Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
That's a lot of money you're puttin out for some stuff. Haha I just got done with my first year in college and I gotta say, you don't need to worry about spending a whole lot on stuff. I guess that's just me though, cause I only spent $1100 on a notebook to use for everyday computing and some graphic-related things (since my first 2 years are gonna be core classes that don't require heavy duty stuff), and I know that the other heavy duty programs will be on my school's systems for later.

Plus I hardly had the use of my TV and xbox 360 cause I was out and about all the time. But again, that might just be me. My suggestion to you is consider what you'll be taking most of your college career and judge based on that, then really put your money and invest it in things that'll help college-wise. Things like study abroad are always really fun.

Money is hard to come by when you're a college student, so the more you have with ya, the better prepared you are!
 
That's a lot of money you're puttin out for some stuff. Haha I just got done with my first year in college and I gotta say, you don't need to worry about spending a whole lot on stuff. I guess that's just me though, cause I only spent $1100 on a notebook to use for everyday computing and some graphic-related things (since my first 2 years are gonna be core classes that don't require heavy duty stuff), and I know that the other heavy duty programs will be on my school's systems for later.

Plus I hardly had the use of my TV and xbox 360 cause I was out and about all the time. But again, that might just be me. My suggestion to you is consider what you'll be taking most of your college career and judge based on that, then really put your money and invest it in things that'll help college-wise. Things like study abroad are always really fun.

Money is hard to come by when you're a college student, so the more you have with ya, the better prepared you are!

dude i'm in highschool, haha. i just work two jobs to pay for my stuff :)
when i got to college i'll sell this and upgrade, yet again. but thats a couple years down the road.

i'm a social person and all, and really i don't like video games. my friends want me to get one so i can play on live with them :eek:as for saving money, after this splurge i will have a little over a grand left, hopefully four when i go to school and after i buy a car. and to furnish a room with ikea furniture is like 1200 (i have a saved cart from them :O)
 
dude i'm in highschool, haha. i just work two jobs to pay for my stuff :)
when i got to college i'll sell this and upgrade, yet again. but thats a couple years down the road.

i'm a social person and all, and really i don't like video games. my friends want me to get one so i can play on live with them :eek:as for saving money, after this splurge i will have a little over a grand left, hopefully four when i go to school and after i buy a car. and to furnish a room with ikea furniture is like 1200 (i have a saved cart from them :O)

Hey man whatever works for you! It's so fun to splurge every once in a while too, perhaps when I graduate I'll go for something super powerful and accompany it with a huge music studio! Enjoy your time when you get to college, that's where you'll make the best friends for life too.
 
i5 is more than enough even for Photoshop.. Never used Autocad so no comments! Imo the only visible difference will be Video editing!
And then I do like I do not like's idea..

My old C2D MBP was pretty good for photoshop, the i5 is heaps better, and the i7 is also slightly better than the i5 as well. Getting the SSD sooner will be a better.

And btw, you DON'T get the extra you pay back for bumping specs when you sell the machine later!
(The difference between the 2.2GHz and the 2.4GHz 2007 MBP was $500!!, now you'll perhaps get 50-100 more for the 2.4GHz one if you sell it)

If you are gonna use the built in screen a lot go with high res AG, if you only are using the screen for taking notes in class, spend the money towards a good monitor, 15 inch will never be good enough for serious photoshop works, neither will a TN panel...

I have a glossy now, which I find lacking, but I've learned to live with it, and I do use external screen 95% of the time I do something serious anyways.

(I kinda had no choice when it came to going with glossy, my old MBP died and there was volcanic ash all over europe, so I would have had to go 3-4 weeks without laptop, or get a glossy one, since they were already in stock here.)
 

so are you saying that the i7 would be better for the bump? i already am getting the hr antiglare and a 7200 rpm drive. i will eventually upgrade the drive when the ssd prices drop because right now, i cannot live under 500 gigs. do you think a 15" i7 with the hr antiglare screen and 7200 rpm hdd would be good?
 
I absolutely love my new machine. I got it when it was first released and really haven't gotten over how bad*ss it really is. This thing doesn't blink and virtually never hangs and I never wait for anything but large installs and data transfers or bad network connections. Essentially, thing machine is everything I wanted (and more).

An i5 with a SSD would give me the same amount of satisfaction, but I always buy the thing I can possibly afford when I buy anything plus the resale value will be higher for longer.
 
You say:

(1) the i5/i7 price difference is $50 for you
(2) money is not a problem
(3) you are OK with reduced battery life vs. the i5

That seems like a solid case for the i7. For a little bit of extra money that you say doesn't matter to you, maybe there will be some application you'll run in the future that works better on the i7. Good luck with your purchase!
 
oh, by the recording studio thing i took it as sarcasm. my bad. :eek:
and yeah, splurging is fun! :D

No prob dude. Yeah bein a musician and all... what else is there to dream for? hahah!!!

You said you were going for an SSD in the near future, right? If you're interested in tracking the price and performance trends for the years to come, here is a site I found that might help you out.

http://www.storagesearch.com/ssd-buyers-guide.html

By the looks of it, it's a yearly statistical observation of what prices and performance by some major manufacturers set on SSD's. Looks promising!
 
thanks! i'll def keep that bookmarked. i think i'll get a ssd or just a new mbp all together when i go to college in a couple years. that's kinda far off so i won't think about that, yet.

can you also recommend any good mixers for around $300?
 
thanks! i'll def keep that bookmarked. i think i'll get a ssd or just a new mbp all together when i go to college in a couple years. that's kinda far off so i won't think about that, yet.

can you also recommend any good mixers for around $300?

Sounds good, SSD prices will definitely drop in a couple years. I also plan on upgrading in that time, too.

What do you mean by mixers? Are you looking for something to record, edit, and mix music with?
 
The normal difference between the base i5 and the i7 is 400 dollars. If you can justify the expense, no prodding from a forum is necessary.
 
The normal difference between the base i5 and the i7 is 400 dollars. If you can justify the expense, no prodding from a forum is necessary.

You say:

(1) the i5/i7 price difference is $50 for you
(2) money is not a problem
(3) you are OK with reduced battery life vs. the i5

That seems like a solid case for the i7. For a little bit of extra money that you say doesn't matter to you, maybe there will be some application you'll run in the future that works better on the i7. Good luck with your purchase!

it's actually $150. i guess i read the shopping cart wrong. :eek:
 
something i can plug a couple guitars and mics into and mix it a bit before sending it all to garageband.

$300 is a little low, and I can't really find anything for that price. But I did some research and found that the Yamaha QY100 Sequencer might be your best bet if you're into recording multiple tracks while adding more effects than what garageband might have. It's $550, but it allows you to store tracks and add drum kits/amp effects on either a media card or your MBP.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-QY100-Sequencer-Accompaniment-Tool-23318-i1154098.gc?source=4WDTWXX

If you want to get even more creative, here's something you can also look into, it's way more pricey though, but might be a great addition in the future.

http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/BR-1180CD/details.html

I got some of this from a youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/D1TVJ

I also have a friend who's studying audio engineering, so I can ask him what he uses and letcha know! All I know is that his equipment is really pricey, over $2500. lol
 
$300 is a little low, and I can't really find anything for that price. But I did some research and found that the Yamaha QY100 Sequencer might be your best bet if you're into recording multiple tracks while adding more effects than what garageband might have. It's $550, but it allows you to store tracks and add drum kits/amp effects on either a media card or your MBP.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-QY100-Sequencer-Accompaniment-Tool-23318-i1154098.gc?source=4WDTWXX

If you want to get even more creative, here's something you can also look into, it's way more pricey though, but might be a great addition in the future.

http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/BR-1180CD/details.html

I got some of this from a youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/D1TVJ

I also have a friend who's studying audio engineering, so I can ask him what he uses and letcha know! All I know is that his equipment is really pricey, over $2500. lol

haha, thanks man. yeah, i dunno where i can get $2500 unless me and my friends get signed ;)
i'll check those links out now...
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.