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First time buyer!

F

FreshTag

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 1, 2010
9
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Hello, I'm a first time buyer and going into college next fall

I've visited colleges and many of them has mac in their library so I thought it would be good for me to buy a macbook pro. But I don't know which one I need to get. I'm thinking about getting low 13" range or mid 15" range.

If I'm getting low 13" range, I'm going to add 4GB memory and 250GB Hard Driver. If I'm getting mid 15" range, I'm just getting that no upgrades.

But thing is my major in college would be Kenisiology and minor would be general art or photography... I've heard it is easy to work art stuffs on 15" or I've heard 13" screen is too small to work for long period of time, such as typing massive notes from classes or art works. Also, some people just like the bigger screen.

my bro told me if I'm going to get a 15" then give $300 more to get a high 15" range but it's the money issue. My dad told me it's hard to work any art stuffs on laptops anyways so get a 13".


Experts what do you recommend for first time buyer? or which macbook pro do you recommend, personally?

p.s. Im thinking about getting it over summer when there is Back-to-school discount for college students...
 
I guess you will be more comfortable on a 15". For your purpose I don't see any point in buying the higher spec 15" it's not like it will make you work faster.

If you are a little computer savvy I would buy the ram and hdd separate from regular brands, you will save a lot of money.
 
Personally I'd go with the 13" and an external monitor for your room or whatever your setup at college will be - that way you get the best of both worlds - small, portable machine for working on campus, big screen when you are at home base. You will definitely want the extra ram. Personally, I'd go with more than 250 GB HD as well - if you're doing lots of high res art work or photos, you can chew through a LOT of HD space pretty quickly.
 
I'd wait for the back to school promo and but the 15inch MBP and an external monitor too. If money is the problem then a 13inch will also do.
 
I would say go with the higher end 13". If you are going to upgrade with 4 gigs of ram and a 250 gig HD, it is going to cost about the same as just getting the higher end one which already comes with that. And if you were planning on upgrading it yourself, after ordering, you would spend more than the difference in price.

So my recommendation is to get the higher end 13" and get an external display and an external HD if you find that 250 gigs isn't big enough. That's what I've got, and it works great.
 
Wait until the summer/autumn, when you'll be eligible to HE discount! I just wrote down a few points that you want to consider. Check my previous post!
 
Thank you for all the replies...
I can only buy a macbook pro nothing else... no extra iMac displays and so on... I'm thinking about getting it during the back-to-school discount time, which is during summer i think.
 
First, wait until Apple starts their back to school program. You'll get the computer, a printer, and an iPod. If you don't need the iPod, sell it (that's what I did).

Next, wait until your school issues you an email address. Then you'll be able to get the Higher Ed. discount, which will be anywhere from 100 to 200 bucks.

Now, regarding art work on a laptop: If you're going to be using Photoshop or Aperture, the processor will not be the limiting factor; your screen size and RAM will matter much more. So, I would completely avoid the 13" model. The 2.53 GHz 15" with 4GB of RAM should serve you well. If you find that you need anything more than that and your school is worth its salt, then you will probably have access to a photo lab with great computers with great screens.
If you decide to stay with computer aided art through school, you can later buy an external monitor for use with your laptop.

Good luck, enjoy your Mac, and even more importantly, enjoy college!
 
I have the high end 13" and I love it. Aperture, Photoshop CS3, World of Warcraft all run just fine on it, and the portability of the 13" is so nice!


I actually had the 15" (the mid 2009 2.53 ghz unibody) before the 13" and I don't miss the screen real estate at all.
 
The 2.53 13" is $1499, and you can pick up a very good monitor for under $200, so you'll have the weight savings and save a little cash over the 15," and have a bigger screen for the work you'll be doing.

Definitely wait for the summer specials, for the printer, iPod, and in all likelihood a more powerful 13" after the refresh, which is imminent.
 
Just another quick question

Sounds like there will be a new model or refreshing Macbook pro in summer or soon. Anyone know whats going to be changed or upgraded for newer version?
 
None of us has any more clue than you. Steve Jobs is better at keeping secrets than the CIA.

Since the iPad fervor will begin to die down in a couple of weeks, I'd imagine a refresh by early May, long before you'd be buying.
 
FreshTag said:
Just another quick question

Sounds like there will be a new model or refreshing Macbook pro in summer or soon. Anyone know whats going to be changed or upgraded for newer version?
Click to expand...

Lots of speculation, absolutely nothing known for sure. They are generally expected to use Arrandale processors, but whether that would be on all models or only on the high end is a matter of debate. Also unknown is what discrete graphics processor might be used. More speculation revolves around new I/O technologies like USB 3.0 (possible) or Light Peak (unlikely), and the future of FireWire is another question.

As always Apple's paranoid secrecy about new product features and release dates remains the only constant.
 
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