Thinking of making the jump to apple but not sure..

[Corndog5595]

Are you familiar with OS X at all?
Just a question, it doesn’t really matter if you aren’t, but there is a pretty helpful 25 minute video on youtube that might answer a few questions that you will have when you first get your machine.

 

[hypermog]

Let's see... used to 15" screen... wants i5 /i7 ... plays video games...

um, save up for the 15" MBP dude.

 

[Blues003]

The 15'' MBP is "only" 600$ more expensive... that's basically 50% of the base 13'' MBP model.

 

[wordoflife]

Also, don't forget the Macbook Pro has a 1000 cycle battery while most other laptops still have a standard of 300-400 cycles not to mention the Macbook Pro has better battery life than most other laptops (10 hours rated!)

 

[Corndog5595]

Also, don't forget the Macbook Pro has a 1000 cycle battery while most other laptops still have a standard of 300-400 cycles not to mention the Macbook Pro has better battery life than most other laptops (10 hours rated!)

5-7.5 hours realistically when doing basic word processing and web browsing.

 

[Lunchb0x8]

I can get close to 11 hours with mine, but I do tend to go without bluetooth and dim the screen alot if I am working in a dim room.

I more realistically get 9.5 hours out of a single charge on mine, but that is with minimal processes (non-flash sites, word processing and some light email work).

 

[Corndog5595]

I got five hours with bluetooth on (accidentally) and watching a mix of flash and non flash video. Brightness and keyboard backlight both at 50%.

I was doing a test of the battery life but it failed miserably because I found out that bluetooth was on the whole time. So at about 20% I started to play CS:S.

 

[a-m-k]

Once you go Mac, you never go back.

So true, unless your are forced to help on a non-mac computer.

 

[Blues003]

I'm really kinda scared of the 13'' screen though.. I'm so used to the 15''. :\ Anyone would care to give me feedback on this?

 

[aeboi]

I'm really kinda scared of the 13'' screen though.. I'm so used to the 15''. :\ Anyone would care to give me feedback on this?

why not spend some time at the apple store?

 

[Blues003]

why not spend some time at the apple store?

Because there is no Apple Store in my country. And I don't trust the "lights" of the place where I can buy the MBP. Let me explain: I've been with a MBP 13'' once in my faculty, and it seemed alright. However, at the store, the 13'' seemed too small. Now, this could have to do with several factors: the lighting, the fact I had to be standing up (couldn't sit down) while working with the MBP, and even the fact I couldn't raise the Macbook Pro to use at my eye-level. It was basically as if I was playing a piano, just standing up.

While I said it seemed alright, I wasn't too convinced. And since right now, trying out is only possible at the aforementioned store, I asked for feedback here.

 

[jake.f]

1) I just got the 13" you are thinking of, for basically the same reasons. I cannot comment on the reliability personally but I know people who still use 6 year old apple portables that work as good as the day they got them.

I didn't purchase applecare....

2) I wouldn't hold my breath for iX too much....

3) I have played some games on my MBP and it seems to run fine

4) I have been using the 13" screen for a few weeks now and it seems fine. I will most probably buy an external monitor though.

 

[kernkraft]

1.) i3 might be worse than C2D in many tasks. Don't get tricked by the name. You will need i5 for something really butch.

2.) That would mean getting the 15" MBP. It's a great machine, but it's heavy, it's very expensive and at that price, you would want a few features that the computer is missing.

3.) You can attach an external display, a keyboard and a mouse to the 13" MBP or MB and it will pretty much function as an iMac (with decent matte screen) or a Mac Mini. But check the super/mega/hyper-glossy screen. It's not for everybody.

4.) I never purchased a Windows-based computer, but I'd recommend some 15" laptops with Windows 7 and decent graphic performance. If you are familiar with Windows and you haven't got any issues with it, just enjoy it and don't fall into the trap of being obsessed with hardware and image. Your computer should be a tool primarily, supporting your studies; and something to play your games with, to keep in contact with your family and friends second.

Whatever you buy, enjoy it and good luck with your studies!

 

[Patrick J]

5-7.5 hours realistically when doing basic word processing and web browsing.

7.5 when doing some heavy flash usage, various programs open including iTunes.

10 when doing basic web navigation. Only Safari. Less time if browsing with other browsers.

11 when doing work on a single pages documents, nothing else open, brightness set to half.

 

[Corndog5595]

7.5 when doing some heavy flash usage, various programs open including iTunes.

10 when doing basic web navigation. Only Safari. Less time if browsing with other browsers.

11 when doing work on a single pages documents, nothing else open, brightness set to half.

I’ve got a 2009 model. I probably get closer to 8 or 9 with medium flash usage, but I accidentally had bluetooth on even though I never use it.

 

[Mac-key]

I'll be running windows 7 on it for the games I want to play. Should run great







Yep, I'm fully prepared knowing it won't take things like crysis at high. I want to play things like oblivion and mass effect 2 and after having viewed some videos on youtube it seems the little 320m can take both games at max at native res. Had a look at a few other less demanding games and everything I want it to run (mainly the 2 games mentioned before and a few RTS) seem to run great on it judging by people's videos. I only really want to game on it occasionally at university. I've got my xbox360 and a gaming quality PC (family PC) for home use/heavy gaming.





That's EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you both very much for that. Makes me feel alot better about going for a c2d.



Interesting, especially the new sandybridge CPUs. However, I speculate apple will stick to a rebranded c2d in its base 13" (which is the one I'm considering due to budget constraints) and have the sandybridge in its top end 13"/base-high end 15"/17". January is waaay too far ahead for me but I hope the wait pays off for you.



Someone actually would do that to a beautiful MBP?!



I'm a HUGE car enthusiast so I love how you used a car metaphor. Give me an Aston Martin v8 vantage over a ford any day

Guys, thank you all very much for the helpful replies. I've been 100% convinced that I should go for the base 13" MBP. This video has also been a big help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioY380Fm7j4&feature=related

Definately getting an SSD when the prices come down. That's unbelieveable performance for a c2d. Every thought I had before of it being slow by today's standards has GONE. 2.4 c2d + 6-8gb RAM + SSD anyone?

wow - that video is crazy nuts! Dude, opened every single freakin' app he had! cool stuff

 

[El Zanto]

Are you familiar with OS X at all?
Just a question, it doesn’t really matter if you aren’t, but there is a pretty helpful 25 minute video on youtube that might answer a few questions that you will have when you first get your machine.

Went down to the apple store today to have a look at the 13" and to try out OS X. Its normally absolutely packed so I went there at 9am and it was nice and quiet and had a go on a few systems for about 30 minutes. I'm shocked at how quickly OS X was to pick up! I already feel like I know the system better than I know Windows. An apple employee also came round and explained stuff like the awesome trackpad, the dock, expose etc.

Also, while there I got to have a play around on a gorgeous 27inch iMac. The screen is mind blowingly good!

Let's see... used to 15" screen... wants i5 /i7 ... plays video games...

um, save up for the 15" MBP dude.

If only I had the time to save up for it

Also, don't forget the Macbook Pro has a 1000 cycle battery while most other laptops still have a standard of 300-400 cycles not to mention the Macbook Pro has better battery life than most other laptops (10 hours rated!)

I did not know that. After 1000 cycles how much of the original capacity of the battery is retained? I think I read somewhere it was 80% but I'm not sure as 1000 cycles and 80% seems like an awful lot. I should probably check the apple site..

1.) i3 might be worse than C2D in many tasks. Don't get tricked by the name. You will need i5 for something really butch.

2.) That would mean getting the 15" MBP. It's a great machine, but it's heavy, it's very expensive and at that price, you would want a few features that the computer is missing.

3.) You can attach an external display, a keyboard and a mouse to the 13" MBP or MB and it will pretty much function as an iMac (with decent matte screen) or a Mac Mini. But check the super/mega/hyper-glossy screen. It's not for everybody.

4.) I never purchased a Windows-based computer, but I'd recommend some 15" laptops with Windows 7 and decent graphic performance. If you are familiar with Windows and you haven't got any issues with it, just enjoy it and don't fall into the trap of being obsessed with hardware and image. Your computer should be a tool primarily, supporting your studies; and something to play your games with, to keep in contact with your family and friends second.

Whatever you buy, enjoy it and good luck with your studies!

Thank you. This 5 year med degree is going to be rough! Yeah, earlier posters have indicated to me that in some instances c2d > i3. Plus I've had a look at a c2d with an SSD and its plenty powerful for me. I'll definately be getting an SSD when the prices come down.

I need good battery life for when on the move. The 15" windows I've seen have great gaming performane but suffer from incredibly poor battery life. A 15" laptop with a ULV processor has good battery life but suffers from poor performance. I've come to realise the 13" MBP strikes a fine balance between performance and portability and I think the high price can be justified.

The apple employee I was talking to told me that a c2d in osx will pretty much wipe the floor with the same c2d running windows. I was pleased with the snappy performance of it in the apple store.

I'm really kinda scared of the 13'' screen though.. I'm so used to the 15''. :\ Anyone would care to give me feedback on this?

This was exactly my fear as well. I went down to the apple store to see what it was like. The 15" is beautiful but seemed quite alot bigger than my 15" I've got right now. The 13" on first glance did seem small but after using it for 30 minutes it seemed like a really nice screen and didn't feel small at all! What I did was crouch down as if I was sitting on a chair and used it like that for 10 minutes. My legs were killing me and I looked like such an idiot (this woman walked in and sorta looked at me funny ) but it was the only way I could mimic sitting at my desk. It seemed really nice to use and i quickly got used to the 13" screen. Seriously dude just go for it cos you get used to it in no time at all. Also check out the youtube link I posted before and be blown away by its performance with an SSD.

Guys, one thing I did notice was that the speakers on the 13" were different to the 15" and the 17" (admittedly on the way out as I gave them one last look). I totally forgot to check the sound quality. Obviously the sound will be alot richer coming out of the 15/17 but hows the sound quality on the 13"? It doesn't have to be mind blowingly good just loud enough to be slightly discomforting on full blast and not too 'tinny' if that makes sense.

 

[Blues003]

Zanto, you should set your MacRumors account so you can at least get Private Messages, I'd like to talk to you some more!

It's great the 13'' screen works nice! As I said, the only way I got to try it was in the standing position, so it looked as if I was playing the piano standing up

Med course, heh? I'm on it too! It's very long, harduous, and stressful, but when someone asks you a health-related question and you know how to answer and/or solve the situation, you feel so good!

 

[hotchson]

What is the highest resolution you could squeeze in a 13" screen?

 

[kernkraft]

Thank you. This 5 year med degree is going to be rough! Yeah, earlier posters have indicated to me that in some instances c2d > i3. Plus I've had a look at a c2d with an SSD and its plenty powerful for me. I'll definately be getting an SSD when the prices come down.

I need good battery life for when on the move. The 15" windows I've seen have great gaming performane but suffer from incredibly poor battery life. A 15" laptop with a ULV processor has good battery life but suffers from poor performance. I've come to realise the 13" MBP strikes a fine balance between performance and portability and I think the high price can be justified.

The apple employee I was talking to told me that a c2d in osx will pretty much wipe the floor with the same c2d running windows. I was pleased with the snappy performance of it in the apple store.

It seems that it's 13" MBP to you... To be fair, you'd get the higher education discount and the iPod Touch deal (maybe with a rebate on a printer as well), so you wouldn't have to worry about depreciation. If the computer proves to be not the best to your needs, you can move on relatively painlessly.

Just one more thing - has anybody heard any Apple employee (especially sales people) admitting that Windows on any processor was running better? I don't run Windows myself (although I have a copy of XP somewhere and I purchased Parallels 4 and 5 through bundles), but treat their statements with caution - you can never get back with the complaint that "but you told me that it wiped the floor with Windows, whereas the real difference is only a few percent, if certain benchmarks are to be believed". Anyway, I'm just being picky. Enjoy the computer and your studies!

 

[Hype2k2]

MacBook for gaming hahahaha
Hahahaha good job on throwing your money in the trash, don't be stupid. Spend the money on a cheaper windows based computer and stop downloading cheap porn on random websites while spending a fraction of the price.

 

[El Zanto]

Zanto, you should set your MacRumors account so you can at least get Private Messages, I'd like to talk to you some more!

It's great the 13'' screen works nice! As I said, the only way I got to try it was in the standing position, so it looked as if I was playing the piano standing up

Med course, heh? I'm on it too! It's very long, harduous, and stressful, but when someone asks you a health-related question and you know how to answer and/or solve the situation, you feel so good!

Done. (I think) Message away!

Yeah, if I were you I'd go back and try crouching and using it at eye level for at least 10 minutes. You really do get used to the size. Also, I found this on youtube. Just a short 2 minute video on somebody giving his opinion on the 13" screen size. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYS3a9vOR_M&feature=related

It seems that it's 13" MBP to you... To be fair, you'd get the higher education discount and the iPod Touch deal (maybe with a rebate on a printer as well), so you wouldn't have to worry about depreciation. If the computer proves to be not the best to your needs, you can move on relatively painlessly.

Just one more thing - has anybody heard any Apple employee (especially sales people) admitting that Windows on any processor was running better? I don't run Windows myself (although I have a copy of XP somewhere and I purchased Parallels 4 and 5 through bundles), but treat their statements with caution - you can never get back with the complaint that "but you told me that it wiped the floor with Windows, whereas the real difference is only a few percent, if certain benchmarks are to be believed". Anyway, I'm just being picky. Enjoy the computer and your studies!

I completely forgot about the ipod touch offer as I WILL be buying it with a HE discount. Also, I think I read somewhere here that if you buy it online off the apple store using a HE discount you get an extended free 3 year warranty. Is that correct?

Good point about the apple employees. They are, as you said, still sales people at the end of the day. I'll have to be careful and take whatever they say with a pinch of salt.

Still concerned about the sound quality of the 13" as the speakers were different to the 15"/17". Anybody share any insight into this?

 

[El Zanto]

MacBook for gaming hahahaha
Hahahaha good job on throwing your money in the trash, don't be stupid. Spend the money on a cheaper windows based computer and stop downloading cheap porn on random websites while spending a fraction of the price.

Find me a reliable, well built, 13" windows notebook with 8+ (manufacturer quoted) battery life for a fraction of the price then.

 

[Mac7]

I think the difference with the speakers is the placement.

 

[HLdan]

I did not know that. After 1000 cycles how much of the original capacity of the battery is retained? I think I read somewhere it was 80% but I'm not sure as 1000 cycles and 80% seems like an awful lot. I should probably check the apple site..

I don't think you need to concern yourself with the battery retention after 1000 charge cycles, chances are the battery will outlive your ownership of the computer. . Just think about how long it actually takes to perform 1000 complete charge cycles? It will take several years, and even if it dropped to 50% that's still amazing after 1000 charges.