MacBook Pro--which specs for editing photos?

I'm a long-time PC user looking for a new computer and considering getting a MacBook Pro 15.  What specs should I go for where most of my computer use will be photo editing in Lightroom and Photoshop (and, of course, surfing the web)?  Thanks for your help.

This is what I would get for the best possible image processing experience:

2.8GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.0GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
1TB PCIe-based Flash Storage
Intel Iris Pro Graphics and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory

He will pay $3,200 for a MacBook Pro (15 inch) with those specs, if purchased new. Even a refurb with those specs will be expensive (currently $2,630).

I would think the base 15" MacBook Pro would be fine for processing still images. It costs about $2,000 new and can be purchased at the refurb store for less.

John

Like I said, it's what I would get. Image files are getting bigger with higher megapixel sensors. A D810 file or a medium format file would be painful to work with with the base configuration. Especially as you add layers or do any panorama or HDR work. Canon shooters especially are going to be shocked as they get 50mp EOS 5D cameras and then realize that everything takes forever on their existing systems.

I basically have the configuration above and it leaves a lot to be desired for performance compared to my workstation. But then again it's all relative to what one is used to and how you go about processing images. Landscape shooters, especially those with high megapixel cameras, tax their systems dramatically harder than wildlife shooters do due to the multitude of layers, filters, stitching, HDR, etc that is done.

Thanks E.J. and John. I really like E.J.'s suggested specs but I think I will end up getting 516GB of flash memory and using external hard drives for storage of processed images. I might also opt for a lesser model i7 processor. That should save me enough money to take the plunge. Thanks again.

Yes I almost wrote that if you are going with external image storage than the 512 should be more than enough and you give up nothing on performance. I would not go more than 1 step down on the processor if you want the machine to have a long useful life.

I essentially have what EJ specified - in the retina model (but with 512GB storage) and it is nice and snappy - for me it was a worthwhile investment as I use it every day - though it's not my main image editing machine. I would not skimp - spending an extra bit of cash now will pay off in the end as you'll likely get more mileage out of it before you upgrade again.

Greg, what is your normal workstation?

I hear Greg is running this rig as his main workstation.  I have one just like it:
My favorite part about it is the twin steering wheel.