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For those considering buying a MacBook Pro now.

KingKen1986

KingKen1986

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 16, 2012
132
2
I've seen a lot of "should I get a MacBook Pro now" posts so I thought I would post some info based upon having my cMBP for a month now. First off about a month ago I was wondering the same thing, but I needed the computer then so I went ahead and made my purchase. I opted not to get a retina and instead got a 13 inch 2.9GHz i7, 8GB ram, 750GB HDD. I needed the superdrive found on the cMBP and didn't see the advantage of going for the retina and loosing that. As for the screen on my model it still looks amazing and the clarity is second only to the retina model. If you need a MacBook now or want one now but are afraid to buy because of the Haswell models coming in a few months do not fret. If you buy now you will not be disappointed. You still are getting a state of the art machine that will last for years. It will last no shorter than the Haswell MBP's. Plus you will more than likely get it for a few hundred less than you would be able to get a new Haswell model. Mine is listed for 1499 on Apple's online store and I got it for 1299 at BestBuy. This leads me to say not to be afraid to shop around a little bit, if you do shop around you are likely to find a similar sale that you prolly won' t find on the new Haswell models. The current MacBook's are very fast but I would always suggest buying the upgraded version of the model you are thinking about buying. I suggest at least having 8GB of ram, everything else should be fine even on the standard models....so if you are going to get a base model with 4GB of ram, I would highly recommend at least upgrading the ram to 8Gb. I have been doing great without a SSD and am very happy with my standard 750GB HDD, so unless your doing a lot of file transfers, a standard HDD should be fine, but by all means if you want to upgrade to the SSD and have the money it definitely won't hurt :p. Performance wise the current retina's and non-retina MacBook Pro's are extraordinarily fast. My cMBP loads Safari the second you click it and loads everything else amazingly fast. I can multitask to my hearts content , and even with just having the HD4000 graphics (which has 512MB of ram allocated to it) every game I have thrown at it runs great at native resolution (which is 1280x800 on my model) and mid to high settings. So DO NOT WORRY!!! If you need a MacBook Pro now or want one now, go ahead and buy one, you will not be disappointed and will love you machine for years to come. Mac's are absolutely amazing computers and always will be above and beyond what a pc is. :apple::D:D:apple:
 
That's a good point!
I was in the same shoes as you and other people before.
And I ended up buy a used one from ebay. I totally LOVE this notebook.
 
dragonjinse said:
That's a good point!
I was in the same shoes as you and other people before.
And I ended up buy a used one from ebay. I totally LOVE this notebook.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm utterly in love with mine as well. This is my first MacBook Pro and I literally worship it, I even built a little charging station/table/shrine for it...hahahha. :apple::D:apple:
 
For me, one of the best things about the cMBP models is that, processors aside, it's so easy to upgrade RAM and HD yourself. So it's much more economical, rather than paying Apple premiums upfront. Not to mention ability to upgrade again later.

Eta- recently got a 1200p external monitor and my cMBP 13" screen feels claustrophobic now when I have to use it!
 
I'm sorry for you KingKen.
I was one of many people here who read everything you wrote. And it's very easy to read for me (English is my 2nd lang). I don't think it's hard to read at all
This is not a journal website. You don't need to write in paragraph/ have a thesis statement etc.

Thanks for the post. I'm pretty sure it's very helpful for someone who is going to buy mbp right now.
 
dragonjinse said:
I'm sorry for you KingKen.
I was one of many people here who read everything you wrote. And it's very easy to read for me (English is my 2nd lang). I don't think it's hard to read at all
This is not a journal website. You don't need to write in paragraph/ have a thesis statement etc.

Thanks for the post. I'm pretty sure it's very helpful for someone who is going to buy mbp right now.
Click to expand...

Haha at least I know somone read it, I think those people were just pissed about something I said, that is kinda a controversial subject after all, yeah my writing isn't great but I think the subject matter is more the issue. :apple::p:apple:
 
KingKen, thanks for taking the time to write out your experience and opinions on purchasing a new macbook pro. I logged in to the forums for just that reason -- I'm struggling with the buy now or wait decision. Your post was well-timed and helped me a lot.

Don't listen to those other people criticizing your lack of paragraphs. They find it easy to criticize, but can't take a step back for a second to realize that maybe there's a nicer way to get their point across.

Of all the forums I frequent, this one seems always be the most pretentious and it's a real shame.
 
I am jealous. I have an early-2011 15" cMBP. I upgraded the RAM to 8 GB, and I have a 7200 RPM HDD, but I'm always jealous when I read about newer tech. Laptops are just something I can't afford to upgrade regularly like I can with an iPhone. :(
 
RichardC300 said:
I am jealous. I have an early-2011 15" cMBP. I upgraded the RAM to 8 GB, and I have a 7200 RPM HDD, but I'm always jealous when I read about newer tech. Laptops are just something I can't afford to upgrade regularly like I can with an iPhone. :(
Click to expand...

Richard, I know SSDs get a lot of hype, but I promise you it's the single most noticeable upgrade you could ever give your MBP. Your computer will feel like a 2013 machine compared to what it is now. The difference is shocking. And SSDs are coming down in price.

If you have $200 to spare and aren't ready to buy a new computer, I can't recommend this enough!! (They're very easy to install, too.)
 
johnnylarue said:
Richard, I know SSDs get a lot of hype, but I promise you it's the single most noticeable upgrade you could ever give your MBP. Your computer will feel like a 2013 machine compared to what it is now. The difference is shocking. And SSDs are coming down in price.

If you have $200 to spare and aren't ready to buy a new computer, I can't recommend this enough!! (They're very easy to install, too.)
Click to expand...

That is something that I'm heavily considering, actually! SSD prices have been dropping over the last few years, but they've been fairly constant over the course of 2013. :( I'll probably jump on the SSD ship after I see the next MBP releases. Really hoping they don't do away with the trusty cMPB's!
 
I read the entire post, made me jealous; well almost. You made a great choice. I did the same but got the "R" saved $750.00 per the Apple web site. They got it back in extra stuff I picked up. Glad you're so happy and feel comfortable about posting. This is a friendly most of the time.
 
KingKen1986 said:
I've seen a lot of "should I get a MacBook Pro now" posts so I thought I would post some info based upon having my cMBP for a month now. First off about a month ago I was wondering the same thing, but I needed the computer then so I went ahead and made my purchase. I opted not to get a retina and instead got a 13 inch 2.9GHz i7, 8GB ram, 750GB HDD. I needed the superdrive found on the cMBP and didn't see the advantage of going for the retina and loosing that. As for the screen on my model it still looks amazing and the clarity is second only to the retina model. If you need a MacBook now or want one now but are afraid to buy because of the Haswell models coming in a few months do not fret. If you buy now you will not be disappointed. You still are getting a state of the art machine that will last for years. It will last no shorter than the Haswell MBP's. Plus you will more than likely get it for a few hundred less than you would be able to get a new Haswell model. Mine is listed for 1499 on Apple's online store and I got it for 1299 at BestBuy. This leads me to say not to be afraid to shop around a little bit, if you do shop around you are likely to find a similar sale that you prolly won' t find on the new Haswell models. The current MacBook's are very fast but I would always suggest buying the upgraded version of the model you are thinking about buying. I suggest at least having 8GB of ram, everything else should be fine even on the standard models....so if you are going to get a base model with 4GB of ram, I would highly recommend at least upgrading the ram to 8Gb. I have been doing great without a SSD and am very happy with my standard 750GB HDD, so unless your doing a lot of file transfers, a standard HDD should be fine, but by all means if you want to upgrade to the SSD and have the money it definitely won't hurt :p. Performance wise the current retina's and non-retina MacBook Pro's are extraordinarily fast. My cMBP loads Safari the second you click it and loads everything else amazingly fast. I can multitask to my hearts content , and even with just having the HD4000 graphics (which has 512MB of ram allocated to it) every game I have thrown at it runs great at native resolution (which is 1280x800 on my model) and mid to high settings. So DO NOT WORRY!!! If you need a MacBook Pro now or want one now, go ahead and buy one, you will not be disappointed and will love you machine for years to come. Mac's are absolutely amazing computers and always will be above and beyond what a pc is. :apple::D:D:apple:
Click to expand...

Oh ma'am, what's this, Fibonacci suite, a ciphered message, an enigma...? :D
 
RichardC300 said:
I am jealous. I have an early-2011 15" cMBP. I upgraded the RAM to 8 GB, and I have a 7200 RPM HDD, but I'm always jealous when I read about newer tech. Laptops are just something I can't afford to upgrade regularly like I can with an iPhone. :(
Click to expand...

I can't even convince my parents to get me an iPhone...I have a cheap prepaid and I get a new computer every 4 years.

----------
RichardC300 said:
That is something that I'm heavily considering, actually! SSD prices have been dropping over the last few years, but they've been fairly constant over the course of 2013. :( I'll probably jump on the SSD ship after I see the next MBP releases. Really hoping they don't do away with the trusty cMPB's!
Click to expand...

SSDs like the Retina display are like addiction pills...once you go with them you'll never come back!
 
MathBunny123 said:
I can't even convince my parents to get me an iPhone...I have a cheap prepaid and I get a new computer every 4 years.
Click to expand...
Don't feel too bad with a new computer every 4 years. So far, I'm on that track. But you should tell your parents you'd pay for the data plan! That's what did it for me.

MathBunny123 said:
SSDs like the Retina display are like addiction pills...once you go with them you'll never come back!
Click to expand...
I'm afraid you'll be right about the SSD. lol. I've seen the retina display but haven't used it extensively. Eh...I could live without it.
 
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