MacBook Pro Retina for Graphic Design

[ririe21]

MacBook Pro Specs for Graphic Design

Hello, I am a graphic designer and currently have the MacBook Pro with Retina Display (mid-2012). I love this machine and it has overcome every task I have needed it for! These are the specs:

15" Retina Display
256 GB SSD
16 GB RAM
2.6 GHz Intel Core i7

Again, I have been really pleased with it; but it is showing a lot of wear and tear now, and it's starting to show. I am planning on buying the new MacBook Pro with the new Touch Bar. I am planning on getting two 1080p monitors to hook up to the new MacBook Pro. I've decided to go 13" this time around because I want the portability and feel like when I am home I will have enough screen real-estate with the two monitors. The specs I am currently planning on getting is:

13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar
256 GB SSD (I have plenty of external hard drives)
16 GB RAM (I feel like this is a necessity with graphic design)
2.9GHz Dual-Core i5 TB 3.3GHz

The last specification, the processor, is where I have some concern. I personally feel like this is the area where I don't need to upgrade at all. However, this is why I came to you kind folk. I really want to cut back on the price if I can and I feel like I do not need the 3.3GHz Dual-Core i7 TB 3.6Ghz for programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Light Room, Garageband, and Final Cut Pro. Please correct me if I am wrong. Also, will my new rig be able to handle two monitors.

Please answer if you can! This will be super helpful! Thank you. Also, if you need any other information, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[chscag]

Welcome to our forums.

Some things you need to know about the new 2016 Touch Bar MacBook Pros.

1. They are not upgradeable. Everything is soldered to the logic board; memory, hard drive, and all other components. What you buy is what you will have to live with.

2. Any repairs will require a complete replacement of the logic board. Which means that the Apple Care extended warranty is a must. ($$$)

3. Currently there are many reported problems with the 15" Touch Bar machines. (Graphic failures) So far, I have not seen the same for the 13" machines but you might want to do some serious research before purchasing.

I'll let someone else chime in and give you advice about the monitors (yes it will handle two monitors) and the CPU speeds.

 

[ferrarr]

Also, don't forget, the 15" has a quad core processor and the 13" only has a dual core processor. You will definitely see a performance decrease just from that.