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Which Macbook Pro?

R

Resist

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jan 15, 2008
3,003
93
I know people ask this question all the time and most of the answers are based on user preference.

I am a PC guy that currently owns a $300 cheapo Compaq Presario CQ60-419WM laptop running Vista. Only had it a year and the battery already no longer holds a charge, so yes it's crap.

I've wanted a Mac for years and really like the all metal unibody design of the new Macbook Pro's. And while I prefer the speed of the 15" Macbooks, I don't like their high price tag. It's been the prices that have kept me away from buying a Mac in the first place. But I have been thinking more about it and realize Apple computers are just built much better. Sometimes you have to look beyond the specs. But I think to keep the initial cost down I might go with an entry level 13" Macbook Pro, adding more RAM and a bigger hard drive later. I have used a friends white Macbook and really liked how solid it felt for a plastic laptop.

So Amazon has the 13" Macbook Pro for $1149 with free shipping and no state tax. The Apple online store has refurbished ones for less money, but when you add in the state sales tax it's pretty close to the Amazon new price.

Or I could spend a little more and go with a nice 15" Macbook, for the speed increase. I won't be doing gaming on it, but still think faster is always better because it extends its useful life. Just now sure if I want the larger form factor.

I am not interested in the 17" Macbook Pro at all. I hope to get an iMac down the road as well. I'd like a Macbook Air but the speed is to slow in my opinion for the price.

Another option would be to get an iPad instead, to save some money. Most of what I would be doing is email, Internet surfing and movie watching. I like the touch screen feel of using an iPad.

Very confused right now on what to get.
 
This site lists the current deals and bundles:

http://www.macprices.net/

At the moment, there is a significant speed difference between the 13" MBP (with Core2Duo) and the 15" MBP (with i5 or i7), so if you need to buy something now, it might be worth the extra $ to get the extra performance.

If you can wait a bit, the next refresh (due soon, but who can tell?) might give you an upgraded processor in the 13" and a narrower performance gap.
 
iMac and iPad is solid. Depending on how portable you need to be now, I would get an iMac and then an iPad down the road, or you can do the opposite if you need portability now and can live with an iPad. Watching a movie might blow on it, but it can do everything else and has awesome battery life. Good luck with your decision though.
 
It's a very difficult decision to make for sure. I thought about waiting for the next Macbook refresh in the hopes that Apple will increase the power of the 13" model. The 15" version might be to big for my needs right now, the price tag certainly is. I also thought about getting an iMac first, but because I want the 27" iMac that would make it difficult for me to also buy a Macbook this year or even next year, due to the cost. Portability is kind of important to me right now.
 
Resist said:
It's a very difficult decision to make for sure. I thought about waiting for the next Macbook refresh in the hopes that Apple will increase the power of the 13" model. The 15" version might be to big for my needs right now, the price tag certainly is. I also thought about getting an iMac first, but because I want the 27" iMac that would make it difficult for me to also buy a Macbook this year or even next year, due to the cost. Portability is kind of important to me right now.
Click to expand...

I would definitely choose the 15" over the 13" just cause of the specs, and I game. However, since you don't game, the 13", even now, would suit you just fine. I do expect the 13" to have a major refresh, while the 15" gets a clock speed upgrade with a graphics card upgrade as well with the next ones coming up soon (soon = within 4 months I'm guessing). There are a lot of speculation threads around, but here's the buyers guide. It was last updated in April, so it was fairly recent that the MBP saw an update relative to the last updates.
 
Resist said:
It's a very difficult decision to make for sure. I thought about waiting for the next Macbook refresh in the hopes that Apple will increase the power of the 13" model. The 15" version might be to big for my needs right now, the price tag certainly is. I also thought about getting an iMac first, but because I want the 27" iMac that would make it difficult for me to also buy a Macbook this year or even next year, due to the cost. Portability is kind of important to me right now.
Click to expand...

I own both the 13" and 15" MBP's and would recommend the 13" if "portability is kind of important......"

The 13" is plenty powerful. Don't be fooled by the naysayers who bleat about the i5!

cheers
JohnG
 
If all you do is that, paying the extra would give you nothing but bragging rights. Now it's up to you to decide if those bragging rights are worth all the price difference.

In any case, I'd wait for the next update. The 13'' is almost certain to have iX by then.
 
The 13" is a great machine which would probably serve all your needs as a good price point, unless you want a faster video card in which case you will need to go for the 15/17"!
signature_silverapple.jpg
 
AdamRock said:
get a refurbished mbp 13".
Click to expand...
I thought about doing this but when you add in the State tax, it's not much cheaper than buying it new from Amazon.

So with much though and all your help, I decided to buy the entry level 13" Macbook Pro from Amazon for $1149 (free shipping and no state tax). Hope I don't get buyers remorse.
 
i was in the same dilemma and ended up with the 2010 15". It really is very portable and light and it is *so* much faster then the C2D MBP13, but besides that I absolutely would never ever go without the matte and HR options ever again.

For me the 1200x800 mirror glass screen is *the* dealbreaker on the MBP13.
 
My new Macbook arrived and it's great, so glad I finally took the plunge! The lighted keyboard really helps, in low light situations. Love the ambient auto brightness, works really well. And I have to say, I actually like the glossy screen. This thing is light, yet solid. Yes Macbooks are little more expensive, but you have to look beyond just the specs to see all the little extras.

Now I just have to get more comfortable with OS X Snow Leopard.
 
I find the 13" too small, and the 17" way too big for a laptop. For me, the 15" is right there in the Goldilocks Zone of what a laptop should be. Still, I can understand why people go with the 13" instead. Their portability is pretty hard to deny.

About the price. If you actually compare specs for specs, and not just where each company places their products in their line-up of markets, Apple is actually pretty competitive, they just simply don't sell really low-end products (the Mac Pros are basically server hardware, for example). The real difference though, and why the extra cost is worth it, is for the little things. Apple makes absolutely wonderful laptops, better than anything else they make (except maybe their iPods). Stuff like the magsafe charger, the buttonless trackpad, the placement of the ports and the feel of the keys, Apple makes a superior laptop experience in just about every way you can think of. While I recently bought (and am waiting for the package) a MacBook Pro to upgrade from a 5-6 year old PowerBook, the thing is still running great after all these years and I'll keep on using it. I don't know any windows laptop users who are still lugging around their ancient laptops, and for good reason. In the price of a mac, you're getting both the special usability design that sets MacBooks Pro apart from other laptops, but also it's going to last you longer so you won't need to upgrade as often. Typically, and paradoxically, Mac OS X upgrades make computers run faster on old hardware, not slower, just because of the sheer number of improvements they squeeze in under the hood. It's pretty much the opposite of bloatware updates certain other operating systems release that require better and better hardware to run at all. Supposedly MacBook batteries last longer too, without needing replacement. I can certainly say that my PowerBook is still using the same original battery it came with, and I know they've only made improvements since then. The unibody design of the new MacBooks Pro are going to make them pretty tough as well, and less likely to break. I'd certainly trust aluminum carved from a single block over a bunch of plastic and screws any day.

So, don't worry so much about the price. Price buys you value, and a longer-lasting product. You won't be disappointed with your purchase. Hopefully my own MacBook Pro will arrive soon and I can also enjoy the sweet new hardware too.

OS X is pretty easy to pick up on. It's filled with all kinds of intuitive stuff, and generally the operating system tries to get out of your way so you can do what you want, rather than try to be an experience in of itself. Apple also offers some videos on their website for switchers to get them acquainted, you should check it out. If you really get lost, you can always use BootCamp and install windows on a partition, but I'm willing to bet you find Mac OS X a lot better in the long-run.
 
15' MBP i7

I'd recommend that you get the 15' i7 and stop worrying about a new laptop for the next 6 years. While usb 3.0 would be a great addition, I think the i7 should carry you over for a while.
 
If it is the price that worries you, check into a refurbished model. If you need this as a main computer, do not get an iPad for that job.

Best of luck! :apple:

mrxak said:
I find the 13" too small, and the 17" way too big for a laptop.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, have you ever used a 17" as a laptop? I have, and I am not quite sure why you say this. There is no large difference in weight, plus the screen is awesome.
 
TheMacFeed said:
If it is the price that worries you, check into a refurbished model. If you need this as a main computer, do not get an iPad for that job.

Best of luck! :apple:



Out of curiosity, have you ever used a 17" as a laptop? I have, and I am not quite sure why you say this. There is no large difference in weight, plus the screen is awesome.
Click to expand...

There's a 2.1lbs different in weight + the huge form factor. It's not exactly the easiest to keep moving around especially when you take your laptop everywhere like school on a regular basis. Plus, the 17" laptop is expensive as heeeeeeell. :eek:
 
wordoflife said:
There's a 2.1lbs different in weight + the huge form factor. It's not exactly the easiest to keep moving around especially when you take your laptop everywhere like school on a regular basis. Plus, the 17" laptop is expensive as heeeeeeell. :eek:
Click to expand...

Wow, that is the lightest 2.1lbs ever! The weight doesn't bother me nor does the size. For a college student it might get tricky though I could easily see myself using it through college. Yes, I will admit the 15" is easier to carry around but not by much. I have been carrying this 17" around for quite a while and it has posed no trouble.

As for the price, yes it is a bit more expensive.
 
wordoflife said:
There's a 2.1lbs different in weight + the huge form factor. It's not exactly the easiest to keep moving around especially when you take your laptop everywhere like school on a regular basis. Plus, the 17" laptop is expensive as heeeeeeell. :eek:
Click to expand...

Huge form factor? lol. I must be hulk hogan or something since i can not only carry mine to AND from class, I can even hold it with one hand and put it on my lap :eek: Insane I know right?
 
TheMacFeed said:
Wow, that is the lightest 2.1lbs ever :p The weight doesn't bother me nor does the size. For a college student it might get tricky though I could easily see myself using it through college. Yes, I will admit the 15" is easier to carry around but not by much. I have been carrying this 17" around for quite a while and it has posed no trouble.

As for the price, yes it is a bit more expensive.
Click to expand...

I agree. Its really whatever you get used to. I had a 15" laptop that was 6ish something pounds, or probably more.

looking at this link, it says my old laptop was 6.8lbs ... yikes!

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2020791,00.asp

Oh well, fair game then. It must be awesome to have a huge laptop like that.

Eddyisgreat said:
Huge form factor? lol. I must be hulk hogan or something since i can not only carry mine to AND from class, I can even hold it with one hand and put it on my lap :eek: Insane I know right?
Click to expand...

Damnn! lol
I'm not saying that people can't handle it, I'm just saying its big - pretty big.
 
wordoflife said:
I'm not saying that people can't handle it, I'm just saying its big - pretty big.
Click to expand...

I suppose. But i'd rather be pretty big than kinda small. Yeah when you're smaller you can go into different places but when you're bigger....you can do things that you just....just can't quite do with smaller...erm...hardware...
 
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