Was originally looking at the macbook air but I was told that for the specs I wanted I should look at the macbook pro. The main point of the computer is for school but will also be taking it everywhere I travel and plan to use it quite a lot at home. The specs side of things I'm happy with what I want, I'm worried about the size, it weighs 700g more then the air and as well is bigger. Also it offers only 9 hours compared to the MBA which has 12. Is the macbook a good laptop for a student. I'm starting grade 11 and I want a computer that is easy to carry and take places and is comfortable to use i.e. Does it get hot?
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Macbook pro good student laptop
- Thread starter Shadwmaster
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Using my 13" rMBP as a school laptop and love it. Battery life is still very good and it doesn't get hot unless you're doing something CPU/GPU intensive. It's a bit heavier than the Air but the retina display and better CPU are worth it, plus the footprint is actually slightly smaller.
I use a cMBP 15" at school and I think it's great. Screen size is great for taking notes and having something else open like a textbook in iBooks, and it's powerful enough for things I like doing at home like running Xcode, Photoshop, Motion, editing video and playing a few games.
Only disadvantages are the weight (2.5kg) and the fact that the battery only lasts about three hours now. Sometimes I'll bring in my iPad instead as occasionally my laptop won't fit in my bag with my books etc.
Only disadvantages are the weight (2.5kg) and the fact that the battery only lasts about three hours now. Sometimes I'll bring in my iPad instead as occasionally my laptop won't fit in my bag with my books etc.
I wanted the MBA for the point it was lightweight and his killer battery for school. 9 hours is still not a bad tally it should easily last me at school. The one thing that chooses whether I get it is if it's not comfortable to use at home, if it can sit on my bed/on my lap and not get hot then it should be alright, it's only 700g more so than doesn't concern me all that much. If it doesn't over heat and is comfortable to have an your lap then I think I might get it. I'm going in tomorrow to get an actual look at it.
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Are the macbook pros good at offering the battery life apple advertise? If It won't give me 9 hours then I'm not sure about it
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Are the macbook pros good at offering the battery life apple advertise? If It won't give me 9 hours then I'm not sure about it
I recently decided between a late 2013 13" and mid 2012 15" (edit: both rMBPs) to use as my main laptop and opted for the 13" despite having half the processing power and a smaller screen size. Mainly for the portability, and since I do anything requiring a larger screen or faster CPU on the iMac anyway.
Again, it can get hot from doing tasks that stress the CPU/GPU, but doing things like watching HTML5-based videos in Safari will only be enough to make it warm.
The battery life depends on what you do with it, what brightness it is at, etc. so there is no definite amount. Doing basic tasks at low to mid brightness you should be able to reach 9 hours.
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The battery Yeah I agree wasn't really even thinking about that. Obviously that applies for the macbook air to so I mean the macbook pro should last me at school and then I can charge it at home or even just take my charger to school . I'm sure if I needed to I could probably squeeze more out of it if I really needed. Thanks guys for all your comments been a huge help. I've never even touched a mac before but from the reviews I read they look awesome
So I was able to go in and have a look and I think Im definitely going to get it but now all I'm wondering is, will the macbook pro be getting the new broadwell chip and is worth waiting for?
Broadwell will bring mainly better battery life, Skylake will bring slightly better performance.
The advice I usually give at this point is if you don't mind waiting what could be three to six months then do that, but if you want one now buy one now.
It's for school, I have a crap Acer that can just barely load up office and Google Chrome. I want it now but if it's a huge difference I battery and speed then I'd wait. Would you wait?
On current estimates
Current estimates would give an extra hour battery and a 5-10% speed bump. I'd buy now and maybe even go for a refurb 2013 spec version and save some $$$.
Current estimates would give an extra hour battery and a 5-10% speed bump. I'd buy now and maybe even go for a refurb 2013 spec version and save some $$$.