The new base model of MacBook Pro, the one without Touch Bar, is theoretically capable of driving two 4k displays or one 5k display in addition to the internal one. My question is, with the Iris 540 GPU and a downgrade of CPU class (from a regular 13-inch Pro's 28/29W to Air's 15W), is it suitable for extended period of usage with a 5k display connected?
This is the main reason I'm looking for a new MacBook, the ability to utilize a 5k display would be wonderful for editing photos with Lightroom, since my current 13-inch Pro (ME865) from just three years ago, October 2013, still runs perfectly well for all my day to day tasks. The thinner and lighter profile and the brighter P3 display are just really really nice added benefits that I'm not currently willing to drop 1.5 grand on (I've tried them all out, and I actually enjoyed the keyboard, a bit surprising given the fact that I disliked the one on MacBooks). I do hope it to be future proof for possible other tasks though.
To further complicate the situation (sorry :-( ), the second reason I'm looking for an upgrade is the terrible screen estate of the 13-inch MBP. For me it's almost impractical to multitask at most times, since running two apps side by side gives them both pathetically little space to work with. I am aware of the new default resolution of the new 13-inch ones is 1440*900, but I've tried it extensively and found out that I didn't like it, it was too fuzzy and I had to set it back to 1280*800.
But here's the sad truth: the price I can pay for this new Mac probably ends at 2 grands including tax (I'm in California, 8 PERCENT OF TAX), at least for 2016, so that effectively rules out buying the 15-inch model this year (I am a college student so I get standard discounts Apple provides). Hence I'm here looking for advice and I've put together a list of choices I think I have given all the present information in a poll. It would be great if you have some other ideas, thank you!
Also, I'm not looking for any processor/SSD upgrades, since all the baselines and 256 gigs should be fine for me (unless the 15W TDP CPU on 13 w/o Touch Bar handles Lightroom worse than this 2.4 28W Haswell from 3 years ago).
P.S. The price I put in the choices are student discount price before tax.
This is the main reason I'm looking for a new MacBook, the ability to utilize a 5k display would be wonderful for editing photos with Lightroom, since my current 13-inch Pro (ME865) from just three years ago, October 2013, still runs perfectly well for all my day to day tasks. The thinner and lighter profile and the brighter P3 display are just really really nice added benefits that I'm not currently willing to drop 1.5 grand on (I've tried them all out, and I actually enjoyed the keyboard, a bit surprising given the fact that I disliked the one on MacBooks). I do hope it to be future proof for possible other tasks though.
To further complicate the situation (sorry :-( ), the second reason I'm looking for an upgrade is the terrible screen estate of the 13-inch MBP. For me it's almost impractical to multitask at most times, since running two apps side by side gives them both pathetically little space to work with. I am aware of the new default resolution of the new 13-inch ones is 1440*900, but I've tried it extensively and found out that I didn't like it, it was too fuzzy and I had to set it back to 1280*800.
But here's the sad truth: the price I can pay for this new Mac probably ends at 2 grands including tax (I'm in California, 8 PERCENT OF TAX), at least for 2016, so that effectively rules out buying the 15-inch model this year (I am a college student so I get standard discounts Apple provides). Hence I'm here looking for advice and I've put together a list of choices I think I have given all the present information in a poll. It would be great if you have some other ideas, thank you!
Also, I'm not looking for any processor/SSD upgrades, since all the baselines and 256 gigs should be fine for me (unless the 15W TDP CPU on 13 w/o Touch Bar handles Lightroom worse than this 2.4 28W Haswell from 3 years ago).
P.S. The price I put in the choices are student discount price before tax.
