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Mr. Specialist

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 11, 2008
99
0
Ok. So my aunt is suppose to be buying me a Macbook Pro 17" or a Mac Pro, whichever I want, for Christmas!! But however I am stuck in this little dilemma. My family goes on vacation every year, and if I get the Mac Pro, I can't take it on with me. And then I would have no computer!! But if I get the Macbook Pro, I can take it with me, but the only thing is, I have TONS of music, videos, photos, etc. and I'm really tired of buying external hard drives. Plus the second drive of the Mac Pro could come in handy. Plus my aunt said this is the last expensive thing that she is buying me and it has to last me through college! :eek:

So what do I do?
 
How many years before college?

If you will be going to college within the next year or two, I'd deal with external hard drives and get the MBP. Thus, you can take it with you to school.

The Mac Pro is a very nice machine, but the ultimate question for you is portability.

Define "tons". You can get a single 2TB desktop drive these days or a nice NAS solution that just connects to the network (which is what I would do).
 
Portability is always nice in college. Your choice

portability is always nice.

in addition you can update the HD in the MBP every year with a larger version. now it's 500GB.

get a external 2TB and you should be fine. if not you collect way to much stuff.

get the mbp, it's a much better choice unless you are a video pro and you already have a notebook. i would even suggest a 15" MBP + external screen.
 
All I can think of is all that pr0n I can transcode on the Mac Pro to view on my iPod. :p

Seriously unless you are planning to buy a desktop and laptop, just get the MacBook Pro and a nice monitor.

For your external issue… I carry 2TBs of external HDDs with me at all times and I leave about 14TB back home. :p
 
Thanks guys ;) I will be going into 10th Grade this September. And a 1TB External Hardrive should be just fine! Do you guys think I should get a 15" + an Apple Cinema Display? or is the 17" fine?
 
Thanks guys ;) I will be going into 10th Grade this September. And a 1TB External Hardrive should be just fine! Do you guys think I should get a 15" + an Apple Cinema Display? or is the 17" fine?

10th grade?

Jeezus. I think all your need is an iMac, but if you insist the 15" with a Dell 2008WFP.
 
Thanks guys ;) I will be going into 10th Grade this September. And a 1TB External Hardrive should be just fine! Do you guys think I should get a 15" + an Apple Cinema Display? or is the 17" fine?

I would get 15" and external display.
 
Well if you saw all my abilities, and knew all my talents, you wouldn't say that ;) I'm not the average teen :rolleyes:

Please enlighten us with your abilities and talents so we may better assist you in your pursuit for the ultimate Macintosh computer for an adolescent.
 
Well if you saw all my abilities, and knew all my talents, you wouldn't say that ;) I'm not the average teen :rolleyes:

i'd say 15" maxed out, external screen (if you need artistic stuff or photography quality go with apples screen). a 2 TB external and the option to upgrade your internal HD in 1 year.

btw: what makes you above "average"?
 
MBP can have the optical drive removed and put in another drive, via after market solution, so you can have 1tb internal storage (2x 500gb) at this time.

Well if you saw all my abilities, and knew all my talents, you wouldn't say that ;) I'm not the average teen :rolleyes:

They you would pay for it yourself, and you would get both, and perhaps have your butler to carry the Mac Pro when you are on vacation.
 
I code. I do photography. I also fix computers. I also do different projects like artwork, cards, etc. I make videos. I help people fix basically any electronic device. Without computers, technology, and electonics, my life would be nothing. Most people call me a geek, but oh well idc. And I'm going for a major computer engineering when I go to college. Plus I get good grades :rolleyes:

MBP can have the optical drive removed and put in another drive, via after market solution, so you can have 1tb internal storage (2x 500gb) at this time.



They you would pay for it yourself, and you would get both, and perhaps have your butler to carry the Mac Pro when you are on vacation.

Hey don't be smart!! I wasn't trying to be stuck up or anything.
 
I code. I do photography. I also fix computers. I also do different projects like artwork, cards, etc. I make videos. I help people fix basically any electronic device. Without computers, technology, and electonics, my life would be nothing. Most people call me a geek, but oh well idc. And I'm going for a major computer engineering when I go to college. Plus I get good grades :rolleyes:

well as long as you don't forget to live and have friends and go out and party it's fine.

i know what i'm talking about. no, I'm not that smart but my GF is. She is smart and successful way beyond average and she was way beyond as a student. She regrets now that she didn't enjoy life enough.
 
I code. I do photography. I also fix computers. I also do different projects like artwork, cards, etc. I make videos. I help people fix basically any electronic device. Without computers, technology, and electonics, my life would be nothing. Most people call me a geek, but oh well idc. And I'm going for a major computer engineering when I go to college. Plus I get good grades :rolleyes:

Oh well that sounds like what I did through high school; got along with a Thinkpad just fine thanks very much. ;)

Anyways that 15" should be enough; for photography that glossy ACD isn't such a great choice.
 
well as long as you don't forget to live and have friends and go out and party it's fine.

i know what i'm talking about. no, I'm not that smart but my GF is. She is smart and successful way beyond average and she was way beyond as a student. She regrets now that she didn't enjoy life enough.

Don't worry I will definitely enjoy life as a teen ;)
 
You are very lucky. I had to buy my MBP with the money I earned from working all summer between my Junior and Senior years of high school.

I also recommend the 15" + ACD. Buy an aftermarket 500GB 2.5" laptop HDD (goes around $90) and replace the one that comes with your MBP. If you are as good at fixing computers as you say you are, this should be no big deal for you.
You can then buy another aftermarket 500GB laptop HDD and get a firewire 800 bus-powered enclosure for a combined 1TB of drive space (enclosures go for around $20-$40). You could double the space buy using a 3.5" drive as an external, but it would require external power.

If I were you, I would actually go for the Mac Pro. The Mac Pro is a very durable machine and lasts a long time. Then, before you go to college, use your graduation money or whatever to buy a 13" MBP. Don't cut yourself short because you want a computer for a short holiday trip.
 
Get the Mac Pro as the machine to last through the next 6 years, and a cheap laptop for taking notes in class and during study groups.
 
I would get the mac pro. I have never had a notebook last 6 years. Save you money and right before you go to college get a cheap net book for taking notes in class.
 
well as long as you don't forget to live and have friends and go out and party it's fine.

He codes, does photography, and fixes computers. All while maintaining excellent grades. He's in the 10th grade meaning he's probably 15. I'd be lieing if I claimed that I wasn't jealous, but I doubt he has much time to "have friends and go out and party".
 
He codes, does photography, and fixes computers. All while maintaining excellent grades. He's in the 10th grade meaning he's probably 15. I'd be lieing if I claimed that I wasn't jealous, but I doubt he has much time to "have friends and go out and party".

Trust me, I do. :rolleyes: It's all about scheduling and making plans for yourself. :cool:
 
Seriously, mate, the most astonishing thing about you has to be your modesty. With all that smartness, I think you're being too modest.

You code? What do you code, exactly? "Hello, World!"?

You do photography? Oh... well... I have friends who are 11 and work some awesome things in Photoshop.

Fix computers? Yeah, well, it's not that hard to reinstall your aunt's Windows and go around saying you're awesomely smart.

Also, how come someone like you, how deals with a lot of computers and fixing, even coding (driver coding, I'd say), has such a hard time deciding over a machine, and needs the help of some averages, less than mortals?

No offense meant, but someone who is really smart would never go around saying it all over the place. I know the feeling. When I knew <html><head><title> I was astonished by how much I knew. After digging a little deeper, I found out about CSS, standards, and so on. I was feeling rather... retarded, and I burst into laughter. You look exactly like those guys who appear on MTV while having orgasm, going around and b**ching about how cool they are.

And in order to stay on topic, it's entirely up to you. Unless you've got three additional hands and 3 additional brains, it's hard for me to believe you code, fix computers, do photography, talk over the phone with two people, ALL AT ONCE, so any machine, even an iMac, would do just fine for all your tasks. Upgrade it to 1TB of HD space, and buy yourself external HDDs as you fill the others.
 
Buy a top-of-the-line refurbished 15" with the expresscard slot. Put a 48 GB EC34/SSD in there and boot from it. Drop a 500GB drive in place of the HDD, and another one in an Optibay.

1TB internal storage + super-speedy SSD for booting and programs.
 
I would get the macbook pro and a dell display, they are cheaper and same quality with more ports etc.

As for where this thread has wandered off too, im 19 and have been fixing my family/friends computers since i was 13, i coded my own website at 16, have been making home movies when i was 17, and recently im diggin photography.. alot.

I wouldn't say your special, most people on macrumors all are technology orientated. Just be glad that your aunt is cool.
 
I code. I do photography. I also fix computers. I also do different projects like artwork, cards, etc. I make videos. I help people fix basically any electronic device. Without computers, technology, and electonics, my life would be nothing. Most people call me a geek, but oh well idc. And I'm going for a major computer engineering when I go to college. Plus I get good grades :rolleyes:



Hey don't be smart!! I wasn't trying to be stuck up or anything.

Remember, you're not the only teen out there that codes, does photography, and fix computers. I'm one of those teens as well. :D

But even for serious photographers, a MacBook Pro is good enough. I have one and I know.
 
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