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Laptop for University

O

OriginalNot

macrumors member
Original poster
May 20, 2010
38
0
Okay so here's the deal.
I'm in the market to get a laptop to start university. I've been looking at the MBP 13" and wonder if it will fit my needs.

-I want something I can take around from class to class and back to my dorm fairly easily.
-Needs to be quick enough to do some computer programming nothing too complex here.
-Some photo editing will need to be done
-Some light gaming aka. TF2, HalfLife, L4D2, and some WOW (Btw not a graphics fanatic here, frame rate is essential though)
-Quick and easy to use
-Short learning curve (I've been a windows person my whole life)
-Long battery life

Do you think the low end MBP 13" will fit all these needs? If not can you suggest any other laptop in a similar price range?

Anyone in university here? What do you have and would you recommend it? Why?

Edit* AppleCare Protection Plan needed or not?
 
I just bought the low end 13" 5-6 days ago for the exact same reasons you've listed and it ticks the box brilliantly for each, would definitely recommend it. Having gone from a 15" MBP to this 13" I would definitely say the 13" is much easier to carry around.
 
@themat Thanks for the advice, knowing that it can hit all those points is great

@elppa I took a quick look at those, at first galnce I notice they have all the right specs... just spread over each different model. Th ULV processor on the 13" is a deffinite no go then looking up to the 14" the battery life falls right off the map.

Thanks all for the quick replies and keep 'em coming.
 
low-end 13" is more than sufficient for your needs and will probably last you through college
 
Sanderr said:
low-end 13" is more than sufficient for your needs and will probably last you through college
Click to expand...

Now that is absolutely fantastic to hear. Buying a new computer halfway through doesn't seem to be in my budget right now -_-
 
The ONLY thing that may be on the 'iffy' side with using the 13" for what you want may be gaming. Although you did say that graphics were not overly important, in which case you can just turn down the settings a bit and I'm sure you will have no problem.

I am currently in my undergrad right now, and my base 15" mbp has been MUCH MORE than sufficient for all my needs thus far(a little over a month).
I would recommend the same model as I have, although it is a bit more pricey than the 13" models. I figured(sounds you are too) that this will last me easily through the rest of my undergrad and most if not all of grad school.

I use my computer for mainly: surfing internet, word/powerpoint/excel, light photo editing, media consuming, itunes, very light gaming(until SWTOR comes out), and also a couple fairly demanding engineering programs that I run in Windows 7 under Bootcamp.

If you can afford it, I would try out the 15". If not, I'm sure the 13" will suffice for everything you need. Hope this helps a bit, sorry for the marathon post.

Regards,
John
 
@jmdMac Your marathon post is greatly appreciated, I'll see if I have enough to squeeze my budget for the 15" but I'm most likely gonna end up with the 13".
 
OriginalNot said:
@jmdMac Your marathon post is greatly appreciated, I'll see if I have enough to squeeze my budget for the 15" but I'm most likely gonna end up with the 13".
Click to expand...

Glad I could help! Don't forget you can delay purchasing applecare for up to a year, that may help a tad with budgeting(helped me a bit).
 
OK next question would you recommend the AppleCare Protection Plan? Is it really necessary?
 
OriginalNot said:
OK next question would you recommend the AppleCare Protection Plan? Is it really necessary?
Click to expand...

Yes it is very useful, since if you ever fry your logic board (which happened to my father's 2007 MBP), it will cost you a lot of money if you don't have AC.

However, I suggest purchasing Apple Care at the end of one year from your date of purchase of your computer. The notebook already has a 1 year warranty, so this trick will fetch you 1+3 = 4 years of warranty, which is much more worth your money, also if you're going to sell it on eBay after 2 or 3 years. If you purchase AC with your MBP, its going to be just 3 years.

Set up an iCal reminder a month before your original warranty ends and get it then.
 
OriginalNot said:
OK next question would you recommend the AppleCare Protection Plan? Is it really necessary?
Click to expand...

YES! VERY RECOMMENDED! It could end up saving you lots of money and headache in the future(replacing a logic board will cost you a pretty penny). I would shop around for it though, Apple is by no means the best deal or even close to it. I actually plan on buying it from ebay before my 1 year is up, but others would say to buy somewhere else. You can try searching many old threads on this, but don't worry, you have a year to find out where to buy it ;)
 
Gorilla Power said:
Yes it is very useful, since if you ever fry your logic board (which happened to my father's 2007 MBP), it will cost you a lot of money if you don't have AC.

However, I suggest purchasing Apple Care at the end of one year from your date of purchase of your computer. The notebook already has a 1 year warranty, so this trick will fetch you 1+3 = 4 years of warranty, which is much more worth your money, also if you're going to sell it on eBay after 2 or 3 years. If you purchase AC with your MBP, its going to be just 3 years.

Set up an iCal reminder a month before your original warranty ends and get it then.
Click to expand...

Applecare will only extend to 3 years from the purchase date of your Mac, not the purchase date of Applecare.
 
I was reading over the conditions of the warranty and such and can confirm that it will be 3 years from the date of product purchase doesn't matter if you purchase a year later. At least in Canada it is.

@jmdMac Can you set me on the right direction in finding these other sellers? It seems a little shady to me o_O
 
OriginalNot said:
@jmdMac Can you set me on the right direction in finding these other sellers? It seems a little shady to me o_O
Click to expand...

I don't want to outright say "buy it from ebay," just because I don't want to be responsible for a invalid AppleCare, it can and does happen.

That being said, I plan to buy mine from ebay. Just be smart, check out the seller, rating, past sales(sold AC before?), and whatnot. I feel perfectly safe buying AC from ebay, seen it done plenty of times before. The key is BE SMART, choose the right seller, just like any other Ebay purchase. Hope that helps.

I'm sure some of the other forum members are much more knowledgeable than myself when it comes to this kind of stuff, hopefully they will chime in. :D
Regards,
John
 
I don't suggest buying the 13" because you are buying a core 2 duo processor, its not making any sense to pay so much for it, at least the 15" has the i5/i7 processor, which is a lot faster than core 2 duo and is more likely you will not need to buy another laptop through out your university career.
 
jmdMac said:
I don't want to outright say "buy it from ebay," just because I don't want to be responsible for a invalid AppleCare, it can and does happen.

That being said, I plan to buy mine from ebay. Just be smart, check out the seller, rating, past sales(sold AC before?), and whatnot. I feel perfectly safe buying AC from ebay, seen it done plenty of times before. The key is BE SMART, choose the right seller, just like any other Ebay purchase. Hope that helps.

I'm sure some of the other forum members are much more knowledgeable than myself when it comes to this kind of stuff, hopefully they will chime in. :D
Regards,
John
Click to expand...
But you gotta think about it though, if you are going to spend thousands of dollars on a laptop, why would it make sense to save a hundred bucks or something on something that could protect your laptop?
 
I think getting a base model 13" or 15" will be your best bet. 13" = affordable & portable||| 15" = better graphics and potentially futureproofing for a few years to come, or until an update.


13" or 15" base model would be my suggestion.
 
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