I have a $500 credit to use for a Macbook.( I have a $300 gift card and the student discount is $200 for the top spec 15 inch model and $100 for any other model. I wanted to clarify that so people could understand the difference in my total discount.) I am a light user (for now) but I do like to watch a lot of movies on my Macbook since I have a lot of free time during my work day. I was wondering if the 15 inch would be worth it since I can get it for $2,099. Brand new. I know I don't need the top spec for $2599 but to get it for $2,099 changes things a bit. I can only use the $500 for the top spec model. If I decide on the 13 inch model I can save $400 off that model but was planning on getting the 16 gigs of ram for $200 more. So I could get that model for $1599 but have to wait 3 weeks to get it. I know I don't need 16 gigs now but I am buying it in case my needs change in the future. I just want the 16 gigs since the computers are non user upgradeable and I have no idea how long I am going to keep this laptop. And when you spend that much on a laptop its better to be safe then sorry. So I guess I am really asking if it were you who had the choice and money wasn't a huge issue between these 2 models which one is the better value?
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Top spec 13 inch rMBP or 15 Inch top spec rMBP
- Thread starter Aznteabags
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I don't mind either size. I have had 15 inch(2012 rMBP) and 13 inch(rMBP and Haswell Air) MacBooks in the past so I am fine with either one. I was a idiot that bought into the hype about the new Haswell MacBooks having all day battery life and sold both of mine (rMBP's) back in June when I thought they were coming out. Bought the Air in the meantime until the Haswell rMBP came out and sold it 2 days before the release date. But that is neither here nor there. LOL I guess what I am asking for the discounted prices which is the better value? Is $500 worth getting a bigger screen and a discrete graphics card? I mean the base 15 inch is usually $1999 and for $100 more I can get the top spec. I am leaning towards the 15 inch just because if I have a problem with a BTO it will be harder to replace. And a 3 week wait is a long time to wait for the 13 inch. I have read that the 15 inch has the superior display to the 13 inch but it has less PPI so I am confused. Is it better only because its bigger? I thought the more PPI the better. Other then the extra 2 inches in screen size and a discrete Graphics card and the quad core vs dual core is there any other differences? Are those 3 things worth the extra $500 in price? Thanks for any info.
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I don't think that the extra PPI in 13" will make a discernible difference.
I am also in a similar boat. I've to make a choice between the top stock configuration of 13" and 15". Pretty much confused at the moment. It will be my main and only computer.
I have been using a 15.6" HP laptop for the last four years, and I'm not sure whether 13" will fit seamlessly into my workflow. Although, I'm pretty much sure that I won't be needing the extra power that 15" provides over the 13", for work purposes.
Your economic views are a bit strange. If I understand correctly you do NOT have a $500 "credit" that you can "ONLY" use on a top-spec model. You are misrepresenting and mislabeling prices and costs to justify an overly expensive purchase.
The way economics works is: if you are eligible for the education store price, then that's the price. There's no "credit" involved. The non-education retail price is irrelevant in your calculations.
Then your $300 gift card is NOT a "credit" either. It's not free money, it's as good as cash in your pocket (you can even convert it to cash by selling it on eBay). So you are NOT buying a top-spec MBP for $2099. You are buying it for $2399. You have $300 in the form of a gift card, that COULD be applied to that. Or it could buy groceries or pay utilities. You should be prudent in applying that cash.
All that being said, you do NOT NOT NOT need a TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED DOLLAR top spec MBP to "watch movies!!!"
I'd suggest getting the base model 15" like mine: 2.0, 16gb RAM. It is a great blend of power-efficient and power for lighter users like us, with the big spectacular screen. Mine was $2079. Since you already have a $300 gift card, you need to add $1779.
Even better, the base base (2.0, 8gb) was on sale during Black Friday for as cheap as $1699 at Best Buy (with $250 off and $50 edu discount). If you can find that again after the holidays, and then convert your gift card to cash on eBay (and get say $250 for it), then you'd only need to add $1449. The 8gb is more than enough for you and you'd have a powerhouse laptop for "watching movies at work" for less than $1500 out of pocket.
BIG difference to the $2099 you are talking about. All that extra cash and extra specs are entirely unnecessary in my opinion...
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Well you're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you. Are you offering advice or interrogating a witness?
Go for the 16GB RAM model in either one to play safe; I would recommend the 13" for portability, but the 15" is a nice choice as well as those 2 extra inches makes a big difference.
I smell the need to spend all the money you have, it is tempting isn't it, go ahead and get the top build to order spec on the 13" rmbp you won't regret a single penny of the decision. I have owned both the top spec 13 and 15 inch machines and they feel the same to me when doing every day nothing tasks for enjoyment sake. When it came down to editing my movies and albums, the quad core definitely helped in every single way. I would pay 2000+ for a quad core 13" machine but not 2000 for an entertainment machine, unless I'm asking for justification to spend all my money. Enjoy the spending, don't stop.
if you move to the UK you get to spend the same amount on a 13 inch as the americans spend on a 15 inch
win win
Thanks for all of the replies and some kind of weird feedback. I was given a credit by Apple due to numerous lemons on a old model and they gave me a choice of saving $500 on the top spec 15 inch or $400 on the top spec 13 inch. ( I didn't just want to come out and say that but that is why I had a credit in those amounts. The discounts were only good for the Top spec models since that is the one that I had before.) So I decided to get the 15 inch. I figure the extra screen will be nice as well as the better resale value in the future. I am not saying I am made of money but I can afford to get any laptop I wanted if I so choose. I have a very good job and I am single with no kids. LOL But Just because one can doesn't mean that one should. Thats why I was asking for opinions on here. Of course I don't need a $2000 laptop to watch movies on but if I can get the best one for only $100 more then the base 15 that changes things in my mind at least. I did try them both out at the apple store and while the 13 inch was very nice the 15 was just that much better. The things I did know I wanted was at least a 512 SSD for storage and 16 gigs of ram. If I would have bought the base and bumped it to 16 gigs of ram and 512 SSD it was a $500 upgrade. So with that and my credit I thought the top spec was a no brainer after I really thought about it. But if I didn't have the discount and had to pay the difference I could have definitely lived with and loved the 13 inch. The other concern was battery life was much worse in the 15 inch due to the discrete graphics cards but GFX card status was the perfect solution. I hope this helped apptastic as well in your choice.
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I am not exactly sure what is meant by this comment. I am not by anyway going to spend all of my money on a laptop. I am not a idiot. For me, I can afford it not on credit but with cash so I can get it. My question is in VALUE not Price. I make over 100k a year. Do I use my laptop to make my money? I do not but I do like nicer things because I work hard to be able to afford it. Not everyone who buys a 15 inch macbook pro is going to use it as a "Professional" machine. There are some of us who buy it for our enjoyment and for me I like the form factor, the build quality, the screen, and the customer service. In a year my needs may change as I have a very large DVD collection I might want to make digital or take up video and photo editing in my free time. Just because I don't now doesn't mean I won't in the near future. I mean my whole point is kind of like this... I drive a Porsche but could I just drive a Kia instead? Yes of course. The reality is they will both get me from point A to point B just fine but sometimes you just want something a little nicer because you work hard (and save money) and want a little nicer things in life. There is no shame in driving a Kia I just wanted to make a point. So before you make crazy comments about spending all of their money maybe you should ask what the persons budget is. But to each their own. I do appreciate the other comments about the 13 inch though but I felt your comments as a whole was very condescending.
Very different than what you originally said, that you had $300 gift card and could save another $200 with edu discount. Very different.
But anyway, enjoy your top spec beast. If you want to put it through its paces, throw VMWare and Windows on there (as one option). You can have OS X apps and Windows apps running in various windows at the same time.....and your MBP won't even break a sweat.
Jack Sun
I understand and I apologize for not being clear but I didn't want to state how I got the credit incase others would try and take advantage of Apples policies. But I felt I needed to make it clear so that people would have a better understanding of my situation. My main question was does the top spec 15 inch have more value then the top spec 13 inch. In terms the price difference stock is about $800. $2599 to $1799. To me it would seem at first glance that the 13 inch is the better value but after adding the 8 extra gigs of ram to the 13 the difference is now only $600 . For that you get a quad core crystalwell processor as well as 2 extra inches of screen and a discrete 750M graphics card. (Minus the one hour extra battery the 13 inch has) So are those extra upgrades worth the $600 dollar difference once you make the top spec 13 inch have 16 gig of ram instead of 8? And if you bump the 13 inch to a i7 instead of a i5 then the difference is only $400.
I understand and I apologize for not being clear but I didn't want to state how I got the credit incase others would try and take advantage of Apples policies. But I felt I needed to make it clear so that people would have a better understanding of my situation. My main question was does the top spec 15 inch have more value then the top spec 13 inch. In terms the price difference stock is about $800. $2599 to $1799. To me it would seem at first glance that the 13 inch is the better value but after adding the 8 extra gigs of ram to the 13 the difference is now only $600 . For that you get a quad core crystalwell processor as well as 2 extra inches of screen and a discrete 750M graphics card. (Minus the one hour extra battery the 13 inch has) So are those extra upgrades worth the $600 dollar difference once you make the top spec 13 inch have 16 gig of ram instead of 8? And if you bump the 13 inch to a i7 instead of a i5 then the difference is only $400.