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jhweld
Participant
November 8, 2016
Question

What 2016 MacBook Pro Will Run Lightroom Best?

  • November 8, 2016
  • 3 replies
  • 22410 views

Hello everyone,

I bought the new 2016 MacBook Pro 13 inch baseline model without the touchbar, and with 8g of ram, 2.0GHz processor and 3.1GHz turbo boost. Unfortunately this configuration does not seem to do Lightroom justice as it is laggy and slow to make adjustments. So, I'll be returning my Mac in a couple of days in order to purchase a new Mac with better specs.

As I am a college student, I am on a budget. There are two upgrades that are within my price range, but I do not have the money for both.

Which upgrade would you recommend for a faster Lightroom experience?

  • 2.4GHz Dual Core with 3.4GHz TurboBoost | + $300
  • 16g Ram Upgrade | + $200

Which one would you choose? I'm not the most technical with computers, so I'm not quite sure of what to make of all of this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

This topic has been closed for replies.

3 replies

phototocanvaspdx
phototocanvaspdx
Known Participant
December 24, 2016

What did you end up going with? Were you editing smart previews or originals when it was laggy?

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity Expert
Community Expert
November 9, 2016

This is a tough question. CPU is important for Lightroom, but RAM is also important on a 13" MacBook Pro because it has integrated graphics instead of a separate graphics chipset. When a Mac has integrated graphics, the memory for graphics comes from system RAM. If the programs you run are using up enough RAM that not a lot is left over for graphics, the ability for Lightroom to use graphics acceleration in the Develop module might be limited, causing delays in adjustments. (But you should also see if your current Mac is faster in Develop if you turn off graphics acceleration. In that case, the CPU speed might make more difference than graphics RAM.)

I would spring for the 16GB RAM. That would help ensure that after providing enough RAM for the applications that are running, the operating system can use the rest to try and allocate the maximum 1.5GB RAM to graphics. This is also important if you plan to keep the laptop for several years, because over time, the difference between 8GB and 16GB is probably going to have a bigger effect on performance and compatibility with future photo applications than the difference between 2 and 2.4GHz on the CPU.

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    November 9, 2016

    Lightroom doesn't do the graphics acceleration with integrated graphics, so this is irrelevant.

    If there is less than 8GB of memory for Lightroom to use because of the integrated graphics, this may (or may not) cause slowdowns, it depends on what the user is doing.

    I'd still get the faster CPU

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    November 9, 2016

    dj_paige wrote:

    Lightroom doesn't do the graphics acceleration with integrated graphics

    Are we sure about this? The reason I ask is that in the Lightroom GPU FAQ, under Suggested System Requirements and Graphics Cards, it lists "For Intel cards, Intel HD Graphics 4400+, 5000+, 510+, P530, Iris Pro Graphics 5200, 6100+, P6300, P580 or later are required." Intel HD and Iris Pro Graphics are integrated graphics.

    I've been under the impression that the list above specifically applies to GPU acceleration, because they are listed in the GPU FAQ and not in the general system requirements for Lightroom, which only mention requiring an "OpenGL 3.3–capable video adapter for GPU-related functionality."

    dj_paige
    dj_paige
    Legend
    November 8, 2016

    CPU speed makes a difference in a lot of Lightroom functions.

    Memory amount, once you have 8GB of RAM, adding more doesn't make that much of a difference (yes it makes a small difference, but not as much as the CPU speed)

      phototocanvaspdx
      phototocanvaspdx
      Known Participant
      December 24, 2016

      Thats interesting because Ive always read the opposite. That video needs cpu and Lightroom and photoshop need ram. I just got the 3.1ghz touchbar with 16gb but the battery life is bumming me out. Im contemplating returning it for the non touchbar, but don't want to pay for both upgrades. Was planning on going entry level until I saw this thread. I use the laptop for occasional edits, while most of my work is done on my iMac.

      dj_paige
      dj_paige
      Legend
      December 24, 2016

      Once you have 8GB of memory, additional memory will not make much of a difference to Lightroom. Relatively speaking, a faster CPU will make much more of a difference to LR. Editing is a CPU intensive task, not a memory intensive task. Library module is usually a disk intensive task, not a memory intensive task.

      I can't comment about Photoshop.

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