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is macbook pro 13' a poor buy at this time

B

boateng

macrumors 6502
Original poster
I was looking to buy a macbook pro 13 for college but i was a reading a forum and came across this....

the current MBP 13" is a poor buy is because it's vastly overpriced considering it has a bog standard resolution display (which has a LOT of glare), a slow 5400 RPM hard disk and it doesn't represent a good enough improvement over the 2011 model. I expect sales of this model to shoot down rapidly once the Retina is released.


is it true?
 
It's true of you believe it.

The 2012 has better, faster components.

HD4000 vs HD3000
USB3 vs USB2
Ivy Bridge vs Sandy Bridge
1600MHz ram vs 1333MHz

Even the 15" models have slow 5400rpm drives. Add a SSD to it and it will scream.
 
Lol, the way you ask its more like a statement than a question.

Value is a matter of opinion.

My personal opinion is that the macbook air is a better deal than the macbook pro 13" model because...

1. SSD > HDD
2. Higher resolution
3. More portable

The only benefit your getting with the macbook pro 13" is upgradeability and a built in dvd drive. But an external drive is relatively cheap and the App store, macbook air and retina mbp proves that Apple is moving away from disk drives anyway.
 
It won't shoot down because of the functionality and price point. Still remains a very popular computer for first time mac users and college students.
 
macguy360 said:
Lol, the way you ask its more like a statement than a question.

Value is a matter of opinion.

My personal opinion is that the macbook air is a better deal than the macbook pro 13" model because...

1. SSD > HDD
2. Higher resolution
3. More portable

The only benefit your getting with the macbook pro 13" is upgradeability and a built in dvd drive. But an external drive is relatively cheap and the App store, macbook air and retina mbp proves that Apple is moving away from disk drives anyway.
Click to expand...

If you have no desire to upgrade to an SSD and more RAM in the 13" MBP, then yes its a better deal.

The color gamut and viewing angles are better on the MBP than the Air even though the Air has a higher resolution.

I really do hate the resolution on the 13" MBPs though...
 
If the 13" will be a poor buy when the 13" retina comes out - what does that make a the 15" non retina now.... ?

I have a 13" 2009 as well as a RMBP - and am glad I went for the bigger screen than wait for a 13". I think if I wanted a 13" I would go for the Air.
 
Orlandoech.com said:
If you have no desire to upgrade to an SSD and more RAM in the 13" MBP, then yes its a better deal.

The color gamut and viewing angles are better on the MBP than the Air even though the Air has a higher resolution.

I really do hate the resolution on the 13" MBPs though...
Click to expand...

The thing is i dont like the air.

It is too thing and i prefer a laptop rather than a on the go thing which the air is. I plan to upgrade my ram

Is the screen resolution that bad on the mac book pro>

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rockyroad55 said:
It won't shoot down because of the functionality and price point. Still remains a very popular computer for first time mac users and college students.
Click to expand...

Hmmm this will be my 1st mac

I am just cautious as this will cost me £860. I have saved for ages so i want to make certain that i am making the right choice.
 
boateng said:
The thing is i dont like the air.

It is too thing and i prefer a laptop rather than a on the go thing which the air is. I plan to upgrade my ram

Is the screen resolution that bad on the mac book pro>

----------



Hmmm this will be my 1st mac

I am just cautious as this will cost me £860. I have saved for ages so i want to make certain that i am making the right choice.
Click to expand...

It's not that bad. If you don't like it, return it.
 
I've been back and fourth on this issue too. The only thing really keeping me from buying a new 13" MBP is the screen resolution. It's certainly usable, but it does feel a bit cramped to me. It also feels dated, with many comparable PC laptops that have higher screen resolutions, and I've been using a MacBook with this same resolution for 6 years now. What I don't really like about the MBA is the small sized SSD. Another option is to get an external monitor with the MBP.

I've recently realized that a used 2011 15" MBP can be bought for around the same price as a new 13" MBP or MBA (around $1200 USD). If you don't mind a 15" and buying used, you should consider this too. You'll have a higher resolution screen, and overall it is much more powerful with a quad-core i7 and discrete graphics card. For the same price, it sounds like a better buy, as long as you don't mind the extra size and weight.
 
dreamsINdigital said:
I've been back and fourth on this issue too. The only thing really keeping me from buying a new 13" MBP is the screen resolution. It's certainly usable, but it does feel a bit cramped to me. It also feels dated, with many comparable PC laptops that have higher screen resolutions, and I've been using a MacBook with this same resolution for 6 years now. What I don't really like about the MBA is the small sized SSD. Another option is to get an external monitor with the MBP.

I've recently realized that a used 2011 15" MBP can be bought for around the same price as a new 13" MBP or MBA (around $1200 USD). If you don't mind a 15" and buying used, you should consider this too. You'll have a higher resolution screen, and overall it is much more powerful with a quad-core i7 and discrete graphics card. For the same price, it sounds like a better buy, as long as you don't mind the extra size and weight.
Click to expand...

The thing is i don't need an i7.

I don't do any graphics work or music production. It's just to keep me going during college for word documents, listening to music, and that sort of stuff really. It seems mad spending over 1k on a laptop where i won't most of its features. The only thing i will do is upgrade to 8gb ram if i was to get the 13' macbook pro.
Also the 15' may be a bit too big to carry around.

That said it has got me thinking about the screen resolution!😱
 
sammyvine said:
The thing is i don't need an i7.

I don't do any graphics work or music production. It's just to keep me going during college for word documents, listening to music, and that sort of stuff really. It seems mad spending over 1k on a laptop where i won't most of its features. The only thing i will do is upgrade to 8gb ram if i was to get the 13' macbook pro.
Also the 15' may be a bit too big to carry around.

That said it has got me thinking about the screen resolution!😱
Click to expand...

If thats the case, the base 13" is plenty dude.
 
In my opinion, the base model 13 MBP is a poor buy: for the same price you can get a MacBook Air with a SSD in it. The high-end 13 is totally different though: you get a much faster processor, more memory by default, and you can install a fast SSD while keeping the 750GB hard drive for media, storage etc, all for a price lower than the slower high-end MacBook Air.
dreamsINdigital said:
I've recently realized that a used 2011 15" MBP can be bought for around the same price as a new 13" MBP or MBA (around $1200 USD). If you don't mind a 15" and buying used, you should consider this too. You'll have a higher resolution screen, and overall it is much more powerful with a quad-core i7 and discrete graphics card. For the same price, it sounds like a better buy, as long as you don't mind the extra size and weight.
Click to expand...
That is what I am about to buy at first, but later I realized that it does not have USB 3.0 which is a deal breaker for me (USB 3.0 is slightly faster than FW800, and it is much less expensive than FW800 or Thunderbolt).

----------
Orlandoech.com said:
If thats the case, the base 13" is plenty dude.
Click to expand...
The MacBook Air will be even better for you. You can configure 8GB of RAM on the MacBook Air, and it has got higher screen-res as well.
 
maxwelltech said:
In my opinion, the base model 13 MBP is a poor buy: for the same price you can get a MacBook Air with a SSD in it. The high-end 13 is totally different though: you get a much faster processor, more memory by default, and you can install a fast SSD while keeping the 750GB hard drive for media, storage etc, all for a price lower than the slower high-end MacBook Air.
That is what I am about to buy at first, but later I realized that it does not have USB 3.0 which is a deal breaker for me (USB 3.0 is slightly faster than FW800, and it is much less expensive than FW800 or Thunderbolt).

----------

 The MacBook Air will be even better for you. You can configure 8GB of RAM on the MacBook Air, and it has got higher screen-res as well.
Click to expand...

True but for more money.
 
sammyvine said:
The thing is i don't need an i7.

I don't do any graphics work or music production. It's just to keep me going during college for word documents, listening to music, and that sort of stuff really. It seems mad spending over 1k on a laptop where i won't most of its features. The only thing i will do is upgrade to 8gb ram if i was to get the 13' macbook pro.
Also the 15' may be a bit too big to carry around.

That said it has got me thinking about the screen resolution!😱
Click to expand...

If those are all your needs, then the 13" MBP will be fine.

For word processing and similar "Office" tasks, you'll rarely notice the difference between a 1280 pixel wide screen and a 1440 pixel wide screen.

I recently bought a new 13" MBP, my previous Mac was a late-2007 15" MBP (that had a 1440 pixel screen) I really haven't had any issues getting used to the smaller screen, for office use and iTunes, it's fine.

The other thing of course is that an MBP comes by default with a 500GB hard disk. The same-price MBA has a much smaller SSD. That might be relevant if you have a large music/films library (as having all your library on the internal hard disk means you can take it with you without messing around with external hard drives).
 
maxwelltech said:
In my opinion, the base model 13 MBP is a poor buy: for the same price you can get a MacBook Air with a SSD in it. The high-end 13 is totally different though: you get a much faster processor, more memory by default, and you can install a fast SSD while keeping the 750GB hard drive for media, storage etc, all for a price lower than the slower high-end MacBook Air.
That is what I am about to buy at first, but later I realized that it does not have USB 3.0 which is a deal breaker for me (USB 3.0 is slightly faster than FW800, and it is much less expensive than FW800 or Thunderbolt).

----------

 The MacBook Air will be even better for you. You can configure 8GB of RAM on the MacBook Air, and it has got higher screen-res as well.
Click to expand...

Whats an ssd?
Can't you put one on a macbook pro 13?
 
chriscl said:
If those are all your needs, then the 13" MBP will be fine.

For word processing and similar "Office" tasks, you'll rarely notice the difference between a 1280 pixel wide screen and a 1440 pixel wide screen.

I recently bought a new 13" MBP, my previous Mac was a late-2007 15" MBP (that had a 1440 pixel screen) I really haven't had any issues getting used to the smaller screen, for office use and iTunes, it's fine.

The other thing of course is that an MBP comes by default with a 500GB hard disk. The same-price MBA has a much smaller SSD. That might be relevant if you have a large music/films library (as having all your library on the internal hard disk means you can take it with you without messing around with external hard drives).
Click to expand...

Yeah i hope so!

Plus i am a student and dont have money to be splashing around!
 
mohsy90 said:
Google is your friend. And yes you can put one in a macbook pro.


As far as the topic goes, I personally think a 13" MBP is a bad buy. Either get the MBA or wait for the 13" retina.
Click to expand...

The macbook pro retina will be too expensive for me

I don't think i will get a macbook pro 13 now since everybody thinks its a bad buy
 
boateng said:
The macbook pro retina will be too expensive for me

I don't think i will get a macbook pro 13 now since everybody thinks its a bad buy
Click to expand...

So, what will you get? 😀. Don't take advices here literally, it all depends on your daily usage and needs...

What's your budget?
 
sofianito said:
So, what will you get? 😀. Don't take advices here literally, it all depends on your daily usage and needs...

What's your budget?
Click to expand...

Well i have saved enough for a macbook pro 13 which is £860 on educational discount.

If i wanted to get the macbook retina, i will have to buy it next year as i will have to save even more!
 
sammyvine said:
Well i have saved enough for a macbook pro 13 which is £860 on educational discount.

If i wanted to get the macbook retina, i will have to buy it next year as i will have to save even more!
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you won't be able to get the 13" retina...

You can only get actual 13" MBP or MBA... It is worth to check out the refurbished section too.
 
I have read that the MacBook air is an Ipad with keyboard; so, don't belive everything you read, buy whatever you need and enjoy.

All the MacBooks are excellent, and you can choose from many options.
 
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