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Which MBP?

T

theman123

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 5, 2008
53
0
I will be attending college in the coming months, and windows is most likely going to be needed. I'm leaning towards a Macbook Pro but not sure which one I need.

What I do mostly is download music. I download multiple mixtapes per day and use itunes. I will also be streaming videos, and watching live video(ESPN3, and Channelsurfing). Other than that I'll be surfing the web a lot, not really playing games though, light photo-editing, skype, very little video editing.

Then I'll need to load windows via boot camp for school purposes only, leaning towards a business major so it won't be any like engineering purposes.

So would the basic 13" MBP be good? I'm planning on waiting for the refresh so theres a chance I could end up getting a 15" if the price drops a bit.
 
from what you said, I would suggest either the white macbook, or the low end 13" mbp. it doesnt sound like you need alot of power from the 15"
 
It sounds like you will be primarily using windows, so I would probably go with HP or Dell rather than spend the extra money on a Mac. If you really want a Mac however, I would get the 13" Pro, as that will suffice for your needs. You may want to wait until the (eventual) upcoming revision, as that should result in a more powerful machine
 
umm, i'm an accounting major, and ive never needed windows once. Don't understand why you need windows if your not an engineering major.
 
runofthedill said:
umm, i'm an accounting major, and ive never needed windows once. Don't understand why you need windows if your not an engineering major.
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Ive needed windows to use Minitab which is a statistical program...and unless you are running CAD which your not, then you dont need a high power mac. The 13" mbp, mb or even the air would work fine for you.
 
tjb1 said:
Ive needed windows to use Minitab which is a statistical program...and unless you are running CAD which your not, then you dont need a high power mac. The 13" mbp, mb or even the air would work fine for you.
Click to expand...

Thanks, so I don't even really need to bootcamp it up do I? Maybe if it becomes enough I will, but if it's only one program, I think I'll use the schools lab.

I do plan on getting the pro for the fact that I just like the pro's build more than the mb after using both. I also have been pretty set on purchasing a mac after usin Win7 and not being so impressed. That's why I plan on getting a mac.
 
theman123 said:
Thanks, so I don't even really need to bootcamp it up do I? Maybe if it becomes enough I will, but if it's only one program, I think I'll use the schools lab.

I do plan on getting the pro for the fact that I just like the pro's build more than the mb after using both. I also have been pretty set on purchasing a mac after usin Win7 and not being so impressed. That's why I plan on getting a mac.
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Few programs I need to have windows for are:

1. Mastercam
2. Solidworks
3. RobotStudio
4. Minitab

My 15" handles all of them nicely and the Air is pretty similar in build to the Pro.
 
Some things to consider:

1. Size and weight. I have bad vision and find working on a 13inch desktop very limiting. I prefer a minimum of a 15 inch laptop. My sister on the other hand has a 13 inch MBP and hates anything larger or heavier, she finds it too cumbersome and is looking at a MBAir for her next laptop.

2. Does your college support macs? My sister at first had issues as her college initially did not support Safari or Firefox for some of her courses that required online work. There were also some other things that required windows, so she basically used Parallels to run windows programs alongside OSX. University support staff were also poor when it came to macs. Whenever she had issues getting onto the university network or a classes web page, they usually said it was because she had a mac and that they couldn't help her (which was BS). After 3 years the university has become a bit more mac friendly, but she still occasionally runs into issues.
 
it sounds like an apple laptop maybe over kill, but if you have the money and don't mind spending it 15" is a solid size. 13" for me is too small, but thats just my opinion....
 
I don't think a MBP is 'overkill' whatsoever. You may be using Windows a lot but you will still enjoy the unique design features and durability. I initially got a MBP and had a partition for Windows and to be honest, the more time went on, the less I used it and so when I got a new SSD, I didn't even bother putting Windows back on it. Most (not all though) programs have some sort of Mac capability or alternative, including many stat/money programs. More than likely, you will use OSX more and more as time goes on as it really is a nice platform and after you learn it, so much easier to use than any alternative.

If you are portable a lot, I would get a 13. You may want to consider a SSD given the durability advantages. Also, you can have a SSD and HDD in the MBP at the same time (but you do lose your CD drive).
 
If you have the money I would look at the base 15" just based on the fact that you said you would be doing a lot of video watching and streaming. The extra resolution and screen real estate would make watching video a lot nicer.
 
alust2013 said:
It sounds like you will be primarily using windows, so I would probably go with HP or Dell rather than spend the extra money on a Mac. If you really want a Mac however, I would get the 13" Pro, as that will suffice for your needs. You may want to wait until the (eventual) upcoming revision, as that should result in a more powerful machine
Click to expand...

If I were to suggest a PC to someone, it definitely wouldn't be HP or Dell. Their build quality can't touch Apple. Especially Dell. My brother's HP dm4 has a chassis that isn't too bad, but it's only a few months old at this point. My mom's Dell has an awful and creeky chassis. The right screen hinge sounds like it's about to break and I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Asus, Sager or Compal would be much better options if someone doesn't want their PC to fall apart.
 
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Get an asus laptop and look into their ul line. Also check out the timeline x from acer. Both great machines. Toshiba is also good.
 
Checkout the apple.com MacBook air videos. That thing is shockingly capable and you can even get them at referb pricing through apple. With all solid state memory they are faster than a base MBP, almost instant on, easy to carry but durable....ect

Watch the video, It was a tough choice for me not to get one, still might depending on what the MBP refresh looks like.
 
I'd also recommend a Windows based laptop but it seems as if you're set on a Mac. If that's true, I'd also recommend the 13 inch pro. However, I think the 15 inch has the best value. Even if you're not going to be using your Mac hard, the 15 inch screen really helps. I've owned both the 13 and 15inch Mac and I like the 15 inch more by far.
 
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