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

MacBook Pro 15" Advice needed promptly for college student!!

^^yep,

I think that most of the people who are saying get the more expensive one are just the people who think you always have to have the best of the best. In your case, there is no need to spend the extra money on the higher end unit. You will most likely never use the dedicated card, and the slight increase in CPU isn't going to make a difference. If you were going to school for graphic design, or web design, video editing, etc. It would make sense to have a dedicated GPU, but for a college student, $250 can go towards a lot of other good things.
 
Get the refurbished 15" Macbook Pro @ 2.53GHz with 4GB ram, 320GB hard drive, and the 512MB 9600M GT dedicated video for $1449 from Apple's online store. You just need to be patient, as they sell out almost a quick as they become available. The battery life isn't the best on it, but it will serve as a very potent workhorse.

edit: I noticed it's a 320GB hard drive, and not a 250GB. Even better.
 
GodWhomIsMike said:
Get the refurbished 15" Macbook Pro @ 2.53GHz with 4GB ram, 250GB hard drive, and the 512MB 9600M GT dedicated video for $1449 from Apple's online store. You just need to be patient, as they sell out almost a quick as they become available. The battery life isn't the best on it, but it will serve as a very potent workhorse.
Click to expand...

To save you some footwork:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB471LL/A?mco=MjE0NjE5MA

.

MacMini2009 - rats, you beat me. lol :p
 
MacMini2009 said:
Haha. I was bored and posted the link. :D
Click to expand...

I'm still on the fence about that model. There is nothing in their current lineup that I like, other than the 13" @ 2.53GHz, 4GB ram, and 320GB+ hard drive, but the lack of dedicated GPU turns me off. The refurbed 2.53GHz scares me that I would be spending nearly $1500 for something that can't address more than 6GB of ram. I love doing VM work, but as of now, rely heavily on a Dell desktop with 8GB of ram to do what my Macbook (2.16GHz C2D, 2GB ram, 320GB HD, and GMA 950) doesn't have the guts to do (VM work and graphical stuff).
 
Not gaming? Not graphic-design-ing?

13'' Macbook Pro. Trust me. I had the same "I want the best laptop" mindset too when I went off to college two years ago and got a 15'' Macbook Pro (the all silver, classic one). You get so caught up in two.point.whatever, giga-this-giga-that specs that you don't realize that portability is a big factor.

When you realize that most of the work you're going to be doing is on a laptop (lugging between office hours, class, and study groups) portability becomes really important. And a 15'' Macbook Pro is too heavy and too big to carry - I mean you're not going to die but a walk with that thing in your bag is just annoying (and forget any textbooks to bring along).

I still kinda wished I got a Macbook (back then, the white and black ones) because they're so much easier to carry around.


Oh! And get Applecare! Not a single person I know with an Apple laptop has had it run without problems. I love the Mac experience but goddamn, I had a helluva lot of problems with it and regret not getting Applecare.
 
freesonwang said:
Not gaming? Not graphic-design-ing?

13'' Macbook Pro. Trust me. I had the same "I want the best laptop" mindset too when I went off to college two years ago and got a 15'' Macbook Pro (the all silver, classic one). You get so caught up in two.point.whatever, giga-this-giga-that specs that you don't realize that portability is a big factor.

When you realize that most of the work you're going to be doing is on a laptop (lugging between office hours, class, and study groups) portability becomes really important. And a 15'' Macbook Pro is too heavy and too big to carry - I mean you're not going to die but a walk with that thing in your bag is just annoying (and forget any textbooks to bring along).

I still kinda wished I got a Macbook (back then, the white and black ones) because they're so much easier to carry around.


Oh! And get Applecare! Not a single person I know with an Apple laptop has had it run without problems. I love the Mac experience but goddamn, I had a helluva lot of problems with it and regret not getting Applecare.
Click to expand...

The reason that I want to go with the 15" MacBook Pro is because of the extra screen size. I will be able to keep a web page open beside a text document etc... It will be much easier. The 13" might be slightly more portable but I believe I'm the kind of person who would feel the 13" feeling cramped. I have an external 15" monitor flat panel (about 6 years old) which might work but I would love to use it as a TV instead of a monitor.
 
MB98XJ said:
The reason that I want to go with the 15" MacBook Pro is because of the extra screen size. I will be able to keep a web page open beside a text document etc... It will be much easier. The 13" might be slightly more portable but I believe I'm the kind of person who would feel the 13" feeling cramped. I have an external 15" monitor flat panel (about 6 years old) which might work but I would love to use it as a TV instead of a monitor.
Click to expand...
I upgraded to my 15" from a 13" hp laptop, and to be honest I don't regret it at all. The 13 was nice and portable, but it is so much nicer to have the bigger screen, plus it is still pretty portable. If you are unsure check the apple store and pick them both up to feel the weight and size differences. I think that the 15 is a perfect balance between size and portability. Just my .02, but yeah I think if you want the bigger screen go with the 15, as it's still portable imo.
 
MB98XJ said:
The reason that I want to go with the 15" MacBook Pro is because of the extra screen size. I will be able to keep a web page open beside a text document etc... It will be much easier. The 13" might be slightly more portable but I believe I'm the kind of person who would feel the 13" feeling cramped. I have an external 15" monitor flat panel (about 6 years old) which might work but I would love to use it as a TV instead of a monitor.
Click to expand...

Get the 2.53 Ghz 13" Macbook Pro, and buy the 24" LCD from Dell for $199. You got the extra portability of the 13" to bring from class to where ever, and when you are at home or dorm, plug it into your 24" monitor.

GodWhomIsMike said:
Get the 2.53 Ghz 13" Macbook Pro, and buy the 24" LCD from Dell for $199. You got the extra portability of the 13" to bring from class to where ever, and when you are at home or dorm, plug it into your 24" monitor.
Click to expand...

Here you go:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-7345


2.53GHz 13" MBP = $1399
24" Dell LCD = $199
------------------------
Total: $1598 (Same price as the base 15" MBP)
 
Listen to me and all the others who from experience say that a 13" is better for portability. It's true. And the 15" resolution is not that much higher than a 13" one (they're both ridiculously small; no clue why Apple doesn't at least offer the option of 1680x1050 on the 15"). Spend the extra money on a nice vacation or whatever :)
 
A couple of years ago I thought that I did not need a good graphics card because I would not being playing much games an opted for a macbook instead of a macbook pro. I just not recently purchased a 15" macbook pro unibody late 2008 model refurb. I say to go ahead and spend the $250. Snow Leopard will use Open CL so a better graphics card will be more useful.
 
tcrab said:
A couple of years ago I thought that I did not need a good graphics card because I would not being playing much games an opted for a macbook instead of a macbook pro. I just not recently purchased a 15" macbook pro unibody late 2008 model refurb. I say to go ahead and spend the $250. Snow Leopard will use Open CL so a better graphics card will be more useful.
Click to expand...


Unless he steps up to the $1900 model, he will have the same integrated 9400m in the base 15". Only other way is get a refurbed 15".
 
tcrab said:
A couple of years ago I thought that I did not need a good graphics card because I would not being playing much games an opted for a macbook instead of a macbook pro. I just not recently purchased a 15" macbook pro unibody late 2008 model refurb. I say to go ahead and spend the $250. Snow Leopard will use Open CL so a better graphics card will be more useful.
Click to expand...
you can't say that because you have no idea what apps will even use open cl, and you don't know how devs will take advantage of the different gpu's. There could be no difference in performance unless doing heavy work in FCS or there could be a huge difference, but as of right now there have been no comparisons nor specs stated, so nobody really knows how open cl will be used in leopard and which graphics cards are going to be the best.
 
Thank you everyone for the advice. I am going with the 15" 2.53 Ghz as of right now! The 13" would be too cramped for me. I'm a big dude.
 
MB98XJ said:
Thank you everyone for the advice. I am going with the 15" 2.53 Ghz as of right now! The 13" would be too cramped for me. I'm a big dude.
Click to expand...

You realize the keyboard and trackpad are exactly the same size and the display tilts back to the same angle, right?
 
Wombert said:
You realize the keyboard and trackpad are exactly the same size and the display tilts back to the same angle, right?
Click to expand...

Right but I just need a bigger screen than that. I wouldn't be able to have a doc open to a web page as easily on the 13".
 
Go with the best you can get/afford.

Biology does not necessarily mean your computer will be collecting dust --- I know of biologists who are performing some crazy simulations (computational biology and biological system modeling) that require as much CPU as possible... with SnowLeopard coming out soon who knows what you might gain from having that extra graphics capability.

If you truly are just a book biologists why get a mac at all?

Why not just get the cheapest laptop from Dell?
 
Another vote for the 13" and an external monitor...

I'm a big dude too and youd have the best for portability and the best for screen size... oh and the best for your wallet too ;)
 
cjacks68 said:
Argh I was just about to buy this and then poof, out of stock just like that. I guess I'll be patient and wait for it to show up again. It is such a great deal!
Click to expand...

I just bought one of these BNIB from a reseller for $1499, so they are available elsewhere if you call around.
 
Save all the money you can. I like buying things and keeping the as long as I can but they still have to do the job. I would say your better off upgrading the ram maybe then the faster cpu and dedicated graphics card.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back