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Macbook Pro - First time buyer

L

leahpardo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 4, 2012
20
0
All my life we've had a mac in the family, we startted with one of those colourful box macs, and that lasted us a good 8.10 years and four years ago we got ourselfs an iMac (mid 2008), still going and we adore it, although it is a tad slow at times.

Now I'm going to Uni and I'm getting a Mac laptop, which will be my first. About 3 years ago I got a toshiba for college, it lasted 5 months and I hated it.

So it was a no brainer that I'd choose apple when I came to getting my new one, and I'm sure I want a Macbook Pro, just because it's such a large amount of money to spend, plus I intend on using it for such a long period of time, I always do a lot, probably too much research!

I'm pretty sure that the lowest spec 13" will do beyond fine, plus I get £140 with a student discount which makes it even more attractive, but I just wanted opinions :)

I'll only use it for basic photo editing, iMovie, internet, writing essays perhaps Sims and watching DVDs really. And watching things online.. course that might change a little but I'm not doing anything specialized...

So I am right in thinking you'd all agree that the lowest spec will do me fine? :)

I'm not too bothered about getting the retina, partly because I don't think I can wait for it's release, and the price, but also because from what I know, the current MBP, including the 13" are all pretty brilliant, powerful machines as is.
 
You'll do fine, although I think you should consider getting a Macbook Air instead, for the things you are going to do with it, especially just carrying it around campus.
 
I have the base model MBP for uni and it's awesome. IMO it's better than the Retina model because it's user upgradable and actually has an optical drive and Ethernet port. Same arguments stand for why it's better than the Air. IMO the Air is just a fashion accessory, the MBP is a proper computer :cool:
 
I've been using a base model mid-2010 13" MBP for two years now, largely with the same kind of usage scenario you outlined. Works perfectly; upgraded RAM and added SSD a month ago and now it's an even better machine.

Go with the MBP - the ethernet port is a bonus (where I work in my University the WiFi is occasionally spotty); you can upgrade the machine if you buy the base model (RAM is very cheap, and the £140 you save will go a long way towards a decent SSD if you decide to buy one); it's not a heavy machine so unless you really really want the lightest pc possible, the MBP is fine. It's also more robust in my experience.

But you don't need me to convince you, sounds like your mind is made up! You won't regret buying a 13" MBP.
 
I have the mid-2012 base model MBP 13" myself and it's perfect for what I need.

I do a lot of Photo editing (Photoshop Elements and Lightroom 4) plus iMovie, and general "office" use.

I previously had a 2007 15" MBP and actually prefer the smaller footprint and longer battery life of my new one.

They are great laptops, buy with confidence!
 
You would do fine with a MacBook Air, but are DVDs really THAT important? There's iTunes movies for that. If it really is, external DVD drive is the way to go. MBA is perfect.
 
If you prefer the MBP over the MBA then the 13'' will do just fine with the usage that you've listed. I'd go for a base model and upgrade it via aftermarket later on if necessary.
 
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