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help me select a my first MBP

M

meaty

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2011
107
25
Hey guys i need some help picking out a Macbook pro. Im a graphic design student so ill be using Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator extensively and i also like to do some video editing which will probably be done in adobe premier or final cut pro. and im not going to be using it for videogames. the reason i need help is because i dont have enough knowledge in computers. moneys not really an issue, its more of my patience in saving up haha.

what i was considering:
13in 2.7 dual-core i7
15in 2.0 quad-core i7
15in 2.3 quad-core i7

will there be a major difference in the graphics card for what i'll be doing? and is speed with the dual vs quad noticebly different. oh and ill probably do the ram and sdd later on when more money is saved up. thanks in advance :D
 
meaty said:
Hey guys i need some help picking out a Macbook pro. Im a graphic design student so ill be using Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator extensively and i also like to do some video editing which will probably be done in adobe premier or final cut pro. and im not going to be using it for videogames. the reason i need help is because i dont have enough knowledge in computers. moneys not really an issue, its more of my patience in saving up haha.

what i was considering:
13in 2.7 dual-core i7
15in 2.0 quad-core i7
15in 2.3 quad-core i7

will there be a major difference in the graphics card for what i'll be doing? and is speed with the dual vs quad noticebly different. oh and ill probably do the ram and sdd later on when more money is saved up. thanks in advance :D
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not to be an ******* but if money isnt an issue why not go the best? haha but a 15" does seem like a good choice. I just got a 15" a couple of months ago but dual core i7 with hyper threading. Be patient in making your decision as you only have one week return policy :mad:
 
Dave Felix said:
not to be an ******* but if money isnt an issue why not go the best? haha but a 15" does seem like a good choice. I just got a 15" a couple of months ago but dual core i7 with hyper threading. Be patient in making your decision as you only have one week return policy :mad:
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because i would like to have some leftover money to myself being a college student. if there isnt much of a difference with the 13 and 15 with what im going to be doing then i would be happy with the 13. that why i was asking people who are more tech savvy if there would be a big difference in graphic card and the quadcore in what ill be doing
 
meaty said:
thanks:confused:
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the graphics card in all three of the computers are the same... im a graphic design student, but im a freshman in highschool, i just bought the 13 inch yesterday, fully laoded with master collection and it runs great, also do some basic video editing as well, i would go 13 inch from bestbuy, with their accidental protection plan
 
If my 2009 MBP with a Nvidia 9400m can run Photoshop smoothly, then any of the ones mentioned will run it just fine. But if money is not an issue then get the one with the 1GB graphics card.
 
tsmacman said:
the graphics card in all three of the computers are the same... im a graphic design student, but im a freshman in highschool, i just bought the 13 inch yesterday, fully laoded with master collection and it runs great, also do some basic video editing as well, i would go 13 inch from bestbuy, with their accidental protection plan
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What are you talking about?

13" has Intel HD3000
Low 15" - AMD 6490M
High 15" - AMD 6750M

All of which are drastically different from one another... but good try!? Don't post information for others if you have no clue what you're talking about
 
For the kind of work you're doing screen size is also important. Spring for the hires 15". You'll probably want to get an external monitor as well.

The 13" is very nice and portable, but the screen is just too small to be your main work computer.
 
Whatever you get, make sure it has the better graphics card since you're a graphics design student. I'm sure the others will work too, just not as well. If money is no issue, go all out.
 
willieva said:
For the kind of work you're doing screen size is also important. Spring for the hires 15". You'll probably want to get an external monitor as well.

The 13" is very nice and portable, but the screen is just too small to be your main work computer.
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Second that. I would go one step ahead if you choose a 15" + hi-res ....

If you're looking into graphic design, you should consider a 17" with anti-glare. The money you'll spend on a 15" + hires could get you close to a 17" with only $45 (academic pricing) more for anti glare. This should easily last you 4-5 years in college. Good luck :D
 
thanks for all the input guys ;) i think im leaning towards the 2.2 15", its just takes patience in saving up the mulah.

One more question; If i buy it on the online store would i be able to return it to any of the apple stores if there are any defects?

anonymouse99 said:
Second that. I would go one step ahead if you choose a 15" + hi-res ....

If you're looking into graphic design, you should consider a 17" with anti-glare. The money you'll spend on a 15" + hires could get you close to a 17" with only $45 (academic pricing) more for anti glare. This should easily last you 4-5 years in college. Good luck :D
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i would consider that but i dont know if i want to lug around the 17" in my backpack. mybe ill go to the store and check it out. thanks:)
 
meaty said:
thanks for all the input guys ;) i think im leaning towards the 2.2 15", its just takes patience in saving up the mulah.

One more question; If i buy it on the online store would i be able to return it to any of the apple stores if there are any defects?



i would consider that but i dont know if i want to lug around the 17" in my backpack. mybe ill go to the store and check it out. thanks:)
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Yes, you can return it

No, you most likely don't want to lug around the 17" idk anyone who would. I sometimes hate carrying the 15 around and the 17 is HUGE! It's more of a desktop replacement that you can take somewhere IF you need to, not really designed to be brought around all the time.

And just because you are a graphics design student does NOT mean you need a high end graphics card. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc DON'T use very much of your GPU, instead you would be better off buying more RAM. If you got the base 15" with hi-res anti glare and then upgraded the RAM yourself you would save a lot of money and the computer will still last you the same ammount of time. Really the only benefit you will get from the higher end 15 graphics card is better gaming abilities...

As others have said you can install the latest creative suite on old macs (9400m and before) and they will run just fine. You would be much better off giving photoshop 8gb of ram than you ever would giving it the AMD 6750M
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
Yes, you can return it

No, you most likely don't want to lug around the 17" idk anyone who would. I sometimes hate carrying the 15 around and the 17 is HUGE! It's more of a desktop replacement that you can take somewhere IF you need to, not really designed to be brought around all the time.

And just because you are a graphics design student does NOT mean you need a high end graphics card. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc DON'T use very much of your GPU, instead you would be better off buying more RAM. If you got the base 15" with hi-res anti glare and then upgraded the RAM yourself you would save a lot of money and the computer will still last you the same ammount of time. Really the only benefit you will get from the higher end 15 graphics card is better gaming abilities...

As others have said you can install the latest creative suite on old macs (9400m and before) and they will run just fine. You would be much better off giving photoshop 8gb of ram than you ever would giving it the AMD 6750M
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this was the answer i was looking for. i dont want to spend the extra money if it will be towards something that i wouldnt need for what im going to be doing. thank you!
 
meaty said:
this was the answer i was looking for. i dont want to spend the extra money if it will be towards something that i wouldnt need for what im going to be doing. thank you!
Click to expand...

that being said. You can always upgrade your RAM and HDD down the road. You're stuck with the graphics card and processor that you choose now.
 
duncanbrodie1 said:
that being said. You can always upgrade your RAM and HDD down the road. You're stuck with the graphics card and processor that you choose now.
Click to expand...

Why is that sad? If he wouldnt use it at max potential, than it is a rational buy.Or you buy things "just to have" ? For the difference he could buy something else he needs and from what he will benefit.More ram, ssd, or something different.
 
He said "said" not "sad". What it is that he means, You can not upgrade the graphics processor. The thing is when future upgraded re-leases come out they will put more demand on the machine. That being said the question you have to ask yourself is how long do you want the machine to last. I have a 5 year old iMac that I use as a media machine hooked up to a 50" display for movies. If I didn't get the 256mb graphics card upgrade then I would have upgraded at least two years ago. That is the difference.
 
AlanFord said:
Why is that sad? If he wouldnt use it at max potential, than it is a rational buy.Or you buy things "just to have" ? For the difference he could buy something else he needs and from what he will benefit.More ram, ssd, or something different.
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Please read the post again sir.. :rolleyes:
 
Ca$hflow said:
He said "said" not "sad". What it is that he means, You can not upgrade the graphics processor. The thing is when future upgraded re-leases come out they will put more demand on the machine. That being said the question you have to ask yourself is how long do you want the machine to last. I have a 5 year old iMac that I use as a media machine hooked up to a 50" display for movies. If I didn't get the 256mb graphics card upgrade then I would have upgraded at least two years ago. That is the difference.
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Well if you read his original post he said he will not be gaming, just wants to run some photo editing software (photoshop, illustrator, etc.). He also said he might do some video editing. All of these tasks can be handled by the lower end 15" hell they could all be done on a macbook air with 4gb of ram, your video editing might just take a hit though. You guys keep recommending he spend more money to "future proof" which isn't even really possible. Newer, better macs will be released every year and he will see no benefit from upgrading to the higher end mac. I guess maybe his videos might encode 5% faster due to the extra 200mhz in the processor, but since that's not even his main goal he doesn't need to waste that much extra money on it. For his needs the money would be better spent elsewhere (ssd, ram, hi-res ag screen)

People get too caught up in the specs. You can install CS5 on the very first unibody pros and they will still run just fine, these programs don't care if you have integrated graphics for christ sakes!
 
I suppose its all subjective. For me, I could justify going for the faster processor now. And if I had similar interests as he does, I would still probably go with it.
And when we talk about "future proofing", I don't think anybody is trying to get 6 years out of their machine. Im looking to make upgrades to the ram, HDD, opti-bay etc, in the next 6 months to a year and a half. At that time I will still have an amazing machine that is at the top of the game. -provided that apple/intel doesn't make any quantum leaps. And then possibly sell it, or run it into the ground until I absolutely need a new one.
And who knows, in a year or two you might actually want to do some gaming or more demanding video editing. At least with the better out-of-the-box MBP, you have the option
 
duncanbrodie1 said:
For me, I could justify going for the faster processor now. And if I had similar interests as he does, I would still probably go with it.
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why, just to say you have it? he will see literally NO benefit from the higher end mbp for his needs!

And a macbook pro can easily last someone 6 years... it's just spec whores who see oh this is faster I must upgrade now. Not always true, as proof professionals here are running creative suite on older less capable macs, doing more intensive things than he is doing, as he will just be starting school.

Not everyone in the graphic design department goes out and buys the newest top of the line macbook pro everytime apple upgrades them. The low 15" will easily last him through his school career. Sure if he had extra money he may as well spring for the high 15, but he said he doesn't and to pay $400 for an extra 200mhz of speed is pretty rediculous (he said he won't game so the upgraded graphics are of no use... he could run on integrated all day every day and wouldn't notice the difference)
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
why, just to say you have it? he will see literally NO benefit from the higher end mbp for his needs!

And a macbook pro can easily last someone 6 years... it's just spec whores who see oh this is faster I must upgrade now. Not always true, as proof professionals here are running creative suite on older less capable macs, doing more intensive things than he is doing, as he will just be starting school.

Not everyone in the graphic design department goes out and buys the newest top of the line macbook pro everytime apple upgrades them. The low 15" will easily last him through his school career. Sure if he had extra money he may as well spring for the high 15, but he said he doesn't and to pay $400 for an extra 200mhz of speed is pretty rediculous (he said he won't game so the upgraded graphics are of no use... he could run on integrated all day every day and wouldn't notice the difference)
Click to expand...

allright, allright, settle down. This is why I said its all subjective (meaning: to each his own)
And I agree, a macbook pro should be able to last 6 years, maybe more. I don't necessarily advocate going and buying the next upgrades as soon as apple releases them (as I said in my last post; one option for me would be to keep my machine and "run it into the ground" which I hope would take at least a few years - if not then my faith in apple will be severely shaken. But we'll just have to wait until then)
All Im saying is... it only takes a couple rounds of playing Call of Duty before someone can become a full-time gamer (as scary as it is) - and I know I can't speak for him, but its always nice to have the flexibility if you can afford it.
 
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