MacBook buying advice needed

[Tyler23]

So my wife and I just donated our MacBook Air to my parents whose computer was dying.

We are now looking to replace that. My wife wants a computer with more power since she's a big gamer. We are of course getting a MacBook, but are trying to decide which.

For her needs/wants, I'm thinking the MBP as it is the most powerful. However, I really want the new MacBook because it's smaller and a cool design.

We can't wait for the new MBP refresh, would we miss much? And is there any chance the MacBook is good enough as a gaming laptop? The MBA sometimes struggled so I doubt it, but any opinions and advice are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[tubeexperience]

MPB runs a game like a cripple runs a marathon.

The dGPU may also fail a couple of years (or even sooner) after purchase.

 

[btbam91]

I would not recommend a Mac.

 

[snaky69]

So my wife and I just donated our MacBook Air to my parents whose computer was dying.

We are now looking to replace that. My wife wants a computer with more power since she's a big gamer. We are of course getting a MacBook, but are trying to decide which.

For her needs/wants, I'm thinking the MBP as it is the most powerful. However, I really want the new MacBook because it's smaller and a cool design.

We can't wait for the new MBP refresh, would we miss much? And is there any chance the MacBook is good enough as a gaming laptop? The MBA sometimes struggled so I doubt it, but any opinions and advice are welcome.

Thanks!

Buy a computer for general computing needs, and a console for gaming. Best of both worlds and you're likely to save money in the long run.

 

[paule23]

You won't miss much in the refresh, you never do.

If you wait for the next model, you will never buy as there is always some new model, some upgrade, just around the corner.

Was the Air sufficiently powerful for your wife's gaming needs? If so, and design seems to be important to you, go for the MB, if you need more power it's Gonna have to be the MBP.

 

[Tyler23]

I'm not gonna lie, these answers surprised me. I've only used macs for the last 10 years now. We definitely want to get a MacBook to replace the MBA. The only games my wife plays are computer games, but we don't want to get anything other than a Mac.

The MBA wasn't bad for her needs, she just wanted something with more power. I've seen only good reviews for the most recent MBP, so I'm a bit surprised by the comments above. Any more insight?

We're heading to the store today so we'll see what the wife thinks about the looks of the MBP vs. the MacBook.
[doublepost=1461524117][/doublepost]I forgot to mention, we're looking at the latest MBP with Retina display.

 

[Closingracer]

Buy a computer for general computing needs, and a console for gaming. Best of both worlds and you're likely to save money in the long run.

Eh not really. With consoles you run into a paywall where as Pc you don't. Even if you went that way it would end up costing more in the long run.

Example A:
Macbook Air 13 inch $1,000
PS4 or xbox one $299 ( you can buy used for cheaper)
Xbox live $60 ( you'll be dumb to pay $60 since you can find it cheaper like on ebay), PS plus $50 ( again same point). This is for 12 months
Games $60
Total cost for one year: $1,350
Yearly cost not including games: $30-$50 since you can find PS+ and xbox gold cheaper.


Example B:
Build yourself a PC
Parts and etc for an windows Pc with say an Intel i7 6th Gen but not top of the line along with say a nvidia 970 ( whichever version you want to choose) should cost you around $1200-$1500 and probably lower since I haven't looked at building prices in a few months.

Year one cost: $1,200-$1,500
Annual cost not including games : $0



If your not dead set on OS x I would honestly build a PC and perhaps buy a mac mini or Macbook Air at a later point

 

[Closingracer]

I'm not gonna lie, these answers surprised me. I've only used macs for the last 10 years now. We definitely want to get a MacBook to replace the MBA. The only games my wife plays are computer games, but we don't want to get anything other than a Mac.

The MBA wasn't bad for her needs, she just wanted something with more power. I've seen only good reviews for the most recent MBP, so I'm a bit surprised by the comments above. Any more insight?

We're heading to the store today so we'll see what the wife thinks about the looks of the MBP vs. the MacBook.
[doublepost=1461524117][/doublepost]I forgot to mention, we're looking at the latest MBP with Retina display.

Depend on the games......the only games I play on my 13 Macbook Pro is the sims 4 and older titles.....OS X is limited with games and the no dedicated gpu makes it worse. Plus from what I've read os X makes the game run worse so your better off running Windows in boot camp and play them on Windows anyways

 

[boast]

The new MBP should have a big bump in graphics performance. I do think she should wait on the new ones.

 

[astr627]

So my wife and I just donated our MacBook Air to my parents whose computer was dying.

We are now looking to replace that. My wife wants a computer with more power since she's a big gamer. We are of course getting a MacBook, but are trying to decide which.

For her needs/wants, I'm thinking the MBP as it is the most powerful. However, I really want the new MacBook because it's smaller and a cool design.

We can't wait for the new MBP refresh, would we miss much? And is there any chance the MacBook is good enough as a gaming laptop? The MBA sometimes struggled so I doubt it, but any opinions and advice are welcome.

Thanks!

I have a late 2015 MBP 15 and Alienware 15 R2 with GTX970m, and I can say the dGPU on MBP is useless. It causes graphics glitches when browsing internet and you cannot play a modern 3D game with it either (CSGO might be an exception....). So if you really want to play games such as Fallout 4, don't get a Macbook. On the other hand the AW15 runs most game smoothly on 1080P@60Hz.

[doublepost=1461542237][/doublepost]

Eh not really. With consoles you run into a paywall where as Pc you don't. Even if you went that way it would end up costing more in the long run.

Example A:
Macbook Air 13 inch $1,000
PS4 or xbox one $299 ( you can buy used for cheaper)
Xbox live $60 ( you'll be dumb to pay $60 since you can find it cheaper like on ebay), PS plus $50 ( again same point). This is for 12 months
Games $60
Total cost for one year: $1,350
Yearly cost not including games: $30-$50 since you can find PS+ and xbox gold cheaper.


Example B:
Build yourself a PC
Parts and etc for an windows Pc with say an Intel i7 6th Gen but not top of the line along with say a nvidia 970 ( whichever version you want to choose) should cost you around $1200-$1500 and probably lower since I haven't looked at building prices in a few months.

Year one cost: $1,200-$1,500
Annual cost not including games : $0



If your not dead set on OS x I would honestly build a PC and perhaps buy a mac mini or Macbook Air at a later point

Macbook for general purpose and PS4 for gaming would be my choice. You can get PS4 games cheap at Bestbuy like 20 bucks from time to time. Many of them are great and you can't play them on PC or Mac (like all games from Naughty Dog). The monthly free games from PS Plus are not bad at all, since I only played these 'free' games recently, like helldiver and rocket league.

 

[Closingracer]

The new MBP should have a big bump in graphics performance. I do think she should wait on the new ones.

Not really...... The latest Intel graphics still Suck compared to a dedicated gpu and os X doesn't help the matter either. The amd 370x will be in the new 15 inches.

 

[btbam91]

I'm not gonna lie, these answers surprised me. I've only used macs for the last 10 years now. We definitely want to get a MacBook to replace the MBA. The only games my wife plays are computer games, but we don't want to get anything other than a Mac.

The MBA wasn't bad for her needs, she just wanted something with more power. I've seen only good reviews for the most recent MBP, so I'm a bit surprised by the comments above. Any more insight?

We're heading to the store today so we'll see what the wife thinks about the looks of the MBP vs. the MacBook.
[doublepost=1461524117][/doublepost]I forgot to mention, we're looking at the latest MBP with Retina display.

One of the reasons I enjoy this macrumors community is because most people seem to be pretty logical. People recognize mac's weaknesses and recommend windows when it makes sense to do so. I respect that. Blind fanboyism is the absolute worst.

 

[Zeebedy]

One of the reasons I enjoy this macrumors community is because most people seem to be pretty logical. People recognize mac's weaknesses and recommend windows when it makes sense to do so. I respect that. Blind fanboyism is the absolute worst.

true.



RTJ