2014 MBP 16gb/1T going strong... however...

[MrsHobbyist]

10 years ago I was given a budget to get a MBP to help a photography company advertise their software. For 6 years it was my primary device. I got a M1 base model mini to plug into my monitor over the pandemic. So my MBP was just my travel computer. It's a beast It's huge and heavy. It has 16gb ram, 1Tb SS hard drive, Its got the 2.2GHz Quad-Core i7.... Yes, newer machines are faster, but this thing has handled anything Photoshop I can throw at it including images with 50+ layers, no problem.

I also got a 2012 11 inch MBA With 2gh Dual core i7 and 8gb ram that my son was using for sound crew until his software was also supported.

However... I went on a trip with my updated LR catalog to process some images on the road, and I was dead in the water. I couldn't open my catalog due to the fact that Adobe won't support a 10-year-old machine. Kinda laughing. None of my husband's PCs have ever lasted 10 years. I don't expect all software to be backwards compatible 10-12 years...

I am thrilled that I have two machines that can still handle ordinary computing from emails to browsing to google docs to facetime etc...

My dilemma is.. I hold onto my computers for an insanely long time. I change the batteries if needed. I don't want another 16 inch beast. Too big too heavy. I also don't want to spend $4k on a laptop, but I also intend on keeping it. I am trying to find the sweet spot between price and longevity. I am leaning towards a 14-inch M2 Pro model.

It will be my primary away-from-home device. I will use it to connect to projectors and monitors, I will use it for Adobe products, mostly Photoshop, but some video. I had hoped that my Ipad Pro (V3) would work with Lightroom well, but LRC is so much better that I can't quite jump onto the full mobile suite (which I thought at the time would replace my 2024 Macbook.... It did not).

So I have tossed money at a Ipad Pro (happily... I use it daily) a MacMini M1 base model (ehh it works) all because I didn't want to spend $2-3k on a new MBP.

I am thinking I can find a good MBP or MBA for $1800 or so... Will that be future-proof enough? What specs do you feel would be right specs knowing that I keep my computers way way to long (and am happy with them).

 

[daabido]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. A 14" M2 Pro has a beautiful screen, not too heavy, good connectivity and should have a long life ahead of it. Get enough RAM/Storage for your future needs and you'll be all set.

 

[Ben J.]

I'm not sure I fully understand what you're asking, but my first thoughts are; The M-processors are so powerful, the macbook air is so beautifully designed and light, I'd start with an inexpensive used/refurbished M1 MBA, and after feeling out it's limitations, get a M2 or M3 with more memory and sell the M1.

Don't be surpriced if the M1 is perfectly up to the job.

 

[MrsHobbyist]

I'd start with an inexpensive used/refurbished M1 MBA, and after feeling out it's limitations, get a M2 or M3 with more memory and sell the M1.

Don't be surpriced if the M1 is perfectly up to the job.

My M1 mini base model is fine but not impressive. It doesn’t seem any faster or more responsive than my MacBook Pro with 16gb of ram.

I have so much lag with the m1 mini when importing and rendering images or using the clone tool with my M1 that it’s not an upgrade from my 2014 MacBook Pro. If I am going to spend money, I want something that actually works better than what I have and is somewhat future proof….

 

[MrsHobbyist]

I think you've hit the nail on the head. A 14" M2 Pro has a beautiful screen, not too heavy, good connectivity and should have a long life ahead of it. Get enough RAM/Storage for your future needs and you'll be all set.

I am leaning towards that. I will look deeper into forums to see what processors I should get. I know I don’t need a m3 max or something for what I am doing, but I know from my mini that I will not be pleased long term with an M1 base model either.

 

[Fishrrman]

M3pro MacBook Pro.
14"
1tb SSD
RAM? 18gb is standard, but you might want "the next step up", which is 36gb.

That should last a good, long while.

BUT BEFORE YOU BUY ANY MBP NOW...
... be aware that the m4 and m4pro MBP's look to be coming before the end of the year, or perhaps just into the new year. The m4 and m4pro should be a good-sized "jump upwards"...

 

[Alameda]

10 years ago I was given a budget to get a MBP to help a photography company advertise their software. For 6 years it was my primary device. I got a M1 base model mini to plug into my monitor over the pandemic. So my MBP was just my travel computer. It's a beast It's huge and heavy. It has 16gb ram, 1Tb SS hard drive, Its got the 2.2GHz Quad-Core i7.... Yes, newer machines are faster, but this thing has handled anything Photoshop I can throw at it including images with 50+ layers, no problem.

I also got a 2012 11 inch MBA With 2gh Dual core i7 and 8gb ram that my son was using for sound crew until his software was also supported.

However... I went on a trip with my updated LR catalog to process some images on the road, and I was dead in the water. I couldn't open my catalog due to the fact that Adobe won't support a 10-year-old machine. Kinda laughing. None of my husband's PCs have ever lasted 10 years. I don't expect all software to be backwards compatible 10-12 years...

I am thrilled that I have two machines that can still handle ordinary computing from emails to browsing to google docs to facetime etc...

My dilemma is.. I hold onto my computers for an insanely long time. I change the batteries if needed. I don't want another 16 inch beast. Too big too heavy. I also don't want to spend $4k on a laptop, but I also intend on keeping it. I am trying to find the sweet spot between price and longevity. I am leaning towards a 14-inch M2 Pro model.

It will be my primary away-from-home device. I will use it to connect to projectors and monitors, I will use it for Adobe products, mostly Photoshop, but some video. I had hoped that my Ipad Pro (V3) would work with Lightroom well, but LRC is so much better that I can't quite jump onto the full mobile suite (which I thought at the time would replace my 2024 Macbook.... It did not).

So I have tossed money at a Ipad Pro (happily... I use it daily) a MacMini M1 base model (ehh it works) all because I didn't want to spend $2-3k on a new MBP.

I am thinking I can find a good MBP or MBA for $1800 or so... Will that be future-proof enough? What specs do you feel would be right specs knowing that I keep my computers way way to long (and am happy with them).

The MacBook Air is much lighter, but the MacBook Pro screens are visibly better if you’re editing RAW photos. I don’t know how you work, but I carefully adjust white balance, shadows, highlights and colors, and the MacBook Air display just isn’t as good. If you do most editing using an external monitor, though, then the MacBook Air is fine.

I’d look for a close out model with 16 GB RAM. On Apple’s site, the MBP starts at $1,600. 16 GB of RAM adds $200 and 1 TB of storage adds $200, so that puts you at an even $2,000.

I think more than 1 TB storage is unnecessary, because you need a backup method anyway if you’re a photographer. You don’t need to locally store every photo you’ve ever shot. Personally, I have only 512 GB internally and it’s not a problem at all. I store my entire photo library on a 4TB Thunderbolt SSD drive and back that up to my Synology NAS which has its own backup drive, so I have three copies in addition to whatever’s on the Mac, which keeps a few thousand recent RAW photos only.

Another device I bought and love is the OWC Thunderbolt 3 dock, which gives me single cable connectivity. They also make a Thunderbolt CFExpress reader that’s FAST. I shoot around 1,000 images at a time with my 45 megapixel Canon, and the fast card reader is so much faster than anything else I’ve tried.

One Thunderbolt cable connection powers the MacBook, runs a 4K60 monitor, supports the drives, card reader and gigabit Ethernet. I use the Ethernet because it makes the NAS copies faster. All of that doesn’t use up the 40 Gb/sec connection of one Thunderbolt port (the monitor takes up half, leaving 20 Gb/s for everything else).