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kitfett
kitfett
Participant
April 5, 2020
Question

Will this Mac run Adobe CC [Mostly Premiere Pro]

  • April 5, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 5373 views

Hello,


I am a college student and I have been studying media production for the last three years. Previously, I used school computers to complete all my projects using Adobe CC programs. But with the COVID19 outbreak I no longer have access to those resources. 

So in order to finish my work, I have to buy an affordable macbook that will run these apps. Currently, I am looking at a Macbook Pro with the following specs,

2017 13" Apple MacBook Pro Retina 2.3 GHz i5 256GB SSD 16GB RAM Touch Bar

-2.3GHz 7th Gen. Intel Core i5 

-MacOS v10.15.4

-16 gb of RAM

-256GB SSD Hardrive

-Integrated Intel Iris Graphics 640 graphics processor (1536MB)

-High-resolution 13.3" widescreen 2560x1600 built-in "Retina" display

 

I mostly want to run Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Lightroom. It would be great if it could also run AfterEffects but it's not a huge deal if it can't because I don't do motion graphics too often.

 

Any insight would be great. Thanks!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    1 reply

    Conrad_C
    Community Expert
    Conrad_CCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 5, 2020

    I have the 2018 version of the 13" MacBook Pro. The 2017 13" MacBook Pro with the specs you posted will run those applications OK. It will not be great. It will often be slower than you want.

     

    The 2.3GHz 7th Gen i5 is a dual-core CPU. Just 2 cores. If you can get your hands on a 4-core 2018 or later, the 8th Gen multicore CPU performance in video and photo apps would be noticeably superior. It would be worth comparing the benchmark scores and price of the 2017 you are looking at to a new 13" MacBook Air with the quad-core i5 option, because there’s a good chance that a new 2019 quad-core Air could outperform a 2017 dual-core MacBook Pro. But when doing extended video editing or motion graphics, both will probably be maxed out, running hot with the fans at full speed. That's just how it is when editing video on thin entry-level laptops with very limited cooling systems. (Cooling is more effective and quieter on the quad-core 2018 and later 13" MacBook Pro, and on the 16-inch MacBook Pro.)

     

    The 16GB RAM is good, and you can’t go any higher in a 13" Mac laptop.

     

    It has integrated graphics, so the 1536MB graphics RAM is not separate. It comes out of the 16GB of system RAM, so if you are working on something in Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro, or After Effects that starts to need most of the 16GB of system RAM, that’s going to compete with the graphics wanting its 1.5GB of RAM, meaning something is not going to get all the RAM they want. It is possible to boost graphics performance by connecting a Thunderbolt 3 eGPU, but since that would add several hundred dollars and is bulky and not mobile, if you were thinking of doing that you should just get the base model 2019 16" MacBook Pro at whatever discount you can find (and they’re out there).

     

    The 256GB SSD is fine but could fill up fast for video projects. Your budget will probably need to account for fast external storage.

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