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Is it worth the extra money for a better MacBook?

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DreamCatcher135

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
4
0
Im starting University in september to study Graphic Design. The whole Graphics department currently uses Mac's and the whole industry in general seems to use them! So im converting from my PC to a Mac.

I was thinking of getting a MacBook Pro. But the 15" one comes with two options. For what i will be using it for (lots of graphic design work) is it worth getting the higher specification one for the extra £400 it costs me? Or would the cheaper one do the job just fine?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks.
 
Is it more the difference between the two different spec's of MacBook Pro's im looking at. Pretty much decided it will be a MacBook Pro and not just a MacBook.
 
Get the base macbook pro. The "higher-end" one is a waste of whatever extra euros/pounds you'd need to spend on it. It'll offer basically no noticeable advantage that'll you'll be able to see or feel compared to the base model.
 
DreamCatcher135 said:
Is it more the difference between the two different spec's of MacBook Pro's im looking at. Pretty much decided it will be a MacBook Pro and not just a MacBook.
Click to expand...

I'd get the 2.66GHz one if I were you because I'd want to future proof it for the next three years at university. I think you'd benefit from the bigger hard drive and more memory as well.

Don't buy it now though (unless you absolutely need it now), because Apple brings out a back to school offer around late August/early September which you get a free ipod with any Mac laptop!

Also... when you want to buy it I'd recommend you call up the online Apple store as theyre really nice and you can get AppleCare for £59! (I'd recommend it).
Also because your going for the MacBook Pro you get 15% student discount (they don't ask for any proof, just the name of your uni so you could get it earlier if you want as well!).
 
I went into an Apple store today and spoke to them, and they said what most of you have said here. Get the cheaper one, then upgrade the RAM if needed. But the other thing he said when i asked about the 'Back to School' offer, is that is not actually a free Ipod? He said you have to buy it then collect the money back in a rebate?

Does anyone know if this is correct or if he was trying to get me to buy it straight away? A rebate sounds hassle, and for the £107 i would save i could get it 3 months earlier... What a decision to make! I want it as soon as poss really! My current laptop is rubbish! Haha.
 
I was in this dilemma in 2007 when I got my Macbook Pro. I ended up going for the base model (2.2ghz over 2.4ghz) and I'm really glad I did. The difference in speed between the two is fairly minimal and not noticeable in my opinion, and is definitely not worth the £400 extra. I just upgraded the ram in mine from 2gb to 4gb and its given it quite a speed boost, more so than an extra 0.2ghz would give I'm quite sure. Also, as someone posted earlier, it is definitely worth giving apple a ring to sort out a deal! They allowed me to have the student discount while I started at sixth form, instead of having to wait until university
signature_apple2.jpg
 
DreamCatcher135 said:
I went into an Apple store today and spoke to them, and they said what most of you have said here. Get the cheaper one, then upgrade the RAM if needed. But the other thing he said when i asked about the 'Back to School' offer, is that is not actually a free Ipod? He said you have to buy it then collect the money back in a rebate?

Does anyone know if this is correct or if he was trying to get me to buy it straight away? A rebate sounds hassle, and for the £107 i would save i could get it 3 months earlier... What a decision to make! I want it as soon as poss really! My current laptop is rubbish! Haha.
Click to expand...

I see what they're saying as you can upgrade the RAM yourself, but I recommended the 2.66GHz because of the hard drive as your doing Graphic Design (but you can upgrade that yourself as well if you need to).

If it's a rebate offer then I'd get it now (rebates are too much hassle IMO)... just call up and say your a uni student :p
 
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