Which Macbook for university

Do you want more storage and expandability (ram/storage) or a gorgeous screen?

Check out the retina MBP at your local apple store and see if the screen fits the bill.

I'd also consider the MBA as well, since that has an all day battery and good performance.

Get the air. During exam time - the portability of the MBA will prove very handy probably more so than the nice screen which you can easily live without as it doesnt really provide any huge real benefit if that makes sense?

abcd8888 said:

Portibility is important because i will be travelling to and from university.
The laptop i am currently using is a 15.6 inch screen size, will the 13 inch screen be more difficult on the eyes?

Click to expand...

I'd say based on your needs, the MBA will be a great choice. I'd look at the 13" screens at your local apple store/university computer store and see if you think the screen is big enough

MBA all the way for portability!

Unless you are going to use heavy multitasking, graphical work or gaming, the Air should handle everything else.

yliu said:

MBA all the way for portability!

Unless you are going to use heavy multitasking, graphical work or gaming, the Air should handle everything else.

Click to expand...

Agreed--pretty hard to beat the MBA for school. My girlfriend bought the current 13" model and basically worships it. Battery life is ridiculous--the thing only needs to be plugged in every 2-3 days, and it charges quite fast too.

MacBook Air - but don't look at that Retina screen because you will never turn back! The Retina display is simply stunning...it makes me want to do homework.

abcd8888 said:

Which laptop should i choose?
the Macbook Air 13 inch, i5 8gb ram, 256gb flash storage
or
Macbook Pro Retina 13 inch, i5 8gb ram, 128gb flash storage.

I will be using it for typing papers, general web browsing, taking it to uni, and it might possibly be my main computer.

Click to expand...

MacBook Air with 13" Haswell based is all you need.

I'm going to agree and say get the MBA. I'm in college now and for two years I used the MBA. The portability was incredible. I had to switch to a MBP because I needed a bit more power. But fir your listed uses the MBA will be more than enough and that battery life can't be beat.

abcd8888 said:

Which laptop should i choose?
the Macbook Air 13 inch, i5 8gb ram, 256gb flash storage
or
Macbook Pro Retina 13 inch, i5 8gb ram, 128gb flash storage.

I will be using it for typing papers, general web browsing, taking it to uni, and it might possibly be my main computer.

Click to expand...

For those sorts of tasks you don't need either of those. 8GB of memory would be total overkill. If it's between the two of them then get the one you want most.

The rMBP will be barely noticeable in terms of weight over the MBA. I carry a 15" rMBP around with me all day everyday and never once have even noticed it.

Get the rMBP. You'll enjoy the screen if nothing else.

-fellow university student.

If you study arts or photography, get an rMBP 15". You'll need precision in displaying objects.

If you're a business student, you have to learn how to save cost. Get a cheap Windows PC.

If you're an economics student, buy a laptop when it's price is nearest to the marginal cost curve (P = MC). You'll reap the most consumer welfare.

If you study dentistry or medicine, get a Note III. Practise hand writing, or else no one can understand what you prescribe.

If you're studying engineering, get any laptop with a large hard drive, so that you can store xxx films. There won't be any decent girls (or any girl, to start with) in your course.

Either is a good choice for college, but I'd lean toward more storage. My 2009 MBP came with a 160gb hard drive, and I found out very quickly how fast it filled up. External storage is a must for Time Machine backups and extra storage space.

Weight is negligible. Your predecessors have been lugging around cMBPs and PCs for years

uiop. said:

The rMBP will be barely noticeable in terms of weight over the MBA. I carry a 15" rMBP around with me all day everyday and never once have even noticed it.

Get the rMBP. You'll enjoy the screen if nothing else.

-fellow university student.

Click to expand...

Well, when I was in college I carried a 4kg laptop around and it didn't bother me, because I was doing 25kg dumbbell curls at the time. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna go around telling people to carry Alienware around because they won't notice it.

Each to his own. I Just got an Air myself, and the beauty in it is that I simply carry it around in a thin leather case and don't even bother with taking the charger.

So basically there's to excessive weight. I'm carrying about 1.5kg worth of 12 hours of work-related computing, daily.


Also I love Nickpham's post.

simply carrying any macbook to college is a gift in itself.

abcd8888 said:

Which laptop should i choose?
the Macbook Air 13 inch, i5 8gb ram, 256gb flash storage
or
Macbook Pro Retina 13 inch, i5 8gb ram, 128gb flash storage.

I will be using it for typing papers, general web browsing, taking it to uni, and it might possibly be my main computer.

Click to expand...

Go with the MBA. Why? Bigger storage.