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Which Mac/iPad Combination For Incoming College Freshman?

C

caleba94

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I'm planning on buying a Macbook pro for college, which I start this fall. Should I get the retina or non-retina display macbook pro? Also should I get an iPad? Would there be a big difference between iPad 2 and iPad 3?

Thanks!
 
My advice: you should get the best MacBook Pro that you can afford.

As for the iPad, don't bother. One of the worst investments you can make, especially if you have an iPhone.
 
If you get the 13" pro or the 15" retina, I'd wait a couple weeks before getting an Ipad to see if you really hate lugging around either computer. I had a 13" MBP, and didn't feel I'd need a tablet till I sold my 13 incher for a 17" pc last year.
 
Yeah, I have an iPhone 4. I like the extra screen space of the 15'' and with the $200 off the new retina display it's only $1999 which for a computer that should last me all 4 years and maybe more that's not that bad. Does anyone have the retina display? and do you like it?
 
caleba94 said:
Yeah, I have an iPhone 4. I like the extra screen space of the 15'' and with the $200 off the new retina display it's only $1999 which for a computer that should last me all 4 years and maybe more that's not that bad. Does anyone have the retina display? and do you like it?
Click to expand...

Well, my brother got his today[ordered launch day](he's about to start college as well, I'm on my 4th year at my university), I actually wasn't planning on buying one, but I went with him on saturday to the AppleStore and played on their display units while he bought some accessories, it was enough to make me go home and order one that night.
 
The retina MBP seems to be having a lagging issue (correct if wrong. I usually get spend all my time looking a reviews about new gadgets but i get depressed cause i want this one sooo bad and cant afford it 🙁), and i dont know if it is software or hardware. If its software, then I would say to spring for it if:

-You dont mind not having a optical drive (classes may require you to watch a dvd...lol idk. You can always get an external drive though.)

-Not being to upgrade RAM or SSD(?)

-Not being able to eat for a couple weeks due to $600 price bump

An iPad is cool, but i wouldnt buy one unless I had lots of money to spend... *whispers* I dont...

It is a lot easier to whip out the iPad when waiting for your next class and watch a movie. Plus the retina display on the iPad 3 makes it even better.
 
I'm in the same position as you.

I'll be taking my iPad with an apple wireless keyboard, and a retina MBP.

I figure that if the MacBook is a bit cumbersome to carry around all day, I'll use the iPad + Keyboard combo for taking notes, etc. With iCloud it'll hopefully be a pretty seamless way of getting things done.

I have heard reports of people using 17" laptops at university just fine, so I imagine you'll be able to survive with a 15" just fine as well. A 13" MacBook Air would however be the prefferred choice, of course.

I personally plan on simply carrying my MacBook around for a day or so to see if its size gets in the way or hurts my back, or whatever. If it does, I'll switch to the iPad arrangement above. 🙂
 
caleba94 said:
Is the 15'' to big for college or have others used it just fine?
Click to expand...

I've used both a 15" MBP and 13" MBA in school and the Air was definitely easier to carry around. However, the new RMBP shouldn't be too big considering how much thinner and lighter it is.
 
I just finished my freshman year at college. I would absolutely not get an ipad if I were you. None of my friends who have them use them frequently. I just got my RMBP (to replace my 13" air) and I love it. If I were you I would go for that or do an 11" air and desktop combo (esp. if you are into gaming).
 
caleba94 said:
Is the 15'' to big for college or have others used it just fine?
Click to expand...

15 is perfect. 17 is too large to carry around - most bags don't fit. 13 is too small for reading and paper-writing.

Air + Desktop is not a bad combo, but then you'd have to manage files between two computers. Not a big deal with cloud services, but it's just one more thing that gets in the way of your work. One computer is more than enough.
 
shanimal said:
The retina MBP seems to be having a lagging issue (correct if wrong. I usually get spend all my time looking a reviews about new gadgets but i get depressed cause i want this one sooo bad and cant afford it 🙁), and i dont know if it is software or hardware. If its software, then I would say to spring for it if:

-You dont mind not having a optical drive (classes may require you to watch a dvd...lol idk. You can always get an external drive though.)

-Not being to upgrade RAM or SSD(?)

-Not being able to eat for a couple weeks due to $600 price bump

An iPad is cool, but i wouldnt buy one unless I had lots of money to spend... *whispers* I dont...

It is a lot easier to whip out the iPad when waiting for your next class and watch a movie. Plus the retina display on the iPad 3 makes it even better.
Click to expand...

- They make external DVD drives - Non issue.
- Order it with 16gb of RAM - Non iussue
- Upgrade SSD - Ok maybe an issue. Should have 3rd party SSD replacements in a few months so we will see
- $600 Price bump? From What? I just spec'd out a 15" non Retnia MBP with same processor, 8gb Ram, 256 SSD and Hi res screen and it was $2499. It seems a similar rMBP is $300 less 🙄
 
yea, youre correct. I was overlooking that the rMBP comes with a SSD and the Legacy doesnt. 😀😀

----------
caleba94 said:
I'm planning on buying a Macbook pro for college, which I start this fall. Should I get the retina or non-retina display macbook pro? Also should I get an iPad? Would there be a big difference between iPad 2 and iPad 3?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

OK, easy a quick answer 😱

I would get retina because:
-No OD is not a huge problem with external drives available.
-You can scale it back down to non-retina resolution so no performance hit when on games (correct if wrong)
-Looks better than Legacy (not that it looked bad)
-Faster
-Shiny n ****

iPad 3 is better than they iPad 2 because:
-Better rear camera
-Retina display
-Has 4g (Option, and you need data plan)
-Better processor

I would go for a third gen iPad if money wasnt a problem... but it is
 
caleba94 said:
I'm planning on buying a Macbook pro for college, which I start this fall. Should I get the retina or non-retina display macbook pro? Also should I get an iPad? Would there be a big difference between iPad 2 and iPad 3?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
What are you going to be using it for?

I've seen other students with 10' netbooks doing just fine. I also see a lot of 13' macbook and MBP 🙂
 
Do not buy the retina yet!

If you're an incoming Freshman and mommy and daddy are flipping the bill by all means get a maxed out Retina. Lol
If however you are paying your own way, student loans etc there's no hurry
they are not going to sell out. I guarantee by the end of August you'll have all the info you need to make an informative decision on whether plunking down 3k is worth it.
I personally would rather wait and get feedback on these things after a few months. I'll let the impatient Apple Fanboys be the guinea pigs.
Also sometimes students get package incentive deals around the time school starts.
You could be missing the chance to get a crappy HP printer free or maybe a free adapter that Apple
should have provided in the first place! 🙂
 
The big question is what are you going to be using it for. I say if you can't get a computer with a screen big enough to have a webpage and a word processing app open simultaneously, don't bother. Two years ago I bought a MBP to finish high school. Soon after that built a windows PC with a 19" display. I then started college last fall and realized with all the textbooks I had it would be to heavy to also bring my laptop. So for all my work I would use the school's computer's with dropbox to sync all my documents. With that, I decided to sell both my macbook and PC to save up for an iMac. In class for taking notes I will either use pen and paper or my iPad.
 
As a fellow college student (I was a freshman this last year) I would definitely say to get something in the 13'' range. 15'' laptops are great, but for all the moving around you do I think 15'' is too big for a college student. This last year I had a 15'' MBP, but I only had that used as a desktop as I also have an 11'' Air, which is absolutely perfect for a college student. Personally, I don't see much use for iPads at all in a college environment. I feel like many of the people that use them in college simply use them because they have one. Certain things are useful on iPads, but it's not really a productivity device and that's what you're looking for as a college student.

Instead of a Pro, I would highly recommend a 13'' Air. There is something about the Air, and many will agree with me on this, that is intangible and makes it fun and great to use. The light weight and thin frame make it a more enjoyable, portable laptop to use. Also, SSD's are damn amazing and HDD's will only cause you problems. If you really feel you need a disc drive, get a Superdrive, but really think about how often you use a disk drive. Many people will say the Air is underpowered, but unless you plan on doing hardcore gaming or something extremely intensive, which 99% of college students don't, the Air will be more than powerful enough for your tasks everyday. However, if you're set on a MBP, I'd get the 13'' with 8GB of RAM.

This is all my opinion, but me being a college student as well as significant time spent with all of these laptops helps 🙂
 
Currently a junior here and looking back I would suggest the 13" Air as the best laptop for a college student. Get the i5/8GB/256GB combo and you should be set for the next four years. Throw in an external 1TB USB 3.0 drive (for movies, music, pictures, etc.) and order an external DVD drive from Amazon (Superdrives are crap speed). Definitely recommend utilizing Dropbox and/or other cloud-based storage solutions so that you can access your work from any computer (i.e. at the library if yours runs out of battery, or if you need to use a Windows PC for something, etc.)
 
I am starting college in the fall as well and have been debating the same issue for the last few days. I was fortunate enough to have a 13" MBP (Early 2011) and an iPad 2 my last year in high school. When I purchased the MacBook a year ago, I was also considering the 13" Air. (I chose the Pro in that case because I needed the ability to run DVDs and I wanted the Thunderbolt and FireWire connections.)

However, after carrying around the 4.5 pound machine (and the lighter toy) for a year, I feel that the Pro is the way to go at this point. The Air is nice, and if that suits your computing needs for your path of study, go for it! There isn't really much of a need to carry the extra pound and a half (or more for bigger MacBooks) if you don't need to. I looked at the new 15" MBPs (Retina and non-Retina) the other day at Best Buy, and I felt that even though they are much more powerful, that extra power comes at a cost: size. They both feel a bit heavy and I do not see myself benefiting from either one until I need a faster Mac. At this point, my best option is upgrading my MBP with an SSD (more for protection against bumps and other misfortunes than speed) and more RAM. Until the mythical '13" Retina MBP' debuts (if it does exist) or the Air is updated with much more power, I am sticking to the 13" MBP line.

As for the iPad, I do not see a real "need" for one in college. Taking notes on it was mediocre (often annoying) in high school, and I preferred my MBP or paper over it. I did not have the luxury of carrying around a Bluetooth keyboard for notes and I feel like that is just a dumb idea, especially if you are going from classroom to classroom. It is a great device for many things (games, music, movies, web browsing, etc.), but not powerful enough to be truly conducive in the college environment. Digital Textbooks are the only real plus to one at this point.

Sorry for making you read my full opinion. 😱
 
Hey! I'll be starting college this fall, too. I suggest getting the MacBook Pro over the iPad because (imho) the iPad just isn't "there" yet to be a standalone device. It's up to you what model MBP you want/need. I went with base Retina + 16gb because I love the new screen and it will be plenty for the next four years. If you can afford to get both, do it! The iPad is such a wonderful device for reading/games/email/surfing the web.
 
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