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Weshzu

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 16, 2010
35
0
Hello MacRumors Members,

This coming september i will be off to college. First year i will be taking arts fundamental. Second year will be more advanced and in depth which would require a substainable laptop for 3D animation.

I was offered from my family friend a used 1-2 month old MBP 13" for 800.
I had my mind set on a 15" knowing that intel core i5 will last me throughout my four years of college.

The question is should I just take the 13" as outdated as it is wth Dual Core. Since I.T. stuff updates quite quickly anyways. (maybe there will be 13" i5 next year )Worst case scenario not making into 3D animation second year i could save my money instead of spending 1k more.

Thanks in advaced,

Weshzu ( Registered today )
 
yeah sounds like a decent price on the macbook pro, its not outdated its just not the latest greatest, i am sure in 4 years or so all of the cheap computers will be running the c2d >_< instead of the athlons =D hehe but i hear next year will have some pretty sick upgrades that will suite you a little better so you will be able to save up some dough and the 13" will still be worth a few bills.
 
Ye hopefully.

My family friend lent me his MBP so i could play around with it before I make my decision. This is my first time using a laptop going to be a hard time adjusting to. I've used desktop all my life.

Any programs or testing on the MBP to see if it is in good condition before I purchase it?
 
Weshzu said:
Ye hopefully.

My family friend lent me his MBP so i could play around with it before I make my decision. This is my first time using a laptop going to be a hard time adjusting to. I've used desktop all my life.

Any programs or testing on the MBP to see if it is in good condition before I purchase it?
Click to expand...

Apple hardware diagnostic
 
no lol I haven't even started college yet. Second year is when my 3D animation course starts. I wish I knew was hoping for someone on macrumors who has a similar scenario as me.
 
You could ask your school or the college of where the classes are under. It shouldn't be a secret at all.

I'm not in that field, but I've used Maya when I took an animation intro class. There is also 3D Studio Max(or 3ds Max, dunno the exact name) and Blender(free). I know Maya is used professionally and they should have a demo version up.

When I used Maya, it worked fine with a Dual Core processor, before Core 2 Duo came out. The only time when using a Core i5/i7 processor would help would be when you render the animation. This is from my experience when I took that animation class for one semester.
 
DKYang said:
You could ask your school or the college of where the classes are under. It shouldn't be a secret at all.

I'm not in that field, but I've used Maya when I took an animation intro class. There is also 3D Studio Max(or 3ds Max, dunno the exact name) and Blender(free). I know Maya is used professionally and they should have a demo version up.

When I used Maya, it worked fine with a Dual Core processor, before Core 2 Duo came out. The only time when using a Core i5/i7 processor would help would be when you render the animation. This is from my experience when I took that animation class for one semester.
Click to expand...

i see thanks. I'm giving them a call this morning i'll be sure to ask thanks for the advices guys. Btw where is apple hardware diagnostic

Another question: I'm been on MBP to test the battery life since it is 2nd hand. What should i be doing to get 10hours of battery life. I was watching youtube videos for 50mins last night and it already drainned 43% so not looking too good
 
Dunno if this is your first Mac or your first Mac laptop but you'll soon learn that except for a small subset of hardware, flash blows on OS X, NOT Apple computers (since flash runs better in windows on the same hardware). However, the latest flash update added Hw accel for the 9400m, so install that and try YouTube again.

Also since the battery is used you won't see 10 hour performance, which is like very light usage with a fresh battery. The condition will depend on whether or not your friend tool adequate care.

Apple hardware test is on the disks that are included with the computer, so you may not have them. If your friend doesn't have them, you'll have to buy a new set.

Wonder why it's being sold..
 
Eddyisgreat said:
Dunno if this is your first Mac or your first Mac laptop but you'll soon learn that except for a small subset of hardware, flash blows on OS X, NOT Apple computers (since flash runs better in windows on the same hardware). However, the latest flash update added Hw accel for the 9400m, so install that and try YouTube again.

Also since the battery is used you won't see 10 hour performance, which is like very light usage with a fresh battery. The condition will depend on whether or not your friend tool adequate care.

Apple hardware test is on the disks that are included with the computer, so you may not have them. If your friend doesn't have them, you'll have to buy a new set.

Wonder why it's being sold..
Click to expand...

Yup this is my first mac. ye so i've heard flash killing battery life. My MBP just ran out of batteries. I was on webcam for 50mins, 10mins on youtube 1hour and 10mins on browsing the internet. Total of 2hours and 10mins. Apple says 10hours >.>. Does this sound like a healthy battery to any of you :/? Its still fairly new 1-2months old.
 
Weshzu said:
Yup this is my first mac. ye so i've heard flash killing battery life. My MBP just ran out of batteries. I was on webcam for 50mins, 10mins on youtube 1hour and 10mins on browsing the internet. Total of 2hours and 10mins. Apple says 10hours >.>. Does this sound like a healthy battery to any of you :/? Its still fairly new 1-2months old.
Click to expand...

no, the battery is probably fine. I mean, for a fairly new battery.

Apple lets us know how they got their 10 hour battery life which it specifically calls "wireless productivity". What's that mean?

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/battery/ said:
13-inch MacBook Pro testing conducted by Apple in March 2010 using preproduction 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo-based MacBook Pro units. 15-inch MacBook Pro testing conducted by Apple in March 2010 using preproduction 2.66GHz Intel Core i7-based MacBook Pro units. 17-inch MacBook Pro testing conducted by Apple in March 2010 using preproduction 2.53GHz Intel Core i5-based MacBook Pro units. Battery life depends on configuration and use. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information. The wireless productivity test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing various websites and editing text in a word processing document with display brightness set to 50%.
Click to expand...

which means, if you want 10 hour battery life, you'll need to reinstall the OS, install ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except OS updates, then open textedit and maybe one webpage in safari (that doesn't have flash), decrease the brightness to 50% and voila :D

This is my version of their text:
...life depends on configuration and use. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information. The wireless productivity test measures battery life by doing absolutely nothing or very close to absolutely nothing.
Click to expand...
 
I just took the plunge on the 2010 13" MBP, knowing that they'll update eventually. It's inevitable really, technology is constantly changing, and changing fast, so I thought I'd may as well suck it up, since I needed a laptop, and wanted a MacBook Pro, I bought the 2010 13" model.

Basically, if you don't really need a MacBook Pro right now, it may be worth while to wait for the next update. Sandy Bridge is coming soon and if we're lucky, Apple puts it into the 13" model. Although, if you need one right now, I'd snatch up that MBP for $800! That's cheap, and it's only 1-2 months used?! No brainer right there. :)
 
Eddyisgreat said:
no, the battery is probably fine. I mean, for a fairly new battery.

Apple lets us know how they got their 10 hour battery life which it specifically calls "wireless productivity". What's that mean?



which means, if you want 10 hour battery life, you'll need to reinstall the OS, install ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except OS updates, then open textedit and maybe one webpage in safari (that doesn't have flash), decrease the brightness to 50% and voila :D

This is my version of their text:
Click to expand...

The MBP is on manufacture setting I think. I have not installed anything since its not mine yet.

Even if that was the case where they only ran word processor and 50% brightness. I should at least end up around 10 hours. 2hours seems to be a little low to me. I dunno I never owned any apple products just assuming since its fairly new. I'll try it with 50% brightness next to see if i get anywhere close to 5hours at least.
 
chrisvee said:
I just took the plunge on the 2010 13" MBP, knowing that they'll update eventually. It's inevitable really, technology is constantly changing, and changing fast, so I thought I'd may as well suck it up, since I needed a laptop, and wanted a MacBook Pro, I bought the 2010 13" model.

Basically, if you don't really need a MacBook Pro right now, it may be worth while to wait for the next update. Sandy Bridge is coming soon and if we're lucky, Apple puts it into the 13" model. Although, if you need one right now, I'd snatch up that MBP for $800! That's cheap, and it's only 1-2 months used?! No brainer right there. :)
Click to expand...

Ye i guess you're right and what is Sandy Bridge? D;
 
Eddyisgreat said:
no, the battery is probably fine. I mean, for a fairly new battery.

Apple lets us know how they got their 10 hour battery life which it specifically calls "wireless productivity". What's that mean?



which means, if you want 10 hour battery life, you'll need to reinstall the OS, install ABSOLUTELY NOTHING except OS updates, then open textedit and maybe one webpage in safari (that doesn't have flash), decrease the brightness to 50% and voila :D

This is my version of their text:
Click to expand...

lol.....and only if you lucky you will get that 10 hours....i have only seen it get 10 hours when its asleep....haha
 
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