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Would a Macbook Pro 13" be a good primary computer?

C

caNNondale

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 10, 2009
7
0
Hi there, my first post. Sorry for my english, i hope you will understand what I want to know :eek:

I'm a PC user for 15 years now and I'm tired of Microsoft. At the moment I have mid-range M$ desktop machine and I want to replace it with a laptop.

So I was thinking of buying a new Macbook Pro 13" - 2.53Ghz, 250GB, 2x2GB RAM (I don't have money for 15 or 17" and also both are too big).

I also have a 20" NEC Multisync 20WGX2 Pro, whitch would I use as external display while staying at home.

So my primary question (because I have never had an apple computer) is, if this MBP 13" would be powerfull enought for my everyday use (for my one and only primary computer), I want to use it for (at least 2-3 years):

- programming in Java, C (with Netbeans)
- watching movies (DVD, HD, DivX) and music (192kbps mp3-s mainly)
- browsing web OFC, messenger
- office (would be beter mac office from M$ or iWork???) and PDF
- p2p
- no video games (however is GPU powerfull enought for normal/smooth work on 1680x1050?? on my 20" display)
- some basic work with pictures (no photoshop, like Picasa)
- in future learning how to/ and making web pages (like Dreamweaver)
- probably i will have to use VirtualBox (because it's free) for XP or Server 2008 (if some specific program won't work on OS X)
- some/little video editing for my family videos (basics like Windows movie maker on Windows)

Would MBP 13" 2,53ghz could handle this for the next, lets say 3 years?

Lep pozdrav.
 
You shouldn't have any problems with the 13" MBP
It is a great machine and should meet your needs, esp. with an external monitor

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 
I just got mine a week or two ago. Love it very very much.

Take the time from the outset and do the upgrade from 2 to 4 gb of ram, but other than that, the computer just does everything you want it to.
 
It might be worth mentioning that you may be better getting the 2.26GHz and then upgrading the RAM and HDD yourself as it'll save you money.

And yes, everything you want to do will easily be handled by the 13", I should know, I'm using one now :)
 
martynmc7 said:
It might be worth mentioning that you may be better getting the 2.26GHz and then upgrading the RAM and HDD yourself as it'll save you money.

And yes, everything you want to do will easily be handled by the 13", I should know, I'm using one now :)
Click to expand...

IMO: Even price of HDD and RAM is not so high today - you will not see any difference
between 2.26Ghz or 2.53Ghz - if you would like to save some money, really get 2.26Ghz and get faster HDD and extra RAM. Your Mac gonna be fast even you get 2GHz laptop! That is power of Mac OS ..
 
Definitely it should be fine for your primary computer.

I've used both the MacBook Air and the original unibody as my only computers for about ~6 months each. From my experience, the only problem they both shared is the screen real estate, which is too small to be a primary screen if you are going to do anything but surf the net and type papers (even for typing, I prefer to see large parts of my document).

It sounds like this won't be a problem for you since you have a 20" monitor you'll be hooking up to.

As far as power, the macbook pro has as much if not more power than iMacs just a couple of years ago. The original aluminum iMac debuted in 2007 (so not THAT long ago) at 2.0 Ghz, 1GB RAM, and 250GB HD, IIRC, and the basic MacBook Pro now has double the RAM, more speed, and you can easily upgrade the HD to 500GB for less than $100 (NewEgg) so with that double the space.

It will be just fine as your primary computer including all the things you mentioned. While designing web pages is not ideal (I actually did paid client work on my MacBook aluminum before, so it is DOABLE) on a 1280x800 screen, it will be PERFECT on your 1680x1050 20" screen. And yes, the MBP is powerful enough to run that display JUST FINE.
 
The only deficiency is the size of the screen. But if you have an external to use when you need more screen space, you'll be fine.
 
yes, that computer will meet your needs nicely and you will enjoy a pleasurable computing experience. Buy.
 
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