Which MacBook?

KraniX

KraniX

KraniX

Soldato
Joined
23 Mar 2004
Posts
3,949
Location
Yorkshire
Hi all,

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to Macs and OSX, the wife would like a laptop primarily for photo editing, she has a nice SLR camera and has been using GIMP on my desktop up to now.

Will also be used for general office work and web browsing, nothing too challenging so seems she has 3 options:

MacBook Pro
Originally I was thinking the Retina MacBook Pro would be the best option since it has an SD card reader, nice screen and a decent spec, plus she can go for the 16GB RAM option to help now and in the future.

MacBook Air
The Air seems a bit dated and in need of a refresh but could be a middle ground between the Pro and the New MacBook?

New Macbook
That otherwise leaves the new MacBook, I initially discounted this as I thought the single USB-C port would be too limiting but a USB adaptor can be had for under a fiver (ignoring the inflated price ones direct from Apple).

For general office work I think the MacBook would be fine but like I said the wife will be doing photo editing, nothing too advanced but needs to be able to cope with large images and I'm wondering if the MacBook will struggle with it's low spec CPU and should stick to the MBP...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
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Does she want portability or will she use the laptop mostly on a desk?

If she wants portability then a 13" MacBook Pro/air would be the best bet. If she will be using it mostly at a desk and not taking it out much then look into the 15" MacBook, the screen real estate will make a big difference.

That said, if she is doing all her editing at a desk with a seperate screen and mouse/keyboard (essential for photo editing Akamai) then it doesn't really matter whether you go for a 13" or 15".
 
Likely to be mostly on the sofa and not using a separate screen.

The 13" MBP seems to be the best fit I think, will try and take her to an Apple store this weekend to have a play.

Cheers.
 
Go with the Pro. It has the screen and power for photography plus everything else.

Don't bother with the Air at all if she is in to photography, screen is bad and out of date.

I have the new MacBook and it's great for all office type work but photo editing will be a bit laborious.
 
15" pro if she isn't going to be doing a ton of traveling with it. Extra screen space is great.
 
Definitely go to a store and try them out. I wouldn't swap my 15" MBPr for anything but she might find it too bulky for day-to-day use.
 
8gb ram is fine for everything except multiple VMs, my 13 MBP handles everything with 8gb ram even VM win10 and photoshop open at the same time its still fast as ever.
 
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