(Freshman CS Student)Should I buy MBP now?

[adamtj11]

I have a Macbook Pro for computer science right now, and I can tell you if your ever gonna buy one might swell start with one if its what your heart is set on. I went through first year without one and had a netbook but HATED it and got a Macbook Pro pretty fast.

 

[defected07]

I am not sure why people are recommending MBA to this OP. Op wrote that MBA's screens are too small.

What part of small did not people understand?

Is there such thing as 15 inch air? No.

15 inch MBP is the only option.

The answer is buy now, but wait if you can.

I was just offering the suggestion of a more compact, portable laptop for classes. He hasn't gone to school yet, and maybe isn't aware of the weight of college books + a laptop. Yes, the 13" MBA screen is smaller than a 15" MBP screen, but the resolutions are comparable. He did mention he has a 27" monitor he could plug into. I just think it's wise to consider the difference a few pounds makes on top of 20+ lbs of books lugged between classes/library.

 

[Chiuy]

Thanks for these wonderful information man! I guess, I'll just wait till the new refresh comes out. I just don't want to spend $2500-$3000 with a machine if I wouldn't need it that much for the FIRST term and if there would be a new one coming soon. I have my desktop and iPad 2 to handle things till I get my first ever mac! LOL

Thanks again.

$2500 - $3000.
I'll stop you there.
First off, I'm a computer engineering major Freshman. Do you really want to spend that much money on a laptop? You're already in debt paying for all your loans, etc, unless you got enough grants and scholarship to pay for all your tuitions cost, etc, then feel free to spend that much, but if not, don't waste that much money.

Think of this way, if you're willing to spend $2500-$3000, I would buy a lower end MacBook Pro 13" for $1099 and buy myself $1000 super Windows7 desktop that will more than enough. MBP for portability and Desktop for major power. Then you'll be all set.

I currently have the MBP, the reason why I bought it is because I saved $300. I payed $1099 for education discount, $100 giftcard that I'm selling on eBay, and $100 free rebate printer, which was a good deal.

To tell you the truth, if you are a gamer, the MBP does poorly on games, such as World of Warcraft which gets 25fps average compares to 80fps on my desktop. (13" i5), unless you buy the expensive $2000 high end MBP. But, I would recommend that other option I told you. Would you be playing games outside? Even if you are playing games or coding/video rendering, your MBP will only last 2hours max under those conditions.

As a new Fresh to a new Fresh and with similar majors, I advise you to save your money.
Also, remember that if somebody "stole" your $2500 MBP, your warranty doesn't cover it. It's gone.


Ask yourself this...
Don't go for the specs, the looks, etc. but do you need Mac OSx?
What can't Windows do that Mac OSx can't? If Windows can do the same thing, why waste tons of money on it?

My reason though as a college student of becoming a CE major, my State University is slowly changing most of their computer labs to Mac, so I'm better suited to learn about Mac. I'm also planning or dreaming of working with Apple, which all use Mac OSx, etc.

 

[DirtySocks85]

I can tell you that I was a CS student not all THAT long ago (2003-2005 before a major change), and I never owned a laptop. In fact the first laptop that I regularly used was a MacBook provided by my first employer out of college, and the first laptop I owned was a MBP I bought a few years after that. You'll be fine without one for a while if you want to wait for a refresh. On that same note I'd also like to point out that anything you buy now should last you through college just fine. Additionally, while there is a lot elitism around here in regards to how awesome the 15" and 17" MBP models are (and they are pretty awesome), personally as a programming student (or any college student), I would get a 13" for the portability factor. It's also much easier to use if your school has small desks in some rooms.

One thing to think about as a CS major though, see if your school provides a free or discounted license for Windows 7, or if not get one at the student rate and partition your drive for use with Bootcamp. Several IDE/Compilers that you'll probably be using in your first year or two may not have a Windows counterpart.