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Is 4GB MacBook Pro sufficient for college?

I think if you're just doing office apps, then 4GB is fine. Since we don't know what the future holds and apps (and operating systems) get more bloated and resource hungry, you can make a case for 8GB even if its just for peace of mind.

With that said, I think 4gb for the stated usage will be fine.
 
I didn't switch to Mavericks as it would break too much compatibility and usability, so of course my mileage may vary. However one can not consider a browser to be an "office" app. When I keep them closed, even 4GB would be more than enough.

Even if it's just enough for now, college lasts 2 to 4 years, and I assume the machine should last at least as much.
 
Spend a little extra and get the model with 8gb of ram and 256gb of storage. Around here it's considered the best laptop you can get for the price. I bought mine in October for undergrad to replace an aging 2009 MBP. It certainly does the job of running Chrome, Word, and iTunes :). I like to store my files locally and on an external, so I needed the extra storage space.

Some advice: buy AppleCare! You never know what will happen between now and graduation. If you buy through Apple's education store, it's discounted. You end up paying about full price, but your warranty is two years longer.

You could also consider the MacBook Air. It's a slightly slower processor and not a retina display, but it can be a very good laptop for students.
 
Meister said:
this comment is weird in various ways.
Click to expand...

Can you tell me why my grammar is weird? Is that because I am black, deaf-dumb, legally blind, and mental retard with awful english grammars? So you think I don't belong to MacRumors? You could be right MacRumors is for people who write/type the best english grammars so their comments will not be called weird. :apple:
 
Badrottie said:
Can you tell me why my grammar is weird? Is that because I am black, deaf-dumb, legally blind, and mental retard with awful english grammars? So you think I don't belong to MacRumors? You could be right MacRumors is for people who write/type the best english grammars so their comments will not be called weird. :apple:
Click to expand...
this comment is even weirder in various ways.
 
My friend started out doing complex graphic renderings on 4gb laptops with integrated graphics. He tells me that 4gb is usually enough but its always good to have the headroom with 8. Of course now he does complex renderings as his job and builds custom desktops and still says that 8 is plenty for most things.
 
gtanner00 said:
My friend started out doing complex graphic renderings on 4gb laptops with integrated graphics. He tells me that 4gb is usually enough but its always good to have the headroom with 8. Of course now he does complex renderings as his job and builds custom desktops and still says that 8 is plenty for most things.
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If he opens only one app at a time, sure. That's just not typical.
 
Cubytus said:
4GB however isn't nearly enough for modern applications. Word open plus tens of tabs in a browser will gobble that up in no time.
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Last weekend I upgraded an old MPR for a friend because it has become so slow. It's a 2009 13" model and by simply throwing out the old 5400 HDD (250GB!) and replaced it with a Samsumg 840 EVO, the machine works perfectly fine again and opens all apps without troubles - and it has only 2 GB of RAM!
(originally we also wanted to upgrade the RAM but out of curiosity tried first with the existing configuration and for the moment my friends keeps it as it is because the RAM in conjunction with the SSD is sufficient!)

So much about the 'need' for 8GB....

I am still impressed with the Apple guys though. Not making the RAM user changeable was a genius decision. I wonder if they keep statistics how much users nowadays overspec their Mac's to 'futureproof' them and what their extra profit is... (given that they charge more than twice of what normal RAM would cost)
 
MarvinHC said:
I wonder if they keep statistics how much users nowadays overspec their Mac's to 'futureproof' them and what their extra profit is... (given that they charge more than twice of what normal RAM would cost)
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This is exactly what they do. Users who need no more than 4, or in some cases 8 gigs of ram are ordering these 16gb machines to feel they get their money's worth when in reality they've spent twice as much as they should have on the machine.

Not that there aren't certain users who need powerhouse performance, but most people go with overkill. Meister said it best in one of his posts when he said "4gb of ram is enough for 99 percent of users."
 
MarvinHC said:
Last weekend I upgraded an old MPR for a friend because it has become so slow. It's a 2009 13" model and by simply throwing out the old 5400 HDD (250GB!) and replaced it with a Samsumg 840 EVO, the machine works perfectly fine again and opens all apps without troubles - and it has only 2 GB of RAM!
(originally we also wanted to upgrade the RAM but out of curiosity tried first with the existing configuration and for the moment my friends keeps it as it is because the RAM in conjunction with the SSD is sufficient!)

So much about the 'need' for 8GB....
Click to expand...
True is that swapping on an SSD is much less painful than on a mechanical drive. But RAM compression can only do so much.

I do run a MB with only 4GB but with an SSD, and it feels rather fast, and of course it can't run Mavericks.
 
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