Which Macbook Pro is right for me?

[JayCee842]

I'm a college student and will be browsing websites, writing documents, doing excel spreadsheets at times, and listening to music. You know, all the basic things.

This is will be my first macbook, but it won't be my primary computer. I have an iMac.

I want to buy one of the Retina Display models in Apple's refurbished store. It's a 13 inch retina model with the following specs:

8GB Ram
2.5 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz)
3MB shared L3 cache
Intel HD Graphics 4000
128GB Flash Storage

All for $1162

OR
I can just settle with the new base 13 inch model. But I'm not sure if 4GB will be enough. I mean, is it futureproof?

 

[koban4max]

I'm a college student and will be browsing websites, writing documents, doing excel spreadsheets at times, and listening to music. You know, all the basic things.

This is will be my first macbook, but it won't be my primary computer. I have an iMac.

I want to buy one of the Retina Display models in Apple's refurbished store. It's a 13 inch retina model with the following specs:

8GB Ram
2.5 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz)
3MB shared L3 cache
Intel HD Graphics 4000
128GB Flash Storage

All for $1162

OR
I can just settle with the new base 13 inch model. But I'm not sure if 4GB will be enough. I mean, is it futureproof?

u might want to go higher end because you'll won't be able to upgrade...so if you buy one model...that's that...

try to get the highest pricing that you could afford.

 

[Meister]

I'm a college student and will be browsing websites, writing documents, doing excel spreadsheets at times, and listening to music. You know, all the basic things.

This is will be my first macbook, but it won't be my primary computer. I have an iMac.

I want to buy one of the Retina Display models in Apple's refurbished store. It's a 13 inch retina model with the following specs:

8GB Ram
2.5 GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz)
3MB shared L3 cache
Intel HD Graphics 4000
128GB Flash Storage

All for $1162

OR
I can just settle with the new base 13 inch model. But I'm not sure if 4GB will be enough. I mean, is it futureproof?

For your use 4gb is already heavy overkill!
I don't even see why u need a rmbp unless u really want the retina screen.
I would highly recommend the mba 11" (extra portability) or the mba 13" base models. (4gb/128gb)
everything you describe can basically be done on an iPad and for your use and with pcie hard drives 4gb will last you forever.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

I have similar uses (also a college student), and I just got the 13" 2.4ghz i5 8gb ram 256gb SSD. It's just about perfect for my uses. Better to go more ram than less, and I think 128gb is insultingly small. The edu discount makes the price very reasonable. My machine before AppleCare and taxes was $1399.

The haswell improvements are well worth it for college. You'll probably never need to carry your power adapter around campus unless you're pulling an all nighter in the library. Buying new means you can get AppleCare. Unless you plan on selling it in a year, that three year warranty is a must to get you through to graduation.