Which MacBook Pro 15 do I need?

[kylwatson]

I need a 15" Pro but not sure whether I need to go the extra expense of upgrades.
I'm a sole trader interior designer. I use turboCAD (simplified AutoCad) software, office, web browser, the odd app for creativity, store quite a chunk of music in library, occasionally make videos on iMovie (short vids), and stream Nexflix etc... DON'T use Adobe products (no Lightroom or photoshop), no games, no other editing or downloading movies etc... I may have TurboCAD, web browser, music, Office open at once.

I can't afford all the upgrades. What would be my priority given my usage?

Thank you for your insight.

 

[John Yester]

As long as your able to meet the requirements of said applications you should be fine.

 

[anon(9602380)]

Welcome to iMore!

This would be the perfect fit for you. It is an  refurb which has some upgrades included. The two biggest things that would benefit you would be the SSD drive and additional RAM. You are getting a new computer with full warranty at a savings of a few hundred dollars. With the additional RAM and the SSD you will have a fast computer that will last you several years.

[URL="https://www.apple.com/ca/search/Refurbished-15.4-inch-MacBook-Pro-2.2GHz-Quad-core-Intel-i7-with-Retina-Display#mn_p] 15.4-inch (diagonal) Retina display [/URL]
[URL="https://www.apple.com/ca/search/Refurbished-15.4-inch-MacBook-Pro-2.2GHz-Quad-core-Intel-i7-with-Retina-Display#mn_p] 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM [/URL]
[URL="https://www.apple.com/ca/search/Refurbished-15.4-inch-MacBook-Pro-2.2GHz-Quad-core-Intel-i7-with-Retina-Display#mn_p] 256GB flash storage [/URL]
[URL="https://www.apple.com/ca/search/Refurbished-15.4-inch-MacBook-Pro-2.2GHz-Quad-core-Intel-i7-with-Retina-Display#mn_p] 720p FaceTime HD Camera [/URL]
[URL="https://www.apple.com/ca/search/Refurbished-15.4-inch-MacBook-Pro-2.2GHz-Quad-core-Intel-i7-with-Retina-Display#mn_p] Intel Iris Pro Graphics [/URL]

 

[Snoweagle]

Since you're using CAD software with iMovie, might be graphics-intensive. Why not get the one with Intel Iris Pro/AMD R9 M370X model? It also has 16GB RAM which is really useful with these.

I don't use those software you mentioned so I don't know how much RAM it might consume, but I'm using Adobe PS/LR and using FreeMemory software, during my photo-editing times, the RAM can drop to as low as below 1GB, so that extra RAM can really come in handy.