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Archive 2017 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM

  
 
elamont
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Hey guys,

Still looking for the right laptop for photo editing. I'm considering the 13" MacBook Pro, 2016. The one I'm eyeing has a quad core i5, at 2.9Ghz, and 8GB of RAM.

Now to me, a PC person for the last 20 years, that seems woefully low. Is it sufficient for PS/LR on Mac OS? I know more is better of course, but this is already stretching my budget at $1650. If it would be painful editing with 8GB, I'll go back to liking for a Windows laptop.

Thanks!



Apr 26, 2017 at 10:33 AM
Dustin Gent
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


for that price, i would look at the 2015 MBP. I have a 2015 15" MBP that does very well with A7r files (multiple open at a time).

6 years ago, i had at the time the top of the line quad core 15" MBP and sold it and got a 13" MBP - and it couldn't handle the files that well. I am sure they have gotten better, but i think 8GB RAM is too low. 16GB i think should be the standard.

BTW, I bought my current MBP used. Paid $2000 last summer, and it came with Apple Care through 2019. It was listed on Apple.com for $2499 + applecare and tax, which would have been over $3000. I am sure you can get the one i have for less now that the new ones are out.



Apr 26, 2017 at 11:54 AM
butchM
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Another way to save on Apple laptops is to check out their refurb store. All items are the same as new in appearance with fresh new batteries installed and have the full warranty same as new ... better yet, the refurbs also qualify for Apple Care should you want that coverage.

The only caveat is you can't do build to order, you have to be patient and wait for the model/configuration you prefer.

https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac



Apr 26, 2017 at 12:04 PM
elamont
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Thanks for the feedback. I've been eyeing the 2015 as well. Something in me has a real problem with paying top dollar for a two year old laptop. I'm sure it would have plenty of life left in it though.

Dustin Gent wrote:
for that price, i would look at the 2015 MBP. I have a 2015 15" MBP that does very well with A7r files (multiple open at a time).

6 years ago, i had at the time the top of the line quad core 15" MBP and sold it and got a 13" MBP - and it couldn't handle the files that well. I am sure they have gotten better, but i think 8GB RAM is too low. 16GB i think should be the standard.

BTW, I bought my current MBP used. Paid $2000 last summer, and it came with
...Show more



Apr 26, 2017 at 12:52 PM
elamont
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Hey Butch,

I've about wore out my mouse hitting refresh on the Apple refurb store. Definitelt a good way to save and from the videos I've seen online, the refurbs are indistinguishable from new! I'd have no issue buying refurb at all.

Thanks!


butchM wrote:
Another way to save on Apple laptops is to check out their refurb store. All items are the same as new in appearance with fresh new batteries installed and have the full warranty same as new ... better yet, the refurbs also qualify for Apple Care should you want that coverage.

The only caveat is you can't do build to order, you have to be patient and wait for the model/configuration you prefer.

https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac




Apr 26, 2017 at 12:53 PM
elamont
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Does your 2015 have a dedicated graphics card? There is a 2015 on the refurb store for $1,699 that has 16GB of RAM. The only downside I see is it only has the Intel Iris Pro graphics chip. I've never worked with PS on a desktop or laptop that didnt have a discreet/dedicated GPU.

Thanks!

Dustin Gent wrote:
for that price, i would look at the 2015 MBP. I have a 2015 15" MBP that does very well with A7r files (multiple open at a time).

6 years ago, i had at the time the top of the line quad core 15" MBP and sold it and got a 13" MBP - and it couldn't handle the files that well. I am sure they have gotten better, but i think 8GB RAM is too low. 16GB i think should be the standard.

BTW, I bought my current MBP used. Paid $2000 last summer, and it came with
...Show more




Apr 26, 2017 at 01:15 PM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


elamont wrote:
Hey guys,

Now to me, a PC person for the last 20 years, that seems woefully low. Is it sufficient for PS/LR on Mac OS? I know more is better of course, but this is already stretching my budget at $1650. If it would be painful editing with 8GB, I'll go back to liking for a Windows laptop.

Thanks!


well Mac does seem to run a lot more efficiently for a lot of things .

not quite in the same league as the MacBook your talking about but from personal experience I'm now using a 11" macbbok air (mid 2013 base i5 with 4gig ram ) and it runs Lightroom and PS absolutely fine . OK its not as quick as my i7 iMac (a year older) but it can still do the tasks .

now before I got the Air I was trying to use a 1st gen surface pro which had 4gig ram and a faster i5 CPU and was around the same vintage and that just couldn't run Lightroom very well . most of the time if i tried to import a lot of images or get LR to produce a bunch of 1:1 (or smart) previews it would usually crash .
Same goes for my wife's Lenovo Yoga which again has 4gig of ram and is about the same age as the other stuff .







Apr 26, 2017 at 02:09 PM
elamont
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM



That's great first hand experience. Thank you!

Ian.Dobinson wrote:
well Mac does seem to run a lot more efficiently for a lot of things .

not quite in the same league as the MacBook your talking about but from personal experience I'm now using a 11" macbbok air (mid 2013 base i5 with 4gig ram ) and it runs Lightroom and PS absolutely fine . OK its not as quick as my i7 iMac (a year older) but it can still do the tasks .

now before I got the Air I was trying to use a 1st gen surface pro which had 4gig ram and a faster i5 CPU
...Show more



Apr 26, 2017 at 02:35 PM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


By the way my iMac has 8 gig of ram and it was always my intension to add extra as soon as i could after I bought it ( thought was to add an extra 16gi to give me 24) but I never got round to it as it never seemed to need it . now I grant you if was doing large multi layered files in PS then yeah I probably would see a need .

would I buy a MacBook with 4gig in it now (i.e. an air ) probably not . but also I wouldn't think id see a need to chase one with 16gig in it either (which is a quite a large amount of money upgrade in apple land) .



Apr 26, 2017 at 04:20 PM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Also just a quick clarification > the MacBook your talking about is it the latest one with the touch bar ? if so isn't the 13" a DUAL CORE i5 and not a quad core ?
i think the 15" has the quad in it



Apr 26, 2017 at 04:27 PM
elamont
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Ian.Dobinson wrote:
Also just a quick clarification > the MacBook your talking about is it the latest one with the touch bar ? if so isn't the 13" a DUAL CORE i5 and not a quad core ?
i think the 15" has the quad in it


Ack! You're right. It is a dual core. Sheesh. I have been looking at so many laptops in so many configurations and price ranges... my eyes are bleeding. ...

Yes the 13" is a dual core. Which make the 2015 in the refurb section even more appealing. I was concerned about not having a discreet GPU for running PS and LR, but it sounds like you dont have any problems with that?

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/FJLQ2LL/A/refurbished-154-inch-macbook-pro-22ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display



Apr 26, 2017 at 04:47 PM
CanadaMark
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


This would blow the doors off that old MBP for the same money, and it has a huge battery:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9560-laptop/dncwxb1608v2

$1699 for that 2015 MBP is nuts. Old RAM, slow CPU (3, soon to be 4 full generations old), and no discrete graphics is not what I would recommend for a photo editing rig in 2017.

Since you mentioned you have a problem paying top dollar for old tech, I don't think Apple refurbs are going to be your best bet...

For a second value comparison, back in January I picked one of these up from Lenovo for $545 USD, brand new custom made, so keep an eye on their website too:

Lenovo ThinkPad E570
i7-7500U
15.6" 1080P IPS matte display
16GB DDR4 RAM
GTX950M descrete graphics
256GB PCI-E NVMe SSD
DVD Burner
Wireless AC 2X2 / Bluetooth 4.1
Windows 10 64 Bit



Apr 26, 2017 at 05:21 PM
elamont
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


I've been looking heavily in to the XPS 15 9560. The only thing holding me back there is the cost of the 4K screen, or the ghosting issues and lower color gamut on the FHD screen. I certainly prefer the more modern tech and upgradability. I just wish I had confidence in the FHD screen.

CanadaMark wrote:
This would blow the doors off that old MBP for the same money, and it has a huge battery:

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/xps-15-9560-laptop/dncwxb1608v2

$1699 for that 2015 MBP is nuts. Old RAM, slow CPU (3, soon to be 4 full generations old), and no discrete graphics is not what I would recommend for a photo editing rig in 2017.

Since you mentioned you have a problem paying top dollar for old tech, I don't think Apple refurbs are going to be your best bet...

For a second value comparison, back in January I picked one of these up from Lenovo for $545 USD, brand new custom made,
...Show more



Apr 26, 2017 at 05:36 PM
schlotz
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Eric,

It really comes down to how much editing will you be doing. It can get more intense, say if you are shooing professional sports have to meet editing deadlines etc... Regardless, LR isn't written to take full advantage of multiple cores but I believe PS is. Personally, the most bang for the buck from the LR perspective is processor speed first, followed by HD speed, then with additional ram over 8 Gb. If this is going to last you for a number of years it seems reasonable to load up a spec build as much as you can. At minimum I would recommend an i7 core.

JMTC

Matt



Apr 26, 2017 at 06:21 PM
elamont
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


Most of my editing is portraits and weddings. For me, color accuracy is king. I want a panel that will be as close to my desktop and final prints as possible. With the 4K screen jacking the price of the 9560 in to MacBook Pro territory, I figured I'd look there. You certainly get less for your money with MacBooks, but I am pretty confident in the screens. Still... more current tech and upgradable components push me toward the 9560.

schlotz wrote:
Eric,

It really comes down to how much editing will you be doing. It can get more intense, say if you are shooing professional sports have to meet editing deadlines etc... Regardless, LR isn't written to take full advantage of multiple cores but I believe PS is. Personally, the most bang for the buck from the LR perspective is processor speed first, followed by HD speed, then with additional ram over 8 Gb. If this is going to last you for a number of years it seems reasonable to load up a spec build as much as you can. At minimum
...Show more



Apr 26, 2017 at 06:46 PM
Trek_of_Joy
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


For my travel computer, I run LR on a 2016 12" MacBook with the tiny dual core mobile processor, 8gb, and the 1.5gb on chip video ram its a little slow at times because its really a glorified iPad with a keyboard, but I edit 4k video with mine and even stitched a 16 shot pano from 24mp raw images. Rendering takes longer than my 4ghz iMac, but it does the job fine. Any or the newer pro's should be much, much faster. Mac's use PCIe SSD's, which are the fastest you can buy, the read/write speeds are something to behold. Search youtube, there are lots of videos demonstrating mac's in use.


Apr 26, 2017 at 08:54 PM
Dustin Gent
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


elamont wrote:
Thanks for the feedback. I've been eyeing the 2015 as well. Something in me has a real problem with paying top dollar for a two year old laptop. I'm sure it would have plenty of life left in it though.

Mine has the AMD Radeon R9 M370X 2048 MB card



Apr 27, 2017 at 08:20 AM
CanadaMark
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · MacBook Pro (2016) w/ 8GB of RAM


elamont wrote:
I've been looking heavily in to the XPS 15 9560. The only thing holding me back there is the cost of the 4K screen, or the ghosting issues and lower color gamut on the FHD screen. I certainly prefer the more modern tech and upgradability. I just wish I had confidence in the FHD screen.


Personally I am not a fan of such high resolution screens on laptops. Not everything scales well, they are glossy (nothing is worse for photo editing IMO), and you get lower battery life. You'll also always be looking through fingerprints if you use it as a touch screen too. Obviously some of that is subjective. That FHD display has a matte finish (a rarity on laptops these days), plenty of resolution for 15", and it still covers the sRGB gamut (more than the MBP) which correct me if I am wrong, but is probably the end use of your work. Combined with the 97wh battery you will get huge battery life. Also you could plug in an external monitor with hardware calibration if you ever needed flawless color (none of these laptops offer hardware calibration). Is there a way you can try it before buying?




Apr 27, 2017 at 10:12 AM





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