TB in the machine and some samsung T5..

I have been watching a lot of video's about the new macbook. It is just hard to tell from those videos what is the best for the 'normal' consumer. There are video's where people who earn money with their macbook (making video projects etc.) talk about the new macbook pro. But every upgrade they put in the macbook will make it faster and they can work more efficient. So they have different needs than someone who just uses the macbook after work to make some family video's and organize their photo's.

And i will not try to order an machine for 10 years. i think you are right, i just want a good machine for now. If it will still run after 10 years and i am still happy with it than that is fine. I don't need an specced out macbook, i need a good macbook...

Hope for some more input, i will have a look at some more videos

 

[Fishrrman]

IF you're not going to do 4k, even the base model should be fine.

Of course, a 5k 27" iMac would be better...!