Hi all, new member here though I have followed A LOT of the threads as I waited (semi) patiently for these 2018's to finally appear. Have been using my sisters old 2015 Macbook pro 13' to get me by until then. Having trouble deciding between getting the base spec 15' and upgrading to 32gb RAM or getting the mid-level spec and leaving it stock (2.6 i7, 16gb RAM, 512 ssd). Currently have on order the base spec with upgraded RAM, but I am now wondering if a slightly bigger hard drive with the 2.6 i7 and 560X may be more worth it to me then the RAM. The laptop will be used as my work station hooked up to a USB-C monitor. I mainly will be doing video editing and some light Photoshop work as well. I started with the video editing fairly recently (only been doing it for a year) so I do not have a great understanding of what components to prioritize spending the money to upgrade. I will mainly be using Final Cut Pro, but will eventually get to using Adobe Premier as well as it is more widely used and my friend who was a film major will be helping me learn it. With all that said, was my move to get the base spec with 32gb ram a smart move, or would it be better for me to get the $2600 mid-level 15"? Purchasing AppleCare and definitely planning on keeping the machine realistically for 4-5 years, so that was why I was assuming the 32gb would "future-proof" the machine. Unsure if this is helpful, but I will be editing 4K video, but don't usually have multiple programs opened at once so at most FCPX and Photoshop would be running simultaneously. Thank you all for the input, reading these forums for awhile showed me how knowledgeable and helpful everyone is on here, so really appreciate any advice you can give.
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Help deciding on Macbook Pro 15' config
- Thread starter chrisischris108
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I would say that when looking to upgrade a machine like the MacBook Pro, always go for the RAM - you’re definitely right in saying that the 32gb would future proof it more than 16.
However, I think to go with the base model and just upgrade the RAM would have possible negative implications in other areas - for example, would you be comfortable having a machine with only 256gb of non upgradable SSD in it for five years plus? As well as this, whilst I’m not as clued up as others on this, I think that the jump from the base to the higher graphics card isn’t exactly small.
In your position, I would say that you’re going to be absolutely fine to go for the higher base model, with the 2.6 i7, 560x and 16gb RAM as opposed to getting the lower base and just doing the RAM. For me, it’s significant that you say you won’t have many other programs open when editing 4K/doing Photoshop. Having more RAM would help with having lots of programs open and doing lots of things at once, but seeing as that’s not apparently the case for you you’ll be fine with 16gb. And, it’s worth bearing in mind that your machine will be no slouch with 16, and that many people have been using that amount of RAM in their primary editing MacBooks for years. Also worth bearing in mind is that it’s DDR4 so will be faster than before.
However, I think to go with the base model and just upgrade the RAM would have possible negative implications in other areas - for example, would you be comfortable having a machine with only 256gb of non upgradable SSD in it for five years plus? As well as this, whilst I’m not as clued up as others on this, I think that the jump from the base to the higher graphics card isn’t exactly small.
In your position, I would say that you’re going to be absolutely fine to go for the higher base model, with the 2.6 i7, 560x and 16gb RAM as opposed to getting the lower base and just doing the RAM. For me, it’s significant that you say you won’t have many other programs open when editing 4K/doing Photoshop. Having more RAM would help with having lots of programs open and doing lots of things at once, but seeing as that’s not apparently the case for you you’ll be fine with 16gb. And, it’s worth bearing in mind that your machine will be no slouch with 16, and that many people have been using that amount of RAM in their primary editing MacBooks for years. Also worth bearing in mind is that it’s DDR4 so will be faster than before.
Thank you so much for the response! I’m good at knowing what I want to do with the laptop, but not what the laptop needs to do the tasks well, and spending almost $3,000 I definitely want it to last 4-5 years. Don’t mind spending more for a better cpu or RAM but if it serves me no good I don’t want to waste money. I do have an external usb-c 1tb hard drive that I put all my videos on when not editing but you have a great point within 4-5 years the 512 ssd will be nicer then the 256 that comes standard. My friend was saying she wished she had 32gb ram and she’s a video editor so it scared me but she does use adobe premier, avid, and davinci resolve though unsure if all at the same time vs. if I am editing a 4K video if anything I’ll have open maybe 2 or 3 web pages tops but definitely not multiple editing softwares at once. Sounds like the right idea is to do the $2600 model and keep it stock 2.6, 512, 560X. Thank you for the help!
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No worries! Bear in mind I’m by no means an expert but that’s what I would go for; for your uses 32 would seem like overkill to me. Also, you can always ask in an Apple store about it - they have a lot of creatives who edit video/music/photos in their spare time working for them who will know more than I do about how much RAM is necessary. And, you don’t need to worry about them trying to get you to spend more; in my experience I’ve never found that to be the case.
Go with 32gb ram. I wish I had the luxury of paying another 500$ to upgrade, so that’s where I’d put my money on, personally.
If you use Final Cut Pro X, 16 GB RAM is more than fine for 4k video editing. Especially if you only do it casually, and not depend on every second of time saved like some studios do.
If you use Premiere, well, then may some higher power help you. To stay serious: We do use Premiere, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and FCP X in our ad agency, depending on what we need for a project. Final Cut is always the preferred tool due to the sheer performance it brings to the table. Premiere doesn't even run perfectly fine on our iMac Pros ...
If you use Premiere, well, then may some higher power help you. To stay serious: We do use Premiere, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and FCP X in our ad agency, depending on what we need for a project. Final Cut is always the preferred tool due to the sheer performance it brings to the table. Premiere doesn't even run perfectly fine on our iMac Pros ...
Can’t speak for long term reliability on these models, but my 2011 model is seven years old and going strong enough. The SSD upgrade is the best thing to ever happen to it.
Thank you all for the responses! It does seem like Final Cut Pro does not use as much resources as some others. While I definitely won’t be using Davinci I would love to get good at using adobe premier at some point too, though if even a MacBook Pro with the 32 ram will have trouble running it maybe it’s best to stick with my FCP X / Photoshop combo as I am very good with those and don’t know if adobe premier would even add anything worthwhile for me. I have the 32gb on order with delivery to the store on July 30 so I do have time, good point to talk to the Apple experts too and see their advice. I did not think of the option of getting the $2600 config and adding the 32 ram to that, but was trying to stay under $3,000 with applecare if possible. Then again this will be my only computer so don’t want to cheap out and regret it later, very excited to finally have a 15” MacBook Pro. Thank you all for the helpful advice!
So I was trying to cancel my base spec with 32gb ram order but it’s arriving in store July 24 so I’m going to wait to get it and take it from there. Since I have a 1tb external I was debating using it some and seeing if I come close to the 32gb ram use. I have a feeling I am going to return it for the 2.6/560X/512 ssd as it seems the common knowledge from all of you guys and a person I spoke with from Apple is if I stick with Final Cut Pro and photoshop as the most “intense” software I use then 16gb ram is plenty. So yea thinking the higher base spec will get me my ~4 years I hope for out of this machine.
If you want the most "silent" and "colder" mac, you should go with the base i7...it will throttle less than the mid 2.6ghz and far less than i9, also 555X has lower speeds...so this will helps too, not much but still
So, you should go with base 15" and upgrade the RAM and SSD (if you dont have the budget for both, RAM is 1st)
So, you should go with base 15" and upgrade the RAM and SSD (if you dont have the budget for both, RAM is 1st)
I was thinking about this myself, I think it’s worth having the extra ghz on the processor and higher graphics, which is why I’m getting the higher base model and speccing it up to 32gb and 1tb.
You *have* a macbook you're currently using. That makes it simple to look at how you're using the RAM in that system to then help estimate whether you'd realize any benefit from upgrading to 32GB of RAM. Run Activity Monitor and look at the memory utilization as you're doing your normal work. This article gives some decent info on how to interpret what you see: https://www.lifewire.com/use-activity-monitor-to-track-mac-memory-usage-2260880
As for others suggestions, take any advice here with a *big* grain of salt, especially when that advice has no explanation behind it. It's super easy to tell someone else to spend $400 without making any effort to discern if they actually need to spend it or not.
When resale time comes, you get back a tiny fraction of the upgrade cost, so make sure you'll really need the additional memory. If you don't really need the extra ram you've wasted your money.
I had the 2.6 on order and switched to 2.2 yesterday morning (still on order). Juror is still out and I'm curious to see more reviews and tests with regards to the thermal issues. My needs are more memory bound and I don't anticipate i'll miss the additional Ghz of the mid-level, I more or less originally ordered the other config as it seemed like a better value.
My sisters’ being the 13” Pro with only a dual core and 8gb ram I barely get 1080p to run well with Final Cut Pro and have not even tried editing 4K on it unsure how much of a good basis it would be to see. Sounds like from others responses too the 2.2ghz is the way to go with possible thermal issues so I guess I should more so see if I need 32gb ram and if not stick with the base model. Since I don’t edit more then 1 or 2 4K videos locally at a time, I am thinking 256ssd should be ok since I have 2 - 1tb hard drives that I can use to offload all of my photos and videos I am not currently editing. Hopefully making the right choice.
[doublepost=1531920635][/doublepost]It seems to me that if I don’t really worry about adobe premier (as it sounds it is taxing no matter what) and I am sticking to 4K video with FCPX and photoshop that the base spec would be enough? If I don’t need 32gb ram then I definitely would put the $ to the 512ssd but really don’t want to buy both as I want to stay under $3k with applecare. Stinks that the base spec with 512 would be a special order and I’d have to wait longer for it. If I skip the 32gb ram is the mid level base spec going to really throttle that badly with FCPX running 2-3 hours at a time tops?
I am very tempted to buy the the standard config 15” unit at Apple today. Will be running Windows10 via BootCamp most of the time, 16gb ram should well. With today’s SSD it does not make that much of a difference.
Only thing holding me up is BootCamp is not ready yet.
Update: Ordered along with an extra charger/cable and USB doggle. I could not help myself!
Picking up at 1pm!
Only thing holding me up is BootCamp is not ready yet.
Update: Ordered along with an extra charger/cable and USB doggle. I could not help myself!
Picking up at 1pm!
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While not ideal, you should still be able to get a sense of the amount of memory the application(s) are trying to use. Even if you're thrashing virtual memory heavily.
Also as @Newtons Apple suggestions, virtual memory swapping onto a 2,500MBps SSD isn't nearly the performance penalty it used to be with spindle drives.
All the upgrade options are extremely expensive from Apple. Generally, if money is at all a concern, then you should probably get as few upgrades as you possibly can. That said, the RAM upgrade is probably the most worthwhile of all. I don't do video editing so I can't say if you need 32G, but if you do then that should be your first priority. Second should be disk size. If you think you can get by with cloud storage and/or external drives for part of your storage needs, then there's a lot to be gained from that. Get as much as you think you need internally of course, but no more. CPU and GPU upgrades are completely pointless for the most part, don't get them.
The money you save from no upgrades are much better spent on external expansions if you need them. External disks, external GPU, etc.
My advice, go with the base processor but upgrade RAM and SSD. Base processor will help keep heat lower and RAM will not contribute to heat. 512 SSD will provide you with decent storage options without being an overkill - can always use external SSD for additional offline storage. Thats exactly what I ordered (2.2/555x/32/512)
...at a time in computing history when RAM prices are probably the highest relative to what they "should" be.
Sounds like all good info I’ll stick to my order and run the activity monitor right after I get it and edit this 10min 4K video and see if it even scratches the 32gb ram. Thank you all for your input with this, it has helped tremendously deciding which MacBook Pro 15 to go with. Definitely don’t want to upgrade to the 2.6 i7 and deal with extra heat.
Oh ok did not know the 560X is a big upgrade, maybe I will just get the 2.6 i7 is I’m not using more then 16gb ram when I first start using the laptop.
Its a good idea to get the highest possible RAM config that one can afford especially knowing that these laptops cannot be upgraded later. With more one can always use less but not the other way around. In my case I run multiple VMs including Kali, Fedora and tools such as Nessus Security Center etc, so RAM can never be enough.
If one has to skimp then do so on the processor as they are not earth shatteringly different in a laptop application, but not the RAM.
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Not everyone here is price sensitive perhaps...