Which MacBook Pro should I get?

[Snackboi]

Alright so I want to get a MacBook Pro but I'm not sure which one. My main purposes are as follows:

-School work/College
-Surfing the web/Facebook/Social Media etc
-Watching videos/YouTube/Watching movies
-Recording music like in GarageBand/"In the studio"
-OCCASIONAL Gaming/Doesn't really need to be Super HD/Ok with Medium/Would like to be able to play modern games
-Pretty much the basics
-Photoshop/Maybe a little video editing

Thanks, appreciate any help/opinions

 

[TjeuV]

Alright so I want to get a MacBook Pro but I'm not sure which one. My main purposes are as follows:

-School work/College
-Surfing the web/Facebook/Social Media etc
-Watching videos/YouTube/Watching movies
-Recording music like in GarageBand/"In the studio"
-OCCASIONAL Gaming/Doesn't really need to be Super HD/Ok with Medium/Would like to be able to play modern games
-Pretty much the basics
-Photoshop/Maybe a little video editing

Thanks, appreciate any help/opinions

Seems like you would be just fine with the base 13" model, upgrading that to 8GB will do some good though. Really depends on your budget really. If you want to have a snappy laptop with superhigh res screen, go with the retina.

 

[yjchua95]

Alright so I want to get a MacBook Pro but I'm not sure which one. My main purposes are as follows:

-School work/College
-Surfing the web/Facebook/Social Media etc
-Watching videos/YouTube/Watching movies
-Recording music like in GarageBand/"In the studio"
-OCCASIONAL Gaming/Doesn't really need to be Super HD/Ok with Medium/Would like to be able to play modern games
-Pretty much the basics
-Photoshop/Maybe a little video editing

Thanks, appreciate any help/opinions

I'd suggest a 2.4GHz 13" rMBP, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The 128GB SSD is too tiny.

Keep in mind that the RAM is soldered. If you want to upgrade it in the future, that's not possible. I'd advise you to max out the RAM if you can afford it.

Oh and get 3 years of AppleCare too.

 

[sergiobaschi]

... go with the retina.

There is ONE valid reason to not go with the retina: if your life depends on an internal optical drive.

I'd suggest a 2.4GHz 13" rMBP, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The 128GB SSD is too tiny.

Keep in mind that the RAM is soldered. If you want to upgrade it in the future, that's not possible. I'd advise you to max out the RAM if you can afford it.

Oh and get 3 years of AppleCare too.

Very good advice. I agree completely.

 

[TjeuV]

There is ONE valid reason to not go with the retina: if your life depends on an internal optical drive.



Very good advice. I agree completely.

There's a 2nd reason as well my friend. 500GB of storage. Some people don't care about the screen and ssd's. (Will hardly find those here on these forums, but they do exist though)

Apart from that, as I said, much depends on budget. There's 300 EUR difference if you want the 256GB SSD and comes standard with 8GB RAM, no upgrade needed. To some people that's just a bridge too far. But if you can afford it, go with the top tier.

 

[Meister]

Thank you for stating your usage!
You would be best served with a base model macbook air if you can find one for sale.
This would safe you a lot of money and they are very portable!

If you are fixed on the retina: the mid 8/256 2.4 model is the best bang for the buck.
If you can find a very good offer on the lowest base model 4/128 2.4 that will be perfectly fine, too.
Getting the low end and upgrading the ram like the first poster here suggested is just nonsense.

Keep in mind that all macbooks will suite your needs just fine.
Only you know how much you need the retina screen and portability.

(gaming on a macbook is a bad , bad idea!! I consider it abusive to the poor baby)

 

[Snackboi]

Thanks everyone for suggestions. After thinking, I probably won't use it for gaming since I'm more of a console person anyways. I would love retina, but I just don't think it's absolutely necessary for me(unless I could somehow find a good deal on a 2011 or later).

SO...
Which do you think would be best:

MacBook Pro 13"
Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
Memory: 16 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 512 MB
Software: OS X 10.8.5 (12F45)

MacBook Pro 15"
core 2 duo 2.66 gHz ntel Processor with 4 GIGS of RAM and 320 GB hard drive.

Or
MacBook Pro 13"
i5 2.4 ghz
16GB Ram
500GB Hard Drive

 

[michaelsviews]

The graphics in the 13" rMBP is horrible in my opinion and thats based on usage at the apple store playing the preloaded demo games on all different settings

For what your saying your going to be using it for I'd suggest and stick with the following.

Specifications
1.7GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
512GB Flash Storage
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Air / 13" MacBook Pro - Auto-enroll

Best of luck in your decision