Apple Store dropped MacBook, offering new one, advice needed.

[MattAKramer]

So the apple store dropped my 2007 macbook and has offered to give me the newest 13" macbook at 1499 for free as it is the most comparable to what I have currently specs-wise. They also said if I want to upgrade I could pay the difference. So basically I have a 1499 credit for a mac.

I'll be using this mostly for normal generic stuff, web browsing, watching movies, etc. I'll also be doing some photo and video editing.

Trying to decide on the following things: Should I upgrade to a retina display, should I upgrade to SSD vs standard hard drive. Should I go to a 15" instead, or see if they would let me get a maxed out air up to 1499 for free. My wife will be using this primarily. She likes to do the photo/video editing and will be using it for school.

Have to make a decision today. Any thoughts/input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[Acorn]

if she will be using it for pictures then the 15 inch retina would be awesome. she can just store her pictures on a external drive so the ssd size doesnt even matter. it should make the pictures look really good though.

 

[cheezeit]

Do you want to put more money out? This is a great way to pay less for me. IE get a retina for what... $800 out of pocket? OR get a great machine for $0 out of pocket. Course the retina will be a lot better but to some free with less is better than $800 with more.

 

[MattAKramer]

Do you want to put more money out? This is a great way to pay less for me. IE get a retina for what... $800 out of pocket? OR get a great machine for $0 out of pocket. Course the retina will be a lot better but to some free with less is better than $800 with more.

I definitely don't want to pay that much more. I guess if I would be willing to pay 200 or 300 more, is there something better I should be looking at?

I know on our old macbook she would get frustrated editing in iMovie because it seemed to constantly lag or freeze up. We had a 2.2ghz intel black macbook with 4gb of ram, so I'd have to imagine the 1499 13" macbook pro would be a huge upgrade in general, just need to decide if it would be worth to it to upgrade to the base 15" model instead, the 13" rMBP instead, or maybe a 13" air with bumped up specs?

Thoughts?

 

[strwrsfrk]

I definitely don't want to pay that much more. I guess if I would be willing to pay 200 or 300 more, is there something better I should be looking at?

I know on our old macbook she would get frustrated editing in iMovie because it seemed to constantly lag or freeze up. We had a 2.2ghz intel black macbook with 4gb of ram, so I'd have to imagine the 1499 13" macbook pro would be a huge upgrade in general, just need to decide if it would be worth to it to upgrade to the base 15" model instead, the 13" rMBP instead, or maybe a 13" air with bumped up specs?

Thoughts?

See if they'll let you apply that balance to a refurbished model. If so, there are a ton of options that open up. The current generation MacBook Airs are incredible and a HUGE step up from the 2007 MacBooks. I'd consider something from here: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_air/13

However, it's very possible they will not let you do that. The 15" MacBook Pro is not a bad choice for an additional $300; it has the CPU and GPU horsepower to be relevant for another 5+ years, AND has the options to upgrade RAM, HDD, and OpticalDrive in future.

Many forum posters seem frustrated with current Intel HD 4000 support, which becomes readily apparent when using some applications on the 13" retina. However, these issues seem to be resolved more and more as time goes on, and the all-flash architecture (and 8GB RAM) will also show huge improvements over what you're used to.

My vote, personally, based on your budget restriction: base 15" MacBook Pro.

 

[M5RahuL]

I would consider the 13" rMBP or 15" cMBP [ with the hi-res screen ]

 

[Peace]

Take what you can get and be very,very happy.

 

[MattAKramer]

See if they'll let you apply that balance to a refurbished model. If so, there are a ton of options that open up. The current generation MacBook Airs are incredible and a HUGE step up from the 2007 MacBooks. I'd consider something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=dSGbOmW4AjI&feature=endscreen

However, it's very possible they will not let you do that. The 15" MacBook Pro is not a bad choice for an additional $300; it has the CPU and GPU horsepower to be relevant for another 5+ years, AND has the options to upgrade RAM, HDD, and OpticalDrive in future.

Many forum posters seem frustrated with current Intel HD 4000 support, which becomes readily apparent when using some applications on the 13" retina. However, these issues seem to be resolved more and more as time goes on, and the all-flash architecture (and 8GB RAM) will also show huge improvements over what you're used to.

My vote, personally, based on your budget restriction: base 15" MacBook Pro.

I think they are looking to do this just as an in-store swap so I'll assume refurb isn't an option. Having said that, if I assume they'll give me some flexibility (not sure if this is an option), would a fully loaded 13" macbook air, base 15" macbook pro, or 13" 1499 model macbook pro be best?

Option 1 (This may or may not be an option given it isn't really anything like the current model they are trying to replace. They told me they were going to just give me the base 13" macbook pro until they realized I had a 750gb hard drive in it so I'm not sure if they will let me do this or not, but if so, I'd like to see everyone's thoughts)

(1)13" air with 8gb ram, 2.0ghz i7, 256 SSD would be 1699 ($200 upgrade)(how would this do for video/photo editing?)

(2)13" pro, 1499 (free), 750gb HDD, 2.9ghz i7, 8gb ram

(3a)15" pro, 2.3ghz quad core i7, 500gb HDD, 4gb ram, 1799 (300 dollar upgrade, plus another 100 to do 8gb ram unless this is user upgradable later)

(3b) above model with anti glare 1899, 400 dollar upgrade, plus another 100 for 8gb ram unless i can upgrade that on my own later?

I think my wife would lean towards even swap at for the free 1499 13" pro they are offering, but if it's worth it to pay 200-400 extra for one of the other options listed, I'll do it.

Final decisions???

 

[duervo]

Damn ... stuff like that never happens to me. I wish they dropped my early-2008 MBP when they replaced the left fan back in 2010.

Since your wife will be the primary user, I would go with the maxed out 13" Air. Since you probably already used the 2007 system for photo/video editing, the current MBA should be able to meet your needs.

Or ...

If your wife would prefer the cMBP 13", you always have the option of upgrading the RAM and hard drive (i.e.: to an SSD) later on yourself, if you want by going with that one.

 

[MattAKramer]

Damn ... stuff like that never happens to me. I wish they dropped my early-2008 MBP when they replaced the left fan back in 2010.

Since your wife will be the primary user, I would go with the maxed out 13" Air. Since you probably already used the 2007 system for photo/video editing, the current MBA should be able to meet your needs.

The current 13" macbook 2007 model I have did give her a lot of grief with locking up importing videos into iMovie and using the application in General. Would the new air hanlde this better based on specs I listed above? I'm afraid they may not see the air as an option since it's not even close to an "apple to apples" comparison. Worth a shot to ask though if it will be the best option for us in the long run.

 

[KPOM]

So the apple store dropped my 2007 macbook and has offered to give me the newest 13" macbook at 1499 for free as it is the most comparable to what I have currently specs-wise. They also said if I want to upgrade I could pay the difference. So basically I have a 1499 credit for a mac.

I'll be using this mostly for normal generic stuff, web browsing, watching movies, etc. I'll also be doing some photo and video editing.

Trying to decide on the following things: Should I upgrade to a retina display, should I upgrade to SSD vs standard hard drive. Should I go to a 15" instead, or see if they would let me get a maxed out air up to 1499 for free. My wife will be using this primarily. She likes to do the photo/video editing and will be using it for school.

I'd jump at the chance to "go retina." Think about it. You essentially just sold a 5.5 year old Mac for $1500. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I had a somewhat similar scenario in that I recently lost my 2012 MacBook Air. Fortunately, it was insured, and I decided to take my insurance check and then spend some extra money on the rMBP (13"). Even though it was otherwise a mostly lateral move (I had the Core i7 Air), the screen alone made it worth it for me.

Even if you stick with the cMBP, get an SSD. It's worth it for the extra speed alone.

As for 13" vs 15", the 15" does have a quad core processor and a discrete GPU, so it will be significantly faster for video editing. It weighs about as much as the 2007 that was damaged, so it could be worthwhile. On the other hand, the 13" rMBP will seem very light and portable compared to your 2007.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[duervo]

The current 13" macbook 2007 model I have did give her a lot of grief with locking up importing videos into iMovie and using the application in General. Would the new air hanlde this better based on specs I listed above? I'm afraid they may not see the air as an option since it's not even close to an "apple to apples" comparison. Worth a shot to ask though if it will be the best option for us in the long run.

Best way to be sure is to bring an external drive, that has one of your movies on it, with you to the Apple store, and open up one of those movies in iMovie on a current model, and see how it handles it. Pretty sure the Apple Store people will let you do that.

If your wife is the one that deals with it the most, she may want to be present to test it out.

 

[MattAKramer]

I'd jump at the chance to "go retina." Think about it. You essentially just sold a 5.5 year old Mac for $1500. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I had a somewhat similar scenario in that I recently lost my 2012 MacBook Air. Fortunately, it was insured, and I decided to take my insurance check and then spend some extra money on the rMBP (13"). Even though it was otherwise a mostly lateral move (I had the Core i7 Air), the screen alone made it worth it for me.

Even if you stick with the cMBP, get an SSD. It's worth it for the extra speed alone.

As for 13" vs 15", the 15" does have a quad core processor and a discrete GPU, so it will be significantly faster for video editing. It weighs about as much as the 2007 that was damaged, so it could be worthwhile. On the other hand, the 13" rMBP will seem very light and portable compared to your 2007.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

If i don't go Retina, can I upgrade to an SSD later? If so, I would guess doing that on my own would be cheaper than paying for it through apple, at least that was the case with ram for my 2007 macbook.

 

[KPOM]

I definitely don't want to pay that much more. I guess if I would be willing to pay 200 or 300 more, is there something better I should be looking at?

I know on our old macbook she would get frustrated editing in iMovie because it seemed to constantly lag or freeze up. We had a 2.2ghz intel black macbook with 4gb of ram, so I'd have to imagine the 1499 13" macbook pro would be a huge upgrade in general, just need to decide if it would be worth to it to upgrade to the base 15" model instead, the 13" rMBP instead, or maybe a 13" air with bumped up specs?

Thoughts?

$1699 will get you a loaded Air with the i7, 8GB, and 256GB SSD (actually 250GB). $1599 will get you 8GG with the i5. Both will be a significant step up from the 2007, and would be within the $300 upgrade range, even if you did splurge for the $79 external superdrive.

The $1699 rMBP is about the same speed as the souped up Air, although it has only 128GB of SSD (actually 120GB). $1999 would get you 256GB of storage, though external storage (or even an SDXC card) may be a better option if you don't need the extra room.

 

[MattAKramer]

I'd jump at the chance to "go retina." Think about it. You essentially just sold a 5.5 year old Mac for $1500. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I had a somewhat similar scenario in that I recently lost my 2012 MacBook Air. Fortunately, it was insured, and I decided to take my insurance check and then spend some extra money on the rMBP (13"). Even though it was otherwise a mostly lateral move (I had the Core i7 Air), the screen alone made it worth it for me.

Even if you stick with the cMBP, get an SSD. It's worth it for the extra speed alone.

As for 13" vs 15", the 15" does have a quad core processor and a discrete GPU, so it will be significantly faster for video editing. It weighs about as much as the 2007 that was damaged, so it could be worthwhile. On the other hand, the 13" rMBP will seem very light and portable compared to your 2007.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

You make a solid point on the fact that i'd be getting such an awesome laptop for relatively nothing, but for what she will use the thing for I doubt it's worth that much of an upgrade. I honestly hardly ever use the mac anymore and mainly just use my ipad. I'm not sure if she would get 800 dollars more value out of having the retina 15" for imovie, iphoto, and basic everyday stuff like web browsing and excel.

 

[KPOM]

If i don't go Retina, can I upgrade to an SSD later? If so, I would guess doing that on my own would be cheaper than paying for it through apple, at least that was the case with ram for my 2007 macbook.

Yes, on the cMBP you can still open it up and get an SSD later. There is an entire sticky thread here on that topic.

My suggestion would be to go to the store and take a look at the Air, 13" cMBP and 13" rMBP in person. The Air has a 1440x900 screen, while the cMBP has 1280x800 and the rMBP has 2560x1600 that scales to 1280x800 but can emulate 1650x1080 if you need it. The Pros all have better color gamut, so would be better for photo editing in that regard.

What won me over to the rMBP was the screen. I thought about it a lot, and looked at one in the store for about 15 minutes side by side with the Air before deciding.

----------

You make a solid point on the fact that i'd be getting such an awesome laptop for relatively nothing, but for what she will use the thing for I doubt it's worth that much of an upgrade. I honestly hardly ever use the mac anymore and mainly just use my ipad. I'm not sure if she would get 800 dollars more value out of having the retina 15" for imovie, iphoto, and basic everyday stuff like web browsing and excel.

The 13" rMBP would be a $200 upgrade. If you have a 2007, I doubt you have more than a 160GB HDD, unless you have upgraded it. External storage is wonderful now with USB 3.0. If you fill up the space, you can offload some of the videos or photos to a USB 3.0 flash drive or hard drive very cheaply and still get near-native speeds.

Edit. I just saw you have a 750GB HDD. Will they let you take it out? If so, a cheap USB 3.0 enclosure may help with the storage. If not, USB 3.0 hard drives are still pretty cheap, which makes the rMBP and Air more viable options.

 

[MattAKramer]

Yes, on the cMBP you can still open it up and get an SSD later. There is an entire sticky thread here on that topic.

My suggestion would be to go to the store and take a look at the Air, 13" cMBP and 13" rMBP in person. The Air has a 1440x900 screen, while the cMBP has 1280x800 and the rMBP has 2560x1600 that scales to 1280x800 but can emulate 1650x1080 if you need it. The Pros all have better color gamut, so would be better for photo editing in that regard.

What won me over to the rMBP was the screen. I thought about it a lot, and looked at one in the store for about 15 minutes side by side with the Air before deciding.

----------



The 13" rMBP would be a $200 upgrade. If you have a 2007, I doubt you have more than a 160GB HDD, unless you have upgraded it. External storage is wonderful now with USB 3.0. If you fill up the space, you can offload some of the videos or photos to a USB 3.0 flash drive or hard drive very cheaply and still get near-native speeds.

I upgraded the hard drive about 3 months ago after the stock hard drive failed. It looks like me paying 140 for that HDD actually just gave me an additional 300 in this crazy situation (1499 over 1199) on the 13" cMBP. I have a 1tb external hard drive but it's about 4 years old, only has usb 2.0.

 

[Spink10]

Personally I would - get the base 15 cMBP ($1800) ask them to give this to you as even switch. Maybe avoid paying $300. Later on upgrade HD to a SSD - if needed later you can upgrade RAM to 16GB. Possibly pay an extra $100 for the High-Res display? Glossy or Anti-Glare depending on your preference.

15 base blows up the 13 upgraded MBP.

 

[A Hebrew]

I bet whatever genius dropped that is looking for a new job.

 

[ezramoore]

Depending on what type of camera she has (I skimmed the previous posts, forgive me if this has been mentioned), she may NEED a Firewire port, which the Airs do not have. I'm sure there is a TB > Firewire adapter out there, but it is something to consider regardless.

Congrats on the new machine!

 

[KPOM]

Personally I would - get the base 15 cMBP ($1800) ask them to give this to you as even switch. Maybe avoid paying $300. Later on upgrade HD to a SSD - if needed later you can upgrade RAM to 16GB. Possibly pay an extra $100 for the High-Res display? Glossy or Anti-Glare depending on your preference.

15 base blows up the 13 upgraded MBP.

I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's a 5.5 year old notebook that they are replacing for free.

 

[Spink10]

I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's a 5.5 year old notebook that they are replacing for free.

I would

 

[KPOM]

I upgraded the hard drive about 3 months ago after the stock hard drive failed. It looks like me paying 140 for that HDD actually just gave me an additional 300 in this crazy situation (1499 over 1199) on the 13" cMBP. I have a 1tb external hard drive but it's about 4 years old, only has usb 2.0.

I've seen USB 3.0 enclosures for $25 at NewEgg. I used one to create a backup drive for my MacBook Air and now rMBP.

The rMBP has the advantage of having a dedicated HDMI port and two Thunderbolt ports. On the downside, it lacks FireWire and Ethernet, though those are available with $29 adapters. The FireWire adapter doesn't pass through much power, so keep that in mind if you have a FireWire device that relied on bus power rather than plugging in separately or using USB for power.

----------

I would

If they refused to fix it or offered me $250 I'd complain. However, $1500 is more than reasonable, considering they started at $1200. I wouldn't push for an extra $300.

 

[Spink10]

If they refused to fix it or offered me $250 I'd complain. However, $1500 is more than reasonable, considering they started at $1200. I wouldn't push for an extra $300.

$1500 is exactly what they should do - but I am not afraid to ask for the $1800 model - I just im personally persuaded it would be foolish not to at least ask.

 

[austinmarti]

The current generation MacBook Airs are incredible and a HUGE step up from the 2007 MacBooks. I'd consider something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=dSGbOmW4AjI&feature=endscreen

I'm failing to see what Tegan and Sara has to do with this discussion..?