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Do I Need A New Macbook Pro for College?

N

Nade

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 15, 2010
20
0
Hello everyone, I have been accepted to UIUC and I'm going to be studying Computer Science. I was thinking of upgrading because I can at this point but for some reason I feel as if I might not need to. If anyone in the CS field could help with what is required, that would be great.

Currently I have the following:
Black Macbook (2.4ghz, 2GB Memory)
iPad 32GB
Custom PC (2.8ghz, 12GB memory, GTX285 SLi)

Would I need a better computer for coding on the go (lecture halls, library, other campus facilites)? I was thinking of the 15" top-end MBP because of the hi-res display but I'm not sure If I need it.
 
Keep it.

College is harsh. You will bang it up, it will be targeted by thieves, you will spill beer on it, or someone else will spill beer on it.

I'd up the ram to 4GB if you can. Should be cheap.
 
Last edited:
Bump.

i don't drink and I never would, I'm a pretty responsible guy.
 
Nade said:
Bump.

i don't drink and I never would, I'm a pretty responsible guy.
Click to expand...

I was not saying anything bad about you or your character.

Someone else will spill beer on it for you.

It's just a harsh environment for shiny new things, college is.
 
Nade said:
Hello everyone, I have been accepted to UIUC and I'm going to be studying Computer Science. I was thinking of upgrading because I can at this point but for some reason I feel as if I might not need to. If anyone in the CS field could help with what is required, that would be great.

Currently I have the following:
Black Macbook (2.4ghz, 2GB Memory)
iPad 32GB
Custom PC (2.8ghz, 12GB memory, GTX285 SLi)

Would I need a better computer for coding on the go (lecture halls, library, other campus facilites)? I was thinking of the 15" top-end MBP because of the hi-res display but I'm not sure If I need it.
Click to expand...

You're in college....you probably are gonna be living on a budget. Keep what you have until it breaks, or you can afford to buy a computer with out it really affecting your budget.
 
(CompSci graduate here) Honestly, your current machine will probably be perfectly fine for coding. It's not really that intensive of a process. Especially for the first part of your education. You'll probably be working on less complex stuff to start and you really won't be doing much of anything that will tax that machine.

The extra screen resolution might be useful, but unless you REALLY feel you need it or you REALLY need an upgrade, I'd save my money for now. You've got a speedy enough desktop.
 
The budget is not really the problem.
My parents do not mind buying me a $2300 configured Mac. it's just that I don't know how much I will benefit from it.

I can't sell my iPad nor would I if I could, it would be a big loss for a nice tech toy.

**Also I do have a 24" display and 2 other monitors that could be used but I'm wondering if I'll need the MBP for portable (I.E in class use).
 
Nade said:
The budget is not really the problem.
My parents do not mind buying me a $2300 configured Mac. it's just that I don't know how much I will benefit from it.
Click to expand...

Tell them you might take them up on the offer in 2 years. Then you will know.
 
Nade said:
The budget is not really the problem.
My parents do not mind buying me a $2300 configured Mac. it's just that I don't know how much I will benefit from it.

I can't sell my iPad nor would I if I could, it would be a big loss for a nice tech toy.

**Also I do have a 24" display and 2 other monitors that could be used but I'm wondering if I'll need the MBP for portable (I.E in class use).
Click to expand...

You must be a lucky kid, but I would still keep what you have. Carrying a 13" to school is better than the 15" if thats what you're looking at. Most of the people were using 13" when I was going to college....
 
snouter said:
Tell them you might take them up on the offer in 2 years. Then you will know.
Click to expand...

^^ That

I know how easy it is to try to rationalize yourself into buying but I'd hold off for now :) You're not going to absolutely need it.
 
I wouldn't until you know what your requirements will be since you've got the basics covered with the macbook.

If you're compelled to upgrade now, I'd seriously consider the high end 13" macbook air. With that, you'd be getting serious battery life and the 1440 by 900 screen resolution plus all the flash memory goodness.
 
ramo said:
You must be a lucky kid, but I would still keep what you have. Carrying a 13" to school is better than the 15" if thats what you're looking at. Most of the people were using 13" when I was going to college....
Click to expand...

This. If you plan on it being portable, stick with the MacBook. If you ever run into anything it can't handle (unlikely), then you have a perfectly capable desktop at home to handle that.

No need to upgrade. Now want, that's a different matter entirely... :D
 
Thanks guys I really appreciate it.

The thing I didn't want to say was: I bought the MBP AG $2500 version 2 days ago but I was pondering the need for it.
I thought people would tell me to keep it since I already got it.

I'm going to go to the apple store in a little bit and return this.
 
I just really think that whatever you take to school will get destroyed at some point, and why worry about it.

Leave it in a hot car, a pizza place, kick it off a table, spill water on it...
 
I agree with the others that coding is not CPU intensive, but IMHO screen real-estate is very important. Have you considered an older model 15" HighRes or 17"?

Yes, it will be heavier but I think it will be worth it for increased productivity.
 
snouter said:
I just really think that whatever you take to school will get destroyed at some point, and why worry about it.

Leave it in a hot car, a pizza place, kick it off a table, spill water on it...
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

Plus, in my experience, property in a college setting is almost communal. During my time, computers, living spaces, cars, bikes, food, you name it.. It was all shared. It's a chaotic environment.
 
First of all congratulations with your acceptance.

I'm in a bit of similar situation as you, I may be going to college as well and will definitely be doing programming. Moreover, I'm a pretty heavy computer user: I will almost certainly be editing HD video, multitasking with CPU and HD-intensive applications etc and like things to be snappy.

I've never owned an Apple notebook (always had Apple desktops); do you guys think the 15'' 2010 MBP would suffice (I want to get an SSD in either case) or would the 2011 MBP be the better option?
 
snverhallen said:
First of all congratulations with your acceptance.

I'm in a bit of similar situation as you, I may be going to college as well and will definitely be doing programming. Moreover, I'm a pretty heavy computer user: I will almost certainly be editing HD video, multitasking with CPU and HD-intensive applications etc and like things to be snappy.

I've never owned an Apple notebook (always had Apple desktops); do you guys think the 15'' 2010 MBP would suffice (I want to get an SSD in either case) or would the 2011 MBP be the better option?
Click to expand...

the 2010 model is fine. I have one and thought about upgrading but I decided to hold off. Nothing I do daily will really be impacted by quad core, thunderbolt, or better GPU. Apple has some great deals on refurbs now and I am sure you can buy a used machine from someone who is upgrading.

SSD is definitley the way to go.
 
Keep your curren MacBook. No need to go into debt before you even get into college. You'll have the rest of your life to be in debt.
 
I'd pop 4GB RAM in yours and keep it. If you need more space, upgrade the HD. Both are pretty simple and can be done on the cheap, and add better performance to your computer. I'm certain your PC can handle anything that you might find to be a bit slow on your Mac.
 
If you a computer science student, you probably don't even need a dual core.
When you go to senior classes, you probably don't even need a computer at all.
All you need is a dumb terminal that connects you to the school server.
 
All you need is food, water, and shelter. As everyone else said, entry level CS material isn't very demanding. I agree with the general responses in this thread. The only reason you'd need a new MBP maxed out would be for graphically intense applications like games, FCE/FCP, etc.

Oh and congratulations for your acceptance.
 
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