Need help guys... planning on buying a new mac..

[aenri]

So i went to a local Best Buy because there's no Apple Retail Store where i live. And was planning on buying the new 13.3" MBP $1199.99... and before buying it i just wondered around the store for a little bit and i saw a table with some macbook cases and apple accessories and they had the MBP 15.4" unibody i guess the earliers models from this year... 2gb ddr3 1066mhz memory, 250gb hdd, both vid cards, 2.4ghz processor regular price $1699, at Special price $1299.99..

So i know the logical decision would be the 15.4" MBP but i would like the new battery life from the new mbp's, maybe later on i would prefer a smaller size computer for portability, im a college student and i will be using it almost everyday all the time at college, plugs are not always accessible in classrooms depending on where i sit .... so guy's what should i do?

 

[miles01110]

Either one will be fine for you. What can you afford?

 

[Jamesthatcher]

So i went to a local Best Buy because there's no Apple Retail Store where i live. And was planning on buying the new 13.3" MBP $1199.99... and before buying it i just wondered around the store for a little bit and i saw a table with some macbook cases and apple accessories and they had the MBP 15.4" unibody i guess the earliers models from this year... 2gb ddr3 1066mhz memory, 250gb hdd, both vid cards, 2.4ghz processor regular price $1699, at Special price $1299.99..

So i know the logical decision would be the 15.4" MBP but i would like the new battery life from the new mbp's, maybe later on i would prefer a smaller size computer for portability, im a college student and i will be using it almost everyday all the time at college, plugs are not always accessible in classrooms depending on where i sit .... so guy's what should i do?

is the 1199.99 including the educational discount? It should be about 15% for uni students, and i think they said around 5% for college.
I 'm not sure whether you get a free iPod with a referb, or not.
I don't know if you get a edu discount on referb models, but that might be worth looking into!

If you compare the models, the bonus's of the new one, and the referb...

13 inch
Pro's from what i can see...
1; Better battery
2; Portability
3; SD card slot ( could be a disadvantage over express depending on what you'll be using it for )
4; I think it will also be more of a cheaper option if you include the edu discount.
5; Free iPod

15 inch
Pro's
1; Good deal for what it is!
2; better hdd
3; much better graphics cards
4; slightly faster processor, (doubt the difference is that noticeable)
5; Extra pixels! 15 inch screen

I suggest you weigh up all the pro's and cons, ( i 've only listed a few ) and see how much you can get off that original price with educational promo's.

Hope this helps a little

 

[MacAndy74]

My rule of thumb is. Do you squint looking at the MBP 13-inch? If not, buy it, if so - go for the 15-inch model.

 

[motulist]

You can simply buy a second battery for the older MBP. That way you can get the same battery life as on the unibody.

 

[motulist]

My rule of thumb is. Do you squint looking at the MBP 13-inch? If not, buy it, if so - go for the 15-inch model.

Why would you have to squint? The ppi of the screens should be similar, so the objects on the screen should be the same size physically. It's just that with the smaller screen you can fit less of the same-sized objects on screen at any one time. Or am I misunderstanding something?

 

[J&JPolangin]

...is the 15" a return or open box?

That's $700 off its original price... I'd get the 15" MBP at that price if its a NIB unit as it has the faster CPU, dual GPU's, express card slot, larger HDD and larger screen...

 

[Jamesthatcher]

Why would you have to squint? The ppi of the screens should be similar, so the objects on the screen should be the same size physically. It's just that with the smaller screen you can fit less of the same-sized objects on screen at any one time. Or am I misunderstanding something?

no your right.
They are exactly the same.. just less space