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13" MacBook pro advice

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Wmaph12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2013
6
0
Hi all,

So a bit of back story- never had a mac before but am in a situation where I need to get a new laptop as my windows one is on its last legs.

I'm a second year university student that does physics so I quite often will end up processing masses of information using excel, Mathematica or matlab. I'm also going to pursue a PhD so will need it to have oomf over the next few years. Apart from that I will only use it for watching movies and Internet uses as I don't game.

So I'm definitely decided on the MBP 13" but I'm undecided on some of the configurations. Mainly is it worth getting a configuration of i7 processor, 8gb ram and SSD drive or would an i5 8gb hard drive be usable?

I want it to be fast day to day so have been considering the ssd memory (if I get this from the apple store does it just give you the ssd drive or is it hard drive +ssd. Cost is a bit of an issue (no more than £1200- inc student discount) but again I'm investing for the next 3 years. The las thing is how likely is it that retina will become standard in the summer release?
 
Spink10

Spink10

Suspended
Nov 3, 2011
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i5 or i7 are both good - its still dual-core

RAM - upgrade yourself - saves lots of $$
HDD - upgrade yourself - saves lots of $$ Apple charges too much for SSD

rMBP standard this summer - 50/50 (I personally think it will still exist at least in the 13inch model - otherwise base MBP price point will be to high - no way apple drops rMBP 500)
 
W

Wmaph12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2013
6
0
Will I see the difference in the i7 core given its only duel? If not then I'd get the i5 processor and maybe just do the ram upgrades ( don't want the faff of reinstalling the os from a USB image) also do custome upgrades voint apple warranty?
 
Spink10

Spink10

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Wmaph12 said:
Will I see the difference in the i7 core given its only duel? If not then I'd get the i5 processor and maybe just do the ram upgrades ( don't want the faff of reinstalling the os from a USB image) also do custome upgrades voint apple warranty?
Click to expand...

i5 vs i7 - doubtful - I am not familiar with those programs and what you will be using the computer for. Movies and browsing will have no difference.

RAM & HDD are user upgradable - meaning it does NOT void warranty. Reinstalling operating system is very easy and hassle free. We can help you on the forums.
 
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Wmaph12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2013
6
0
Hmm ok so say I went with a stock i5, 4gb ram, 500gb hard drive and then did an upgrade of 16gb RAM, and 128gb ssd I could have a pretty fast little machine for pretty much a grand. I'm guessing the hard drives are easy enough to swap out?
 
Spink10

Spink10

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Wmaph12 said:
Hmm ok so say I went with a stock i5, 4gb ram, 500gb hard drive and then did an upgrade of 16gb RAM, and 128gb ssd I could have a pretty fast little machine for pretty much a grand. I'm guessing the hard drives are easy enough to swap out?
Click to expand...

Now you are thinking :)

Very easy to replace.

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http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive/10378/1

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There are several methods for installing OS X on SSD.

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Also - you probably dont need 16GB of RAM - FYI
 
W

Wmaph12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2013
6
0
....I decided to get the 16gb of ram in the end, mainly for two reasons- crucial didn't have the 8gb pack in stock and then the more logical one of I don't know how much computing power I'll need over the next few years but I do know I'll likely be using said programmes to be modelling anywhere from 1000-100000 pieces of data when I'm doing my research for my dissertation.
 
W

Wmaph12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2013
6
0
Spink10 said:
Now you are thinking :)

Very easy to replace.

----------

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing+MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive/10378/1

----------

There are several methods for installing OS X on SSD.

----------

Also - you probably dont need 16GB of RAM - FYI
Click to expand...

Hey got my mac yesterday and my ram and SSD drive today. I've already installed my ram and know how to physically install the hardrive but don't know what to do about the OS. There wasn't an install disc when I bought it and I don't have an external hardrive. What do I do?!
 
Giuly

Giuly

macrumors 68040
Oct 16, 2009
3,348
4
That depends whether you ask for timezone, state o
Wmaph12 said:
Hey got my mac yesterday and my ram and SSD drive today. I've already installed my ram and know how to physically install the hardrive but don't know what to do about the OS. There wasn't an install disc when I bought it and I don't have an external hardrive. What do I do?!
Click to expand...

After installing the SSD, you Press and Hold Command+R and turn the Mac on. Then you follow the on-screen instructions.
 
Spink10

Spink10

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Nov 3, 2011
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Wmaph12 said:
Hey got my mac yesterday and my ram and SSD drive today. I've already installed my ram and know how to physically install the hardrive but don't know what to do about the OS. There wasn't an install disc when I bought it and I don't have an external hardrive. What do I do?!
Click to expand...

Get it figured out?
 
W

Wmaph12

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 2, 2013
6
0
ok so I don't have to do any sort of installation from either a mountain lion disc or usb? :S all a bit confusing.
 
designs216

designs216

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2009
1,046
21
Down the rabbit hole
Wmaph12 said:
So I'm definitely decided on the MBP 13" but I'm undecided on some of the configurations. Mainly is it worth getting a configuration of i7 processor, 8gb ram and SSD drive or would an i5 8gb hard drive be usable?
Click to expand...

I say get the base 13-inch 2.5GHz, preferably refurb, and upgrade the drive to SSD and RAM to maximum yourself. Use the OEM drive for TimeMachine backups. The i7 is a slightly faster processor but it's not like it's quad-core. One last thing, check to see if the programs you intend to use are going to play nice with that Intel 4000. You may also consider picking up a nice 24" Dell monitor to make some of these project easier.
 
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