Is Ram or Processor a better upgrade for photo editing?

Hi,

This is a very complicated question. I would rule out A. Need more RAM and not enough ports, and only 128GB SSD. B a better choice, because if you plan on keeping this one a long time, 8GBs of RAM is going to be outdated, at some point, due to OSes and apps becoming more RAM hungry, especially if you're going to have a lot of windows open at same time. 16GBs of RAM should be a given. C and A, B, and D are different machines. C is a 2015 model, but this would be my choice due to several more useable ports (USB, HDMI, but "only" Thunderbolt 2, which is still very fast). I would add RAM to achieve 16GBs at $200 and upgrade the SSD to 256GBs (from 128) for $200 more plus the machine for a total of $1699, which is the same price as option B, and $100 less than option D. 128 is just too small and even 256 is on the smaller side, but either way, you're going to be using an external drive for data storage. The downsides I see to this setup are a lesser display and GPU, no Thunderbolt 3/USB-C, and slightly older architecture, but while Geekbench performance scores for the 2016s aren't out yet, I strongly suspect the 2015 2.7GHz will be on par with the 2016 2.0GHz machine (and personally I wouldn't worry about the Touch Bar, function keys are perfectly functional).

RAM and storage should be your primary considerations followed by screen size. So max out your RAM first. Then get as much storage as you can afford. Then if portability is of prime importance get a 13". If screen size takes priority over portability get a 15" computer. Personally I would opt for 16GB RAM, at least 512GB storage, and a 15" display. I would not even be concerned over CPU since all the options will work well without any distinguishable difference in performance. But the choice is yours.

In most cases the CPU is the last thing to upgrade. Today I put SSD size slightly ahead of RAM. Prior to SSD technology tight RAM situations resulted in very poor performance but thanks to the speed of SSDs the need for lots of RAM is reduced. However in your case RAM might trump storage if you wind up using Photoshop which is a very RAM hungry program. Also thinking about photo editing, if you intend to do photo editing only on the notebook (without an external display) a 15” is much more suitable than a 13”. I love my 13” MBA but when I use Photoshop it is attached to an external display. I hate using Photoshop on just the Air. I can but I don’t like to.

If you eliminate Photoshop from contention then 8GB should be fine not just for now but in the future as well thanks to an SSD. Fact is, my 4GB MBP is still chugging along nicely. Yes, it now must access virtual RAM but I just don’t feel it. But if PS is in your future do upgrade to 16GB - it will need it.

Photoshop is the ultimate photo editing program but its subscription model has totally turned me off. It also goes way beyond what I as an amateur needs. During the years I was using PS my wife was using Photoshop Elements which has now reached the point where it can do nearly all I want. Another program I use is Affinity Photo which doesn’t have the best user interface (to me at least) but is very powerful. Take a look at them.

Grosberg wrote:

I am looking for some insight into how to spec out a new MacBook pro for some lighter photo and video editing.

RAM

To be honest, Your best Value for editing video on a Mac is the 21" or 27" iMac with Quad core Intel-i5 and 16gb. of ram and a 1tb. fusion drive. Final Cut pro or iMovie editors.

http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac?product=MK472LL/A&step=config

http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/imac?product=MK452LL/A&step=config

However if you must use a Macbook then look at this.

Your Best Value would be a Macbook Pro 2016 15" with Quad core Intel-i7 6700 CPU

16gb of ram

500gb. SSD.

Why

1) The Quad core i7 has twice the performance of the dual core i5

2) 16gb of ram is best for Video editing. MacOS Sierra will suck up 8gb immediately.

3) a 500gb SSD has twice the capacity and will last twice as long in life span endurance over a 250gb SD. Also you will need the storage space for large videos and if you plan to use dual boot bootcamp MS-Windows and OS-X.

For Video editing I would get the Intel-i7 6700 CPU and the Best Graphics chip option.

Video editing in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premier requires allot of resources. Especially if you plan on editing in 4K.

http://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MLH42LL/A&step=config