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Looking to buy my first mac unsure of what to get...

C

cooperb21

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 25, 2013
48
1
Coming from someone who has used windows there hole life i wanted to go ahead and buy a mac laptop. Im unsure of what to get out of the three models of laptops. I would mostly use it this laptop just for browsing the internet so i was thinking just get the cheapest model the air since i dont need the big specs or super slim high price of the mac book.

The only thing that makes me unsure if i should get the air or not is the display. I have an iphone 6 and ipad mini 2 would the display of this laptop not be worse than both these its only 1366 by 768 or 1440 by 900 would this display not be worse than my mobile deices or would i notice plus i have a 1080p screen on my current windows pc.
 
If you could afford either the MacBook, or retina MacBook Pro 13", I would highly recommend it. Check out macrumors blog for sale prices.

The retina machines offer a great high end user experience... I would recommend anyone to purchase up to a retina screens. Your uses require little of a machine, maybe try used.
 
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Have you had opportunity to checkout the three different models at an apple store? If finances are a major concern a used or refurb MacBook Air may be the best option.
 
I love everything about the Air (I have one right now) but the screen is a big disappointment.
If I were you, I'd buy a refurbished 13" retina base model.
 
cooperb21 said:
Coming from someone who has used windows there hole life i wanted to go ahead and buy a mac laptop. Im unsure of what to get out of the three models of laptops. I would mostly use it this laptop just for browsing the internet so i was thinking just get the cheapest model the air since i dont need the big specs or super slim high price of the mac book.

The only thing that makes me unsure if i should get the air or not is the display. I have an iphone 6 and ipad mini 2 would the display of this laptop not be worse than both these its only 1366 by 768 or 1440 by 900 would this display not be worse than my mobile deices or would i notice plus i have a 1080p screen on my current windows pc.
Click to expand...

I too have the iPhone 6 (plus) and an iPad mimi 2. I also have a 13" MBA that I use daily for writing. The quality of the screen never even enters my consciousness, so it's obviously fine (for me anyway).

If you're worried, go into an Apple store and look at the MBA, and then just buy what you can afford. No matter what you get, you'll enjoy it. And if for some reason you don't like what you get, if you purchased it from Apple, then you have 14 days to return it.
 
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I, too, was going to recommend that you go into a store and compare the three models for screen, weight and keyboard and see what you prefer. (Do ports matter to you? Is most of your computing life wireless? That's a thought as well)

And then, whichever you decide upon, if you can, buy it from the refurbished store, or wait for one of the big sales that come up from time to time at Best Buy, especially if you're looking to get a base model.

In any event, I think you'll be happy with what you get, as long as you can decide on what's most important to you and what best suits your needs.
 
pjfan said:
If you could afford either the MacBook, or retina MacBook Pro 13", I would highly recommend it. Check out macrumors blog for sale prices.

The retina machines offer a great high end user experience... I would recommend anyone to purchase up to a retina screens. Your uses require little of a machine, maybe try used.
Click to expand...
Problem is price. Im from Canada and and the 13 inch macbook pro starts at 1550$ lowest specs possible. The 15inch mac book pro is 500$ more here.
 
cooperb21 said:
Problem is price. Im from Canada and and the 13 inch macbook pro starts at 1550$ lowest specs possible. The 15inch mac book pro is 500$ more here.
Click to expand...

Forgive my ignorance, but is refurbished an option for you? I have a refurb Air, and it's fantastic.
 
I found a macbook pro $1,139.00 on apple.com refurbished cheapest one but it uses an 5400rpm drive and not ssd so it would be alot slower i think.

Also its 2012 model.

I can get this for 13010$ Im only saving 200-250$ dollars so im not sure if should get it new or used.

Originally released March 2015
13.3-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2560-by-1600 resolution at 227 pixels per inch
8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
128GB PCIe-based flash storage 1
720p FaceTime HD camera
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
 
cooperb21 said:
I found a macbook pro $1,139.00 on apple.com refurbished cheapest one but it uses an 5400rpm drive and not ssd so it would be alot slower i think.

Also its 2012 model.
Click to expand...

I think you probably want a later model for the pro. For the Air, I have a 2015, but everything I've read indicates that the 2013 is comparatively very similar from a performance perspective, and is priced better. (Other posters will be able to provide stats on that, I'm sure). Of course, the Air is definitely not a retina screen. You can only get a refurbished online, so don't worry about a store, but I still think if you can get to any electronics retailer where you can compare the Air and Pro models from a screen perspective that would be important for you, given your initial considerations.
 
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cooperb21 said:
I can get this for 1310$ Im only saving 200-250$ dollars so im not sure if should get it new or used.

Originally released March 2015
13.3-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2560-by-1600 resolution at 227 pixels per inch
8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
128GB PCIe-based flash storage 1
720p FaceTime HD camera
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
Click to expand...
That's a good price for that machine. The 13" rMBP is the jack of all trades machine in the line-up and won't let you down whatever the use case. For an Apple certified refurbished, the price is good - if 128GB is enough for you (should be unless you have a media library you want to have locally on that machine). Can't go wrong with the 13" rMBP, especially as its the latest model, probably one of the earliest refurbs of that model available.
 
And by the way, cooper, refurbished isn't used, at least not the way you might think it is (that I used to think it was), at least in Apple terms. It might have been a machine that needed something fixed, it might've just been a return, but regardless, it's tested and virtually indistinguishable from what you'd get out of the box (though it's a different box!). Also comes with the same standard year warranty that's expandable to the extended warranty that every new machine comes with.
 
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Refurb is the most economical way to get the finest apple machine, but it usually takes 4-6 months.

Be sure to get SSD driven laptop! The 5200 RPM HDD MBP is not retina, don't make that mistake (although refurbs are returnable).

The needs you describe will allow ANY retina MacBook to deliver the user experience you desire. If you do have more needs (such as storage), then your purchase becomes a touch more challenging. Check out:
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/09/04/buyers-guide-deals-september-4-2015/

The rMBP 13" is amazing, and seems like a great price. The 15" would be overkill, so screen realestate would be the only reason to go that route.
 
cooperb21 said:
Problem is price. Im from Canada and and the 13 inch macbook pro starts at 1550$ lowest specs possible.
Click to expand...

That is somewhat misleading because you aren't taking into account the exchange rate. $1550CDN is only $1163USD. That's a really good price actually, here in the US the base spec 13" MBP is $1299. ;)
 
Hirakata said:
I too have the iPhone 6 (plus) and an iPad mimi 2. I also have a 13" MBA that I use daily for writing. The quality of the screen never even enters my consciousness, so it's obviously fine (for me anyway).

If you're worried, go into an Apple store and look at the MBA, and then just buy what you can afford. No matter what you get, you'll enjoy it. And if for some reason you don't like what you get, if you purchased it from Apple, then you have 14 days to return it.
Click to expand...
+1. It is the best advice. Check the MBA in a store. (It would be ok, I am sure). ;)
 
if you want to spend a little more money then get the 2015 rmbp base model.you mite find it the the refurb store for less than what you will pay from apple.
 
Boyd01 said:
That is somewhat misleading because you aren't taking into account the exchange rate. $1550CDN is only $1163USD. That's a really good price actually, here in the US the base spec 13" MBP is $1299. ;)
Click to expand...

He is talking about the classic MBP that is priced at $1100 here in the US. ;)
 
z31fanatic said:
He is talking about the classic MBP that is priced at $1100 here in the US. ;)
Click to expand...

Ah, OK. I forgot they were still selling that. The only reason I can think of getting one of those is if you simply must have a DVD drive and ethernet port. With the stock 5400RPM hard drive it will seem like a real dog compared to the MBA, not to mention 1.5 lbs heavier with much worse battery life.
 
z31fanatic said:
I love everything about the Air (I have one right now) but the screen is a big disappointment.
If I were you, I'd buy a refurbished 13" retina base model.
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree with this. I still have a 13" MBA (2012), and while performance wise is still generally pretty good, the display does leave me wanting for more.

When I come to upgrade, I'll be looking at retina models only.
 
cooperb21 said:
Coming from someone who has used windows there hole life i wanted to go ahead and buy a mac laptop. Im unsure of what to get out of the three models of laptops. I would mostly use it this laptop just for browsing the internet so i was thinking just get the cheapest model the air since i dont need the big specs or super slim high price of the mac book.

The only thing that makes me unsure if i should get the air or not is the display. I have an iphone 6 and ipad mini 2 would the display of this laptop not be worse than both these its only 1366 by 768 or 1440 by 900 would this display not be worse than my mobile deices or would i notice plus i have a 1080p screen on my current windows pc.
Click to expand...

I was facing this decision a few months ago, as my late 2011 15" MacBook Pro was becoming too much to carry around on a daily basis. While the Airs have excellent battery life and are more than capable performance-wise for the average user, I honestly think the base 13" Retina MacBook Pro is honestly THE Mac laptop to get these days if you can afford it. You do trade some portability and battery life (but not much in either case) compared to the 13" Air and it's a few $100 more expensive, but in return you do get better performance that will help future-proof your investment (especially if you decide to regularly update to the latest OS X software), a far better screen that you'll enjoy every day, not to mention excellent battery life. The 15" Retina has the power but less portability, the 12" MacBook has extreme portability but you lose performance and ports (not to mention battery life), and the Airs have the awesome battery life and are very portable but seriously should come with better screens in 2015.

For me the 13" Retina Pro is the one I bought because it's the one with the least trade-offs: great screen, almost great but very good battery life, capable enough to do some heavy-duty photo/video editing on the road, and is still very portable and you just get more bang for your buck performance-wise.
 
erbodi93 said:
I was facing this decision a few months ago, as my late 2011 15" MacBook Pro was becoming too much to carry around on a daily basis. While the Airs have excellent battery life and are more than capable performance-wise for the average user, I honestly think the base 13" Retina MacBook Pro is honestly THE Mac laptop to get these days if you can afford it. You do trade some portability and battery life (but not much in either case) compared to the 13" Air and it's a few $100 more expensive, but in return you do get better performance that will help future-proof your investment (especially if you decide to regularly update to the latest OS X software), a far better screen that you'll enjoy every day, not to mention excellent battery life. The 15" Retina has the power but less portability, the 12" MacBook has extreme portability but you lose performance and ports (not to mention battery life), and the Airs have the awesome battery life and are very portable but seriously should come with better screens in 2015.
...
Click to expand...

What happened to the 11" MBA in your analysis? Excellent portability, power, ports, battery life, and the screen size and quality is largely irrelevant if you use it with external displays when at home or work.
 
MacBoook160 said:
And by the way, cooper, refurbished isn't used, at least not the way you might think it is (that I used to think it was), at least in Apple terms. It might have been a machine that needed something fixed, it might've just been a return, but regardless, it's tested and virtually indistinguishable from what you'd get out of the box (though it's a different box!). Also comes with the same standard year warranty that's expandable to the extended warranty that every new machine comes with.
Click to expand...
Ya.. refurbished is a rip off.

Refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook Pro 2.7GHz Dual-core Intel i5 with Retina Display


Originally released March 2015
13.3-inch (diagonal) Retina display; 2560-by-1600 resolution at 227 pixels per inch
8GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
256GB PCIe-based flash storage 1
720p FaceTime HD camera
Intel Iris Graphics 6100

$1,519.00
13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display
  • 2.7GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
  • 8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
  • 256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
  • Intel Iris Graphics 6100
  • Force Touch trackpad
  • Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
$1,499.00 (NEW apple Canada)
 
of corse you are going to pay more in canada its only $1269.00 for that model in the u.s.a.
 
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