Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Crozie

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 26, 2014
1
0
Hello all,

I'm looking to update my current computer for school, but I'm having trouble figuring out the balance of performance and price...

Main uses:
- 4 years of Computer Science work
- Amateur recording/production using Logic Pro 9
- Music/Movies (large iTunes library)
- Social Media, Youtube,etc..

Ideal price range: $1200 - $1600

Current Laptop:
Mid 2010 MBP
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB
Hard Drive: 320GB SATA (Using about 200GB presently, have an external drive)

I'm considering the 13" Macbook models. 8GB of ram is going to happen regardless of the base model I start with. I'm unsure of my processing needs (i5 vs i7, speed, etc...), and I know nothing about the longevity/reparability of the Air or Retina models. I'm fairly comfortable with the portability of any of the 13" models. I don't believe I'll need an ultrahigh resolution screen as long as there is capability for using an external monitor down the road.

Can anyone suggest some configuration options for what I'll actually need?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.