Maxed out Macbookpro 13" no-touchbar, thoughts?

[ejimenez]

Hi all,

I didn't enjoy a bit the touchbar, but I'm hesitant to purchase the non-touchbar Macbook Pro. Would maxing out one be a good idea? I use it as my main personal and work computer. I own a 4k monitor and run programs like Autocad most of the time.

Any thoughts?

 

[Wild_Rose]

I don't care for the touchbar either, but it has better CPU and GPU... might be worth the extra bucks, depending on what you do

 

[ZapNZs]

Are you doing 2D or 3D?

In my personal opinion, the touchbar is often a better investment when running an external 4k display. Maxing out the nTB to its highest tier won't do anything to dissipate the heat (in fact, it may slightly contribute to more heat.) Between a 4k display + CPU/GPU-intensive programs, the touchbar may yield better real-world performance and it will unquestionably be quieter.

You can always use BetterTouchTool to make the touchbar more useful for your individual workload - and this way you could also benefit from the stronger CPU, the additional fan, the additional venting, and the two extra ports (which, in some cases, can prevent you from having to spend $200+ on a Thunderbolt hub if a cheapo USB-C hub isn't able to meet your needs.)

For the price of a fully maxed out nTB ($2600), you can purchase a TB with the mid-level 3.3 GHz i5, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD for the same price. Alternatively, you could get the TB with the high tier i7, 16GB RAM, and a 512 SSD for $100 less.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Don't touch the nTB version for anything other than office work. I've had AutoCAD slow down on 12 core rigs before when working with large detailed plenary drawings, I wouldn't touch it on a computer designed for battery life and portability above power. The TB version is a better balance here, and should be fine as long as you accept obvious limitations. Hooking it up to a 4K is asking it to draw a lot of pixels here, so again the TB is a stronger option for you.

On the TB/nTB side, just remember that is just a bar (The whole computer underneath is different). Do you absolutely need F1 or can you have something more flexible? As that's what it should come down to, not whether you like or don't like it, the under the hood changes make for the price difference, not just the OLED strip.

AutoCAD does have a lot of F functions however these are all available as standard combos remember, or type it in, or map right click. I'd rather have a machine that can handle the work easily than dump the TB for physical keys, it's inside what counts after all.

 

[ejimenez]

Don't touch the nTB version for anything other than office work. I've had AutoCAD slow down on 12 core rigs before when working with large detailed plenary drawings, I wouldn't touch it on a computer designed for battery life and portability above power. The TB version is a better balance here, and should be fine as long as you accept obvious limitations. Hooking it up to a 4K is asking it to draw a lot of pixels here, so again the TB is a stronger option for you.

On the TB/nTB side, just remember that is just a bar (The whole computer underneath is different). Do you absolutely need F1 or can you have something more flexible? As that's what it should come down to, not whether you like or don't like it, the under the hood changes make for the price difference, not just the OLED strip.

AutoCAD does have a lot of F functions however these are all available as standard combos remember, or type it in, or map right click. I'd rather have a machine that can handle the work easily than dump the TB for physical keys, it's inside what counts after all.

Sorry for the late reply!

I just read this before jumping into a black firday/cyber monday deal. It does make a lot of sense. Will definitely follow your recommendations. Much appreciated Sir.