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Med Student.. Help!

What do I replace my MBP with..

  • 2015 13" MBA (1.6GHz, 512 storage)

    Votes: 5 16.7%

  • 2015 13" rMBP (2.7GHz, 512 storage)

    Votes: 22 73.3%

  • 2015 12" Macbook (1.2GHz, 512 storage)

    Votes: 3 10.0%
  • Total voters
    30
G

gfritz90

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 10, 2015
9
1
New to the site... looked like a great source for some information. I have a ~7 year old MBP that is slowly beginning to die (may she RIP). I am looking to get a replacement, but have been torn between the Air, Retina Display MBP, and the new Macbook. What type of work do I do with my machine? I do not do photo or video editing to start. Most of my studies involve online lectures, powerpoint, editing excel files for my research, and youtube (lets be honest here). Any suggestions Thanks for the input, much appreciated.
-G
 
Honestly, if the 12" screen doesn't bother you, the retina MacBook may be a perfect you. This option will also be the lightest and most portable.

If you want to go the cheaper route, the MacBook Air would suit you.

If you want more ports, the retina MacBook Pro is the way to go. This option will be the heaviest and least portable.

What is important to you?
 
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I don't use many port on my current MBP. I have an external that I keep my books and music on. I like the battery life on the mac air, but I am concerned with the sturdiness of it. The model I have now looks like it does the day I bought it, and Im just afraid with the thinner/ lighter model it would get beat up quicker.
 
Sounds like you could get by with just about any computer given that usage. In these situations, I almost almost recommend the MacBook Pro. It is already a light and extremely portable notebook, and you don't sacrifice performance or connectivity.
 
gfritz90 said:
I don't use many port on my current MBP. I have an external that I keep my books and music on. I like the battery life on the mac air, but I am concerned with the sturdiness of it. The model I have now looks like it does the day I bought it, and Im just afraid with the thinner/ lighter model it would get beat up quicker.
Click to expand...

Go with the retina MacBook Pro then. That's what I did.
 
gfritz90 said:
I don't use many port on my current MBP. I have an external that I keep my books and music on. I like the battery life on the mac air, but I am concerned with the sturdiness of it. The model I have now looks like it does the day I bought it, and Im just afraid with the thinner/ lighter model it would get beat up quicker.
Click to expand...
The MBA is not any weaker structurally than a MBP, size isn't everything.
 
Anyone do a lot of reading on their laptops? Is retina display supposed to be easier on the eyes
 
Seeing how the base macbook and the base macbook pro are the same price, I'd never get the regular macbook unless I absolutely needed a light laptop. Thats it. Otherwise the mbp is worlds better in every way. There is no need to take away options, power and screen size for the simple option of having a pound less to carry unless thats all that matters to you. Portability. And for you being on the move, and not doing anything substantial, then maybe it would make sense. But know this. Its painfully slow compared to the MBP. I heard the ipad air 2 CPU benchmarks were better than the base macbook. The only better thing I can think of is the base macbook comes with 256gb storage, and the base macbook pro still only has 128. I guess thats another thing...
 
gfritz90 said:
^^^ Thanks for your comment. Pretty set on rMBP now. Thanks everyone
Click to expand...

You wont regret the pro. You might regret a regular macbook though. Stop in the other part of the forum where the macbook people post. There are lots of threads where they are all trying to justify having a $1300 ipad with a hard keyboard attached. I really dont get that machine. It should be like $799 for what it is. That would be an apple home run. But at its current price point, it makes no sense not even compared to the macbook AIR. Silly.
 
You'll love an Air. It's extremely portable and the battery life is incredible.
 
I'd get the Pro. The air and pro are close enough to make the more powerful machine an easy choice. The single port on the MacBook isn't practical for a student.
 
redheeler said:
The Retina display is definitely worth the extra over the outdated display on the Air, and the Force Touch trackpad is an added bonus.
Click to expand...
The problem is that neither the rmbp nor the rmb last an entire days work. The Air usually does.
 
I can speak from experience, as I just graduated medical school this past May. I would absolutely be concerned about 2 things: port accessibility and screen resolution. The screen part is easiest - you do TONS of reading on a computer in med school these days, everything from online lectures to research journals. The retina display will make a world of a difference for you, so I would eliminate the Air for that exact reason. Next, the ports. The new Macbook is great but having only one port WILL screw you in med school. Maybe not the first or second week, but eventually you WILL need a usb slot to throw in a quick powerpoint or download a quick lecture from a buddy - not having this handy or being forced to carry around a USB C ---> ??? adapter isn't ideal. The 13" MacBook Pro w/ Retina display is your choice, and I promise you will not regret it. I am starting my residency in July and am waiting for the back to school discount but the second it comes out, I am ordering a 13" r-MBP w/ 16gb RAM. I can't wait, and wouldn't recommend anything else to you.
 
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Blazer5913 said:
I can speak from experience, as I just graduated medical school this past May. I would absolutely be concerned about 2 things: port accessibility and screen resolution. The screen part is easiest - you do TONS of reading on a computer in med school these days, everything from online lectures to research journals. The retina display will make a world of a difference for you, so I would eliminate the Air for that exact reason. Next, the ports. The new Macbook is great but having only one port WILL screw you in med school. Maybe not the first or second week, but eventually you WILL need a usb slot to throw in a quick powerpoint or download a quick lecture from a buddy - not having this handy or being forced to carry around a USB C ---> ??? adapter isn't ideal. The 13" MacBook Pro w/ Retina display is your choice, and I promise you will not regret it. I am starting my residency in July and am waiting for the back to school discount but the second it comes out, I am ordering a 13" r-MBP w/ 16gb RAM. I can't wait, and wouldn't recommend anything else to you.
Click to expand...


You don't need to wait. You can get the education discount at any time if you still have your school ID. $100 off macbook pros and you get big discounts on the upgrades and apple care too. You can even order online and if they decide to audit the order, then you would need to email in your school ID scan or something.

Check it out.

http://store.apple.com/us-hed
 
Blazer5913 said:
I can speak from experience, as I just graduated medical school this past May. I would absolutely be concerned about 2 things: port accessibility and screen resolution. The screen part is easiest - you do TONS of reading on a computer in med school these days, everything from online lectures to research journals. The retina display will make a world of a difference for you, so I would eliminate the Air for that exact reason. Next, the ports. The new Macbook is great but having only one port WILL screw you in med school. Maybe not the first or second week, but eventually you WILL need a usb slot to throw in a quick powerpoint or download a quick lecture from a buddy - not having this handy or being forced to carry around a USB C ---> ??? adapter isn't ideal. The 13" MacBook Pro w/ Retina display is your choice, and I promise you will not regret it. I am starting my residency in July and am waiting for the back to school discount but the second it comes out, I am ordering a 13" r-MBP w/ 16gb RAM. I can't wait, and wouldn't recommend anything else to you.
Click to expand...
Word. I knew someone else in a similar position would be on here. Thanks so much for the help. Best of luck in residency!
 
ZXMustang said:
You don't need to wait. You can get the education discount at any time if you still have your school ID. $100 off macbook pros and you get big discounts on the upgrades and apple care too. You can even order online and if they decide to audit the order, then you would need to email in your school ID scan or something.

Check it out.

http://store.apple.com/us-hed
Click to expand...


Correct, but I was hoping to wait for the back to school promotion, because in addition to the educational discount, they also give a free gift/promo. In the past (years ago), it would be a free printer after rebate or something, but these days, they are typically giving a $100 Apple Gift Card for free (or iTunes, which I hope it's not). I am upgrading to the iPhone 6S this fall so could definitely use that $100 towards the phone, which would be huge. That's why I'm waiting. But anybody with any experience with this, please chime in! Thanks and best of luck OP!
 
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