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Macbook Pro buying advice

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I

ichigo kurosaki

Member
Hi guys,

Been wanting to get a new Macbook retina (13") for a while now. They've recently updated the base model to improve processor speeds and double the Ram to 8 Gb.
Is it now the time to jump in? Specs seem that they would be enough for me (I don't really game much) but the low 128 Gb of SSD are holding me back a bit. I don't really feel like shelling out an extra 300 € to double the space to 256 Gb either... I've read the SSD drives in Macbooks are upgradable but can you confirm?

Thanks!
 
H

haZethew0rld

Member
128gb is fine unless you're editing and doing all sorts of stuff like that. You should invest in an external hdd usb 3 or a thunderbolt drive.
 
B

bananas

Banned
I bought the 128GB 13" a few weeks ago. It's fine for me, I put most of my media on an external hdd.

There's always a SD card slot for more storage too, lol.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Keep in mind that the OS and various files will eat up like 20-30 gigs. I think 256 is barely enough for me, for what it's worth.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
Incredible computer!

Check here for more advice http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=439032

Get the 128 if you don't plan on storing many large files on your laptop (eg music, pictures, video, etc). Keep them on an external USB 3.0 HDD. Otherwise get a 256. If your getting the larger SSD I would advise paying a little extra to let apple do it so that you don't void your warranty.
 
A

AngryMoth

Member
Was checking out MBP prices the other day and since my 13" from 2010 just died. Extremely dissapointed that the only way to get one with a discrete gpu is to shell out £1999 for the top end model. I'm probably going to have to go back to windows for this reason :(
 
N

nico1982

Member
I have a 13" MBPr with 256GB that I use for work (software developer). Storage is scarce, but I also have an handful of games and a 50GB Windows 8.1 VM image on it.

Another option to increase storage is using the SD card slot for a semi-permanent flash memory card that is flush with the chassis.
There are two options I'm aware of:
- one is Transcend JetDrive Lite, that unfortunately is only available in 64GB size for the 13" MBP because the reader is quite shallow;
- the other is Nifty MiniDrive, which is an adapter for Micro SD.
I got the Transcend one, its speed is decent, and I'm quite happy about it.

I'm considering an USB 3.0 enclosure - looks you want to get a UASP compliant one - with an SSD for additional storage/boot options.
 
T

thenexus6

Member
Grab one, I don't see any MacBook Pro updates this year. 128GB is fine for me, i'd just get a external drive if needed no big deal.
 
N

Napoleonthechimp

Member
I'd like to get the broadwell MBP next year (hopefully it'll be out early next year - i.e. January) and maybe sell it off and get the skylake update - which should bring with it thunderbolt 3 - when that comes out.

AngryMoth said:
Was checking out MBP prices the other day and since my 13" from 2010 just died. Extremely dissapointed that the only way to get one with a discrete gpu is to shell out £1999 for the top end model. I'm probably going to have to go back to windows for this reason :(
Click to expand...
I wanted a new portable workstation and thought about going the Windows route because there are some pretty powerful computers out there (more so than a MBP). But it's Windows and I can't entirely rely on them to be 100% stable over the course of a working day.
 
T

Tumo

Member
If you don't mind getting a refurb then you can get a big discount on a regular price, almost works out like a free SSD upgrade. Same 1 year warranty.

I got one a couple of weeks ago from the UK and there was no way I could tell it wasn't brand new. Also tested the battery and it had only been charged 4 times.

US refurbs - http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

UK refurbs - http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

You can also put it through Quidco if you're in the UK. I got £30 cashback, though the rates change every week or so.
 
G

gkryhewy

Member
Tumo said:
If you don't mind getting a refurb then you can get a big discount on a regular price, almost works out like a free SSD upgrade. Same 1 year warranty.

I got one a couple of weeks ago from the UK and there was no way I could tell it wasn't brand new. Also tested the battery and it had only been charged 4 times.

US refurbs - http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

UK refurbs - http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

You can also put it through Quidco if you're in the UK. I got £30 cashback, though the rates change every week or so.
Click to expand...

Same here - bought a US refurb (late 2103 rMBP, 2.6/16/512), and it arrived with 4 battery cycles... and with a free processor upgrade to a 2.8 i7 to boot! I feel set for quite awhile.
 
A

Ape Gone Insane

Member
Adam Scott Aukerman said:
I just specced up a MBP, and it listed Apple Care for £60 extra, but specifically mentions "HE CONTRACT" in the listing, which I assume to refer to Higher Education so I guess that's the point at which you'd require proof of enrolment.
Click to expand...

That's just an extra 2 years telephone support. You'll still get the main Apple Care 3 years warranty even if you don't select the Apple Care option.

Any proof of enrolment is either done through buying via campus (the internet connection) or buying in store/via phone (your student ID). Once you do that, the educational discount and the HE warranty are bundled together so there's no separate verification for each. I don't know how purchasing through the link in the OP works. They may very well ask for some ID before processing your order.
 
A

alejob

Member
Napoleonthechimp said:
I wanted a new portable workstation and thought about going the Windows route because there are some pretty powerful computers out there (more so than a MBP). But it's Windows and I can't entirely rely on them to be 100% stable over the course of a working day.
Click to expand...

You are funny. I can rely on my windows machine to be 100% reliable over the course of a working day.
 
N

Napoleonthechimp

Member
alejob said:
You are funny. I can rely on my windows machine to be 100% reliable over the course of a working day.
Click to expand...
I perform data management and transcoding duties on the set of commercials and music videos. My day can last 10-12 hours and consists of me moving terabytes of valuable digital footage around while converting it into different formats (which is very cpu and gpu intensive).

I really cannot afford for 3rd party Windows drivers to fail on me in the midst of all of that. The hardware and software of Macs are built to work together which I find makes their systems more reliable.
 
poppabk

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
Napoleonthechimp said:
I perform data management and transcoding duties on the set of commercials and music videos. My day can last 10-12 hours and consists of me moving terabytes of valuable digital footage around while converting it into different formats (which is very cpu and gpu intensive).

I really cannot afford for 3rd party Windows drivers to fail on me in the midst of all of that. The hardware and software of Macs are built to work together which I find makes their systems more reliable.
Click to expand...
You know better than anyone else what you're use case is, but if Windows PCs really did struggle to get through a day without crashing then the whole world would have ground to a halt a long time ago.
I mean if you are using a dedicated Nvidia card and using the Cuda architecture then the most important part of your work flow is using 3rd party drivers from Nvidia anyway, regardless of platform.
 
A

Adam Scott Aukerman

Member
So as it happens, I know someone who's currently in higher education might be up for letting me make use of their education discount.

Does anyone have any knowledge/experience of buying macs on behalf of other people? I'm not sure how it would work with account management etc if I later needed to make use of apple care for example.

Cheers.
 
I

ichigo kurosaki

Member
Adam Scott Aukerman said:
So as it happens, I know someone who's currently in higher education might be up for letting me make use of their education discount.

Does anyone have any knowledge/experience of buying macs on behalf of other people? I'm not sure how it would work with account management etc if I later needed to make use of apple care for example.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

OK, first of all, I forgot to update the thread! Got a MBPr 13" with a 256 SSD last week and I'm really happy with it so far :)


Adam - I used my brother's education discount for this purchase. I basically accessed a special Apple Store link through the site of his Uni and went through the normal buying process, I didn't even have to use my brother's name or data. I think you're good to go then. This is in Europe, not sure where you're from but I assume their policy is the same everywhere?

Don't know about Apple Care, though.
 
A

Adam Scott Aukerman

Member
ichigo kurosaki said:
OK, first of all, I forgot to update the thread! Got a MBPr 13" with a 256 SSD last week and I'm really happy with it so far :)


Adam - I used my brother's education discount for this purchase. I basically accessed a special Apple Store link through the site of his Uni and went through the normal buying process, I didn't even have to use my brother's name or data. I think you're good to go then. This is in Europe, not sure where you're from but I assume their policy is the same everywhere?

Don't know about Apple Care, though.
Click to expand...

Cheers. UK, here.

I've just read that Apple Care is only tied to the serial number of the device, so that would sort that if true.
 
P

Pinewood

Member
I have a 250 GB 2009 Macbook and for what its worth, for me 256 GB seems like the way to go if I at some point get a new computer, although your usage might be different from me.
I do have a 50 GB Windows allocation and out of the 200 GB I use around 150 GB at the moment with tons of games and movies I could just delete or move to a external drive, so go figure.

And if you get the 128 GB version you can always swap that out, I can't see it affecting warranty in any way if you remember to switch the old drive back if anything happens.
EDIT: Don't know if they offer an aftermarket upgrade for the newest model though, you have to look that up.
 
I

ichigo kurosaki

Member
Pinewood said:
I have a 250 GB 2009 Macbook and for what its worth, for me 256 GB seems like the way to go if I at some point get a new computer, although your usage might be different from me.
I do have a 50 GB Windows allocation and out of the 200 GB I use around 150 GB at the moment with tons of games and movies I could just delete or move to a external drive, so go figure.

And if you get the 128 GB version you can always swap that out, I can't see it affecting warranty in any way if you remember to switch the old drive back if anything happens.
EDIT: Don't know if they offer an aftermarket upgrade for the newest model though, you have to look that up.
Click to expand...

I had bought the 128 GB model initially, which actually had just over 100 GB available out of the box. I decided to exchange it for the 256 model because that was just not enough :(
 
A

Adam Scott Aukerman

Member
Soooo..... I have a brand new MBP sitting in front of me that was brought from the education online store. It's lovely.

However, when I check the serial online for its repair coverage, it's only coming up as 1 being covered for one year, but is 'eligible' for the apple care protection plan (...if you buy it). I've read that it's supposed to come for free with purchases from the education store (and wasn't even given an option to buy it, only top up the phone coverage from one year to three), so how is this going to work?

Should I have received something in the box, or will confirmation arrive separately?

Ta.
 
I

Ikuu

Had his dog run over by Blizzard's CEO
I bought mine from the Edu store and got a letter a week or so later confirming my AppleCare, think they emailed me too.
 
S

subrock

Member
Whatever you do, buy refurbished. Check refurb.me for stock levels on the Apple Store. (I think there is affiliate marketing through that site but I don't think they get a cut on refurbs)
 
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