My Macbook Pro died > decision time

I guess I'm going to be that guy and start one of these what laptop should I buy threads.

I was hoping my MBP could make it until this summer when the 15" models are refreshed with skylake chips and who knows what other goodness Apple will come up with, but it doesn't look like that's the case (logic board appears to be on the way out in a hurry). The current crop of MBPs are pretty lackluster, so I'm looking at possibly going back to a Windows based machine. The only thing possibly holding me to Apple is FCP, and I think I can let that go.

I mainly do photo editing (LR/PS), but occasionally edit some video (Premiere/Davinci), and I want something that is reasonably portable (no 17" gaming machines). I need to be able to connect to an external monitor and a couple external drives.

There seem to be plenty of contenders out there: Asus Zenbook, Dell 5510, 7510, XPS 15, Lenovo P50, this guy > http://www.amazon.com …liid=I1DL6IUBHO​FWEM&psc=1

I'm looking at basically:
6700HQ or better
16 GB RAM or better
Reasonably quick SSD for OS
960M or Quadro M1000M or better
1080p display preferred (due to windows scaling and the fact that I use an external anyway)

TLDR: The biggest question that I haven't been able to find a solid answer to is for my use would a gaming GPU like the GTX 960M be preferable to a Quadro M1000M or M2000M (which are generally the only options in business class machines)?

I've been looking at laptops with pretty much the same specs. I'm considering the Sager NP8677. It is a 17" screen but there is a 15" model, NP8657. It seems like a good value. You can customize it the way you want it. I do want an IPS display and that's one of the options.

Thanks for the recommendation. That checks a lot of boxes for sure, and the price is right.

Right now I'm kind of leaning towards a Zenbook and then adding a Dell Thunderbolt dock (for ethernet among other things).

I happen to have an Asus gl552vw for sale if you are interested.

Why don't you consider Surface Pro 4 with i7 as an option?

Apple have a program for the logic board if the issue is of a certain type.

See here: http://www.apple.com …t/macbookpro-videoissues/

doriondo wrote in post #17996353
I happen to have an Asus gl552vw for sale if you are interested.

I appreciate the offer, but I think Thunderbolt 3 is going to be a requirement for me. I really want to use something like the Dell Thunderbolt Dock, which would be perfect for my current setup and workflow.

virsago_mk2 wrote in post #17996415
Why don't you consider Surface Pro 4 with i7 as an option?

I think the Surface Book gets close to where I want to be in terms of power, but I worry a little about heat dissipation (during video editing, in particular). I also kind of feel like for the price/performance is more in line with a Mac than a typical Windows based laptop, so I would maybe feel more inclined to just stay with a MBP rather than get a higher end Surface Book. A similarly spec'd Zenbook is $1000 less...at least if I'm looking at things correctly.

The price of the Zenbook pro ux501vw is enticing, but the Dell 7510 chasis really appeals to my emotions at the moment.

Two Hot Shoes wrote in post #17996446
Apple have a program for the logic board if the issue is of a certain type.

See here: http://www.apple.com …t/macbookpro-videoissues/

Yes, thanks for pointing that out, and I should have mentioned that I'm going to take it in for service as soon as I can put the optical drive back in (I've had the logic board replaced once already). Whether it gets repaired or not, I'm ready to move on to something a little fresher.

This is for ssale now...

http://slickdeals.net …fter-50-slickdeals-rebate

Only 8GB RAM but you can add it for a few bucks more and stay under that 1k mark easily.
Also only a SSHD which can also be easily replaced for a few bucks less as well. Plus you can toss in a 512/1024GB SSD if you wanted for much cheaper than one prebuilt with an SSD.

Just saw that and thought of this thread. Continue on.

Bleufire wrote in post #17997072
Just saw that and thought of this thread. Continue on.

Appreciate the heads up. It's definitely tempting at that price, but I've decided that Thunderbolt 3 is definitely a priority for me. I want to buy something that's relatively future proof and a speedy connection to external content is definitely a priority for me.

My mid 2011 Macbook was diagnosed with a logic board problem buy one of the geniuses at the Apple store. Put in a $30 battery from amazon and its worked perfectly since.

I found some info out about GPUs in my range.

Apparently (sort of):
Quadro M1000M ~ GTX950M
Quadro M2000M ~ GTX960M

The newer Quadros have gaming performance basically on the same level as the comparative Geforce cards, support 10 bit displays, better OpenGL performance obviously and may run slightly cooler due to a slightly lower clock speed. That said, the GTX cards certainly win out for performance/$ for most uses.

Premiere CS6 supports Quadro (or Geforce with tweaks apparently), while Premiere CC will take advantage of Geforce or Quadro.
Resolve needs a minimum 2GB for HD and 4GB is recommended for 4k.

Sources:
https://gaming.msi.com …s-as-good-as-gtx-graphics
https://www.pugetsyste​ms.com …/Hardware-Recommendations
http://www.dcinema.me …irements-a-reality-check/

jptsr1 wrote in post #17997879
My mid 2011 Macbook was diagnosed with a logic board problem buy one of the geniuses at the Apple store. Put in a $30 battery from amazon and its worked perfectly since.

Very interesting. I don't actually have an Apple store near me, so I'll have to go to an authorized reseller. The guys I usually go to are pretty easy to work with, so I'll see if they can look at the battery too. I'm pretty certain my issue is due to overheating, so it's possible that the battery could be the culprit. If Apple won't repair it for free, I think I could swing $30 for a battery to see if I can give it a little more life.

I have an 11" 2012 Mac Air
8gigs or ram and a 3rd party 240gb SSD

I can run an external HDD and monitor.
No issues batching photos here.

I don't game on it but I can play a movie or music from my SSD while batching photos.

I see no reason to spend $1,500 or a 2016 machine Mac or otherwise.

bacchanal wrote in post #17997967
Very interesting. I don't actually have an Apple store near me, so I'll have to go to an authorized reseller. The guys I usually go to are pretty easy to work with, so I'll see if they can look at the battery too. I'm pretty certain my issue is due to overheating, so it's possible that the battery could be the culprit. If Apple won't repair it for free, I think I could swing $30 for a battery to see if I can give it a little more life.

This is the one i got.

http://www.amazon.com …oh_aui_detailpa​ge_o02_s00

Up to $42 now but it might still be worth a shot. Take a look at your battery in the system menu. If its on its way out thats the first thing I'd try. I'm no Mac expert but your symptoms sound eerily similar to mine and a "logic board" issue is sometimes Apple code for "we don't know whats wrong" or "why don't you buy a new one".

Just as a side note, I have a Skylake processor and Thunderbolt on my new Imac and the practical difference is not groundbreaking. Not trying to bash Apple (I have 5 Apple devices within arms reach as I type) but I'm done with the knee jerk upgrading.

^ Couldn't agree more.
Try fixing it first.

If that fails maybe you could even return the battery if needed.

I will get a new Mac when they offer a MacBook 12" with 2-4 ports and 16gigs or ram. Perhaps that will be the "Pro" in w couple years.