Base 13" MBP or top 15" for web dev?

[HaukSwe]

Can't decide whether to get the new 13" with 16gb ram and 512gb ssd or go for the 15" with 460 gpu

I've narrowed down the deciding question to.. How much difference does a 4 core CPU make for web development work? Or in what situations would I feel that 4 core CPU difference? Would it help running a vagrant or two plus windows in vmware, and 2-3 IDE's?

My logic, is this;
Based on the Ars review, the only material difference in performance between the different versions is whether you get a 4core CPU or not. http://arstechnica.com/video/2016/11/the-2016-13-and-15-inch-touch-bar-macbook-pros-reviewed/

Those are all in benchmarks suites though. How much software is actually optimized for more than two cores today?

That, and GPU. Yes, I would like to be able to game, but I can buy a dedicated system for the difference. Touchbar? I know my shortcuts already and it's another thing that can break.Portability of 13" vs Niceness of having 15" are of equal value to me, so can give or take either, I'll mostly have it connected to one of the new displays.

I don't mind spending the money per say, but I believe because of the RAM limitation this machine will feel limited sooner than I'd like regardless - so I might as well save money.

 

[Tweak155]

For web dev work I can't imagine you need anything higher than the base. If you're going to do a lot of video editing for videos you put up, the faster model may be beneficial, but probably still not worth it unless it's a very common task for you. If you're getting 16gb ram either way I would think you're good to go.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I wouldn't worry so much about the CPU, but the additional screen real estate might be nice.

A lot of the devs I work with use multi-monitor setups. What's the external display support on the 13"?

 

[TheStu]

I wouldn't worry so much about the CPU, but the additional screen real estate might be nice.

A lot of the devs I work with use multi-monitor setups. What's the external display support on the 13"?

Intel graphics supports 3 displays. So the 13" will support 2 additional displays each at up to 4K resolution, or a single 5K monitor (since they require 2 display signals).

I don't think both the intel onboard AND the AMD GPU, so the 15" MacBook Pro will support up to 2 5K displays, and then another one. The discrete AMD GPU supports 6 displays, so you could in theory have 5 4K displays connected to your 15" MacBook Pro.

 

[HaukSwe]

Thanks all, really appreciate the input.

For web dev work I can't imagine you need anything higher than the base. If you're going to do a lot of video editing for videos you put up, the faster model may be beneficial, but probably still not worth it unless it's a very common task for you. If you're getting 16gb ram either way I would think you're good to go.

Won't ever edit a video. It's just literally juggling lots of VM's and browser tab's, which really should be all memory and SSD.

I wouldn't worry so much about the CPU, but the additional screen real estate might be nice.

A lot of the devs I work with use multi-monitor setups. What's the external display support on the 13"?

You're right about the 15" being a lot nicer to actually work on. I might've underestimated that. I see a lot of web devs doing multimonitor as well, but personally I don't like that tennis-game feel turning my head left and right all day, I prefer one single monitor. I think Anand mentioned preferring one 27" in his iMac review as well?

Intel graphics supports 3 displays. So the 13" will support 2 additional displays each at up to 4K resolution, or a single 5K monitor (since they require 2 display signals).

I don't think both the intel onboard AND the AMD GPU, so the 15" MacBook Pro will support up to 2 5K displays, and then another one. The discrete AMD GPU supports 6 displays, so you could in theory have 5 4K displays connected to your 15" MacBook Pro.

So display signals are separate from the bandwidth required for other stuff? Will the USB-C ports on the display itself be equally capable no matter if the display is connected to a 13" or 15" ? I'm thinking to get some type of USB-C RAID storage, headphone amp and who knows what other stuff eventually.

 

[Eug]

I'm no web developer but...

If your computer doesn't really need to be portable, then get the iMac. A friend of mine is a web designer and he has a Retina iMac, MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro. He develops mainly on the iMac, and uses the iPad Pro a lot, but he never touches his MacBook Pro for anything.

 

[HiroThreading]

I'm no web developer but...

If your computer doesn't really need to be portable, then get the iMac. A friend of mine is a web designer and he has a Retina iMac, MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro. He develops mainly on the iMac, and uses the iPad Pro a lot, but he never touches his MacBook Pro for anything.

Second this.

You can get the 27" Retina iMac with 32GB of RAM, 2TB Fusion Drive, and M395X all for around the same price as the fully spec'd MacBook Pro.

Choice should be a no-brainer if you don't need the mobility.

 

[Spicedaddy]

Get the new 15" MBP and one of those LG 5K monitors.

 

[smackababy]

Doing web development how? Are you going to have to be running local web servers with an IDE or you going to be doing javascript development type stuff and only running something like node? It depends what you might need. With that said, the 15" is a lot larger than people thing. I have both a 15" rMBP and a 13" rMBP. I much prefer the 13". I'm thinking about getting rid of my 15" and getting a new 13", but that is merely due to the size and battery stuff.

As far as as power, if you're going to be doing java web development, especially if you're running local servers (and multiple ones), I'd not skimp on power. Something like Eclipse and a couple instances of WebSphere will destroy not only your RAM, but bog down your CPU.