buying advice

[asdqwe84]

I decided to ditch my old windows notebook (an ancient hp pavillon) and treat myself with a new macbook.
Being a newbie in the mac world, I can't decide which one is the best option for me. The 13 inches rMBP would be the better option (financially), but coming from a 17 inches laptop i fear i could find such a screen size a bit too small, considering I use my laptop not only for work but also for watching movies, streaming etc. On the other hand, i could only afford -barely-the lower version of the 15 inches laptop with the iris pro graphic. Do you think this version offers an acceptable price/quality balance? Is it really portable?
Another question..i read that the rMBP line should be soon updated with new and more powerful processors..should i wait to buy? Should I expect major design changes with the next update?

Thank you for your help!

 

[bennynova]

out of those 2 options, purchase the 13" w/ all the goodies

on a separate note:
i say splurge and buy exactly what you want. this machine will likely last you much longer than the windows machine, while still being viable and quick and non-laggy (especially w/ the SSD and RAM being so good)

can you not put it on a credit card?
sell a kidney?
sperm bank?

make it happen

 

[BigBuns]

If you are already coming from a 17" HP laptop, I would suggest you choose the 15" display. It will be similar to the large display you are accustomed to, only now you will have a thin and lightweight 15" in comparison (assuming your ancient HP was a fairly bulky, sucker).

The large display will also be better for extra screen real estate for working with and of course, the bigger the better when it comes to watching media

If you can squeeze out the extra dollars, I would recommend the 15", unless you are keen on the 13" form factor. They are only a 1 pound difference too. You would also get a quad core as opposed to the dual core in the 13", and improved graphics with Iris Pro.

With all of that said, both of these computers are going to be a big step up in performance and portability. It is up to you to decide what you can fit into your budget. They last long too, so consider this purchase an investment.

And expect the new computers to be released with Broadwell cpu chips maybe mid 2015. The big design changes are expected with Skylake's release, so after Broadwell (if they don't just skip Broadwell altogether). If you need the laptop, now is as good of a time to buy as any.

 

[MacInTO]

Look at the refurbished selection on apple. They offer good value.

 

[ohmegawsh]

Ill just give a reply based on my experience with the 13" rMBP. As a student, it's really nice. Size didn't seem that big of a deal--I came from a 15in as well. The graphics are nice for anything--gaming, video, or just office work. It's not that heavy, besides I think the 15in is going to be TOO heavy as sometimes when I put my 13" in my backpack, it feels like a textbook.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

That 154 inch ids still a doozy

Well the base 15 inch is still a great machine and unless you are a gamer that must have the latest games on high settings it will be just great.

As mentioned above do look at the apple store refurbished they are as new just in a plain box, same warranty and everyting. You may be able to get the 2013 version (basically exactly the same as the current one bar a .2ghz speed increase in CPU) with the bigger ssd and the graphics card for the same price as the base one new.

If you are in britain take a look at amazon £300-£400 pound savings are not uncommon.