Looking at MacBooks for girlfriend.

[xmakeafistx]

Hi there. I'm going to start off by saying that my girlfriend has had some awful experiences with her past laptops. Hard drive failures, all different kind of failures (keyboard, digitizer, trackpad, etc). Given she was using some off shot Gateway/Acer laptops previously, I figure its just because of the brand. She got an Asus about a year ago and basically it ended up being a heap of crap. She treats her products mostly well, and I basically trust that most of it isn't due to user error. I'm heavily suggesting that she gets a 2014 MBPr, the 13 inch with the i5 2.6ghz/128GB SSD, and to upgrade to 16GB of RAM (to make sure it won't become outdated too quickly).

Now that I'm done giving a somewhat irrelevant history behind it, I have three questions about these newer MacBooks (I own an mid 2012 MBP/i7/8GB ram, very very happy with it).

1. Are there any common issues with the MacBook model described above?
2. What are some tips you would have on general care to avoid issues with this MacBook?
3. Would you suggest paying for Apple Care? What is your experience with it? I trust Apple's laptops quite a bit, so I've never bothered getting it.

Thanks in advance! Kind of typed this up in a rush since she needs a laptop pretty soon for school, so feel free to call me out on any parts that weren't too clear.

 

[Natzoo]

1. No there is no issues, i have the 15" retina and its fine and i have 2 friends which have the 13" and they told me it works great
2. Be careful what you download because i download things on internet such as apps, and some make my computer slow. Take good care, don't run too many applications if you don't have too. ( for 15" dual graphics really)
3. I wouldn't get apple care at all. I wish i had got it with my 2010 mac book pro, but it ended up good because i got this retina laptop.

 

[redheeler]

I'm heavily suggesting that she gets a 2014 MBPr, the 13 inch with the i5 2.6ghz/128GB SSD, and to upgrade to 16GB of RAM (to make sure it won't become outdated too quickly).

You don't need 16 GB RAM to be future proof. As long as it's more than 4 GB you're good.

Instead, you could invest in a 256 GB SSD which will allow for more room to store data and can be almost twice as fast as the 128 GB.

 

[iKnowMr.Jobs]

As someone that has been using a MBA with 128gb SSD for 2 and a half years, I highly, highly suggest getting 256 minimum. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing you have 3gb left on your SDD and having to clean stuff off. "But everything is in the cloud now!" is a stupid claim. My entire >25gb iTunes library is entirely in iTunes Match and I still run out.

As far as apple care goes, the only time i Have to use it on my computer was last fall and my battery was replaced for free. The warranty also cover the chargers, which can be rather pricey to replace. I suggest getting AppleCare.

 

[xmakeafistx]

As someone that has been using a MBA with 128gb SSD for 2 and a half years, I highly, highly suggest getting 256 minimum. There's nothing more frustrating than seeing you have 3gb left on your SDD and having to clean stuff off. "But everything is in the cloud now!" is a stupid claim. My entire >25gb iTunes library is entirely in iTunes Match and I still run out.

As far as apple care goes, the only time i Have to use it on my computer was last fall and my battery was replaced for free. The warranty also cover the chargers, which can be rather pricey to replace. I suggest getting AppleCare.

Very good input. Thanks very much for the well thought out responses everyone!

We are going for the 256GB, we also figured its unnecessary going for the 16GB, kind of cool how we all came to the same conclusion aha.

Thanks again guys, I'm really excited to check out the new MBPr once she gets it!

 

[Meister]

Fascinating thread, where nobody knows what the macbook is actually used for, but there is lots of advice and a happy OP with a conclusion

 

[redheeler]

Fascinating thread, where nobody knows what the macbook is actually used for, but there is lots of advice and a happy OP with a conclusion

I'm pretty sure we can assume light tasks, especially since the OP hinted the laptop is "for school" and a history of cheap Acers.

 

[Meister]

I'm pretty sure we can assume light tasks, especially since the OP hinted the laptop is "for school" and a history of cheap Acers.

If you say so and as long as the OP is happy