Source
r/mac•
unusual_algorithm

13 vs 15. No one has ever asked..

Question

Sorry for the shit title.

And for making you do a vs thread. I'll keep it quick..

Need a new laptop. Currently have a '12 MBP 15 retina w/ 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. It's dying. I can hear it wheezing its metal death song.

I use my laptop for photography and stuff. I shoot medium format so the files are stupidly large (300Mb to 1Gb each). My current MBP struggles if I multi-task. I usually have Lightroom and PS running, plus either YouTube or Spotify, mail, calendar, etceceteecetc.

I think a 13 inch with eGPU would likely be best for the money. Just wanted a second or third or ninth opinion.

I will either get a 13 inch with:

2.8GHz quad-core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.7GHz

16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory

256GB SSD storage for $2889.00 (plus eGPU enclosure, GPU)

OR

a 15 inch with: 2.6GHz 6-core 9th-generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz

16GB 2400MHz DDR4 memory

Radeon Pro 555X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory

256GB SSD storage for $3,199.00

Having issues with which to get for 2 reasons.

-I don't want a 15 inch macbook anymore. They're big and heavy and I don't need the screen real estate since I have external displays and I like to pack small when travelling.

-If I'm not at my desk, it's because I'm not editing and would be fine not having an integrated GPU whilst travelling.

Thoughts?

Posted Jul 8, 2019, 3:33 AM UTC

28
Crazyabguy•

I think you have answered your own question: “I don’t want a 15” MacBook anymore”.

5
[deleted]•

[deleted]

3
TravelingBurger•

I’d go with the 13”. I had the same plan for the same reasonings but don’t have an eGPU. And don’t really need one since I have a powerful desktop for home use. Tbh I don’t really have a need for an eGPU it since it’s handled everything I’ve thrown at it, but I also don’t use a medium format camera so idk how it’ll handle those without an eGPU. Either way the 13” packs more power than you’d think.

2
ShadowDancer11•

You make want to make sure the 13” with an i7 has sufficient cooling such that it’s not constantly thermal throttling itself and choking down performance, while simultaneously eroding its longevity.

1
Durpishhh•

With an external gpu is almost never an issue since so much heat is generated outside the case instead of within.

2
ctm1905•

How long are you at the same desk for? If you do the majority of your work on one place could going for the 13' but getting a monitor be a better option (with a keyboard and mouse)

1
jwhite402019 13" MacBook Pro :MacBookPro:•

Go with a 13". It runs Photoshop super well with tons of other things at the same time.

1
ballisticbasil•

Make sure to pay attention to which 13” you get. The 13” without the Touch Bar has a dual core CPU, whereas the Touch Bar model has a quad core CPU!

I recently upgraded from my mid 2012 15in (upgraded with SSD and 16gb ram) to a 13in Touch Bar i5 and I’ve been extremely happy!

1