Help choosing MacBook Pro PLEASE!

[fredericroumi]

So here goes, I've always used PCs and always wanted to switch to Mac but never had the guts to take the leap. Recently a friend of mine gave me his 2011 MBP and I started using it casually for random useless stuff and kinda started getting used to it and liking it.

The more I did on it the more I felt the "slowness" of it and I got to a point where it really wasn't good enough for my needs, so I returned it to my friend.

Given my needs and existing ecosystem (2 iPhones, Apple Watch S2, iPad Pro 12.9, iPad Mini 2, 2 Apple TV 4s and 2 Apple TV 3s), the natural thing to do is get myself a new MacBook Pro.

Started looking into it on the Apple website and honestly I'm lost! Too much choice is making my head spin and I can't seem to decide, so I came here for a little help/guidance. Here is a basic rundown of my needs :

What I do:
- A lot of Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
- A lot of file management (scanning, sorting and organizing files of all sorts - sometimes large files);
- Some picture/video editing, probably going to increase with time.

What I want/need:
- A high performing machine (I'm not patient hahaha);
- A computer that will last (and keep its level of performance) for at least a few years;
- Bonus points for something that will "keep" its value;
- Screen size is no issue as I use it mostly at home and will be plugging it to my 32-inch monitor (HDMI) - so 13-inch is good enough;
- Will be using a wireless keyboard (USB dongle) + Magic Mouse
- Don't mind the storage size as I have a 4TB external drive that's (almost) permanently plugged into my laptop.

In terms of budget, I am willing to spend upwards of 3k if all of the above are met, but at the same time I don't want to spend unnecessarily.

So that said, what do you recommend??

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

[LiveM]

2012 Mac Mini.

If you really want a MacBook Pro, I would get a 256 or 512 GB model with 16GB RAM and get the highest model you can afford as it will be rare and easier to sell in the future, while remaining more capable for longer.

 

[New_Mac_Smell]

Honestly a Mac mini is not a bad idea, serves all your needs and is cost efficient. You say you'll use it at home plugged into a 32" monitor with a 4TB HDD attached, so why spend the money on a portable?

I don't know why you feel you need to spend up to 3k on a computer to do Microsoft Office work, the base model Air will be more than fast enough for you. For an upgrade grab the nTB 13" model. Or just get a Mac mini or iMac.

In terms of holding it's value, it's a computer, it's a piece of technology. It's not a rare exotic car, but a mass produced bit of metal. Everything depreciates, buy the computer to use and enjoy it. Not to keep it in a showcase and hopefully sell it in a few years for anything meaningful.

 

[ZapNZs]

The base-model MacBook Pro 13 without the touch bar should work great for your needs, as will a base model 2015 MacBook Pro 13-inch (as you can find these for dirt cheap). As the base model of both now have 128 GB SSDs, upgrading to 256 or 512 GB is definitely worth the extra money in most cases IMO.

However, if you do not mind external storage as you noted, Apple had the 2015 MBP 13's with 2.7 i5, 8GB RAM, and 128 GB SSDs on their refurb site for $929 - that's a lot of Apple for the apples.

 

[Ries]

Get the 2011 model back and install a 256GB SSD and 16GB RAM (don't invest too much if it has a dGPU, it could drop dead any time by gpu failure). That's like $200.

 

[snaky69]

So here goes, I've always used PCs and always wanted to switch to Mac but never had the guts to take the leap. Recently a friend of mine gave me his 2011 MBP and I started using it casually for random useless stuff and kinda started getting used to it and liking it.

The more I did on it the more I felt the "slowness" of it and I got to a point where it really wasn't good enough for my needs, so I returned it to my friend.

Given my needs and existing ecosystem (2 iPhones, Apple Watch S2, iPad Pro 12.9, iPad Mini 2, 2 Apple TV 4s and 2 Apple TV 3s), the natural thing to do is get myself a new MacBook Pro.

Started looking into it on the Apple website and honestly I'm lost! Too much choice is making my head spin and I can't seem to decide, so I came here for a little help/guidance. Here is a basic rundown of my needs :

What I do:
- A lot of Word, Excel and PowerPoint;
- A lot of file management (scanning, sorting and organizing files of all sorts - sometimes large files);
- Some picture/video editing, probably going to increase with time.

What I want/need:
- A high performing machine (I'm not patient hahaha);
- A computer that will last (and keep its level of performance) for at least a few years;
- Bonus points for something that will "keep" its value;
- Screen size is no issue as I use it mostly at home and will be plugging it to my 32-inch monitor (HDMI) - so 13-inch is good enough;
- Will be using a wireless keyboard (USB dongle) + Magic Mouse
- Don't mind the storage size as I have a 4TB external drive that's (almost) permanently plugged into my laptop.

In terms of budget, I am willing to spend upwards of 3k if all of the above are met, but at the same time I don't want to spend unnecessarily.

So that said, what do you recommend??

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

As far as computing power, an iPad would suffice.

Buy any computer from Apple's lineup if you're dead set on using an Apple product, they'll all serve quite well.

 

[LiveM]

I would say with caveat that a hard disk drive should be avoided, as they are dog slow (5400rpm) and even the fusion drives offer very little SSD space.

 

[Adamantoise]

Honestly a Mac mini is not a bad idea, serves all your needs and is cost efficient. You say you'll use it at home plugged into a 32" monitor with a 4TB HDD attached, so why spend the money on a portable?

I don't know why you feel you need to spend up to 3k on a computer to do Microsoft Office work, the base model Air will be more than fast enough for you. For an upgrade grab the nTB 13" model. Or just get a Mac mini or iMac.

In terms of holding it's value, it's a computer, it's a piece of technology. It's not a rare exotic car, but a mass produced bit of metal. Everything depreciates, buy the computer to use and enjoy it. Not to keep it in a showcase and hopefully sell it in a few years for anything meaningful.

Are you guys are just being intentionally daft to get a rise out of OP or something?

When he says it'll be plugged into a monitor, it's pretty obvious that he's describing how it will be used while he's doing the aforementioned Word/Excel/Photo editing etc.

He's asked for a Macbook Pro because it goes without saying that portability (maybe browsing on a couch or taking it with him on trips) is important to him.

 

[LiveM]

No, because he said his interest was based on his expressed needs, as well as the fact that he has two iPads (and, as Jobs said when introducing the first iPad, it has no reason to exist if it doesn't offer a superior email, video and browser experience to a MacBook). The Mac Mini is also very portable.

Given my needs and existing ecosystem (2 iPhones, Apple Watch S2, iPad Pro 12.9, iPad Mini 2, 2 Apple TV 4s and 2 Apple TV 3s), the natural thing to do is get myself a new MacBook Pro.