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£1300 budget; Pro, Pro with retina, Air

G

Georgehiggins89

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 31, 2013
3
0
Hi guys, I'm currently looking to splash out on a mac and not sure which one to go for. My budget is £1300 but the less i spend the better.

My needs aren't anything drastic. I am a lecturer so design a lot of powerpoints, I also do a fair amount of video editing for YouTube (nothing major, videos tend to be under 10 mins), but I'll edit and upload a few videos a week. I want a 13" because I travel 90 mins to work via train and need my laptop.

I'm undecided whether to go for;

1) MacBook Pro regular version - 13", i7 processor, 8GB RAM, 750GB Hard drive, HD graphics 4000 - £1249
2) MacBook Pro retina version - 13", i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB flash storage, HD graphics 4000 - £1249
3) MacBook Air - 13", i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB flash storage, HD graphics 5000 - £1029


Any advice or other recommendations please share!
 
Personally, The Air.
It has the most power for the least money, and is elegant, sleek and light.

If you are editing videos for youtube, and they are in SD (480 height), then in my opinion there's no need for retina.
 
Prices &c.

Go for the retina -- SO MUCH BETTER!

as price seems to be an issue, use the online apple education store. You seem to be quoting full prices--as a lecturer, you can use the education store, which gives you a 10-15% discount PLUS a 3-year warranty. Plus, at the mo, you get £70 iTunes Store gift card--you have to be on the uni network for this to work (or VPN). Buying in an apple retail store/reseller does not include the free 3-year warranty. Hope this helps!

----------

The retina screen makes it better -- just changed to a rMBP, and the difference is amazing. I am never going to buy a non-retina computer again.

The educational store can be found at:

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/education_routing
 
Georgehiggins89 said:
Hi guys, I'm currently looking to splash out on a mac and not sure which one to go for. My budget is £1300 but the less i spend the better.

My needs aren't anything drastic. I am a lecturer so design a lot of powerpoints, I also do a fair amount of video editing for YouTube (nothing major, videos tend to be under 10 mins), but I'll edit and upload a few videos a week. I want a 13" because I travel 90 mins to work via train and need my laptop.

I'm undecided whether to go for;

1) MacBook Pro regular version - 13", i7 processor, 8GB RAM, 750GB Hard drive, HD graphics 4000 - £1249
2) MacBook Pro retina version - 13", i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB flash storage, HD graphics 4000 - £1249
3) MacBook Air - 13", i5 processor, 8GB RAM, 128GB flash storage, HD graphics 5000 - £1029


Any advice or other recommendations please share!
Click to expand...

Ah, but it's not £1249. You're a lecturer? Get education pricing. Just to say, this is the smallest discount you can get: http://store.apple.com/uk-edu/mac/family/macbook-pro

Instead of the pithy savings in my above link, I recommend you go here: http://store.apple.com/uk-edu/browse/home/education_routing Then, click 'Select your University' and login when you're on your Uni campus.

You'll save 20% on all Macs & you'll get free 3-year hardware warranty. Remember when you get to checkout, don't select the AppleCare, because you get the 3-year warranty free with it. AppleCare is 3-year hardware warranty & tel support. Don't pay for the AppleCare, and you still get hardware warranty but no telephone support.

Now you can really splash out. :D :apple:

EDIT: OrchardGale beat me to it :( However OrchardGale, you do still get the 3-year warranty if you bought it in store. And the savings in store are 15%, it's 20% online.
 
Unfortunately I dont teachfor a university, I teach for private tutoring companies on a self employed basis so I dont think I qualify for a discount. I do have a friend who is still a student, does anyone know if I would be able to get a discount if he bought it for me?

My current feelings towards the 3 choices are as follows. As you can see I am really undecided because all have their benefits and negatives.

I like the original MacBook Pro because its upgradable in the future whereas I've been lead to believe the retina & Air are not upgradable in the future? So if I needed more RAM or hard drive space it is easily upgradable when I want. It also has a CD drive which isnt essential but nice to have.

The retina MacBook Pro is obviously newer and has a beautiful screen display. It isn't upgradable though, and doesn't have the CD drive. I also think apple are likely to upgrade it in the autumn? So it would be annoying if I spent over £1000 and a new version came out in a few months.

The Air is a stunning machine, boasts 12 hours of battery and is the most portable. It has the latest graphics card and is the only one of the three to use the intel 4th generation haswell processor. So despite it not having as good a spec as the pro's, because of its newer software, it should be just as powerful? However, it is not upgradable, doesn't have a CD drive and just lacks the solidness the Pro's have I feel. I could spend another £120 to upgrade the processor to an i7 bringing the total to £1149.

I really duno. I spoke to someone in the Apple shop today and she said the Air should suit me because I don't do heavey video editing. She said space isn't a problem and just to buy an external hard drive for £50-£100.

----------

Also thanks for the advice so far!
 
Georgehiggins89 said:
I do have a friend who is still a student, does anyone know if I would be able to get a discount if he bought it for me?
Click to expand...

Yes, do it. Do it, do it, do it. Make sure he's on his University campus. From there either RDP to his computer or just transfer him the funds or use your debit card to pay for it ... or something.

If you know anybody who's at a University campus or anything like that, you're in luck. With a 20% saving and free 3-year warranty it's simply a no-brainer to overlook it. It's a monumental saving. :D

And there aren't any repercussions to this in terms of the warranty. Warranty is registered to the machine's serial number rather than the person who purchased it.

Of course, I wouldn't openly advertise that you've done this. Make sure you delete this thread after you've made the purchase. :) Feel free to drop me a PM if there's anything you'd prefer to discuss outside this thread.

Best wishes!
 
Georgehiggins89 said:
How does it work for you. Do you do any video editing?
Click to expand...

Final Cut Pro X.. I'm not a super pro, but had 0 problems rendering 1080p videos for YouTube.

As the guy above me said, get it with the student discount. Ask a friend or just try.
I'm in college, but the online store didn't ask me any info.. Just the name of the university.
 
Definitely not option #1 since you have long daily commutes. The Air would likely be the best option for your stated needs. Although if you have a large external to store non-essential things, the rMBP would be good too.
 
Depending how many videos you have saved etc storage may be an issue with the smaller SSDs. If speed isn't an issue, but money is, I'd stick with the hard drive. If 500gb is sufficient then the entry level macbook pro (£1000) sounds more suited. Extra memory can be added when you buy it or later. I've upgraded to 16gb for under £100.
 
It seems there is a clear preference for MBA and rMBP in this thread but...

Consider whether you want to pay Apple up front for more memory and storage or if you want the flexibility to add it later. The base MBP can easily be opened with a #0 Phillips and you can put in upgraded RAM and your own (carefully selected) SSD.

Then there is the whole matter of ports. Both the MBA and the rMBP don't give you Firewire. You gotta buy a dongle for that. Neither gives you ethernet. You gotta buy a dongle for that. Compare pricing of Thunderbolt peripherals to Firewire peripherals and I think you'll agree we are some years away from a time when it makes economic sense to limit yourself to Thunderbolt for expansion.

With a discount or even in the refurb store, you might be able to get the MBP for around £1000 which leaves you £300 to pick up an iPad for "road use". This is the combination I have (more or less). I have a 15 inch MBP and an iPad mini. As a lecturer, you could invest in a lightning to hdmi or vga cable so you can present your slides right from your iPad. There are apps available such as this one* to allow you to control slides on your ipad using your iPhone. * BTW, I found it via google and have not tried it myself.
 
Depends how long you expect to keep this Mac and what you intend to upgrade later on. The MBP is definitely the most upgradeable if you want double-digit RAM and have both a fast SSD for OS and apps, and a bigger drive for video editing. Even not using the optical drive, you can still put a HDD in its spot.

As you are travelling by train and table space is probably cramped, I would advise against regularly using an external HDD.

+1 for ports availabilities. If you don't have much externally-connected hardware and are just comfortable with all-wireless, then the Air or rMBP will probably do the job.
 
Matth345 said:
No need to be on campus :)
Click

And its only 15% not 20% btw.
Click to expand...

It's 20% if you order online through higher-education in the UK. This is because VAT is charged at 20% and if you order as a student, that qualifies to be VAT free.

So that's how Apple can offer that sort of saving, because in essence they don't really lose anything.

Like I said, as a higher-ed student: 15% in-store, 20% online.

Cheers
 
How long do you plan to keep it?

My point of view is to buy the best computer you can afford. Whilst I view Air as an incredible machine, it's a fair statement rMBP is better overall for most uses. Not all.

I've learnt the hard way buying a computer is basically the first step in saving for your next one. You should keep this in mind your timetable. How long do you plan to keep this? If it's a short time frame, the Air may be better choice. Otherwise, go rMBP.

Upgrading a computer is a bit of folly. Max out everything initially you can Otherwise, you tend to spend good money after bad. I speak from experience. I kept a G4 2X500 running for about 9 years. I hate to think how much I spent on hard drives (due to failures or more capacity), parts and a processor accelerator to keep the thing going. I replaced it short term with a mini (as I saved for a MBP), and the performance difference was remarkable. My point is technology moves along quickly. There's a certain geek cool factor keeping an old machine running. Knowing what I know now, I'd give up on that for a faster and more stable machine.

It's hard to practice what I preach. The new Samsung 1TB SSD's are screaming at me as a MBP drive replacement. I keep chanting to myself: it's about 1/4 the price of a new 15" rMBP....

Enjoy the process of figuring out what Mac to get. It's excurciatingly painful, but you'll be ecstatic once you hear the start-up chime and the Welcome screen.
 
keysofanxiety said:
It's 20% if you order online through higher-education in the UK. This is because VAT is charged at 20% and if you order as a student, that qualifies to be VAT free.

So that's how Apple can offer that sort of saving, because in essence they don't really lose anything.

Like I said, as a higher-ed student: 15% in-store, 20% online.

Cheers
Click to expand...

This is nonsense, VAT is still charged on the Higher Education store and the discount is circa 15% which is exactly the same as in store with valid university ID or over the phone, the only slight complication is the warranty. I recommend you read this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1103022/
 
Primus84 said:
This is nonsense, VAT is still charged on the Higher Education store and the discount is circa 15% which is exactly the same as in store with valid university ID or over the phone, the only slight complication is the warranty. I recommend you read this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1103022/
Click to expand...

You still get 3-year warranty when you buy in-store w/educational discount; I know because I went to the store last year when my mate bought himself a MBA. They chucked in the warranty and they also put in warranty documentation for his 3-year cover. It looked similar to the AppleCare one (not sure if it was actually AppleCare?)

And the UK discount is 20% if you buy online through higher education. My brother bought a MBP on Apple's online store 6 months ago, and he paid just under £1300 for it. Now in my eyes, 20% off £1500 is £1300?

Also when I bought my old MBP through University about 3 years ago, I also got 20% off.

Either:

1) everybody I know is the exception to the rule, or
2) that UK education discounts thread needs to be updated.
 
keysofanxiety said:
You still get 3-year warranty when you buy in-store w/educational discount; I know because I went to the store last year when my mate bought himself a MBA. They chucked in the warranty and they also put in warranty documentation for his 3-year cover. It looked similar to the AppleCare one (not sure if it was actually AppleCare?)

And the UK discount is 20% if you buy online through higher education. My brother bought a MBP on Apple's online store 6 months ago, and he paid just under £1300 for it. Now in my eyes, 20% off £1500 is £1300?

Also when I bought my old MBP through University about 3 years ago, I also got 20% off.

Either:

1) everybody I know is the exception to the rule, or
2) that UK education discounts thread needs to be updated.
Click to expand...

Looking online the discount seems to vary between 15 and 18 per cent, to take 2 examples, on the base MBA it's about 15% but on the base iMac it's about 18%.

If you buy in store you can still get the huge AppleCare discount circa £45 instead of £200-odd but you don't get the complimentary 3 year warranty, the warranty terms and conditions for the higher education store are clear on this - only telephone and online orders and Apple reps are frequently wrong on this. In addition, at point of sale if you don't choose the AppleCare you don't get anything in writing about the higher ed store giving you a 3 year warranty, you seem to get a letter/email about 90 days after purchase.
 
MacModMachine said:
retina 13".....13" air is not a good value, also the high res screen really comes in handy.
Click to expand...

How do you come to the conclusion that the 13" Air is not good value?

The 13" Retina is £258 more than the 13" Air so that's a substantial amount more to be paying.
 
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