Should I buy a MBP 13"?

[MathewBR]

I need a laptop because I'm going to college (business school) next year, but I'm not sure if a 13" MBP would feel my needs. I would have to use a VM to run Windows (MS Office and maybe other softwares, nothing heavy) if I buy the MBP. Besides that I'd use it for web browsing.

I really like the MBP because everything in it is awesome. The trackpad is amazing, the screen is better than every laptop I've ever seen. The build quality is unbelievable too. But I'd have to run a VM almost all the time...

Well, should I buy the MBP 13" even having to run a VM almost all the time? Or should I buy a Windows laptop (recommendations would be great)?

And how long would the MBP last using it this way?

 

[GGJstudios]

I need a laptop because I'm going to college (business school) next year, but I'm not sure if a 13" MBP would feel my needs. I would have to use a VM to run Windows (MS Office and maybe other softwares, nothing heavy) if I buy the MBP. Besides that I'd use it for web browsing.

There is a version of MS Office for Mac that will work just fine, without running Windows. Most other apps have Mac versions or equivalents, so there are very few reasons to run Windows, unless you're gaming a lot. Before deciding to run a VM, it makes sense to look to see if there are Mac apps that can accomplish what you want.

http://alternativeto.net/

And how long would the MBP last using it this way?

Whether you run a VM or not has no impact on how long your Mac will last.

 

[InlawBiker]

Yeah it will run it fine. It has two cores you can dedicate one to your Windows VM. You should get 8gb memory minimum.

Although Office for Mac is great, we have run into compatibility problems between the versions in formatting. The docs are compatible but don't always lay out the same. That's been my experience.

So I run Office 2007 for PC via Parallels virtual desktop. If you run it in Coherence mode it's totally integrated, like it's running in a Mac window natively. Except of course it's the virtual PC.

You could argue that always running Windows in a VM is a pain, and you may as well just get a PC laptop if you're doing 90% of your work in Office. It depends on the other things you want to do with your laptop and whether it's worth it. There are some pretty capable PC laptops that are high quality but you're right none of them have the same experience, especially using the trackpad. The Macbook Pro is the first laptop I've owned that I don't feel the need to bring a mouse along with me.

 

[MathewBR]

There is a version of MS Office for Mac that will work just fine, without running Windows. Most other apps have Mac versions or equivalents, so there are very few reasons to run Windows, unless you're gaming a lot. Before deciding to run a VM, it makes sense to look to see if there are Mac apps that can accomplish what you want.

http://alternativeto.net/

Whether you run a VM or not has no impact on how long your Mac will last.

There is a version of MS Office for Mac that will work just fine, without running Windows. Most other apps have Mac versions or equivalents, so there are very few reasons to run Windows, unless you're gaming a lot. Before deciding to run a VM, it makes sense to look to see if there are Mac apps that can accomplish what you want.

Whether you run a VM or not has no impact on how long your Mac will last.

I've used Office:Mac sometimes and I really think that Office for Windows is better, and some softwares don't have a Mac alternative, so a VM is a must have for me. And I'm not gaming.

About how long the mac would last, I mean how long could it run the apps I'll use without lags or something like that (if it's necessary I'll buy 8GB of ram).

Thank you.

 

[GGJstudios]

I've used Office:Mac sometimes and I really think that Office for Windows is better

In what way do you think it's better?

About how long the mac would last, I mean how long could it run the apps I'll use without lags or something like that (if it's necessary I'll buy 8GB of ram).

That depends on the total workload and configuration of the MBP. It also depends on which apps, which Windows version, etc. There are too many variables to estimate with any reasonable degree of accuracy.

 

[Slivortal]

Yeah it will run it fine. It has two cores you can dedicate one to your Windows VM. You should get 8gb memory minimum.

Although Office for Mac is great, we have run into compatibility problems between the versions in formatting. The docs are compatible but don't always lay out the same. That's been my experience.

So I run Office 2007 for PC via Parallels virtual desktop. If you run it in Coherence mode it's totally integrated, like it's running in a Mac window natively. Except of course it's the virtual PC.

You could argue that always running Windows in a VM is a pain, and you may as well just get a PC laptop if you're doing 90% of your work in Office. It depends on the other things you want to do with your laptop and whether it's worth it. There are some pretty capable PC laptops that are high quality but you're right none of them have the same experience, especially using the trackpad. The Macbook Pro is the first laptop I've owned that I don't feel the need to bring a mouse along with me.

Can you actually attribute cores on OSX? I've been trying to find out for a while, but I've never seen anything confirming or denying core attribution on OSX.

 

[dba415]

There is a version of MS Office for Mac that will work just fine, without running Windows. Most other apps have Mac versions or equivalents, so there are very few reasons to run Windows, unless you're gaming a lot. Before deciding to run a VM, it makes sense to look to see if there are Mac apps that can accomplish what you want.

http://alternativeto.net/

Whether you run a VM or not has no impact on how long your Mac will last.

He is going to business school, I highly doubt that Office Mac is going to be sufficient...

Parallels will work fine for running Office, if you are willing to shell out the extra cash for a Mac like this then you can make it work.

That being said, there are certain PC laptops out there that do offer good screens and the trackpad is decent.

 

[GGJstudios]

He is going to business school, I highly doubt that Office Mac is going to be sufficient...

Why not? Office for Mac does everything Office for Windows does.

 

[MathewBR]

Thank you guys for the answers. Well, about the office, I feel that Office:Mac is less responsible than Office for Windows. The windows version seems faster than Mac's version, I think it's more stable. Moreover, there's Office for Windows in my native language (Brazilian Portuguese), making Excel easier to use (formulas and all these things).

I'm from Brazil and I've founded few great PC laptops. I think that Dell Inspiron 14z is kinda great, but the trackpad isn't so good and the screen is just regular, it has the same bad viewing angles of common laptops (I love watching movies on laptops, so it matters a lot to me). I've heard about some Dell Laptops losing theirs battery health quicker than expected, so I'm a little worried about it.

I forgot saying I think Windows 8 is terrible, so using a VM in Coherence mode on OS X is better than using Windows 8 all day. I could keep Windows 7, but I think MS won't give up of Metro UI on PCs even if anyone likes it and I'd have to chance the OS someday.

Thank you guys, you're helping me a lot.

 

[Apple...]

I've used Office:Mac sometimes and I really think that Office for Windows is better, and some softwares don't have a Mac alternative, so a VM is a must have for me. And I'm not gaming.

About how long the mac would last, I mean how long could it run the apps I'll use without lags or something like that (if it's necessary I'll buy 8GB of ram).

Thank you.

Ever tried any of Apple's iWork suite? Like Pages, Keynote, and Numbers? Or would that not work for what you're going into?

 

[igiboi]

Thank you guys for the answers. Well, about the office, I feel that Office:Mac is less responsible than Office for Windows. The windows version seems faster than Mac's version, I think it's more stable. Moreover, there's Office for Windows in my native language (Brazilian Portuguese), making Excel easier to use (formulas and all these things).

I'm from Brazil and I've founded few great PC laptops. I think that Dell Inspiron 14z is kinda great, but the trackpad isn't so good and the screen is just regular, it has the same bad viewing angles of common laptops (I love watching movies on laptops, so it matters a lot to me). I've heard about some Dell Laptops losing theirs battery health quicker than expected, so I'm a little worried about it.

I forgot saying I think Windows 8 is terrible, so using a VM in Coherence mode on OS X is better than using Windows 8 all day. I could keep Windows 7, but I think MS won't give up of Metro UI on PCs even if anyone likes it and I'd have to chance the OS someday.

Thank you guys, you're helping me a lot.

Just get windows7 oem version then boot camp it.. which I did, and ran ms office windows for school which I did.

 

[TacticalDesire]

If you're just going to be using Office and web browsing, I think you'd be better off with a PC. I find the Office for mac app to be inferior in just about every way to the PC version. From the performance to the interface.

 

[dba415]

Why not? Office for Mac does everything Office for Windows does.

No it doesn't. I have office Mac 2011 and office 2007 on bootcamp. 2007 is better for productivity, and I'm a undergraduate business student. Many assignments simply can't be done unless you have excel for windows, for example.

OP is also a business student. He'd be better off knowing how to use the windows version because that is what companies will use.

 

[MathewBR]

Ever tried any of Apple's iWork suite? Like Pages, Keynote, and Numbers? Or would that not work for what you're going into?

Yes, I've tried it. I think that numbers is a good tool for simple things, like home finances or something like that, for professional work excel is the only option. Pages is good, but the text layout is not kept when you open a pages document on word. Keynote is just fantastic.

 

[Braniff747SP]

Mac would be a good way to go; you can have a Windows system installed, and with Parallels you can run both at the same time.