Since my 6 year old MBA with 4gb of ram is showing its age, I decided it's time for me to buy a new laptop but I need some advice. I have decided to get a 13-inch MBP. Now I can't decide which of the two configurations fits me, and my use case, better.
I'm a grad student and I have to deal with some large files/data sets/high resolution microscopy pictures. So far, my MBA has been able to handle it. It's not smooth or particularly fast and my memory pressure is constantly yellow/red but it's gotten me through lab reports and a thesis so I can't complain too much. My most used programs would be: Chrome, Safari, Spotify, ImageJ, Photoshop, Word, Excel. I rarely edit any video, and if I do, iMovie is fine.
Since the MBA has served me well all these years, I think the dual-core nTB MBP should be enough "power" for me. However, the keyboard and only one fan are a concern for me. A coworker's nTB MBP gets quite warm and loud even when he's only editing pictures so I'm worried editing the microscopy pictures might be too much for the form factor (my MBA can just barely do it). So I figured the TB MBP would be better. But! 16gb of ram could give the computer some more longevity (right now I'm limited by the ram more than any other specs).
Since I'm a student, price is a concern. My budget is around 2200 euros maximum (including Apple Care) but I would prefer to stay under 2000. So I see a few options:
1) 2017 nTB MBP/8gb/256gb (1575 euros)
2) 2017 nTB MBP/16gb/256gb (1792 euros)
3) 2018 tB MBP/8gb/256gb (1799 euros)
4) 2018 tb MBP/16gb/256gb (2017 euros)
I don't know which one to get. For now, I'm leaning towards number 3 but I'm not sure I need the extra processing power more than I'd need the 16gb of ram. Thoughts?
I'm a grad student and I have to deal with some large files/data sets/high resolution microscopy pictures. So far, my MBA has been able to handle it. It's not smooth or particularly fast and my memory pressure is constantly yellow/red but it's gotten me through lab reports and a thesis so I can't complain too much. My most used programs would be: Chrome, Safari, Spotify, ImageJ, Photoshop, Word, Excel. I rarely edit any video, and if I do, iMovie is fine.
Since the MBA has served me well all these years, I think the dual-core nTB MBP should be enough "power" for me. However, the keyboard and only one fan are a concern for me. A coworker's nTB MBP gets quite warm and loud even when he's only editing pictures so I'm worried editing the microscopy pictures might be too much for the form factor (my MBA can just barely do it). So I figured the TB MBP would be better. But! 16gb of ram could give the computer some more longevity (right now I'm limited by the ram more than any other specs).
Since I'm a student, price is a concern. My budget is around 2200 euros maximum (including Apple Care) but I would prefer to stay under 2000. So I see a few options:
1) 2017 nTB MBP/8gb/256gb (1575 euros)
2) 2017 nTB MBP/16gb/256gb (1792 euros)
3) 2018 tB MBP/8gb/256gb (1799 euros)
4) 2018 tb MBP/16gb/256gb (2017 euros)
I don't know which one to get. For now, I'm leaning towards number 3 but I'm not sure I need the extra processing power more than I'd need the 16gb of ram. Thoughts?
