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Advice on MacBook Pro purchase

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Susan Mayne

New Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2017
Messages
17
Lightroom Experience
Intermediate
Lightroom Version
Lightroom Version Number
Lightroom Classic cc
Operating System
  1. macOS 10.14 Mojave
I’m about to buy my first laptop for travel and classes. Any suggestions for customizing a new laptop? Should I get more RAM? 8gb or 16gb?
 
What is your budget and what software do you want to use? And, will you also have a desktop machine? Laptops are not easy to upgrade other than memory and drives, and event these often cannot be upgraded. So, if you want your machine to last, I would splurge on RAM, your drive, and then the processor in that order. Specific use cases may change that order, but that would be my preference.

Good luck,

--Ken
 
If you are going to use LR or PS on the laptop get as much RAM as you can (or can afford0. I've never lamented buying more than I thought was necessary but have many times lamented not getting enough. One mistake many people make is configuring a machine what what they intend to use it for "today". But a laptop may last you 3 to 5 years so you really need to think about what your world of SW will look like then. Remember, all your SW will have gone through several new releases and in general each release needs more power (and memory) than the last.
 
Thanks for Your input. I do have a desktop which (at this point) is my main computer. How does this look?
Customize your 13‑inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
  • 2.4GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
  • Retina display with True Tone
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
  • 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
  • 1TB SSD storage
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Backlit Keyboard - US English
Hardware
Processor
Which processor is right for you? (Processor)
Processor
2.4GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz

2.8GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.7GHz
+ $300
 
If you can upgrade RAM later I would choose 8 as it is expensive avoiding Apple. On the other hand I travel with a a 4GB MacBook Air and run latest versions of Classic, PS. Canon's DPP and other software with no issues. I wouldn't use it as mu main device. If you can't upgrade later then go with more RAM.
 
I don't think the current MacBooks are upgradeable after purchase, so good move picking a good spec.

One debate I'd have if I was purchasing at this point would be portability vs. power. The 15" has a dedicated graphics card, which LR takes ever-greater advantage of, whereas the 13" is onboard graphics. I might be tempted to go for a slightly slower processor and dedicated graphics, depending on the budget.
 
As has been said already; it mainly what is in your budget.
I had (still have actually) a 13" MacBook Pro which wasn't powerful enough for my needs. I therefore upgraded to a 15" MacBook Pro and was much happier. HOWEVER, I now have the same problems I had with the 13", lack of space internally, not enough RAM. As said, Apple in their wisdom do not allow upgrades to existing laptops, the hard drive and RAM are hard wired into the systems. The storage of 1TB on board problems have been solved with 7Tb of external drives, across 3 different drives, but cannot solve the lack of RAM other than clearing more images etc off the MacBook.
IMHO my advice would be to definitely go for the largest hard drive available (I think now 2Tb) and as much RAM as you can get. I'm now considering getting an iMac desktop but, as I'm disabled, sitting in a desk chair is only possible for short periods.
 
MacBook Pro is rumored to be updated next month to 16" screen via narrower bezels but same form factor as current machine. If so, they will likely update CPUs and GPUs as well.
 
The storage of 1TB on board problems have been solved with 7Tb of external drives, across 3 different drives, but cannot solve the lack of RAM other than clearing more images etc off the MacBook.
I'm now considering getting an iMac desktop but, as I'm disabled, sitting in a desk chair is only possible for short periods.
Other than your lack of RAM, you might consider network storage to work with a MacBook rather than needing to have it plugged in all the time or needing to go for a "real" desktop.
 
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