Hi. I am getting a laptop for high school next year. It is mandatory to have a laptop in my school. I am thinking about getting a MacBook Air or Pro. I would be using the laptop for school. I would be making movies from iMovie, using aperture and writing documents with Microsoft office. I was wondering which laptop is good for me; MacBook Air, retina MacBook Pro or Non-Retina MacBook Pro. This is going to be my first Mac.
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MacBook for school
- Thread starter touchu4g
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ideal.dreams
macrumors 68020
I would say the Retina MacBook Pro would be best for you. It's thinner than the Classic MacBook Pro but has the same amount of power with the added Retina display, which would probably prove useful when making movies with iMovie or editing pictures with Aperture. It also has great battery life.
yusukeaoki
macrumors 68030
johnnnw
macrumors 65816
If he's going to be non stop transferring it back and forth from school why only suggest the 15? What's wrong with the 13? It's a nice size. Would also help with the money problem, if it's a factor.
yusukeaoki
macrumors 68030
He wants to do Aperture and iMovie which is pretty graphic intensive.
I would go for a Mac that has dGPU rather than HD4000.
This is why I wouldnt suggest MBA nor 13in.
If all he did was using Office, yeah MBA or the 13in would of been fine.
But he stated that he wants to make videos and run Aperture.
It can be ran on HD4000 but it will be much better with dGPUs.
I would prefer a 13 inch. I would go with the Retina MacBook Pro but it only has 128GB of flash storage. What is the major difference between the Retina MacBook Pro and the non-Retina MacBook Pro?
johnnnw
macrumors 65816
The other guy made a good point. I ran into the same problem when buying my Macbook. I wanted the specs of the 15 but the size of the 13 inch screen. Obviously not possible, which was disappointing.
It can be done, running iMovies and such with integrated graphics but much better with the dedicated gpu of the 15 in Macbooks.
yusukeaoki
macrumors 68030
Not much other than the SSD vs HDD, better CPU, better display, more stock RAMs, and non retina has a super drive.
I really suggest the 15in, non retina or retina since they have a dGPU rather than iGPU.
You can also upgrade the SSD in Apple website but its going to cost you a lot.
johnnnw
macrumors 65816
Very good points, I was thinking just size wise. I really like the screen size of the 13, too bad it can't be spec'd higher.
yusukeaoki
macrumors 68030
If the rMBP's were updated with dGPUs rather than integrated only, I would of highly suggested the 13in.
Unfortunately, they werent updated in that way...
If you can wait a while on purchasing, the 13" should get much better graphics power when it is updated to use the upcoming Haswell processors from Intel.
This will probably happen sometime around June-August depending on when Intel starts shipping those processors.
The 256GB option might be worth the extra money. If you are going to be doing a lot of video editing you might want an external hard drive to keep your video projects on so that they don't fill up the internal storage.
This will probably happen sometime around June-August depending on when Intel starts shipping those processors.
The 256GB option might be worth the extra money. If you are going to be doing a lot of video editing you might want an external hard drive to keep your video projects on so that they don't fill up the internal storage.
Hi. I'm not in a rush to get a MacBook just yet. I'm getting it from June to August. I'll be buying a Non-Retina MacBook Pro 13". I find 15" big and I don't need a big screen. One thing that is stopping me from buying the Retina MacBook Pro is the storage, I would rather get the 13", it has 128GB. I know you can increase the storage but I don't want to pay extra. I don't want to spend more than $1,600. I recently bought an iPad and in my high school, you cannot use iPad's to take notes. Laptops are mandatory.
jozeppy26
macrumors 6502a
Try checking the refurbs periodically until the 13" 256 rMBP is available (refurb price is $1,359).
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac
You can also set notifications when Apple adds more to the refurb list here:
http://www.refurb.me/us/
Aperture and iMovie are NOT graphically intensive... If you were editing projects in Final Cut with layers of video, filters, etc, then a powerful computer would come in handy. But a 13" rMBP will be WAY more than capable of simple photo and video editing.
If money's no object, buy the best thing out there. Otherwise you'll be fine with a non-retina 13" or an Air.
I don't really understand why you would NEED a laptop through high school -- I graduated a year ago and brought my laptop once or twice during those 4 years. But if it's an actual requirement then obviously go for it.
If money's no object, buy the best thing out there. Otherwise you'll be fine with a non-retina 13" or an Air.
I don't really understand why you would NEED a laptop through high school -- I graduated a year ago and brought my laptop once or twice during those 4 years. But if it's an actual requirement then obviously go for it.
NMF
macrumors 6502a
Integrated graphics have come a long way. Unless you have pro-level needs, they are more than sufficient for iMovie and Aperture work. Suggesting that the OP needs a 15" MBP is disingenuous.
OP, I'd got with a 13" MBP, either retina or non-retina. The non-retina you can upgrade yourself, the retina you can't. That is the main difference to consider. If you can afford to order a rMBP specced out how you want, it'd worth the cost. Otherwise get a fatty and upgrade it yourself.
Also, I would wait for the next refresh either way. You'll benefit from the HD4600 graphics coming with Haswell.
I signed up for a special program that is about business and technology. You will not use paper and pencil to take notes or to do work. You'd use laptops.
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I will not be only making imovies and editing pictures with aperture. I'd also do other things. I will think about which MacBook Pro I should get. I don't need it till September.
Honestly an SSD will probably make the biggest difference in daily usage. If you do get the non-retina 13" then plan on installing an SSD yourself, they're between $100-$200 for a 128GB or 256GB version.
If there is an update in the June-August timeframe, then the refurbished versions of the ones that were just released (early 2013) should be discounted pretty well. Maybe you'll be able to pick up a 2.6Ghz 256GB model of the 13" Retina in your price range.
Ok. If there are no new MacBooks coming from March to August then il buy a 13" Retina MacBook Pro with 256GB of storage. I already have a 500GB external hard drive that I can format to be used on Mac. I have tried out the 15 and 13" at the Apple Store. I have found the 13" to be lighter and more portable. I have also tried using iMovie and aperture on those macs and it doesn't get slow.