Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Need a laptop for school (Which should I get?)

I

IBeDrummin

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 24, 2013
30
6
So I need a laptop for college when I leave at the end of August. I really want to get the new Macbook Pros with Retina and haswell processor that is rumored to come out, but recent news says that won't come out until September...so I guess I am out of luck. So my question is, which computer should I go for? The current retina display pros are nice but they lack of storage bothers me. I wouldn't mind getting the 13 inch macbook air, bumping the processor to an i7 and ram to 8 gigs, but there is also little storage on that. I would use the laptop for: web browsing, netflix, basic word processing, note taking, iTunes, iMovie (sometimes), basic games like Runescape and World of Warcraft, etc. But what do you guys think is the best way to go?
 
Last edited:
tgi

tgi

macrumors 65816
Aug 29, 2012
1,331
330
IBeDrummin said:
So I need a laptop for college when I leave at the end of August. I really want to get the new Macbook Pros with Retina and haswell processor that is rumored to come out, but recent news says that won't come out until September...so I guess I am out of luck. So my question is, which computer should I go for? The current retina display pros are nice but they lack of storage bothers me. I wouldn't mind getting the 13 inch macbook air, bumping the processor to an i7 and ram to 8 gigs, but there is also little storage on that. I would use the laptop for: web browsing, netflix, basic word processing, note taking, iTunes, iMovie (sometimes), etc. But what do you guys think is the best way to go?
Click to expand...

How much hard drive space would you want? Your usage needs seem pretty basic. Do you have a massive iTunes library or something? For your needs + school, an 13" MBA + external hard drive should be good.

Definitely take advantage of student pricing + the BTS promo.
 
I

IBeDrummin

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 24, 2013
30
6
tgi said:
How much hard drive space would you want? Your usage needs seem pretty basic. Do you have a massive iTunes library or something? For your needs + school, an 13" MBA + external hard drive should be good.

Definitely take advantage of student pricing + the BTS promo.
Click to expand...

I have a big iTunes library, that is the only problem. Plus I play a few games, but none that would totally wipe the space. I have an external hard drive that I use to back up my iMac with time machine. Would that work? Or can would that only be a time machine hard drive?
 
C

cgk.emu

macrumors 6502
May 16, 2012
449
1
IBeDrummin said:
I have a big iTunes library, that is the only problem. Plus I play a few games, but none that would totally wipe the space. I have an external hard drive that I use to back up my iMac with time machine. Would that work? Or can would that only be a time machine hard drive?
Click to expand...

You can use a time machine hard drive for other stuff, too, not just backups.
 
designs216

designs216

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2009
1,046
21
Down the rabbit hole
IBeDrummin said:
I have a big iTunes library, that is the only problem. Plus I play a few games, but none that would totally wipe the space. I have an external hard drive that I use to back up my iMac with time machine. Would that work? Or can would that only be a time machine hard drive?
Click to expand...

Were I in your shoes I'd go with the 13" Air like you mentioned but also upgrade the drive to 256. If you also invest in a monitor (helpful for all those papers) it could double as a hub for the iTunes/TM drive.
 
I

IBeDrummin

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 24, 2013
30
6
designs216 said:
Were I in your shoes I'd go with the 13" Air like you mentioned but also upgrade the drive to 256. If you also invest in a monitor (helpful for all those papers) it could double as a hub for the iTunes/TM drive.
Click to expand...

Upgrade the hard drive to 256 or should I go for 500?
 
designs216

designs216

macrumors 65816
Oct 26, 2009
1,046
21
Down the rabbit hole
IBeDrummin said:
Upgrade the hard drive to 256 or should I go for 500?
Click to expand...

I think the Apple 512 is overpriced. I would go with the 256 and only put active projects on the internal drive. My tunes and projects archive would reside on the slower, larger USB drive plugged into the monitor. TimeMachine could back up to a second USB drive.
 
S

Shuri

macrumors 6502
Nov 23, 2011
330
0
Have you seen the MBA live recently? Maybe go into a store and look at it if you haven't, personally I could not work with the screen, as I'm a big fan of high res; it just makes working more pleasant to me.

Just wanted to mention it, I'm sure for a lot of people the Resolution isn't such a big deal.
 
I

IBeDrummin

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 24, 2013
30
6
Shuri said:
Have you seen the MBA live recently? Maybe go into a store and look at it if you haven't, personally I could not work with the screen, as I'm a big fan of high res; it just makes working more pleasant to me.

Just wanted to mention it, I'm sure for a lot of people the Resolution isn't such a big deal.
Click to expand...

I have not looked at it. Is it possible to put all of my iTunes on an external drive and still listen to it on the MBA?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom