Macbook pro haswell?

[-kickAss-]

Hi guys

i know
nothing about the macbook pro 2013 (haswell) has been confirmed yet but i was just wondering
how much do you guys think its gonna cost?

new school year just started i want to buy a new laptop
I'm a computer science major btw
freshman though
i'm interested in the
macbook air (2013) 13inch 256ssd, i7 and 8Gb ram (@ apple.com = $1479 + $100 gift card)
or the
macbook pro 13inch with retina display i5, 256ssd and 8Gb ram (@bestbuy = $1499 students with .edu email get additional $100 off)

what do you guys think? i want it to last at least through university!
are these specs good or should i downgrade a little? what do you guys recommend?
or should i wait for the macbook pro with haswell?
dont want to sepent over $1500 though


thx

 

[Badrottie]

How about refurb MBA or rMBP? They both run like brand new with 1 year warranty and AppleCare if you want to buy.

 

[DragonJade]

This is my opinion.

Spend as much as you can afford to. Basically, any machine will do as you'll be word processing most of the time (or in my case, playing network games on the house network with my housemates). You'll definitely need additional storage, so factor in an external hard disk sometime soon. This is important for backing up stuff. Also, back up stuff on the cloud! Dropbox, for example. It's horrible when you loose your work.

I think the only time you'll need grunt from your machine is when you'll be compiling programs, but you won't be writing programs big enough to be seriously stressed between which processor you have in the machine and whether it's fast enough. It might take a little longer for the compilation compared to the modern CPUs in three or four years time, but it'll get there and probably won't be more than a dozen seconds slower.

Other times you'll need a bit of power is when you're doing databases or 3D graphics, but you certainly don't need the latest and greatest machine. Go with what you can afford.

And when you graduate and get a job, you can go and spend your first pay cheque on a brand new machine!

 

[-kickAss-]

To be honest $1500 is already over my budget
I want the air definitely with 256ssd
Cause I dont think 128 is enough
Would would you pick the i7 or 8GB ram
Or what do you think ? Just don't know what I will need as a computet science major for the next few years
And I'm not so sure abou the macbook bro anymore
Cause i Really want a haswell

 

[NickPhamUK]

256GB is a must if you intend to
1. Store lots of music/photos (for films, you'll be better off with an ext. HDD, an 1TB HDD will cost you ~100).
2. Bootcamp. At least 50GB is recommended for Windows partition.
3. Install lots of heavy games and apps (like Adobe, Final Cut Pro etc.)

Other than that, you can live fine with 128GB. However, it's better to spend some extra cash and not regret later.

As for RAM, 8GB is recommended if you plan to keep the device for several years, as it's soldered so you can't upgrade the RAM later on. About i7, I'd say it's a waste of money. It's still an ULV chip, so it's still weaker than those found on MBPs. What's more, you'll be draining more battery, potentially reducing the advertised 12h battery life. If you really need a strong CPU, consider rMBP 13" (Haswell) instead.

To sum up, I'd recommend going for 8GB RAM + 256GB SSD on the MBA (forgo the i7 upgrade) or get the 256GB rMBP 13".

 

[DragonJade]

If money is tight, do you really need a MacBook Air/Pro? You could get something that's chunkier but cheaper on the PC side.

Personally, I would not bother with retina. Seriously, will you really need it for uni work? I really don't think so. Even if you were doing graphic design, you would buy an external monitor. That's something I believe you might end up getting in the future when you have the funds.

So, what about a regular MBP? Get the cheap one on student discount, upgrade the RAM and HDD when you feel the need/have the money, get an external monitor so you don't go blind looking at the small screen all the time, and a USB memory stick?

 

[ehfz]

You don't really need the extra power of the macbook pro to be a CS major. Air battery life is nice to have in college. If you needed to learn CUDA you would need a 15" retina to get an nVidia GPU (but who knows if you'd ever get to that and you can virtualize it if needed). You'll probably want room for a Windows and linux VM, so I'd get at least 256GB if I were you. If you could reasonably wait for haswell rMBP I'd say go for it, but if not I'd lean towards the air. You should keep in mind though that you'll be fine with either of these so once you make your mind up don't second guess yourself too much and just enjoy!

 

[Serban]

i recommend for you the haswell model rMBP 13". I think the base model with 256 SSD and 8 G RAM will be 100$ less and your hesitations are lost

 

[Count Blah]

If you think you are going to run any VMs, then 8gigs of RAM is a minimum. Given the way things are going now, is have to imagine there would be some classes where they hand out VMs for default environments. So you might want to check that out 1st. If that is the case, then 13" cMBP might be the way to go.

 

[mcarling]

Given your budget, I recommend you get a refurbished rMBP.

 

[-kickAss-]

I just wish apple would reveal the macbook pro 2013 with haswell
Specs, price etc...
Cause all the ongoing sales are gonna end before the relesse of macbook pro

 

[DragonJade]

And probably as part of your budget, you might want to think about a printer/scanner for reports and things.

 

[Stetrain]

You can save a bit more on the 256GB 13" rMBP by going with an Apple Certified Refurbished model:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...z-dual-core-intel-core-i5-with-retina-display

 

[yosemit]

For MBA, i7 is not necessary if there is a budget. 8GB and 256GB memory are almost necessary because you may have to run Linux and Windows VMs; for example, to hack a Linux kernel in an OS course, or program using Visual Studio.

Hi guys

i know
nothing about the macbook pro 2013 (haswell) has been confirmed yet but i was just wondering
how much do you guys think its gonna cost?

new school year just started i want to buy a new laptop
I'm a computer science major btw
freshman though
i'm interested in the
macbook air (2013) 13inch 256ssd, i7 and 8Gb ram (@ apple.com = $1479 + $100 gift card)
or the
macbook pro 13inch with retina display i5, 256ssd and 8Gb ram (@bestbuy = $1499 students with .edu email get additional $100 off)

what do you guys think? i want it to last at least through university!
are these specs good or should i downgrade a little? what do you guys recommend?
or should i wait for the macbook pro with haswell?
dont want to sepent over $1500 though


thx

 

[-kickAss-]

so far i'm sure that i want MBA 13inch 256SSD and 8GB ram
still deciding if i should get the i7 instead of the i5
any fellow computer science majors out there? what do you guys think?

 

[Krazy Bill]

what do you guys think?

It was already mentioned: Get what you can afford. While the MBA is no slouch for general use, I'd certainly bump everything I could on it so it remains useful for as long as it can. Chances are, in the future the software will exceed the Air's capabilities more so than any kind of detrimental hardware failure. (i.e., the Air will last you a long time so future proof it the best you can).

 

[old-wiz]

I just wish apple would reveal the macbook pro 2013 with haswell
Specs, price etc...
Cause all the ongoing sales are gonna end before the relesse of macbook pro

Apple never pre-releases specs or prices before the acual unveiling. They won't reveal anything before the end of the ongoing sales.

 

[Count Blah]

Oops, already posted i here. At least I give consistent advice

 

[mcarling]

I'd think that 8Gigs of RAM would be limiting before you reach the end of school.

I disagree. Last year, Apple were still selling 2GB Macs. 8GB should be useable for nearly all users, including a computer science student, 4 years from now.

 

[Count Blah]

I disagree. Last year, Apple were still selling 2GB Macs. 8GB should be useable for nearly all users, including a computer science student, 4 years from now.

All it takes is dabbling a little into VMs today, and you are right there. 4 years from now????

Econ, Languages, writing term papers, etc...? Sure. Math and Comp Sci? I'd prefer the ability to ensure I could outpace what could be thrown at me in 3-4 years.

 

[DragonJade]

Apple never pre-releases specs or prices before the acual unveiling. They won't reveal anything before the end of the ongoing sales.

But usually new models come in at the same (or similar) price point as the outgoing models.

 

[old-wiz]

But usually new models come in at the same (or similar) price point as the outgoing models.

that's right, but Apple doesn't pre-release the info. New models can have lower prices as well.

 

[hachiman]

I had the money ready to buy a retina macbook air. All the upgrades were welcomed but one thing was missing, the retina display.

So here I am, waiting for the update on the macbook pro retina, sometime in October I think.

I just came back from Best Buy, and I really have to pick the retina display over the regular ones. Everything is smooth and crisp, even when scaled at the highest. The demo pictures in iPhotos are stunningly vivid in colors and there's a big difference between retina and the old school display.

Being spoiled by my retina iPad, I'm not going back.

As a former computer science student, you want to test some of the apps you might be using to see if you like the resolution. Like if you use Eclipse IDE, try downloading it and run it on a demo unit and see if the screen real estate works for you. MBA's resolution is not good for coding, working with excel as one of your main activity, or graphics. You will be scrolling more often than coding.

 

[DragonJade]

MBA's resolution is not good for coding, working with excel as one of your main activity, or graphics. You will be scrolling more often than coding.

kickAss, this is where an external monitor is a godsend, and something to consider getting. 23" for under $100, according to Best Buy. Being able to see an extra 10 lines of code on your screen (and without having your nose pressed up to the screen to see it) is something highly underrated by people who don't code.

 

[-kickAss-]

thx guys for all the advice

but its such a big investment
might as well get the best
still torn between getting a maxed out MBA
or wait for the new MBP
hope the MBP price range is similar to the MBA (256ssd,i7 and 8GB ram)