Mac Recommendations Please!

[casperes1996]

Buy a used late 2013-2015 rMBP 15". It's not a 17", but it has a 1920x1200 retina-level mode, which is same resolution as the 17. It also has all the ports you seem to require.

As far as I recall, the 17" MacBook Pro was only 1680x1050. The retina's can still scale to this resolution, but 1920x1200 would be above and being the screen resolution of the 17".

 

[Ally77]

A little excitable aren't you.

I get it ... when you've used MACs for decades, sometimes the upgrades are just frustrating. = )
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As well as Photo, Affinity makes a vector drawing program, Design. You can try it for free. I got a discount for purchasing both Affinity Photo and Design but I don't know if they still offer that as an option. I didn't use Inkscape long enough to comment on it but I would guess I didn't use it much because I found it too limited in features.



It should be your absolute priority #1 to establish a reliable backup regime that gives you confidence. You simply don't own your data if you have no backups. Hard drives can and do fail at any time and your internal MPB hard drive is getting long in the tooth. Hard drives aren't very expensive and you don't need a particularly fast one for backups.

Buy two hard drives and use one for Time Machine backups and one for Carbon Copy Cloner backups. Get drives that are 2x-3x the size of the data on your internal HD and enable SafetyNet in CCC. Offsite or cloud backups are also something you should additionally consider for any data you need for work.

Time Machine makes incremental backs up every hour. Carbon Copy Cloner backs up when you choose to do so manually or you can set it to do scheduled backups. A CCC backup will boot and run the same way your internal hard drive does. That allows you to confirm the reliability of the CC backup. Restoring your internal hard drive from either Time Machine or CCC is a straightforward process.

If you decide to upgrade your current MPB to a newer OS hold off on updating your CCC clone for a couple of weeks until you are certain that PS4 will run with your newer OS. That way you will retain both your Time Machine and CCC backups to fall back on should the newer OS not work out well.

At that point you can either upgrade macOS and/or the hardware on your current MBP and/or get something newer with the confidence that your work is safely backed up.

Thank you for the info on Design.
I hear you on the importance of Backup. When I looked into this a few years ago, the Apple store recommended I buy LaCie 1TB. I did, but it came with no instructions; assuming it was intuitive, I plugged it into my MBP and it looked like it wanted to erase files. Which was odd, because the drive should have been blank and of course I didn't want to erase my files.
I looked online, but didn't find instructions. I know it's weird to comprehend for those of you that love the tech aspect of computers, but it really stresses me (ha!). I love the creative side! And in the past, always had an IT dept to rely on as needed.
I KNOW I've lived on borrowed time in terms of back-up; thank you for the reminder. I will work on a backup now.

 

[SDColorado]

I get it ... when you've used MACs for decades, sometimes the upgrades are just frustrating. = )

I suppose. I have used both PC's and MAC's for many years. Upgrades come, upgrades go. Some you like, some you don't. You buy it and get along with it, or you don't. Pretty simple.

Personally, I love the new keyboard. I am a light touch typist and find it very much preferable to the previous generations keyboards. But that is me and keyboards are very subjective things, much like trackpads, mice, etc. All I can say is I really like the new keyboard for me. But I am not going to get that excited over a keyboard

 

[casperes1996]

Thank you for the info on Design.
I hear you on the importance of Backup. When I looked into this a few years ago, the Apple store recommended I buy LaCie 1TB. I did, but it came with no instructions; assuming it was intuitive, I plugged it into my MBP and it looked like it wanted to erase files. Which was odd, because the drive should have been blank and of course I didn't want to erase my files.
I looked online, but didn't find instructions. I know it's weird to comprehend for those of you that love the tech aspect of computers, but it really stresses me (ha!). I love the creative side! And in the past, always had an IT dept to rely on as needed.
I KNOW I've lived on borrowed time in terms of back-up; thank you for the reminder. I will work on a backup now.

I'm personally both a creative and a computer person at the same time, but I still totally relate to what you're saying. When I'm in deep with a Final Cut project, I do not want to be bothered with computer technical stuff, and that's taking into consideration that I'm good with it, so I get you.
With regards to the LaCie thing, I assume it just wanted to "initialise" the LaCie drive. You're right it was blank, so blank in fact that it didn't have a file format on it, so macOS/OS X wanted to format the drive, which would erase any data that could be on the drive, but which wouldn't be a problem given it was empty. In layman terms, creating the boxes, drawers and closets that you places files and folders into on the drive itself that would otherwise just be an empty room, with no way for the computer to locate anything put in it. Keep in mind this is an assumption since I don't have the specifics, but it's the most likely I'd say

 

[Freyqq]

As far as I recall, the 17" MacBook Pro was only 1680x1050. The retina's can still scale to this resolution, but 1920x1200 would be above and being the screen resolution of the 17".

The last model of 17" was 1920x1200 standard (https://support.apple.com/kb/sp646?locale=en_US)

 

[peraspera]

...I know it's weird to comprehend for those of you that love the tech aspect of computers, but it really stresses me (ha!). I love the creative side! And in the past, always had an IT dept to rely on as needed.
...

I've zero fascination with computers aside from what they can produce. However, if you aren't in control of your backup strategy you aren't in control of your business.

If you know for a dead certainty that you can recover your data easily and quickly from whatever the evil computer gremlins may choose to dish out you can relax allowing your creativity to blossom. Backups also give you a great deal of freedom to explore new software and approaches to your work. Putting in a little bit of time to learn enough to be confident about your backups may not be fun but pays big reduced stress enjoyment and creativity dividends both short and long term.

I've no personal experience but quite a few artists have been quite pleased with incorporating an iPad Pro with a pencil into their professional work flows. You may find that upgrading the hardware and OS on your current MBP combined with an iPad Pro may be a better solution for you than getting a new MBP. It might be worth the time to do some research and pay a visit to the Apple store to take a hard look at the iPad Pro to see if it would be worth buying for your particular use case.
http://www.imore.com/best-apps-drawing-ipad-pro-apple-pencil
http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-ipad-pro-drawing-apps/

iPad sales were down last quarter so Apple will be feeling pressure to offer some compelling feature upgrades for the next iPad refresh. Rumors seem to be indicating a spring iPad refresh but they are just rumors at this point with no official word from Apple.

 

[AVBeatMan]

Buy a used late 2013-2015 rMBP 15". It's not a 17", but it has a 1920x1200 retina-level mode, which is same resolution as the 17. It also has all the ports you seem to require.

I've been reading this thread as I too have been thinking of upgrading to the new Pro's. However, I'm slowly changing my mind. I currently have a late 2013 MacBook Pro and it still works perfectly fine. I'm not a heavy user (it has just 133 battery cycles) and just use for email, web browsing and a bit of word processing. With the price of the new Pro's I'm beginning to think of staying put with my 2013 machine. I see you recommend a late 2013-2015 rMBP? Is there much difference in these? And, lastly, do you think I should just keep my current rMBP?

Any advice welcome.

 

[jerryk]

There are other aspects to the MBP that I personally don't like, so while the dongle complaint seems to get the most attention, the keyboard, ginormous trackpad are two things I don't like.

I have the same issues. Since I have not bought a 2016, every time I try one the keyboard just kills me. Decades of using mechanical keyboard with MX Brown, low noise/click switches and long travel make it hard. The MBP keyboard feels just the opposite. Lots of click and short travel.

Also agree about the trackpad. Not sure anyone wanted a bigger one and now people are experiencing palm rejection issues. And the thought of Apple using it as a poor man's tablet concern me. There is a reason the Wacom Cintiq was made and comes in so many sizes. People want to draw on their screens.

 

[Freyqq]

I've been reading this thread as I too have been thinking of upgrading to the new Pro's. However, I'm slowly changing my mind. I currently have a late 2013 MacBook Pro and it still works perfectly fine. I'm not a heavy user (it has just 133 battery cycles) and just use for email, web browsing and a bit of word processing. With the price of the new Pro's I'm beginning to think of staying put with my 2013 machine. I see you recommend a late 2013-2015 rMBP? Is there much difference in these? And, lastly, do you think I should just keep my current rMBP?

Any advice welcome.

Depends on specs of your mbp and your needs. But, if it's meeting your needs right now, then I don't see any reason to change anything.

 

[Ally77]

Hey all, it's me again ... I would love your advice on a purchase decision. I stalled until the 2017 MBP announcement and now my question between a 2015 MBP 15" and a 2017 MBP 15" - I really don't care to have the Touch Bar, which is why I'm considering going with the new 2015 MBP 15" - that, and there's already spec that a 2018 might bring more than a refresh. I'm looking for a MBP that will be my in-between. I'll still do most of my graphics and layout on the older 17" but need a MBP with more current OS for online work (I don't want to upgrade my 17" browser and lose access to my Adobe CS4 suite of products). I don't game, and will do only occasional very short, basic videos (less than 10 minutes)

I get confused about the ports; what will I need to transfer files between the older 17" and new 15" for uploading to the net or email? Is the 2015 MBP 15" w/out toolbar considered a good machine? What do you think of my current plan of action - a good move? Thanks!

 

[ZapNZs]

Hey all, it's me again ... I would love your advice on a purchase decision. I stalled until the 2017 MBP announcement and now my question between a 2015 MBP 15" and a 2017 MBP 15" - I really don't care to have the Touch Bar, which is why I'm considering going with the new 2015 MBP 15" - that, and there's already spec that a 2018 might bring more than a refresh. I'm looking for a MBP that will be my in-between. I'll still do most of my graphics and layout on the older 17" but need a MBP with more current OS for online work (I don't want to upgrade my 17" browser and lose access to my Adobe CS4 suite of products). I don't game, and will do only occasional very short, basic videos (less than 10 minutes)

I get confused about the ports; what will I need to transfer files between the older 17" and new 15" for uploading to the net or email? Is the 2015 MBP 15" w/out toolbar considered a good machine? What do you think of my current plan of action - a good move? Thanks!

You may want to use a virtual machine of Snow Leopard Server, so you can do everything on the new one you do on your existing 17 MBP and run CS4 on a 2015/2017 MBP with Sierra and High Sierra. With VMWare Fusion, it will be easy to run Snow Leopard on a brand new machine, and with a 15-inch you will have enough power to run more intensive Apps.

If that is something you wish to do, a dGPU 15-inch is arguably ideal. If you go 2015, I recommend a dGPU model over an integrated-only model. From most reports I have read, the R9 M370X dGPU in the 2015 seems to be about the same as the base Radeon 450 GPU on the 2016 MBP15. The new 2015 models available directly from Apple are iGPU-only, but Apple had both the high-tier and BTO 2015 MBP15s with the dGPU available refurbished for a very reasonable price. It is a great buy for a great system.
2015 15-inch MBPr with dGPU + 2.5 GHz i7
2015 15-inch MBPr with dGPU + 2.8 GHz i7


You can't go wrong with the current model either. If you do go for the current model, upgrading to the Radeon 560 is a good investment IMO.

From a transfer perspective, you can do a direct transfer via Thunderbolt or FireWire, a backup to an external hard drive followed by an import of the data on the new machine with Migration Assistant, physically removing the hard drive from your current system and putting it in an enclosure and plugging it into your new machine and manually importing data, or transfer files via WiFi. (If you buy a new MBP after High Sierra releases in the fall, the best practices in terms of restoring data may change because Apple will have changed over to a new filesystem, and this new filesystem could be the one used by default on all new Macs.)

 

[Ally77]

You may want to use a virtual machine of Snow Leopard Server, so you can do everything on the new one you do on your existing 17 MBP and run CS4 on a 2015/2017 MBP with Sierra and High Sierra. With VMWare Fusion, it will be easy to run Snow Leopard on a brand new machine, and with a 15-inch you will have enough power to run more intensive Apps.

If that is something you wish to do, a dGPU 15-inch is arguably ideal. If you go 2015, I recommend a dGPU model over an integrated-only model. From most reports I have read, the R9 M370X dGPU in the 2015 seems to be about the same as the base Radeon 450 GPU on the 2016 MBP15. The new 2015 models available directly from Apple are iGPU-only, but Apple had both the high-tier and BTO 2015 MBP15s with the dGPU available refurbished for a very reasonable price. It is a great buy for a great system.
2015 15-inch MBPr with dGPU + 2.5 GHz i7
2015 15-inch MBPr with dGPU + 2.8 GHz i7


You can't go wrong with the current model either. If you do go for the current model, upgrading to the Radeon 560 is a good investment IMO.

From a transfer perspective, you can do a direct transfer via Thunderbolt or FireWire, a backup to an external hard drive followed by an import of the data on the new machine with Migration Assistant, physically removing the hard drive from your current system and putting it in an enclosure and plugging it into your new machine and manually importing data, or transfer files via WiFi. (If you buy a new MBP after High Sierra releases in the fall, the best practices in terms of restoring data may change because Apple will have changed over to a new filesystem, and this new filesystem could be the one used by default on all new Macs.)

Thank you - I've read this several times attempting to understand. Can you explain a bit more ...
1. What is a virtual machine?
2. What is the difference between: "dGPU model over an integrated-only model"
3. Re: file transfer, the direct transfer sounds the easiest for a non-tech - do you agree? If so, Is Thunderbolt or FireWire an additional item I need to purchase?
Thank you again for the thoughtful reply!

 

[casperes1996]

Thank you - I've read this several times attempting to understand. Can you explain a bit more ...
1. What is a virtual machine?
2. What is the difference between: "dGPU model over an integrated-only model"
3. Re: file transfer, the direct transfer sounds the easiest for a non-tech - do you agree? If so, Is Thunderbolt or FireWire an additional item I need to purchase?
Thank you again for the thoughtful reply!

Whilst your questions weren't directed at me, I can answer them for you

1) A virtual machine, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Right now, your operating system runs directly on your computer's hardware. With a virtual machine, your operating system becomes the "host" of another operating system, such that two systems run on the same hardware, with one system hosting the other. Similar to how an app runs on top of an operating system, a virtual machine runs an entire system on another operating system. There are several different hypervisors available (the software that runs the guest operating system is a hypervisor), such as VMWare Fusion, Parallels, QEMU (more of an emulator), Virtual Box and more. Virtual Box is free, but offers less optimal hardware support. A good one to try out to mess with though.

2) A "dGPU" has a separate graphics adapter, whereas an integrated GPU is part of the processor or motherboard. dGPU's are generally more powerful, and spread the heat more (all the heat on one chip vs. two chips), so that you can have more powerful graphics performance. They typically consume more power too, but a Mac will automatically switch between an integrated option and the dGPU as required, so you have the performance when it's needed, and the power savings when it isn't.

3) I don't think the complexity differences are that big honestly. Wi-Fi transfer will suffice if you don't have that much data, but if it's a lot, FireWire or Thunderbolt will be the fastes.
You will need to buy a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. For the fastest experience boot either Mac in "Target Disk mode" by holding 'T' on startup. That way, the disk will pop up as any other on the other Mac. It's not a required step, and it being on normally will work too, but in Target Disk mode, it's about 10-15% faster