2.9 Ghz i5 vs 3.1Ghz i5 for MacBook Pro 2016 13" TouchBar

[Endlessly29]

Hi!! I'm thinking to get a 2016 MBP with the touchbar! I'll be using it for daily use, school use, as well as video editing in FCPX/adobe premiere (no 4K, 1080p for now with filters and effects heavy) and stuffs.
I've already decided on getting the 13" touchbar model with 16Gb RAM and 512Gb SSD, but I'm still not sure if I should stick to the 2.9Ghz i5 or upgrade to the 3.1Ghz i5 for $100. Will the 0.2Ghz upgrade be worth the $100 -better performance for video editing and daily use, value for $$, how it affects battery life, future proof?
I want to keep this laptop for minimum 3-4 years, even more if it can last me!!
Been wrecking my brains over this for days so finally created an acc to ask!! Asked the apple guy and he said to upgrade to 3.1Ghz i5 for "optimal performance"??

Thank you for all your help in advance!

 

[ZapNZs]

Are funds limited?

If so, the shift from 2.9 to 3.1 is a very marginal upgrade, and the $100 would probably be better spend elsewhere IMO. I personally wound up with the base 2.0 without the touch bar partially because the pricing on the 13-inch quickly rises to 15-inch territory as one starts to add on the upgrades.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Hi!! I'm thinking to get a 2016 MBP with the touchbar! I'll be using it for daily use, school use, as well as video editing in FCPX/adobe premiere (no 4K, 1080p for now with filters and effects heavy) and stuffs.
I've already decided on getting the 13" touchbar model with 16Gb RAM and 512Gb SSD, but I'm still not sure if I should stick to the 2.9Ghz i5 or upgrade to the 3.1Ghz i5 for $100. Will the 0.2Ghz upgrade be worth the $100 -better performance for video editing and daily use, value for $$, how it affects battery life, future proof?
I want to keep this laptop for minimum 3-4 years, even more if it can last me!!
Been wrecking my brains over this for days so finally created an acc to ask!! Asked the apple guy and he said to upgrade to 3.1Ghz i5 for "optimal performance"??

Thank you for all your help in advance!

None of the CPU upgrades are much use unless you are constantly maxing out your processor then you are better of getting the 15 inch for the quad core anyway, If you have 4k in your future seriously consider going for the 15 inch anyway it will be a far better machine for that use case.

 

[Endlessly29]

Are funds limited?

If so, the shift from 2.9 to 3.1 is a very marginal upgrade, and the $100 would probably be better spend elsewhere IMO. I personally wound up with the base 2.0 without the touch bar partially because the pricing on the 13-inch quickly rises to 15-inch territory as one starts to add on the upgrades.

Does the base model processor of 2.0Ghz i5 have a big difference in performance with the 2.9Ghz i5 touchbar model?

 

[ZapNZs]

Does the base model processor of 2.0Ghz i5 have a big difference in performance with the 2.9Ghz i5 touchbar model?

Most benchmark tests suggest that the base 2.0 GHz i5 in the 2016 is comparable to the mid-tier 2.9 GHz i5 in the 2015 (and the 2.0's integrated graphics have made some pretty huge leaps.) Compared to the 2.9 GHz i5 in the 2016, from what I have seen there is some difference, but not a huge one. I've also become very curious as to how much having to drive the touch bar offsets the gains of the slightly faster CPU and slightly faster RAM.

The difference between the 2.0 and the 2.9 is unquestionably tiny when compared to any of the CPUs used in the 15-inch (not to mention the added benefit of a dGPU.) I agree with Sam that the 15-inch may be worth considering because it could better match your performance needs (provided the size is still acceptable to your preferences), not to mention the 13-inch in the configuration you are considering is approaching 15-inch pricing. If you plan to keep the laptop for at least 3-4 years, I imagine during that time period 4k will become much more common, and having a quad core CPU and the ability to drive dual 5k displays could come in handy (and that quad core should pair very nicely with an external dGPU.)