Help me find a new notebook

The mid-2012/early-2013 rMBPs have upgrade kits available from OWC or Transcend.

The late-2013/mid-2014 rMBPs have proprietary non-M.2 PCIe SSDs, no upgrade kits are available yet.

The best place to start would be the Apple refurb store.

I got bummed by Radeongate too, but I sent it off for a reball with leaded solder and had the thermal paste reapplied on both the CPU and GPU. Now it's running smoothly again.

 

What is your max budget? Are you in the U.S.? What does your workflow look like, or what specs are you hoping to land?

 

I can completely understand your frustration. The only Mac that would allow you to put your 2.5 in it would be a non-retina, mid 2012 13 inch. The display quality is okay but the resolution is 1280x800. It is heavier than the newer models but it does allow for user upgrades with ram and hard drive.

I wouldn't recommend it simply because its processor and such are already 2 years old. The Air display isn't bad, it just isn't near as good as retina. Below are a couple of links I would check out if I were you. Your best value would be the 2013 rMBP 8/256 model for 1189. If you need to keep it under a grand, check out the Air.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-pro-24ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

 

Believe it or not, the fix only cost me US$ 85 in Malaysia (I was based there before moving to Melbourne).

Upgrade kits for the rMBPs are blade-shaped SSDs.

 

I used to only use 15" machines but I've been on the 13" models for 3 years now and my shoulder thanks me daily. Unless the dedicated GPU is essential, the grunt supplied by most modern CPU's is surprisingly sufficient. You might be pleasantly surprised

 

Some would say yes but I say it's a decent option. If you aren't used to retina, you won't miss it. BB does have it on sale for 999 this week. Also, you need to get the 100 off student discount and or the movers coupon.

Not sure if you have an edu email address but if you do, you will get an additional 100 off. Also, you can use a 10 percent off coupon at best buy on Mac's. They can be gotten through your local post offices change of address packet, or on ebay.

If you don't have the edu email, you can still use the 10 percent off coupon which would essentially save you another 100 making it 899 before tax. I have an extra 10 percent off code. If you need it, pm me and i'll give it to you.

 

As far as stacking, it really depends on the store. For the edu, go to the link below and put your email in. It will send you a link to click on that populates an online use code and a bar code. If purchasing in store, either print out the bar code or just pull it up on your phone when you go in. They scan it right after they scan the Mac, and it takes 100 off.

I have successfully stacked the movers coupon on top of the student discount twice before. I tried to do it a 3rd time, and the associate said I could only use one or the other. As far as I know, their system will still accept both coupons if the associate is willing to scan them. If I were you, I would go ahead and get a movers coupon and give it a shot. The worst that can happen is they won't let you stack them and in that case you are still getting it for 899 which is a deal. If the stack works, you would get it for 809 which is even better

The stack will not work online, I tried it that way in hopes of an in store pickup and it only accepts one or the other online.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Global/College-Student-Deals/pcmcat276200050000.c?id=pcmcat276200050000

 

No video card in the 13

The 13 has integrated graphics only, and that 15 will be either 1012 with 650M or the 2013 with integrated Iris pro. Neither has been shown to have any graphics card issues as of yet, however it is only 2 years since the rMBP came out so they may develop on the 650M, intels integrated graphics are no more likely to fail than any other CPU.

 

If you don't need the extra power of the 15, I'd save some money and back strain and get the 13. With the integrated graphics, you won't have to worry about any issues down the road.

 

If your budget is tight, and your current machine is sufficient, ask about a "flat rate" repair.

http://nwsinglespeed.hubpages.com/hub/Do-You-Know-About-Apples-Flat-Rate-Repair-Pricing

 

I'd go for the newer spec

Well the new spec has better graphics, AC wif,i haswell processors, better SSD, better battery life and that lovely retina display, I'd go for that.

You are already worried about losing a bit of power and this latest version is a fair bit better than the cMBP which si getting towards three years out of date component wise.

 

Enjoy your new computer

Enjoy it I love mine.

 

While it has a smaller screen size, with scaling on the retina display, you can keep it at 1440x900 like the 15" cmbp.

 

This is why you always get Apple Care.

Though I highly recommend the MBA, it's great.