Novice Mac User

[catrahal]

I am a PC girl but want to make the transition to Mac. Still need to use PCs because I do some tech support. I want to learn the Mac OS well enough to do basic tech support for older users.

I will also be using it to triage and enhance my digital photos, put together a website, and, eventually, will be writing/editing a book. I'll also probably run BootCamp for certain apps.

The suggestion from the apple chat guys is to get a 15" MacBook Pro with the widescreen hi-res anti-glare display (I did tell them I don't like screens that reflect too much).

I'd boost to the max 8gb ram and put in a TB drive.

I am wondering if I need to spend the extra $ to go from 2.6 to 2.7 gHz on the processor or if it won't make a significant difference. Also, given that I am new to Mac, does this choice make sense? Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks!

 

[B...]

The 2.6 to 2.7 is most likely not worth it for your uses. Also, do not boost it to Apple's 8 GB as it is extremely overpriced. Installing your own RAM after getting the computer is very easy and less expensive ($60 for 8 GB usually vs. Apple's $100 more). Also, on these computers the limit is 16GB even though Apple does not offer that option.

But 8 GB should be enough. I agree that high-res anti-glare is a good choice if you will be using it a lot outside or in a brightly lit room. However, if you will be carrying it around alot, a 13" MBP might be better suited.Do you need the CD slot? If you do, then the classic line is a good way to go. If you don't need the CD slot and you will be carrying is around a lot, the 13" MBA or rMBP might actually be better suited, as website creation and photo editing don't really need the power of the 15".

 

[catrahal]

Thanks for the feedback. It isn't an easy decision. At this point I don't think I'll be moving around with it very much, and because the bulk of my work is still PC based, I was thinking the larger screen might be worthwhile.

As for bright light - I'll be working mostly from home, and only occasionally outside (that's what the balcony is for in our short summers). I just find glossy screens really annoying - that's why I was thinking the anti glare might be good.

Great suggestion re the RAM - that is what I had been thinking as well.

What about the very pricy apple care - $379 for that machine - is it worth it? I have bought it for my phone, but there it wasn't as onerous.

 

[B...]

Thanks for the feedback. It isn't an easy decision. At this point I don't think I'll be moving around with it very much, and because the bulk of my work is still PC based, I was thinking the larger screen might be worthwhile.

As for bright light - I'll be working mostly from home, and only occasionally outside (that's what the balcony is for in our short summers). I just find glossy screens really annoying - that's why I was thinking the anti glare might be good.

Great suggestion re the RAM - that is what I had been thinking as well.

What about the very pricy apple care - $379 for that machine - is it worth it? I have bought it for my phone, but there it wasn't as onerous.

I always buy Applecare because one logic board replacement after 1 year would more than make up for it (or screen replacement, keyboard, bad HDD etc). Have you thought about a rMBP 15"? It has significant less glare than the regular MBP, the retina screen, all SSD, a 1 GB of the graphics standard and thinner and lighter.

 

[GermanyChris]

I'd take a hard look at elite books, especially if retina isn't you thing.

 

[Brandon263]

I always buy Applecare because one logic board replacement after 1 year would more than make up for it (or screen replacement, keyboard, bad HDD etc). Have you thought about a rMBP 15"? It has significant less glare than the regular MBP, the retina screen, all SSD, a 1 GB of the graphics standard and thinner and lighter.

I think B... is spot on with the suggestion to buy the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro rather than the classic MacBook Pro. The Retina has superior graphics and superior performance (night and day really, because of its extremely fast solid state drive) when compared to the classic MacBook Pro.

It's also much lighter, has direct HDMI connectivity and has more screen viewing space when compared to the high-res classic option (high-res classic 15" MacBook Pro has 1680 by 1050 pixels, while the 15" Retina Macbook Pro has 2880 by 1800 pixels).

 

[catrahal]

Thanks - re elitebooks - if you are talking about the HP series, that's what I'm using now.

----------

@Brandon - I hadn't really considered the retina display, partly because no one had really given me a reason to do so. I may take another look.

The other option, of course, is to go for an iMac - it would cost about half of what the MacBook Pro would cost, but I'd be sacrificing portability.

I'll be making a decision in the next couple of weeks, I think (maybe try to take advantage of the no-interest financing promotion that they have going right now)

 

[swerve147]

Thanks - re elitebooks - if you are talking about the HP series, that's what I'm using now.

----------

@Brandon - I hadn't really considered the retina display, partly because no one had really given me a reason to do so. I may take another look.

The other option, of course, is to go for an iMac - it would cost about half of what the MacBook Pro would cost, but I'd be sacrificing portability.

I'll be making a decision in the next couple of weeks, I think (maybe try to take advantage of the no-interest financing promotion that they have going right now)

Based on your initial post a classic MacBook Pro may be a better choice because the flexibility it offers in expanding internal storage (as well as your RAM choices). I.e. you definitely won't be able to put a 1TB HDD in a Retina MacBook. Additionally you can swap out the internal Superdrive for a secondary HDD or SSD, something that isn't an option with the Retina.

This may be less important for you if you don't mind running a portable external drive for your storage. Additionally there is of course the Retina display itself. If you haven't yet seen one, that may be the deciding factor.

 

[catrahal]

Thanks to all of you for your comments and feedback - very much appreciated

 

[snaky69]

I am a PC girl but want to make the transition to Mac. Still need to use PCs because I do some tech support. I want to learn the Mac OS well enough to do basic tech support for older users.

I will also be using it to triage and enhance my digital photos, put together a website, and, eventually, will be writing/editing a book. I'll also probably run BootCamp for certain apps.

The suggestion from the apple chat guys is to get a 15" MacBook Pro with the widescreen hi-res anti-glare display (I did tell them I don't like screens that reflect too much).

I'd boost to the max 8gb ram and put in a TB drive.

I am wondering if I need to spend the extra $ to go from 2.6 to 2.7 gHz on the processor or if it won't make a significant difference. Also, given that I am new to Mac, does this choice make sense? Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks!

With your intended usage, going from 2.6 to 2.7 is useless.

And unless you're running benchmarks every other day and trying to squeeze every single ounce of power out of your computer, it still doesn't matter much.

 

[Ledgem]

I'll also probably run BootCamp for certain apps.

Unless you're thinking about gaming or certain other graphic-intensive applications, I'd suggest virtualizing with either Parallels or VMWare Fusion. It's a lot more convenient.