Which Macbook Pro configuration should I buy?

[Coder02]

Hello, I would like to get a MacBook Pro – it will be my first Apple computer.
But I don’t really know which configuration to choose. I want to code using Eclipse and Xcode, edit pictures using Affinity Photo, edit Videos (usually 1080p but maybe sometimes 4K) and I would like to try out 3D animation with Blender. I‘m opting for the 13 inch right now just because I think I won’t need the 15‘s extra Power. It’s pretty expensive too. Should I get the base Touchbar model? Or the one without touchbar although it has a slower CPU and GPU? I think that 256 Gigs of Storage is enough since I already own an external SSD but is it worth upgrading to 16 Gigs of RAM?
What do you think?

 

[Schranke]

Have you gone through how much space programs you will use and have on the machine all the time take up? To me 256GB seems a little on the low side.
Personally I like the TB and would go with the faster CPU, especially since the extra GPU power will be nice when doing video, photos and such.
Since RAM is soldered on and can't be extended the same way as you can with an external SSD and an external GPU for space and performance, this is the upgrade I would do as the most important one if you expect to be using the machine for a few years.

 

[Coder02]

Have you gone through how much space programs you will use and have on the machine all the time take up? To me 256GB seems a little on the low side.
Personally I like the TB and would go with the faster CPU, especially since the extra GPU power will be nice when doing video, photos and such.
Since RAM is soldered on and can't be extended the same way as you can with an external SSD and an external GPU for space and performance, this is the upgrade I would do as the most important one if you expect to be using the machine for a few years.

Thanks for your answer! Since what you wrote is pretty much exactly what I thought, I think I‘ll get the 16 GB RAM 512 GB SSD model.

 

[maflynn]

I like the TB model, because you do get a faster CPU (45w vs 15w), and more ports. Since everything is soldered on, I'd opt for 16GB/512GB

 

[Schranke]

Thanks for your answer! Since what you wrote is pretty much exactly what I thought, I think I‘ll get the 16 GB RAM 512 GB SSD model.

you are welcome, if you need more personal viewpoints on the performance in some of the task you mention I would recommend that you visit the "Special Interest" section of the forum as I am sure there is people with the setup you are looking at who would be happy to electorate more.

 

[Coder02]

During my research I also noticed that there are rumors about newMacBooks that might be released soon. Do you think its worth waiting for them?

 

[Fishrrman]

" I also noticed that there are rumors about newMacBooks that might be released soon. Do you think its worth waiting for them?"

Yes.
If you can wait, say, 3-4 more months, I would suggest that you do so.
There's no firm indication yet that Apple will re-design the keyboard to address the abnormally-high rate of keyboard failures that are seen in the 2016-17 design.
But it just seems crazy that they will continue to offer a keyboard that seems predestined to failure and that they have now agreed to replace free for 4 years.

I'd wait.

 

[bodonnell202]

During my research I also noticed that there are rumors about newMacBooks that might be released soon. Do you think its worth waiting for them?

If you can hold out I would. While there is no official release date yet, I'm thinking at worst it will be the fall, but probably later this summer since Apple will want to have them on the shelves in time for kids heading to school in the fall. Why wait? The 13" Pros should be receiving 8th gen Intel Core processors, which should mean a change from dual core processors to quad core processors. Also, there's a good bet that Apple will be making some changes to the keyboards to make them less prone to failure.

 

[Coder02]

Do you think a 10% sale offer here in Europe would justify getting the current model?

 

[Glmnet1]

Do you think a 10% sale offer here in Europe would justify getting the current model?

Here's how I see this:
Apple provides OS update for 6-8 years after releasing a device. If you like or need to keep your Mac on the latest version of macOS and usually keep your devices for a long time, you'll probably replace it once it's no longer supported. Buying a Mac when it's been out for a year is "wasting" one of those years.

1/6 = 16.67% and 1/8 = 12.5%. So by buying a year old device, you already lost 12.5% to 16.67% of its life. Add to that the better specs and other upgrades that you would be missing out on if you go for a model that's at the end of it's release cycle and I say it's not worth it, unless you really need to buy one now.

You can also get 15% on refurbished products soon after their release which would be a much better deal.

 

[lec0rsaire]

During my research I also noticed that there are rumors about newMacBooks that might be released soon. Do you think its worth waiting for them?

Listen if you haven’t bought the 2017 yet you really should wait a few more months for the 2018. The 8th gen Intel core i5s are quad core. This means close to 15” performance. It’s the biggest change in a long time.

As for specs 16GB RAM/512 GB is a great balance. More storage and the premium is really not worth the money and it’ll be difficult to get that extra money back if you sell it down the road.