New/old Macbook Pro for photographer confused about i5 vs i7

[Sarah25]

Hi guys! I'm new here i really don't hope this is a question you get all the time. If so, i'm sorry! Let me know and i'll delete it.

I'm a professional photographer, my work computer (provided by the company) is a 15 inch Macbook pro late 2013, 16 gb ddr3, 2,3 ghz intel core i7, nvidia gt750m, 500 gb connected to a dell monitor.

I want to buy a macbook pro for myself and my own photography as the company computer has some restrictions (can't download any software other than what they provide).

I don't know if the new macbook pro 13 inch with the i5 processor would be good enough for heavy photoshop use? (multiple large raw files opened, a lot a lot a lot of photoshopping) or do i absolutely need the quad core i7 that's available only on the 15 inch. I don't need a 15 inch screen i'd actually prefer the 13 inch for flexibility when travelling and when i'm photoshopping i'll be using the laptop with a monitor.

I'm very confused, and i don't know a lot about computers. I need a macbook pro that'll work smoothly when i use photoshop. The computer i use at work does this perfectly, so if the dual core i5 processor is better than the intel i7 - will i be able to use the 13 inch with no problems? (no heating, no noise, no crashes)
Or is this not a processor issue but ram/ssd? It doesn't have to be the new macbook pro, if there is an 13 inch of the old model that is available for purchase, not used, i'll do that. Furthermore touch bar and all the fancy gimmicks are not important. The 15 inch is pretty expensive, i live in denmark and will be buying it here, so everything is around 25-30 percent more expensive than US. Help!

 

[axPoindexter]

Not a technical person either, so some tech person will probably rip me a new one. But here's real world experience...

I do lots of composites from multiple Canon 5DsR images quite often. I have done this while encoding 4K video....although I won't do that again. Most of these composites are 50 megapixel RAW file composites with more than 50 layers just to give you an idea of how "heavy" this is.

In this, I have yet to find a machine that didn't get a little bogged down no matter what the hardware is. If you can really tell a difference between the i5 and i7 it wouldn't be much. Photoshop likes scratch disks and RAM. So get the 13" because you like the form factor better, and get as much hard drive & RAM as you can afford.

This is an old thread, and based on....gasp....Windows, that shows how little difference same gen i5 vs i7s make in Photoshop. Scroll down to the graph: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3019835/cpu-type-photoshop.html

 

[jav6454]

To be quite blunt on the technical side, for a photographer all that matters is RAM. CPU matters only when you are video editing and are constantly converting and ripping.

 

[Sarah25]

Thank you for your reply! Ok i will focus on scratch disk and ram. Will the Intel 550 graphiccard be good enough for the photoshop files and 50+ layers?
[doublepost=1478193470][/doublepost]Thank you! Will bulk up on ram!
[doublepost=1478193506][/doublepost]Thank you for your reply! Ok i will focus on scratch disk and ram. Will the Intel 550 graphiccard be good enough for the photoshop files and 50+ layers?

 

[iizmoo]

Each photagrapher does things slightly different, so no one can really give you a Yes/No answer. A lot of it is about how each person "feel" that the performance of the machine is adaquate or not.

Keep in mind that Apple have very good return policies, and they're generally happy about it, unlike other retailers. Maybe try the 13" that you want and see how it work out, if it doesn't then you can just return it and grab the 15". Even if you find out after a few months it's not for you, the resale value of MBP are still fairly high that the cost to you would be minimal.

I would say to stay with the new TouchBar MBP, it is slightly faster than the old version, and the old one is currently not discounted by Apple. So you'd be paying regular price for 2015 technologies. As you're paying for this, if you have the budget, go for the latest and best that you can afford. And that TouchBar might do something for your workflow, who knows?

 

[Deanster]

Any of the new machines will be excellent for your needs, though the non-touchbar 13" with the 15W processor is the weakest contender.

I'd say the same for last year's pro models also, if you can find one that's a good deal. As others have noted, in the age of 4K video editing, even the heaviest Photoshop user is a relatively light load for a modern laptop.

You'll want lots of RAM, but again, 16GB is more than enough.