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Help me with buying a new laptop

L

LuvKaya

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 7, 2010
82
0
Hello,
I have used this forum before in the past and always recieved great advice.

So my daughters MacBook Pro and Ipad was stolen. I will be receiving the insurance settlement and will be buying a replacement soon. She uses it mainly for college/social.

I am not sure the difference in the 2.5 vs 2.6, then if I buy the 2.6, the difference with 128GB vs 256GB, and what exactly is based flash storage. I hope it doesn't mean the cloud (eeeek).

Do you think the 2.5 will be phased out completely? I wonder if the price will decrease again, anyone have any insight?

Thanks for all your input.
 
When you say 2.5 - I believe you are referring to the MacBook Pro (Non-Retina Screen) which comes with an optical drive (CD drive) and a traditional hard drive.

All other MacBook Pro's feature a Retina screen (better resolution), no CD drive, flash storage (faster then a traditional hard drive) potentially more reliable- this isnt cloud storage. This model is slimmer and lighter. Better battery life.

Although some people prefer the traditional MacBook Pro with a CD drive - this is older technology and paying $1100 to Apple for this just seems like a rip off.

Unless some refuses to use an external cd drive on occasions that require it - I highly recommend the MacBook Retina.

Storage - 128GB is not alot of storage but for most people it will work. If your daughter wants to have alot of media (pics, music, movies, tc shows, etc) then 128GB may not be enough.

----------
LuvKaya said:
Do you think the 2.5 will be phased out completely? I wonder if the price will decrease again, anyone have any insight?
Click to expand...

A couple rumors have said it will be dropped when the next update comes out (most likely in Spring 2014) - doubt they will drop price.
 
Spink10 said:
When you say 2.5 - I believe you are referring to the MacBook Pro (Non-Retina Screen) which comes with an optical drive (CD drive) and a traditional hard drive.

All other MacBook Pro's feature a Retina screen (better resolution), no CD drive, flash storage (faster then a traditional hard drive) potentially more reliable- this isnt cloud storage. This model is slimmer and lighter. Better battery life.

Although some people prefer the traditional MacBook Pro with a CD drive - this is older technology and paying $1100 to Apple for this just seems like a rip off.

Unless some refuses to use an external cd drive on occasions that require it - I highly recommend the MacBook Retina.

Storage - 128GB is not alot of storage but for most people it will work. If your daughter wants to have alot of media (pics, music, movies, tc shows, etc) then 128GB may not be enough.

----------



A couple rumors have said it will be dropped when the next update comes out (most likely in Spring 2014) - doubt they will drop price.
Click to expand...

oh wow - I didn't know there is no cd drive on the new MacBook Pros, lol. I have an old probably 2009 version, I put in 8GB and I TB, lol but its a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. And when nothings on TV most time I pop in a DVD. I don't know if the young kids these days care about a cd drive...

I was looking at the 256 Retina MacBook Pro. But I don't know how long Insurance will give me to buy the laptop...waiting until spring of next year may be a stretch.

----------

another question, if there is no cd drive on the Retina models, should I just be looking at the MacBook Air?

Isn't is the same thing essentially?
 
LuvKaya said:
oh wow - I didn't know there is no cd drive on the new MacBook Pros, lol. I have an old probably 2009 version, I put in 8GB and I TB, lol but its a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. And when nothings on TV most time I pop in a DVD. I don't know if the young kids these days care about a cd drive...

I was looking at the 256 Retina MacBook Pro. But I don't know how long Insurance will give me to buy the laptop...waiting until spring of next year may be a stretch.

----------

another question, if there is no cd drive on the Retina models, should I just be looking at the MacBook Air?

Isn't is the same thing essentially?[/QUOTE]

Perhaps to the average consumer they may be the same. What will your daughter be doing on her laptop? It will help us decide between the MBA and rMBP.
Click to expand...
 
TechGod said:
LuvKaya said:
oh wow - I didn't know there is no cd drive on the new MacBook Pros, lol. I have an old probably 2009 version, I put in 8GB and I TB, lol but its a 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. And when nothings on TV most time I pop in a DVD. I don't know if the young kids these days care about a cd drive...

I was looking at the 256 Retina MacBook Pro. But I don't know how long Insurance will give me to buy the laptop...waiting until spring of next year may be a stretch.

----------

another question, if there is no cd drive on the Retina models, should I just be looking at the MacBook Air?

Isn't is the same thing essentially?[/QUOTE]

Perhaps to the average consumer they may be the same. What will your daughter be doing on her laptop? It will help us decide between the MBA and rMBP.
Click to expand...

she is in college. So music, movies, games, messaging, FaceTime, internet, and maybe school work when she feels like it, LOL.

let me ask you another option and if it makes sense. is it worth buying the 2.5 GHz MBP and then upgrading to 8GB and 256 solid state drive? It puts me at the right price point. But I don't know if it makes sense or just buy the retina display, without a cd drive.
Click to expand...
 
LuvKaya said:
TechGod said:
she is in college. So music, movies, games, messaging, FaceTime, internet, and maybe school work when she feels like it, LOL.

let me ask you another option and if it makes sense. is it worth buying the 2.5 GHz MBP and then upgrading to 8GB and 256 solid state drive? It puts me at the right price point. But I don't know if it makes sense or just buy the retina display, without a cd drive.
Click to expand...

Regular MBP:
- Can be upgraded
- Worse screen
- Big and heavier
- More storage

Retina MBP:
- Cannot be upgraded (as of now)
- Fantastic screen
- Slimmer and lighter
- Pricey to get more storage than the base model

For what she will be doing, both of these won't have a problem at all. So weigh your choice, is upgradability high on your list? Is she gonna be using CD/DVD at all? (Doubt it, I'm in college too and I haven't used one for a couple years now.) Is the screen and slimmer design worth selling out more cash?

I personally would go for the lightest laptop I could find because it's a pain to carry a heavy laptop around campus.
Click to expand...
 
LuvKaya said:
she is in college. So music, movies, games, messaging, FaceTime, internet, and maybe school work when she feels like it, LOL.

let me ask you another option and if it makes sense. is it worth buying the 2.5 GHz MBP and then upgrading to 8GB and 256 solid state drive? It puts me at the right price point. But I don't know if it makes sense or just buy the retina display, without a cd drive.
Click to expand...

MBA makes sense then. It's thin, light, can handle a bit of gaming(Can't expect too much from it) but I recommend higher than 128GB storage for it.

4GB of RAM should be ample for her usage, I haven't used CD's in forever and i am in the US equivalent of high school(we interchangeably call them colleges)

But if she she really needs extra storage a 256GB storage model+ a 1TB Samsung USB powered drive should be great. Furthermore if she ever uses CD's you can get her an external CD drive for rather cheap.

----------
RianT said:
Regular MBP:
- Can be upgraded
- Worse screen
- Big and heavier
- More storage

Retina MBP:
- Cannot be upgraded (as of now)
- Fantastic screen
- Slimmer and lighter
- Pricey to get more storage than the base model

For what she will be doing, both of these won't have a problem at all. So weigh your choice, is upgradability high on your list? Is she gonna be using CD/DVD at all? (Doubt it, I'm in college too and I haven't used one for a couple years now.) Is the screen and slimmer design worth selling out more cash?

I personally would go for the lightest laptop I could find because it's a pain to carry a heavy laptop around campus.
Click to expand...

Don't forget that the more storage in the cMBP is significantly slower.
 
all this feedback is blowing my mind that no one uses the cd optical drive any more, LOL.

----------
TechGod said:
MBA makes sense then. It's thin, light, can handle a bit of gaming(Can't expect too much from it) but I recommend higher than 128GB storage for it.

4GB of RAM should be ample for her usage, I haven't used CD's in forever and i am in the US equivalent of high school(we interchangeably call them colleges)

But if she she really needs extra storage a 256GB storage model+ a 1TB Samsung USB powered drive should be great. Furthermore if she ever uses CD's you can get her an external CD drive for rather cheap.

----------



Don't forget that the more storage in the cMBP is significantly slower.
Click to expand...

thanks, what is cMBP? and what do you mean slower, remember I'm not a techie, layman's terms please, lol.

----------

does the MPA have the same bad screen as the original MBP?
 
LuvKaya said:
all this feedback is blowing my mind that no one uses the cd optical drive any more, LOL.

----------



thanks, what is cMBP? and what do you mean slower, remember I'm not a techie, layman's terms please, lol.
Click to expand...

cMBP is Classic Macbook Pro, as opposed to rMBP, Retina Macbook Pro.

the Classic MBP has a traditional HDD, which has a much lower read/write speed than the PCle-based SSD used in the Retina MBP. But considering you were gonna rip it out and put in an SSD anyway, that's not really a big issue.

The screen on the cMBP is 1280x800 if I remember correctly, while the one on the MBA is 1440x900. Pixel counts aside, I don't see much difference in terms of color quality. But don't take my word for it, I'm as blind as a bat...
 
RianT said:
cMBP is Classic Macbook Pro, as opposed to rMBP, Retina Macbook Pro.

the Classic MBP has a traditional HDD, which has a much lower read/write speed than the PCle-based SSD used in the Retina MBP. But considering you were gonna rip it out and put in an SSD anyway, that's not really a big issue.
Click to expand...

The weight remains an issue. Plus the subpar display.
 
so these are NOT the same? can you please tell me which one is better between a or b?

a)256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

b)256GB Solid State Drive

I know i'm looking to buy 8gb.

And finally, does the processor matter if I upgrade or not? Meaning, if I upgrade the storage, should I also update the processor or it doesn't matter.


thanks everyone!!
 
LuvKaya said:
all this feedback is blowing my mind that no one uses the cd optical drive any more, LOL.

----------



thanks, what is cMBP? and what do you mean slower, remember I'm not a techie, layman's terms please, lol.

----------

does the MPA have the same bad screen as the original MBP?
Click to expand...

I apologize. Yes the MBA has the same bad display as the Classic MacBook Pro.

The normal Hard Disk Drive in the cMBP is very slow, while an SSD is incredible, the SSD's in the Retina MacBook Pro's use a faster connection type to the computer thus meaning it is even faster than normal SSDs. Personally the screen on my rMBP is incredible, it's significantly lighter and thinner than the cMBP and it's an absolute joy to use.


If you are going for a rMBP I suggest the 2nd option(The one with 256GB Flash Storage and 8GB of RAM)
Plus this if 256 GB is not enough check this out

If ya need anymor ehelp, keep firing those questions:)

----------
LuvKaya said:
so these are NOT the same? can you please tell me which one is better between a or b?

a)256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

b)256GB Solid State Drive

I know i'm looking to buy 8gb.

And finally, does the processor matter if I upgrade or not? Meaning, if I upgrade the storage, should I also update the processor or it doesn't matter.


thanks everyone!!
Click to expand...

Option A is better and only the rMBP's and MBA's offer that option. Processor upgrades really aren't necessary.
 
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okay, thanks everyone, this has been great help and I really appreciate it.

like I said, this forum always has the best advice. Have a great weekend :D
 
Suggestion: Always check the AppleInsider price list when looking for Apple equipment. You can usually get a much better deal with an online retailer with no sales tax and free shipping compared to purchasing from Apple at full list price and then paying state sales tax.

http://prices.appleinsider.com
 
You might also consider browsing Apple factory-refurbished models here:
http://www.refurb.me/us/

Can save a good amount from buying "brand-new".
And you still get a 1-year Apple warranty, and can buy AppleCare for the refurbs if you wish, too.
 
Ditto on the above. Check the refurb section. The late 2013 models are slipping through. The 2013 rMBP is lighter and has the better graphics card. And grab an external optical drive if you feel the need for that. I use mine about once a year.
 
It sounds like you are computer iliterate.
Please ask you daughter exactly what apps she will be using and what other requirements she has for her macbook. (Ports, DVD, storage, display size and quality, battery life) and then post her requirements on this forum. That way people can give you exact advice.

What specs did her stolen macbook have?
How much money can you spend on the macbook replacement?

DVDs in computers are widely obsolete, but in some cases people still need them.
 
Remember there is a student discount - go retina - hdd is a normal car ssd is a Ferrari and PCI flash (a fancy ssd plugged essentially into the computers brains is your Ferrari on drugs :p with the discount go for the highest spec you can as it will last longer (not super upgradable eg soldered ram)
 
Don't forget the new Retina macbooks are NON UPGRADABLE. Meaning don't expect to upgrade the RAM, it's soldered.
 
eish2306 said:
Remember there is a student discount - go retina - hdd is a normal car ssd is a Ferrari and PCI flash (a fancy ssd plugged essentially into the computers brains is your Ferrari on drugs :p with the discount go for the highest spec you can as it will last longer (not super upgradable eg soldered ram)
Click to expand...

The educational discount on Apple's website is a joke... doesn't make that much of a difference.
 
Fishrrman said:
You might also consider browsing Apple factory-refurbished models here:
http://www.refurb.me/us/

Can save a good amount from buying "brand-new".
And you still get a 1-year Apple warranty, and can buy AppleCare for the refurbs if you wish, too.
Click to expand...

thanks, will check it out.

JHUFrank said:
Ditto on the above. Check the refurb section. The late 2013 models are slipping through. The 2013 rMBP is lighter and has the better graphics card. And grab an external optical drive if you feel the need for that. I use mine about once a year.
Click to expand...

so i should look for refurb made in late 2013?

Meister said:
It sounds like you are computer iliterate.
Please ask you daughter exactly what apps she will be using and what other requirements she has for her macbook. (Ports, DVD, storage, display size and quality, battery life) and then post her requirements on this forum. That way people can give you exact advice.

What specs did her stolen macbook have?
How much money can you spend on the macbook replacement?

DVDs in computers are widely obsolete, but in some cases people still need them.
Click to expand...

I have done the research. the only thing my daughter will decide is if she wants a good screen picture or cd/dvd drive.

eish2306 said:
Remember there is a student discount - go retina - hdd is a normal car ssd is a Ferrari and PCI flash (a fancy ssd plugged essentially into the computers brains is your Ferrari on drugs :p with the discount go for the highest spec you can as it will last longer (not super upgradable eg soldered ram)
Click to expand...

thanks.

johnnnw said:
Don't forget the new Retina macbooks are NON UPGRADABLE. Meaning don't expect to upgrade the RAM, it's soldered.
Click to expand...

no I would only upgrade the classic MBP

RianT said:
The educational discount on Apple's website is a joke... doesn't make that much of a difference.
Click to expand...

lol, every little bit helps. thanks.
 
which of these graphics are better?

Intel HD Graphics 4000

Intel Iris Graphics

eta: i know. thanks!
 
Earlier this month I advised my younger cousin to go with the stock 256GB MBA 13". He's a college freshman, just started two weeks ago, and he couldn't be happier with it.

Honestly, if your daughter only does the things you described, an MBP would be massive overkill. I don't know about the US prices, but with the student discount the MBA 'only' cost 1160€.

It doesn't have a DVD drive, but you can add an external drive if she nees one for school.
 
Cloudsurfer said:
Earlier this month I advised my younger cousin to go with the stock 256GB MBA 13". He's a college freshman, just started two weeks ago, and he couldn't be happier with it.

Honestly, if your daughter only does the things you described, an MBP would be massive overkill. I don't know about the US prices, but with the student discount the MBA 'only' cost 1160€.

It doesn't have a DVD drive, but you can add an external drive if she nees one for school.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same thing, but the OP has not mentioned what the macbook is used for yet.
 
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