Getting a MacBook

[ionman64]

OK folks this is my first thread
so i've been considering getting my first macbook having used windows since the very beginning
i'm a college student studying abroad, flying 2-3 times at least between 2 cities a year
i need the thing to be light and portable
i will be doing some browsing, matlab, some programming, occasion music production and quite a bit of photo editing, probably some gaming
i want the machine to last a few years
I will get an external monitor some the computer would be plugged in at least half the time hopefully

i've been looking at the 13" MBA and cMBP

For the mba i can do i5/8gb/256ssd

For the cmbp i can get a the base i5 model and configue it myself with 16gb ram and probably ssd some time later

My concern is the mba heating up with cpu intensive stuffs
However the cmbp might be a bit too heavy? would the i7 dual core be more suitable?

thanks guys

 

[kittencounter]

why not 13" retina or even 15" retina. They are not that heavy. You want some gaming, photo editing and music production with the Air?

 

[redsoxaa]

I think you should look into the 13" retina. It's slimmed down and easy to travel with. What is your time frame for buying? I would hold off at all costs till the first of August in case new models are announced at the end of July.

 

[Badrottie]

traveling 2 or 3 times? Go with 13" MBA no question asked.

 

[ionman64]

why not 13" retina or even 15" retina. They are not that heavy. You want some gaming, photo editing and music production with the Air?

I think you should look into the 13" retina. It's slimmed down and easy to travel with. What is your time frame for buying? I would hold off at all costs till the first of August in case new models are announced at the end of July.

Guys 15" is too big
well the thing about retina is i kinda want 16gb ram if im getting a pro and i don't like only having 128gb of storage

traveling 2 or 3 times? Go with 13" MBA no question asked.

would the air work well as my only computer?

 

[jread]

would the air work well as my only computer?

Depends. It is not as powerful as the 13" rMBP. I had a Haswell i7 MBA, and now an Ivy Bridge i7 13" rMBP. The rMBP is noticeably more powerful, despite the HD4000 GPU.

More importantly, spend some time with a MBA and make sure you can tolerate the display, because compared to a modern display, it's crap. And compared to a retina display, it's a steaming pile of elephant diarrhea.

 

[8080532]

What ever you buy, cMBP/rMBP get the 15" with a dedicated GPU, you'll regret not having it when you get around to playing games and editing photos.

Yeah they can be big, but you don't want to have the feeling of making a mistake.

 

[lagisibuk]

I suggest for 15 rMBP... maybe from refurbished is okay
you got better performance even compare with haswell in air

 

[ionman64]

What ever you buy, cMBP/rMBP get the 15" with a dedicated GPU, you'll regret not having it when you get around to playing games and editing photos.

Yeah they can be big, but you don't want to have the feeling of making a mistake.

I suggest for 15 rMBP... maybe from refurbished is okay
you got better performance even compare with haswell in air

Guys now I feel like getting a refurb 15", whether classic or retina
The thing is I don't feel like needing the best quad core cpu, but I do feel like 16gb of ram

However there ain't no 1st gen retina 2.3GHz i7 with 16gb, only 8gb

How does 8gb feel like in real life? would that be sufficient?

 

[NewishMacGuy]

Guys now I feel like getting a refurb 15", whether classic or retina
The thing is I don't feel like needing the best quad core cpu, but I do feel like 16gb of ram

However there ain't no 1st gen retina 2.3GHz i7 with 16gb, only 8gb

How does 8gb feel like in real life? would that be sufficient?

If you're not running VMs then 8GB is plenty for most people today. It's also what I would consider a reasonable minimum for OSX today, so it doesn't leave a a lot of headroom.

IMO Apple shouldn't be offering less than 6GB on any of its machines, OSX just needs more than that these days.

>

 

[8080532]

Guys now I feel like getting a refurb 15", whether classic or retina
The thing is I don't feel like needing the best quad core cpu, but I do feel like 16gb of ram

However there ain't no 1st gen retina 2.3GHz i7 with 16gb, only 8gb

How does 8gb feel like in real life? would that be sufficient?

It is fine, i never went beyond 4 gb with VM

 

[JennyC]

I have a Macbook Pro without retina, and I think the display is really great. Am I naive or something? I upgraded from an antiquated 2009 Macbook so obviously this new screen is way better than that one so it must just feel like it's the most beautiful display I've seen.

Because you do photo editing and other activities I would think you might find the 15" with retina to be more convenient. I have the 13" and I wish I had gotten the 15" and I don't even need it for anything special. I still think the 15" size would be easy traveling with.

 

[NewishMacGuy]

I have a Macbook Pro without retina, and I think the display is really great. Am I naive or something?

Nope. It is a great display. The retina display is extraordinarily nice, but the regular uMBP display is still quite good.

>

 

[Orlandoech]

My vote is for either a 13" or 15" rMBP.

 

[ionman64]

alright guys i've ordered a refurb 15" retina 2.3/8/256
really excited now, delivery should be tomorrow!
thanks for the advice guys, it's really helpful!!

 

[scbond]

Classic MBP 13" all day every day.

 

[lagisibuk]

alright guys i've ordered a refurb 15" retina 2.3/8/256
really excited now, delivery should be tomorrow!
thanks for the advice guys, it's really helpful!!

greaaat.
welcome to retina club
btw, dont worry about ghosting, just enjoy it
ghosting is like "ghost", they (ghost) alreay in the world, but we dont need to find them.

I have 15 retina with LG screen, all fine and normal

 

[ionman64]

greaaat.
welcome to retina club
btw, dont worry about ghosting, just enjoy it
ghosting is like "ghost", they (ghost) alreay in the world, but we dont need to find them.

I have 15 retina with LG screen, all fine and normal

buddy i got a samsung display LSN !!
And the battery cycle counts 0!
loving the bastard