MacBook Pro purchase: HELP!!

[nasterisk]

Hello all,

I'm in a bit of a pickle here. I'm going into my freshman year at college in a week, hopefully majoring in graphic design. However, to be able to apply for the graphic design program I need to purchase a MBP. I've been looking at my choices and I think I've come down to three choices. Those choices are:

1. MacBook Pro 15", 2.0 GHz Quad i7, 8GB DDR3, 128GB SSD, Hi-Res Antiglare screen, and standard lower-end GPU (6490M). This all amounts to around $2,200 with educational pricing.

2. MacBook Pro 15", 2.2 GHz Quad i7, 4GB DDR3, 500GB SATA @7200RPM, Hi-Res Antiglare screen, and standard higher-end GPU (6750M). This all amounts to around $2,150 with educational pricing.

3. Wait until next year to purchase MBP (seeing as I can't enroll in the graphic design program till the end of freshman year, and currently I have a PC that is up to date). The main perk of this option is that I can wait until either a price-drop (which is unlikely, I realize) or the new 2012 MBPs to be released.

Basically, excluding the 3rd option, I'm trying to decide if the speed and multitasking increases in the first option outweigh the sacrifices of the 200MHz and 6750M GPU in the second option. It should be assumed that I'm going to be using Photoshop extensively all throughout my MacBook's life. I may venture into Final Cut Pro / Logic Studio from time to time as well.

I'm more than likely going to be purchasing an external HDD with 500GBs or more on it, so the space isn't really an issue with the first option. I'm simply curious as to whether it's worth paying the premium for the (obviously) faster drive.

Any and all help is appreciated!

[EDIT: I'm not buying the MacBook now, I just like to plan ahead so that I know exactly what I want when I'm ready to buy. Thanks maflynn!]

-Nate

 

[maflynn]

If you don't need one now given that you're not going into graphic design until late in the school year and your PC is current then wait.

while there will not be a price cut, apple may have a minor product refresh. Besides why buy something that you won't have an immediate need for.

 

[nasterisk]

Oops!

If you don't need one now given that you're not going into graphic design until late in the school year and your PC is current then wait.

while there will not be a price cut, apple may have a minor product refresh. Besides why buy something that you won't have an immediate need for.

I probably should have stated that this is strictly for planning, haha.

I'm not buying the MacBook now, I just like to plan ahead so I know where all my money is going.

 

[yamabushi]

Option #2. It is possible to upgrade to an SSD later if you feel that you need it. Don't wait till the last minute because it is better to make sure you are comfortable with your system and that there are no problems with it. A few weeks to a couple of months should be good enough.

 

[nasterisk]

Option #2. It is possible to upgrade to an SSD later if you feel that you need it. Don't wait till the last minute because it is better to make sure you are comfortable with your system and that there are no problems with it. A few weeks to a couple of months should be good enough.

Alright. The thing I'm worried about the most is how well/fast Photoshop will run on that system. It's got a great CPU and 4GB of RAM, but I'm curious as to whether the upgrade to 8GB is worth it.

 

[Young Spade]

Alright. The thing I'm worried about the most is how well/fast Photoshop will run on that system. It's got a great CPU and 4GB of RAM, but I'm curious as to whether the upgrade to 8GB is worth it.

Well seeing as I can edit photos with no problem in Aperture and I have the baseline 2011 MBP, any variation of that should be fine.

Photo editing isn't that intensive on the graphics card; 4 gigs of RAM is great but it doesn't hurt to have 8. I would check the stats on your RAM usage before making the purchase though.

 

[2hvy4grvty]

8 GB of RAM is like $50 nowadays.

 

[windows4ever]

Does it strike anyone else as odd that these "custom configurations" are mismatched? The one with the slower processor has the faster hard drive, etc. What's the sense in debating which is the better mismatched configuration if the guy's not ready to buy?

 

[saberahul]

I do a lot of graphic design and related work and I'll tell you off the bat that no way is 128Gb enough space for this purpose. I have a 500GB HDD and am already using 250+. Plus, you're aren't just buying a computer for a year (or are you?), these laptops have a great life and last a couple easily so get something that can easily handle whatever you throw at it.