Is Macbook Pro 13 (non-touchbar) 2017 sufficient for Graphics Design and Light Video Editing?

Hi,

$1299 gets you a dual core 2.3GHz CPU with only 8GBs of RAM, 128GBs of storage, and the lowest integrated graphics you can get with a MBP.

I think it's safe to say you would regret that purchase.

The dual core CPU will do the job, although slowly.

8GBs of RAM is the absolute minimum for now, and will likely slow things down too, as the Mac will have to use slower Swap instead of RAM in your work. This will only get worse as OSes and apps get more and more RAM hungry. You really need to get 16GBs of RAM now, as it is soldered to the logic board and can never be upgraded.

128GBs of storage is simply too small. 512 should be a minimum for your work just to house your apps, works in progress, and some space for saving data. Even then, you'll eventually be off-loading data to an external HD, which will then need to be backed up in addition to your internal drive.

The integrated graphics may "get the job done" but will likely be a bottleneck in some of the work you're doing.

You will have only two Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports. That means you'll also need adapters for all of your existing peripherals.

On the plus side, yes, you will have portability.

An alternative would be to upgrade to the 3.1GHz 13" MBP with 4 T3/USB-C ports, but then you're spending a lot more money, plus you'd still need to upgrade the RAM and storage.

I'd recommend a 2015 model, still produced new by Apple, with a quad core CUP upgraded to 2.5GHz to get a discrete/dedicated GPU, 16GBs of RAM stock, and upgraded to 512GBs of storage. It also has all the ports you'll likely need. This will cost significantly more than what you plan to spend ($2299 at Apple Customize MacBook Pro - Apple or $2199 at B&H Photo B&H Photo Video), but will comfortably last you well into the future, while you'd have to live with the 2017's 13" shortfalls for all those years.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac/best-mac-for-graphic-design-buying-guide-2 016-2017-3450093/