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What kind of Mac should I get?

D

dixie8123

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 26, 2010
58
0
Charleston, SC
I currently own a 2010 13" MBP with 8GBs of RAM. This isn't doing a terribly good job of what I am trying to do with it. The main things I need it to do is run programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, InDesign & Final Cut Pro.

I am trying to decide what Mac I should get. I have a ~$2,000 budget (but would like to spend less if possible). I also need a laptop of some sort, albeit I have thought of buying an iMac and a basic MBA. I have looked at the 13" MacBook Airs, but one of my complaints with my current MBP is the screen size. I have also looked into previous model 15" rMBPs and used 17"MBPs. I am willing to buy used.

If you were in my position, what kind of Mac would you get?

PS: I am also eligible for the education discount.
 
I would try to get a refurbed macbook pro 15" with 16 gigs to stay within your budget
 
Yeah agreeing with the above post. Keep a look out for the 16GB, 256GB SSD 15" rMBP. I've seen them around $2000.

Refurb.me is also useful and it notifies you if a product matches your needs. This one is $1899 for the 16GB/256 GB SSD: Refurb.me, but it isn't available currently, so just keep a look out for it.


Alternatively, opt for the latest base rMBP. With the education discount, it comes down to $1899 for Iris Pro + 8GB + 256GB PCIe SSD. Or pay $180 more to get the 16GB, and it will be $2079 plus tax.
 
Last edited:
dixie8123 said:
I currently own a 2010 13" MBP with 8GBs of RAM. This isn't doing a terribly good job of what I am trying to do with it. The main things I need it to do is run programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, InDesign & Final Cut Pro.

I am trying to decide what Mac I should get. I have a ~$2,000 budget (but would like to spend less if possible). I also need a laptop of some sort, albeit I have thought of buying an iMac and a basic MBA. I have looked at the 13" MacBook Airs, but one of my complaints with my current MBP is the screen size. I have also looked into previous model 15" rMBPs and used 17"MBPs. I am willing to buy used.

If you were in my position, what kind of Mac would you get?

PS: I am also eligible for the education discount.
Click to expand...

You're going to need a discrete graphics card if you're going to use all those Adobe stuff. Although I hear that the new ones like CC are OpenCL-based, which means an Iris can do a better job than an NVIDIA GT750M.

I think you should invest in a refurb 2012 15" MBP with 1GB of GT650M and antiglare screen (which is damn useful in outdoors, and also it produces more natural-looking and accurate colors. The glossy one tends to be over saturated). You can add in 16GB of RAM and an SSD yourself post-purchase.
 
Not only should you consider refurbs but used models with Applecare cover. If not a retina also to consider 15/17 late 2011 with the ATI 6770M which should give better performance than the Iris Pro with OpenCL. Plus you can stick standard SSD's inside (to 1tb) and max out the RAM to 16Gb and that all might just fit into your 2k budget.
 
Your 2010 MBP uses a Core 2 Duo CPU - which is around two times slower than the base 2013 MacBook Air. It does not matter which model you get - everything will give you a massive performance increase. A 15" rMBP with Iris Pro is probably the best machine for your purpose because of the quad core CPU and Iris Pro.

Gav Mack said:
If not a retina also to consider 15/17 late 2011 with the ATI 6770M which should give better performance than the Iris Pro with OpenCL.
Click to expand...

Iris Pro will beat 6770M both in gaming and in OpenCL algorithms.
 
sell the mac you have so it adds a few hundred to your budget, if that was already included in your budget, go for the 15" MBP refurb, buy RAM. You should have a few hundred left over.
 
Wow, thank you everyone for your help!

I was looking on the refurbished part of apple.com and found this:
http://store.apple.com/us-hed/produ...154-inch-macbook-pro-25ghz-quad-core-intel-i7

15in 2012 cMBP, 750GB HDD, antiglare screen for $1599. Only problem is it has 4GBs of RAM, but that's always an easy upgrade.

I was looking into purchasing this computer too, but it's a tad over my budget. That's okay, but this is a 2012 model, which I have heard nothing but problems with the 2012 rMBPs.
http://store.apple.com/us-hed/produ...-27ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

Another issue is I won't be purchasing this computer until after Christmas, so hopefully something good comes around.

Correction: Late 2011 cMBP

----------
tymaster50 said:
sell the mac you have so it adds a few hundred to your budget, if that was already included in your budget, go for the 15" MBP refurb, buy RAM. You should have a few hundred left over.
Click to expand...

Yep, that was included in my budget. I'm estimating I'll get about $700 for my MBP w/ accessories.
 
dixie8123 said:
Wow, thank you everyone for your help!

I was looking on the refurbished part of apple.com and found this:
http://store.apple.com/us-hed/produ...154-inch-macbook-pro-25ghz-quad-core-intel-i7

15in 2012 cMBP, 750GB HDD, antiglare screen for $1599. Only problem is it has 4GBs of RAM, but that's always an easy upgrade.

I was looking into purchasing this computer too, but it's a tad over my budget. That's okay, but this is a 2012 model, which I have heard nothing but problems with the 2012 rMBPs.
http://store.apple.com/us-hed/produ...-27ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display

Another issue is I won't be purchasing this computer until after Christmas, so hopefully something good comes around.

Correction: Late 2011 cMBP

----------



Yep, that was included in my budget. I'm estimating I'll get about $700 for my MBP w/ accessories.
Click to expand...
MBPs are great machines for those on a apple budget, They're sturdy and reliable ya know lol. Don't need a retina display and I like having a DVD/CD drive. rMBPS are just future proofing :p
 
tymaster50 said:
MBPs are great machines for those on a apple budget, They're sturdy and reliable ya know lol. Don't need a retina display and I like having a DVD/CD drive. rMBPS are just future proofing :p
Click to expand...

Yep, and I like the concept of being able to upgrade the cMBP. But the retina display one is just so much better IMO.
 
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