Is it worth paying over $200 more to get a MBP with a 256 MB dedicated graphics card? One of the requirements for Wharton is to have a computer with said feature. Is it worth the money? Will I really miss out by not buying the MBP satisfying those requirements? Or can I live without it? I will be studying finance and/or marketing/real estate.
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College Requirements
- Thread starter maddan
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Depends on what apps are you running. If this dilemma is between 13" and 15" MBP, take the 15" as i5 is already a lot faster
Does Wharton indicate what software packages they expect you to be running? I'm just finding it odd that a business school requires a specific GPU RAM, but who knows...
EDIT: Just saw their buying guide. They do mention 256MB briefly for the GPU, but don't explicitly say it's a requirement.
FWIW: the 13" macbook Pro can do all of the things mentioned in the requirements. But if you want your laptop to last the entire time you're there and still serve you well, you might be better suited with an i5 MBP.
At worst, Wharton does say you can use their public PC labs, but as someone who was broke in college, had an underpowered system and had to do the same thing, I would say it's not always ideal.
EDIT: Just saw their buying guide. They do mention 256MB briefly for the GPU, but don't explicitly say it's a requirement.
FWIW: the 13" macbook Pro can do all of the things mentioned in the requirements. But if you want your laptop to last the entire time you're there and still serve you well, you might be better suited with an i5 MBP.
At worst, Wharton does say you can use their public PC labs, but as someone who was broke in college, had an underpowered system and had to do the same thing, I would say it's not always ideal.
no, you will most likely not need it and if you happen to need a powerful machine, you will have lab access
I guess it's to rule out machines with Intel GMA graphics, the 320M in the 13 inch is faster than many low end dedicated cards.
I don't think it matters - but it does matter about the software like the other guys said. Even that is negotiable through boot camp.