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Best Mac for College Freshman

T

TheDrake

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Between the following 2 Mac's what does everybody think would be the better Machine for a new college freshman, C.S. major:

rMBP 8GB memory 128GB storage $1200.00

MBA 4GB memory 256GB storage $1135.00
 
Get the MBA 8GB ram 256gb ssd. The extra ram will make a big difference, especially since you're CS. If you are set on a $1200 budget...
 
Wait are you serious? get the retina with 8gb dude.. the smaller ssds aren't meant for mass storage anyway..
 
I opted for the 2011 mbp 15" for college for the bigger screen real estate because I wanted to be able to read a textbook on one half of the screen while writing on the other half.

However, its been two years now and my eyes have definitely grown tired of reading from the screen. I tried an iPad but it is inconvenient to carry a phone, a tablet and a laptop everywhere you go.

That being said, I wish I had the retina mbp. I would personally go for the 15" rMBP but in your case due to the budget, I would go for the 13" rMBP. The resolution difference is significant (at least in the 15" i haven't looked at the 13").

I also never worry about storage space on the computer. There is so much online storage nowadays that it isn't really a problem. If you want to carry a huge movie library or whatever just put it on a flashdrive or external HD.

Happy shopping!
 
TheDrake said:
Between the following 2 Mac's what does everybody think would be the better Machine for a new college freshman, C.S. major:

rMBP 8GB memory 128GB storage $1200.00

MBA 4GB memory 256GB storage $1135.00
Click to expand...

Where are you finding rMBP for $1200?
 
fabian

I already bought the rMBP for $1200 at the Apple store on 8/4 when BestBuy was selling the 13" rMBP for $1200. The manager at the apple store matched BB's price. Now I am having second thoughts and thinking maybe I should return the rMBP and get the air?
 
GSPice said:
So the answer to a 128gb drive in a 8gb retina is to get a 256gb drive in a MBA?

😕

Grab an external terabyte drive for $100 or something!
Click to expand...


did i stutta?

He doesnt NEED a retina. current 13retina is meh.

MBA, powerful, lightweight all day battery. Add more storage and its every students best friend.

I had an MBA as an undergrad. 15R as a grad. Sometimes miss the 13 but work requires more.
 
JeffiJers said:
did i stutta?

He doesnt NEED a retina. current 13retina is meh.

MBA, powerful, lightweight all day battery. Add more storage and its every students best friend.

I had an MBA as an undergrad. 15R as a grad. Sometimes miss the 13 but work requires more.
Click to expand...

Um, he's a CS major. Screen real estate alone makes the retina a good choice, unless he's into self-inflicting pain.
 
As a CS major myself, I went with this: http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

Awesome deal, awesome performance. It is slightly more expensive then what you picked so far though.

My plan initially was to get the 13, and use a 24 inch 1080p external monitor when I need to do some serious coding. I am very glad I went with the 15, because I cant stand looking at that monitor, now that I'm used to the retina screen (and it was a pretty good monitor). Coding on the 15 retina is AWESOME, text is super clear.

BTW, its refurbished, but it looked 100% like new, even had plastic wrap on. Has the same warranty as brand new.
 
GSPice said:
If you actually think a 13" retina screen is better than a 13" mba screen, then I don't have any further recommendation. 🙄
Click to expand...


??

Sure the higher resolution screen is "better" however the MBA I believe is a better value for the OP. 😀
 
thanks for all the replies. I have 2 more days to return my 13" rMBP and get the MBA, but still haven't made up my mind. Keep the posts coming.
 
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