Urgent help needed just blindly bought a MacBook Pro

[Meister]

Final questions, is the 8GB ram bang on or should I pay more for 16GB.
Also is the 2.4ghz decent or is it worth paying for the 2.6ghz? Or even the 2.8 i7 or is it a waste of money?
I want this to last 2 years tops, and just a fast system in general.

Also is the screen sufficient in size? I went in and saw it but didn't focus on it.

Thanks

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This is with apple care.

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Brilliant, absolute legends on here, especially the lad who sent me the link.

Saved me 400 quid and even better specs.

With your usage and keeping it 2 years tops, even the base model is overkill!
You seem to be really oblivious to computers.
If you are sure about your requirements then get the 4/128 or for the hell of it 8/256.
By god do not upgrade to 16gigs of ram or even upgrade the cpu!
Buy yourself something usefull for the money saved!!

 

[AT06]

Are you guys 10000000% sure this is good for me? 2.4ghz/8gbram/256, first ever Mac I've bought. I believe I can't change after my purchase which I why i want it to be perfect and have no regrets.

This is the exact one I have, and I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

 

[qawsed]

I also assure this.

 

[Cherrysftw]

This is the exact one I have, and I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

Top lad.

Do I need to input university address on the billing page? Seeing as I'm not going uni yet, in sept 14. Although I'm have offers.

 

[AT06]

Top lad.

Do I need to input university address on the billing page? Seeing as I'm not going uni yet, in sept 14. Although I'm have offers.

No - just input your normal home address as the billing address, and obviously the same for your shipping address (unless you want it shipped somewhere else).

The total should come to £1074 for the model I recommended to you (2.4HHz i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB hard drive)

 

[coys67]

I bought the same model from the UK Edu store as well £1074 and i love it,i was on the UPS website every 5 mins tracking it from China it was so exciting haha.

 

[joe-h2o]

Also note that you *do not need to buy applecare* if you buy through the education store in the UK - you will pay £1079 for that model (I also have the same one) and you will get the three year applecare for free with it. It's a special form of Applecare that doesn't include the phone support, but it's otherwise identical to applecare that you pay for. If you pay the £49 'uplift', it will upgrade it to add the phone support, but it's not necessary.

Buying online or via phone from Apple directly is the way to go if you are in education. This deal applies to anyone in academia, from school through university and applies for students and for staff.

 

[Cherrysftw]

No - just input your normal home address as the billing address, and obviously the same for your shipping address (unless you want it shipped somewhere else).

The total should come to £1074 for the model I recommended to you (2.4HHz i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB hard drive)

Should I wait till Friday for the black Friday sales or is this the cheapest it gets?

 

[AT06]

Should I wait till Friday for the black Friday sales or is this the cheapest it gets?

No point waiting - you cannot combine the Black Friday discount with the education discount.

 

[Cherrysftw]

Also note that you *do not need to buy applecare* if you buy through the education store in the UK - you will pay £1079 for that model (I also have the same one) and you will get the three year applecare for free with it. It's a special form of Applecare that doesn't include the phone support, but it's otherwise identical to applecare that you pay for. If you pay the £49 'uplift', it will upgrade it to add the phone support, but it's not necessary.

Buying online or via phone from Apple directly is the way to go if you are in education. This deal applies to anyone in academia, from school through university and applies for students and for staff.

Brilliant didn't know this. I'm not a uni student, I'm currently in year 13 and plan on going to uni in sept 14. I have a letter from one of my universities which is an offer. If I go to the store itself, does this quantify as the same discount, so £1079?
Id look forward to a trip to my apple store as I can get my iPhone 5 replaced at the same time, as opposed to buying online.

Also would any Black Friday sale price stack with the student discount?

Thnaks

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No point waiting - you cannot combine the Black Friday discount with the education discount.

Alright sick one.

Got love for u m8, it's been hard to resist opening the box but hopefully at the end it'll be worth it.

Lastly no1 has really mentioned, but is there much a point in waiting till sept 14 to buy a newer model? I don't really need it right now although I would love to have it around knowing it will be around for a decent amount of time. Even if it was to be upgraded, this is perfect to my needs yeah?

 

[davidjearly]

Brilliant didn't know this. I'm not a uni student, I'm currently in year 13 and plan on going to uni in sept 14. I have a letter from one of my universities which is an offer. If I go to the store itself, does this quantify as the same discount, so £1079?

Take the offer letter and you'll get the full discount in-store, but minus the HE warranty which is only available online via the HE Apple Store links. Better to buy online.

Also would any Black Friday sale price stack with the student discount?

No. Definitely not.

Lastly no1 has really mentioned, but is there much a point in waiting till sept 14 to buy a newer model? I don't really need it right now although I would love to have it around knowing it will be around for a decent amount of time. Even if it was to be upgraded, this is perfect to my needs yeah?

No. I wouldn't wait. There will always be something better around the corner. The Haswell machines are fantastic, and with your usage, you won't even come close to stressing the system. Buy now and enjoy it (I'm currently typing from the 15" variant!).

If you have any other questions, feel free to send me a PM.

 

[Qaanol]

Another potential point for savings is a cash-back credit card. I don’t know what offers there are in the UK, but here in the states I got a card with a “Spend $3000 in 3 months and get $400 cash back” signup bonus, which I used to buy my rMBP.

If there is anything in the UK with, for example, “Spend £1000 and get £100 back” or even just 5% cash back on purchases, that could save you quite a bit. Again, I don’t know if those kinds of offers exist over there, but maybe spend a few minutes looking.

 

[PDFierro]

Are you guys 10000000% sure this is good for me? 2.4ghz/8gbram/256, first ever Mac I've bought. I believe I can't change after my purchase which I why i want it to be perfect and have no regrets.

This would be the perfect config for you. Just go ahead and get it.

 

[Kevclark1985]

Agree with the advice given. I got the 13" 256/2.4/8gb model for £1074 with 3 years applecare (1yr tel support).

It's an awesome deal and was my first mac too, it's perfect for your needs, you don't need extra processor or RAM or anything. This machine should see you through uni (eg 4-5 years) as long as you look after it and your needs don't change (eg need to start encoding high end videos etc in 4 years time).

Take back the PC world one, get it via edu store online and enjoy! Ps I got through NUS store (I do have an NUS Card though) and at no point did I need to provide proof, got my letter through yesterday confirming my 3 year applecare (takes a few weeks to be confirmed so don't panic if not applied straight away).

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

Are you guys 10000000% sure this is good for me? 2.4ghz/8gbram/256, first ever Mac I've bought. I believe I can't change after my purchase which I why i want it to be perfect and have no regrets.

Yip. The only limitation is storage; but you can buy an external SSD/HDD for that cheaply. It is the one to go for if you don't have enough for the high end 15''.

 

[Cherrysftw]

Yip. The only limitation is storage; but you can buy an external SSD/HDD for that cheaply. It is the one to go for if you don't have enough for the high end 15''.

Why is 256GB low storage? It seems like a lot as on my previous windows I don't even use 1GB/750 or whatever, obviously with partitioning in consideration. I don't store games/movies or anything. If anything I will only install ms office/counter strike 1.6 via steam and that's it, alongside PDFs/music. Where would I run into a problem with 256GB?

I believe the ram is fine as it is. The processor I suppose is good. Should I pay for the 2" upgrade or is it not much to fret over? Planning on making my order today.

 

[PDFierro]

Why is 256GB low storage? It seems like a lot as on my previous windows I don't even use 1GB/750 or whatever, obviously with partitioning in consideration. I don't store games/movies or anything. If anything I will only install ms office/counter strike 1.6 via steam and that's it, alongside PDFs/music. Where would I run into a problem with 256GB?

I believe the ram is fine as it is. The processor I suppose is good. Should I pay for the 2" upgrade or is it not much to fret over? Planning on making my order today.

256 would be enough for that. Storage is different for anybody. Do not go for the 15". But you are doing a good thing by going for 8GB RAM.

 

[MartinAppleGuy]

Why is 256GB low storage? It seems like a lot as on my previous windows I don't even use 1GB/750 or whatever, obviously with partitioning in consideration. I don't store games/movies or anything. If anything I will only install ms office/counter strike 1.6 via steam and that's it, alongside PDFs/music. Where would I run into a problem with 256GB?

I believe the ram is fine as it is. The processor I suppose is good. Should I pay for the 2" upgrade or is it not much to fret over? Planning on making my order today.

I personally felt like the 13" we're not of great value. 4Gb of RAM will not last you (maybe 2-3 year before apple upsupportes it, but program's would be crap right now anyway, you need 8 at least). I'd say either go for the 13" 256Gb SSD, but if you have the money, go for the 15". It was better value, with the top of the range 15" being better value still. I ended up going for the high end iMac Late 2013 as it was the same price as the MacBook Pro 13" 256Gb, but this packs more power.

Plus the i7 / 8Gb of RAM in the 15" would last you longer. When you spend this much money on a product, get something that will last you as well as something you want. 1300 is already a high price, so jumping to the 15" price should be too hard to swallow if it what you want.

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Why is 256GB low storage? It seems like a lot as on my previous windows I don't even use 1GB/750 or whatever, obviously with partitioning in consideration. I don't store games/movies or anything. If anything I will only install ms office/counter strike 1.6 via steam and that's it, alongside PDFs/music. Where would I run into a problem with 256GB?

I believe the ram is fine as it is. The processor I suppose is good. Should I pay for the 2" upgrade or is it not much to fret over? Planning on making my order today.

Remember that the 13" are only dual core; the geekbenck score between the 13" and the entry 15" is around double. If you want it to last I would think about this; don't buy the 15" for the screen, buy it for the longevity. Also, I found the 15" to be a lot better when have a window open, as on the 13", I had to use full screen too much.

 

[PDFierro]

I personally felt like the 13" we're not of great value. 4Gb of RAM will not last you (maybe 2-3 year before apple upsupportes it, but program's would be crap right now anyway, you need 8 at least). I'd say either go for the 13" 256Gb SSD, but if you have the money, go for the 15". It was better value, with the top of the range 15" being better value still. I ended up going for the high end iMac Late 2013 as it was the same price as the MacBook Pro 13" 256Gb, but this packs more power.

Plus the i7 / 8Gb of RAM in the 15" would last you longer. When you spend this much money on a product, get something that will last you as well as something you want. 1300 is already a high price, so jumping to the 15" price should be too hard to swallow if it what you want.

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Remember that the 13" are only dual core; the geekbenck score between the 13" and the entry 15" is around double. If you want it to last I would think about this; don't buy the 15" for the screen, buy it for the longevity. Also, I found the 15" to be a lot better when have a window open, as on the 13", I had to use full screen too much.

Going for the 15" is all well and good, but the 13" is just as future-proof for what the OP is doing. I think you just might be making his decision even more complicated now.

 

[Qaanol]

Why is 256GB low storage? It seems like a lot as on my previous windows I don't even use 1GB/750 or whatever, obviously with partitioning in consideration. I don't store games/movies or anything. If anything I will only install ms office/counter strike 1.6 via steam and that's it, alongside PDFs/music. Where would I run into a problem with 256GB?

I believe the ram is fine as it is. The processor I suppose is good. Should I pay for the 2" upgrade or is it not much to fret over? Planning on making my order today.

The 13.3" rMBP with 2.4 / 8 / 256 is a great value. It will probably have the smallest decline in resale value of all the models, so you'll be able to sell it for only a slight loss in a few years when you decide to upgrade, or perhaps even at a profit given how good a deal you're getting.

The 15.4" is only worthwhile if you specifically want the larger size. For you as a student, since you'll likely be carrying you laptop around a lot, the 13.3" size is actually superior.

256 GB is a lot of storage space, unless you have a huge music or video library. If you do though, you'll still be fine by getting an external drive to hold it all.

I reiterate my recommendation that you look into credit cards with a signup bonus. You may well be able to save another £50 or £100, perhaps more.

 

[Kevclark1985]

Going for the 15" is all well and good, but the 13" is just as future-proof for what the OP is doing. I think you just might be making his decision even more complicated now.

Agree, the 15" is overkill for the OP's needs, and when you consider the student discount and applecare, £1074 for that laptop, it's future proof for the user, and very suitable/already overkill for current use, it's very good value for money.

I'd actually argue with the 15" base now not having discreet graphics, the ~£400 premium of the base 15" over the mid range 13" for the larger screen and quad core actually makes the base 15" bad value for money. In my eyes the 13" mid range is the best bang for you buck for any user who does not need the processing power of quad core for professional reasons.

OP - I would stick to the mid range 13" and most people seem to be in agreement on this, ultimately get what you are comfortable with (price and needs considered) but from what you have said, it seems your best fit.

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I reiterate my recommendation that you look into credit cards with a signup bonus. You may well be able to save another £50 or £100, perhaps more.

We don't really get that in the UK unfortunately. Best we tend to get is 0% on purchases for 12 months or so, or mine was 26 months at 0% for balance transfers - This is what I did for my macbook as it's essentially interest free finance for about 2 years

 

[raptor402]

I concur. The 13" middle model (2.4GHz / 8GB / 256GB) is the ideal machine for the OP. It's the perfect size. The screen is to love. The performance is perfectly adequate. 15" would be a pure waste of money. The display is the reason to take the rMBP over the Air.

Final call, everyone. I recommend the 13" middle model (2.4GHz / 8GB / 256GB) rMBP for the OP.

 

[Cherrysftw]

Agree, the 15" is overkill for the OP's needs, and when you consider the student discount and applecare, £1074 for that laptop, it's future proof for the user, and very suitable/already overkill for current use, it's very good value for money.

I'd actually argue with the 15" base now not having discreet graphics, the ~£400 premium of the base 15" over the mid range 13" for the larger screen and quad core actually makes the base 15" bad value for money. In my eyes the 13" mid range is the best bang for you buck for any user who does not need the processing power of quad core for professional reasons.

OP - I would stick to the mid range 13" and most people seem to be in agreement on this, ultimately get what you are comfortable with (price and needs considered) but from what you have said, it seems your best fit.

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We don't really get that in the UK unfortunately. Best we tend to get is 0% on purchases for 12 months or so, or mine was 26 months at 0% for balance transfers - This is what I did for my macbook as it's essentially interest free finance for about 2 years

Sick mate, all I want to know is that will I be able to run counter strike 1.6 smoothly/runescape 07? These are the only 2 games I will play in the lifetime of this laptop, they are both reasonably old aswell. What will the dual core 8GB ram 2.4ghz 13" model struggle to do, like is there a list of things it just simply won't do?

Also is the 13"/15" just a matter of increase in size or does it affect colours/power/speed etc (dumb question)

 

[raptor402]

Sick mate, all I want to know is that will I be able to run counter strike 1.6 smoothly/runescape 07? These are the only 2 games I will play in the lifetime of this laptop, they are both reasonably old aswell. What will the dual core 8GB ram 2.4ghz 13" model struggle to do, like is there a list of things it just simply won't do?

Also is the 13"/15" just a matter of increase in size or does it affect colours/power/speed etc (dumb question)

You'll be able to run both games without any issues whatsoever. Hell, you'll be able to play them at retina resolution without any hitches.

For your use, 15" will just be a bigger, more expensive laptop. Other than that, it has a more powerful quad core processor.

Raptor

 

[LaravelNick]

Also is the 13"/15" just a matter of increase in size or does it affect colours/power/speed etc (dumb question)

15" has the Core i7 processor, whereas the 13" has the Core i5 processor.