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

My First Ever Mac - MBP 13"

A

ArmCortexA8

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 18, 2010
1,110
214
Terra Australis
Hi all

Firstly, I cannot believe I am typing this message right now, and maybe I'm suffering shock still, but two days ago I purchased my first ever Mac computer - a MacBook Pro 13". I wanted to go the 15", but the price gap (especially in Australia) is way too high, plus I wont be playing games anyway. I will be using Office, internet, email, etc.

Background: I had and Asus G1S laptop (Core2 Duo 2.2 Santa Clara Chipset) with Windows 7 x64 and a Corsair X128 SSD, and hell that laptop flew on everything, until one day I went to wake up the laptop from sleep and noticed there was nothing on the screen - no backlight - no LCD activity at all. I forced it off turned it back on, no post screen and no images. Hell, couldn't even do video out via VGA to a monitor, so either the motherboard has failed or the GPU has died. It was almost 3 years old. For around the same price as the MBP 13" I could have got an ultra powerful Asus laptop with huge screen, BD reader, Windows 7, Intel Core i5 or i7 processor etc - so more powerful hardware for less $$$$, but in the end I decided it was time for a change.

So, in the end I sacrificed a larger screen, and more powerful hardware and Windows for a MBP. The advantage is that the MBP uses DDR3, not DDR2 which my Asus did. So, over 20 years of using Windows and beta testing and I jump to Mac OSX. What amazes be is the build quality of the MBP compared to even the top of the range Windows laptops which are still mainly plastic and haven't change style much over the last few years. The big shocker is its so damn quiet, cant hear the fan or hard disk and no HDD indicator to verify everything is working.

I think I made a good decision, so this new OS will take a while to learn and would appreciate any hints / tips.
 
Congratulations. Have a look at the following links (if you haven't already), as the information presented there might be helpful in your future endeavours into Mac OS X and could clear up initial confusion and may even prevent harm to your system or your files.


Mac OS X Basics
Switch 101 - guide with articles made by Apple on how to accustom yourself, after you switched to Mac OS X from Windows​

Mac 101 - How to get started with Mac OS X​

Find out how - tutorial videos made by Apple on how to do certain thing in Mac OS X​

Pro tips - tips made available by Apple for easier ways of doing certain tasks​

Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts - Learn about common Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts.​

Mac OS X Beginner's Guide by MacRumors - learn about software, media players, shortcuts and some useful tips, tricks and hints​

Mac Guides - tutorials, product guides and more​

MRoogle - a very effective tool to search these fora using Google and made available by edesignuk, introductory threads: 1, 2 and 3​

 
hello congratulations on joining the family =D, You will love you new MBP and it is quite the rocket itself =D I guess the first thing you need to realize about OSX is that as everyone says it is very very user friendly, if you think it should be somewhere or do something it generally is exactly like that, if you need to find anything on your computer it will be in your finder or as i have renamed it the "god box" it house all your applications, music, folder, documents, hard drives and external disks, and just about everything else, opening your system preferences for every program you use will help you setup and customize every program to work as you prefer. most people do not bother to check out there system preferences and complain that things look different or don't do it as they want it done but that will get your computer on your side. I suppose the only thing left is just love your mac.

let me know if you have any questions =D
 
Congrats and welcome. Hopefully you are also learning your finger swipes for the trackpad. No other computer comes close to the MBP trackpad and ease of use. I love mine.
 
lol. what a big coincidence. I myself have an Asus G1S and am currently looking to buy a macbook pro. It's been almost 3 years that I've been using this laptop, and asus really did a great job.
it ends that I 'grew up' and don't have time to waste playing games anymore. Right now I'm on the fence as to which one I should get (13" or 15") and the money difference is huge ($600).
I'm glad you're happy with your new (first) mac and I hope I'll be joining the club soon.
 
rodrigo7 said:
lol. what a big coincidence. I myself have an Asus G1S and am currently looking to buy a macbook pro. It's been almost 3 years that I've been using this laptop, and asus really did a great job.
it ends that I 'grew up' and don't have time to waste playing games anymore. Right now I'm on the fence as to which one I should get (13" or 15") and the money difference is huge ($600). I'm glad you're happy with your new (first) mac and I hope I'll be joining the club soon.
Click to expand...

The Asus G1S is a powerful laptop considering its age, and I myself also never used it for games, as I have consoles for that purpose but its a very fast laptop with Windows 7 x64 and an SSD - it screams along thats for sure. Im still baffled why the LCD suddenly died after it being on standby for the whole day. I opened the lid pressed a key to bring it back to life and no backlight and no post screen after a cold reboot and no video out and the backlight doesn't even come on - something has definitely died.

I chose the MBP 13" because of price, the 15" price difference it way too much and Apple should be pricing these closer to Windows 7 equivalent systems - they need way more aggressive pricing as the current price gaps are way too large. The MBP 13" / 15" are based on Core2 Duo processors which are now old and replaced by the i3 / i5 / i7, so these C2D based MBP's should be quite a lot cheaper.
 
ArmCortexA8 said:
...

I chose the MBP 13" because of price, the 15" price difference it way too much and Apple should be pricing these closer to Windows 7 equivalent systems - they need way more aggressive pricing as the current price gaps are way too large. The MBP 13" / 15" are based on Core2 Duo processors which are now old and replaced by the i3 / i5 / i7, so these C2D based MBP's should be quite a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

First off, congratulations on your first Mac. We're all here to help fellow Mac users so take advantage of the wealth of knowledge in these forums.

As for the pricing of MacBook's, you're paying not only for the hardware but for the software that makes it a Mac. OS X is a perfect match of user friendly interfaces with very powerful capabilities. From the beginner to the power user, OS X's flexibility allows for a full featured experience out of the box.
You're also paying for the truly state of the art design that Apple uses in their products.

Here's a few films to watch to introduce you to the Mac universe (most are on Netflix):

Objectified
MacHeads
Welcome To Macintosh

Here are some blogs to follow:

Daring Fireball
Cult of Mac
TUAW
engadget

Enjoy your first Mac, it won't be your last!
 
ArmCortexA8 said:
I chose the MBP 13" because of price, the 15" price difference it way too much and Apple should be pricing these closer to Windows 7 equivalent systems - they need way more aggressive pricing as the current price gaps are way too large. The MBP 13" / 15" are based on Core2 Duo processors which are now old and replaced by the i3 / i5 / i7, so these C2D based MBP's should be quite a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...

All 15" MBP have i5 / i7 processors since April 2010. Only the 13" have C2Ds.
 
I just got my first ever Macbook pro 13" in June and it is my first mac too. I have been a PC guy since the mid-90's and never thought I would own a Mac. The I got an iphone, ipad etc, and decided to take the (more expensive) plunge into the Apple field. I love it so far.:D
 
ArmCortexA8 said:
Hi all

Firstly, I cannot believe I am typing this message right now, and maybe I'm suffering shock still, but two days ago I purchased my first ever Mac computer - a MacBook Pro 13". I wanted to go the 15", but the price gap (especially in Australia) is way too high, plus I wont be playing games anyway. I will be using Office, internet, email, etc.

Background: I had and Asus G1S laptop (Core2 Duo 2.2 Santa Clara Chipset) with Windows 7 x64 and a Corsair X128 SSD, and hell that laptop flew on everything, until one day I went to wake up the laptop from sleep and noticed there was nothing on the screen - no backlight - no LCD activity at all. I forced it off turned it back on, no post screen and no images. Hell, couldn't even do video out via VGA to a monitor, so either the motherboard has failed or the GPU has died. It was almost 3 years old. For around the same price as the MBP 13" I could have got an ultra powerful Asus laptop with huge screen, BD reader, Windows 7, Intel Core i5 or i7 processor etc - so more powerful hardware for less $$$$, but in the end I decided it was time for a change.

So, in the end I sacrificed a larger screen, and more powerful hardware and Windows for a MBP. The advantage is that the MBP uses DDR3, not DDR2 which my Asus did. So, over 20 years of using Windows and beta testing and I jump to Mac OSX. What amazes be is the build quality of the MBP compared to even the top of the range Windows laptops which are still mainly plastic and haven't change style much over the last few years. The big shocker is its so damn quiet, cant hear the fan or hard disk and no HDD indicator to verify everything is working.

I think I made a good decision, so this new OS will take a while to learn and would appreciate any hints / tips.
Click to expand...

欢迎！
Welcome! :D

The build quality is very high, I'm sure you will become well acquainted with OS X relatively, fast enjoy your purchase
 
altecXP said:
Did you put the SSD in the macbook?
Click to expand...

No, my Corsair X-128SSD is not installed - its a 128GB. I could put it in but the included hard disk is 250GB. It cost me AU$550 so I should use it, but terrified upgrading the hard disk on my own. Iv'e upgraded laptop / PC hard disks but never Apple.
 
Thanks, but honestly I miss Windows as I do batch files and network configurations and use the Command Prompt, plus a couple of my Windows apps wont work on Mac. 20 years of using Windows and its apps, and now I have a completely new OS. Hardware vs Price, Windows wins almost all the time, yes no Unibody etc, but hardware / performance for $$$$ to me is more important.

I could have go an Asus with a 17" LCD / 4GB DDR 3 / Core i5 or Core i7 / 500GB hard disk / Windows 7 x64 / more USB ports all for the same price as a Mac based on the now defunct Core2 Duo processor which my Asus G1S had 3 years ago. I do feel ripped off. I go for more hardware / faster hardware at the best price.

Apple: Older less powerful hardware at more cost with better system enclosure quality
Windows: Newer and faster hardware with more capacity at a cheaper price and usually more features
 
One of the main reason I joined this forum, good pointers from existing users. I am in the same boat. Just purchased my first mac ever, a 13" MBP yesterday from Apple.

spinnerlys said:
Congratulations. Have a look at the following links (if you haven't already), as the information presented there might be helpful in your future endeavours into Mac OS X and could clear up initial confusion and may even prevent harm to your system or your files.


Mac OS X Basics
Switch 101 - guide with articles made by Apple on how to accustom yourself, after you switched to Mac OS X from Windows​

Mac 101 - How to get started with Mac OS X​

Find out how - tutorial videos made by Apple on how to do certain thing in Mac OS X​

Pro tips - tips made available by Apple for easier ways of doing certain tasks​

Mac OS X Keyboard Shortcuts - Learn about common Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts.​

Mac OS X Beginner's Guide by MacRumors - learn about software, media players, shortcuts and some useful tips, tricks and hints​

Mac Guides - tutorials, product guides and more​

MRoogle - a very effective tool to search these fora using Google and made available by edesignuk, introductory threads: 1, 2 and 3​

Click to expand...
 
ArmCortexA8 said:
No, my Corsair X-128SSD is not installed - its a 128GB. I could put it in but the included hard disk is 250GB. It cost me AU$550 so I should use it, but terrified upgrading the hard disk on my own. Iv'e upgraded laptop / PC hard disks but never Apple.
Click to expand...


It's very easy, just the 6 or so screws for the bottom panel, then 2 screws for the HDD holder and the 4 screws on the drive, then the revers, I can do it in about 5min now. OS X on an SSD is great.
 
ArmCortexA8 said:
Thanks, but honestly I miss Windows as I do batch files and network configurations and use the Command Prompt, plus a couple of my Windows apps wont work on Mac. 20 years of using Windows and its apps, and now I have a completely new OS. Hardware vs Price, Windows wins almost all the time, yes no Unibody etc, but hardware / performance for $$$$ to me is more important.

I could have go an Asus with a 17" LCD / 4GB DDR 3 / Core i5 or Core i7 / 500GB hard disk / Windows 7 x64 / more USB ports all for the same price as a Mac based on the now defunct Core2 Duo processor which my Asus G1S had 3 years ago. I do feel ripped off. I go for more hardware / faster hardware at the best price.

Apple: Older less powerful hardware at more cost with better system enclosure quality
Windows: Newer and faster hardware with more capacity at a cheaper price and usually more features
Click to expand...

If you like Command Prompt you may want to try Terminal the Mac version with much more power, except you will have to learn the Unix commands
 
CaoCao said:
If you like Command Prompt you may want to try Terminal the Mac version with much more power, except you will have to learn the Unix commands
Click to expand...

I like to stick to what I know, and the price vs performance issues I raised are valid, Apple is overpriced for the age of its internal hardware inside the enclosure. I regret not getting the Asus laptop, but have 14 days to make up my mind. I've lost too much software compatibility jumping ship to Mac, plus I cant do any more Microsoft software testing as Im using a Mac - so basically I have alienated myself by switching, and at the same time losing software functionality which I require and is only on Windows. Using the Mac has been fun, but the problem is I got less screen real estate and older hardware for the price and Im not happy about that.
 
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