first timer looking at MacBook Pro

[Harp77]

We are currently in the midst of looking at getting our first Mac laptop. Always had Windows garbage before and am tired of throwing money down the toilet for junk every couple of years.

My question is this: what am I looking for when it comes to getting a MacBook Pro with Retina as far as memory, speed, etc. We would be using the machine for the following:

-surfing the internet, Facebook, Youtube
-using MS Office, specifically Word and Excel for documents and spreadsheets
-storing our music, currently music library is approx. 20 gig in size

We are not needing anything for graphics, photography, etc.

When I look at the power, memory, etc I am kinda lost.

 

[maflynn]

I'd say the base rMBP with 8GB of ram and either 256GB of storage or 512GB depending on your estimated storage usage.

 

[Montymitch]

For that kind of use, I wouldn't recommend anything more than the base model, plus whatever you need for storage. Tired of Windows junk, I did the same thing as you back in 08 and haven't looked back. I got nearly six years out of my first MacBook, and honestly didn't need to replace it.

 

[MCAsan]

And to save a few bucks, get a refurbed one with warranty.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

 

[Harp77]

I have battled with the theory of refurb for a while - I am not completely comfortable going that route. I got burned once with a refurb Ipod a few yrs ago.

 

[kristenp]

refurbs have the same standard 1 year warranty as the retail packaged ones do. I think you would be fine going that route

 

[augustya]

Do you guys think an option to go for 2.3 GHz rather than 2 GHz will help ?

 

[pokerplayer73]

We are currently in the midst of looking at getting our first Mac laptop. Always had Windows garbage before and am tired of throwing money down the toilet for junk every couple of years.

My question is this: what am I looking for when it comes to getting a MacBook Pro with Retina as far as memory, speed, etc. We would be using the machine for the following:

-surfing the internet, Facebook, Youtube
-using MS Office, specifically Word and Excel for documents and spreadsheets
-storing our music, currently music library is approx. 20 gig in size

We are not needing anything for graphics, photography, etc.

When I look at the power, memory, etc I am kinda lost.

First Time buyer myself. Bought a 15" rMBP Haswell from Apple Refurbished store - 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD for $1700 + tax. Couldn't be happier.
Can remotely connect to Windows desktop machine using Free app - Microsoft Remote Desktop, if needed.

 

[MCAsan]

Do you guys think an option to go for 2.3 GHz rather than 2 GHz will help ?

Help what? Compared to the 2.0GHz model you have faster processor, and just as importantly, a real GPU as well. Also the high end machine have larger SSDs.

Look at the rMBP spec page: http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/
The basic 2.0 machine has: Intel Iris Pro Graphics
The high end machines with 2.3 or 2.6 have : Intel Iris Pro Graphics and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching

Each person has to consider what they need and the limitations of their budgets. Personally I would want a 2.3 machine with the dedicated GPU.

 

[magnumpi]

RAM > Storage >> CPU IMHO.

 

[episcientist]

Unless you're doing some serious graphics/video work or gaming, the base model is more than sufficient. My use is similar to yours OP and even my budget Windows machine is able to handle these tasks quite easily. The only upgrade I would consider is a larger SSD if you need it. I was fine with 128GB since I store a lot of my stuff on the cloud.