First MBP for Father - Spec. Questions

[nanogirl21]

Hi guys,

I am having a little dilemma and am seeking some help. I would like to purchase my father a new computer for his birthday in March. He has an iPod, iPhone, and iPad so I think it would be a good idea to round off his Apple collection. Currently he is using a Sony Vaio and it is on it’s last leg (10 minute battery life, cracked display, missing keys, runs hot, fan loud). I know that it has an i5 processor and 8GB ram. He is afraid that he computer hard drive will crash at any moment so everything is backed up to an external hard drive. I took a peak and he is using 330 GB out of 1TB storage. This computer is at least 4 years now. He usually use the computer to listen to music in iTunes, use MS Office, surf the web, watch youtube/movies, as photo storage, and maybe a little photo shop every now and then but nothing too serious. I am a little conflicted what specs the computer should be. I know he is interested in a 13 inch MBP model for portability reasons. Any suggestions on a good combo of spects that would be best? Also, is it worth waiting until the new models are out to purchase? I don’t know time frames that the new MBP come out. Are they expected this year? It so, any estimated time frame?

Thanks for any help.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Hi guys,

I am having a little dilemma and am seeking some help. I would like to purchase my father a new computer for his birthday in March. He has an iPod, iPhone, and iPad so I think it would be a good idea to round off his Apple collection. Currently he is using a Sony Vaio and it is on it’s last leg (10 minute battery life, cracked display, missing keys, runs hot, fan loud). I know that it has an i5 processor and 8GB ram. He is afraid that he computer hard drive will crash at any moment so everything is backed up to an external hard drive. I took a peak and he is using 330 GB out of 1TB storage. This computer is at least 4 years now. He usually use the computer to listen to music in iTunes, use MS Office, surf the web, watch youtube/movies, as photo storage, and maybe a little photo shop every now and then but nothing too serious. I am a little conflicted what specs the computer should be. I know he is interested in a 13 inch MBP model for portability reasons. Any suggestions on a good combo of spects that would be best? Also, is it worth waiting until the new models are out to purchase? I don’t know time frames that the new MBP come out. Are they expected this year? It so, any estimated time frame?

Thanks for any help.

As long as it's not the base 13" non-Retina MacBook Pro you should be okay. That model hasn't been updated for a good 2 & 1/2 years. Conversely the PCI-e SSD in the Retina MacBook Pro means 'real-world' performance is really good. And the rest of the specs can easily do what you need it to.

I'd say 13" Retina MacBook Pro, with as much storage space as you can afford (as that's not upgradeable) for longevity and because you can't upgrade it later.

 

[nanogirl21]

As long as it's not the base 13" non-Retina MacBook Pro you should be okay. That model hasn't been updated for a good 2 & 1/2 years. Conversely the PCI-e SSD in the Retina MacBook Pro means 'real-world' performance is really good. And the rest of the specs can easily do what you need it to.

I'd say 13" Retina MacBook Pro, with as much storage space as you can afford (as that's not upgradeable) for longevity and because you can't upgrade it later.

Thank you for your recommendation. There are several rMBP. Can you explain the difference between 2.6GHz, 2.8GHz, and 3.0GHz please. Also, is upgrading to 16GB ram from 8GB neccessary? They are both 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM. Will it make a huge difference based off of the activities that I listed? Sorry I don't know much about computer "language".

 

[troy14]

Thank you for your recommendation. There are several rMBP. Can you explain the difference between 2.6GHz, 2.8GHz, and 3.0GHz please. Also, is upgrading to 16GB ram from 8GB neccessary? They are both 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM. Will it make a huge difference based off of the activities that I listed? Sorry I don't know much about computer "language".

The processor speed won't make much of a difference for your father, so you can get the slowest and it will still be very very speedy and a monumental upgrade from his Vaio. If he is using that old Vaio and still getting everything done, a retina macbook pro will be a gift from the heavens. 8GB is usually plenty, but the big thing is RAM is not user upgradeable, so what you get is what you are stuck with. But once again, if he is using that Vaio and it's doing what it needs ... more than likely 8GB will be plenty.

However, the big thing is the storage space. Since retina MBP use SSD (solid state), they come in smaller capacities and are much more expensive. If he is using 330GB, then he would need the minimum 250GB SSD or even a 512GB SSD, and the 512 aint cheap. I'd see if he could swing the 250GB, maybe keep more stuff on the external hard drive.

 

[nanogirl21]

The processor speed won't make much of a difference for your father, so you can get the slowest and it will still be very very speedy and a monumental upgrade from his Vaio. If he is using that old Vaio and still getting everything done, a retina macbook pro will be a gift from the heavens. 8GB is usually plenty, but the big thing is RAM is not user upgradeable, so what you get is what you are stuck with. But once again, if he is using that Vaio and it's doing what it needs ... more than likely 8GB will be plenty.

However, the big thing is the storage space. Since retina MBP use SSD (solid state), they come in smaller capacities and are much more expensive. If he is using 330GB, then he would need the minimum 250GB SSD or even a 512GB SSD, and the 512 aint cheap. I'd see if he could swing the 250GB, maybe keep more stuff on the external hard drive.

What do you mean SSD are smaller than HDD? Again, sorry I don’t know much about these. If a 250 GB HDD hold about 232 GB worth of stuff (according to the HDD charge below) wouldn’t SSD be the same?

 

[Yebubbleman]

Hi guys,

I am having a little dilemma and am seeking some help. I would like to purchase my father a new computer for his birthday in March. He has an iPod, iPhone, and iPad so I think it would be a good idea to round off his Apple collection. Currently he is using a Sony Vaio and it is on it’s last leg (10 minute battery life, cracked display, missing keys, runs hot, fan loud). I know that it has an i5 processor and 8GB ram. He is afraid that he computer hard drive will crash at any moment so everything is backed up to an external hard drive. I took a peak and he is using 330 GB out of 1TB storage. This computer is at least 4 years now. He usually use the computer to listen to music in iTunes, use MS Office, surf the web, watch youtube/movies, as photo storage, and maybe a little photo shop every now and then but nothing too serious. I am a little conflicted what specs the computer should be. I know he is interested in a 13 inch MBP model for portability reasons. Any suggestions on a good combo of spects that would be best? Also, is it worth waiting until the new models are out to purchase? I don’t know time frames that the new MBP come out. Are they expected this year? It so, any estimated time frame?

Thanks for any help.

Max out the RAM (as you can't do it down the road). And try to get one storage capacity size larger than you think he'll need (as aftermarket options are limited and costly). AppleCare is also a must.

 

[troy14]

What do you mean SSD are smaller than HDD? Again, sorry I don’t know much about these. If a 250 GB HDD hold about 232 GB worth of stuff (according to the HDD charge below) wouldn’t SSD be the same?

Sorry, didn't mean SSD is smaller than HDD when comparing direct sizes.. what I meant is typically with a HDD they put 500gb-1TB and it is relatively cheap.

With SSD, storage prices are much higher per GB, so while a 1TB HDD will cost maybe $80, a 1 TB SSD will cost $300-500.