Advice about buying new Macbook

Hi all,
I'm trying to decide between the Macbook Air and the Macbook Pro with Retina display, and I'd like to see if people have advice about which one would better serve my needs.
This is my only computer, and while it needs to be portable, it doesn't need to necessarily be the lightest possible (Macbook Air).
What I do want is at least 256GB of storage. Right now I have 156GB, and I'm almost maxing it out. I've had to take things off my hard drive to make more room. I have a large iTunes library and a large iPhoto library, and I want all those things on my hard drive.
I also want good performance because that's where my 2008 Macbook is not doing so well - gets very slow, esp when iPhoto and similar apps are open.
I need to be able to work with several apps open - Word, Excel, Adobe Reader, Chrome, etc. I don't need to do a lot of gaming or sophisticated video editing or anything like that - I work mostly with MS Office programs.
So is the Macbook Air good enough or should I get the Macbook Pro?
Thanks!

The Air should be ample for your described needs. If weight is not a consideration, the Air has by far the best battery run time, so if a lot of work is done without an AC outlet available, that is some thing to take into account.
The Pro has a superior display and is a more powerful machine, but the extra power is not needed for what you have described.
Personally I would urge you to consider installing as much storage as you can afford. Using external HDDs in the field gets very old quickly. Over time data has a habit of increasing.
One important point to keep in mind, with both the Air and the Pro, no future upgrades are available at this time so configure the unit accordingly. I would spend my money for upgrades in this order, storage, RAM, CPU.
Ciao.

Similar Messages

Questions about buying new Macbook

I have a 2001 iBook, still going and going. It was my first computer. I want to replace it by buying a Macbook. I make webpages, blog, no videogaming, no heavy graphics apps (like PS), only a couple of third-party apps.
I'm very short of breath so, even though there is an Apple Store in town, it's much better for me to order the Macbook, printer, and any accessories at the online Apple Store, if possible.
1) The 2001 iBook out-of-box had 128mb RAM. I had to install more RAM (upped it to 384mb RAM) because 128mb was really not sufficient, even with my lightweight use. It had seemed slow and clunky performance-wise. I would rather just buy a Macbook with enough RAM to begin with. Is 1GB going to be the same problem - not quite enough? Should I buy the $1299 2GB model?
2) The HD was replaced through AppleCare a year after I got the iBook. I wondered if it was my fault in a way because I was new to computers (I had a lot of Kernel Panics at first and once, without thinking I unplugged the computer at the wall socket once during an electrical storm, not realizing that wasn't a good way to shut down). Since then there have been no problems. Now that I have a even touch, work speed, and a sense of how the computer files are organized, I'm not a raw novice. I don't plan to experiment with the Macbook or make myself a rootuser, just work within the GUI. Do I really need AppleCare on the new Macbook? Are those AppleCare repairs largely brought on by user damage? I don't want to buy AppleCare unless it's suicide not to.
3) I have the iBook on my desk on a piece of cardboard. It never overheats. It has never left my desk, and I don't ever use it on my lap. I like the iBook because it's compact, not because I want to carry it around to coffee shops. However, does a Macbook need some sort of special support like Rain Design iLap to raise it off the desk so it doesn't overheat?
4) Can I buy the $29 Apple iPod Earphones to plug into the Macbook?
5) Is iKlear really safe to use on screens? (I've always used water on my iBook, not very effective.)

You'll see a big difference switching from iBook to MacBook.
Unless you need the Superdrive, get the cheapest MB with a CD drive or for more money saving buy a refurbished from the online store. Adding RAM and changing the hard drive is easy to do in the MB if you need to do it later.
Applecare is only two years added to the original one year. You seemed to do fine without it for a number of years on the iBook so why worry about it. Applecare does not cover user inflicted damage, just manufacturing faults.
I have a new Penryn MB which does not seem to have any heat problem but I still use an incline base under it for the typing angle. I sometimes pressure the MB with PS, video, burning and such but no problems.
With the world aflame with iPods and other MP3 players, you can get a wide selection of earphones at most computer/electronic stores. I like the in-ear type which makes the music sound like it is in the middle of my brain instead of coming from the outside.
iKlear is recommended by Apple but I find it streaky. I use a moist cloth, don't touch the screen and keep my hands clean when using the computer.

Need expert advice on buying new macbook pro 15 inch

Hi I Am a digital textile designer and planning to buy my first retina macbook pro. I need expert advice, which model should i buy 15 inch base model or with dedicated graphics card. i will use macbook for digital designing on Adobe photoshop and multi tasking. so now really confused is intel iris pro graphics will handle heavy files on photoshop or Nvidia GT750 m will good for heavy work. I am working on very large resolution file like 10 to 15k in resolution approx 1 GB in file size with lot of filters is being use while designing. Which model will handle above task well and last longer.

Look at the specifications here:
http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/macbook-pro
You may be confusing the quad core CPU with the Graphics processor.
It should have no difficulty in running Adobe Photoshop.
Ciao.

About buying new macbook

I am in the process of buying a new macbook and was wondering if it is posible to buy 2 macbooks under the student discount if one is referbished and one is new

Hi there,
I am also a student and looking to buy a macbook soon. From what I understand, purchases are limited per school year. I looked through the terms and could only find this:
PURCHASE QUANTITY
Faculty, Staff and Students purchasing from the Apple Store for Education Individuals will be allowed to purchase the following quantities of product per academic school year:
1. Desktop: One (1) may be purchased per academic year
2. Mac mini: One (1) may be purchased per academic year
3. Notebook: One (1) may be purchased per academic year
4. Display: A maximum of two (2) may be purchased per academic year
5. Software: A maximum of two (2) per software title may be purchased per academic year
6. Apple TV: There is no limit on the quantity of Apple TV purchases per academic year
7. iPod: There is no limit on the quantity of iPod purchases per academic year
I believe refurbished items do not get further discounts, as they are already marked down. Hope this helps.

Advice about buying a new hard drive

I have a TOSHIBA Satellite L25-S1216. I have not been able to boot into Windows XP for 3 years using the factory Recovery and Applications/Drivers DVD and the Fully Recover procedure on the back of the DVD packae. I have been using Linux for the past 3 years. Ubuntu SMART test disk utility tells me I have 20 bad hard drive sectors. I have concluded I should buy a new hard drive, since mine has 20 bad sectors. My current hard drive is ATA-6, so I know I need a PATA compatible hard drive. I'd like to increase to maybe 60 GB from the current 40 GB. I'd also like to go with a solid state drive, but there don't appear to be many PATA compatible solid state drives.
And I don't want to get too complicated or expensive; I want to stay with my current Windows XP. Not sure if a SATA PATA interface adapter would work to allow me to use a SATA solid state hard drive or not. I know (from reading knowledge base posts) there is also the potential problem of the older BIOSs not recognizing the newer Advanced Drive Format drives.
QUESTION: Does anybody have any advice about buying a hard drive that would work for me? How can I be reasonably sure a hard drive I buy is compatible with my computer?
Thank you,
Bob
Solved!
Go to Solution.

either get a pata drive (you can get larger than the stock 40gb) or use your $ towards a more current new/used laptop. pata ssd would be a waste and I doubt adapter would work. also, ms is dropping support for xp so it would be a good time to upgrade to something with a more current os as well.
L305-S5955, T9300 Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, 60GB SSD, Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Have old MacBook Pro running tiger 10.4 want to save date to external hard drive and buy newer MacBook and still use same drive. Any suggestions, most WD drives say nothing about os tiger 10.4.

Have old MacBook Pro running tiger 10.4 want to save date to external hard drive and buy newer MacBook and still use same drive. Any suggestions, most WD drives say nothing about os tiger 10.4. The OS compatibility is much newer on the data. Totally confused. Not a computer person.

I haven't checked reviews recently but there's a difference between bare drives and drives with enclosures. Western Digital made some of the most reliable drives last time I checked, though the enclosures weren't all that great. It is convenient to get both in one package but I usually buy a highly rated enclosure and then put a highly rated drive in it myself. OWC sells some good enclosures but if they put a so-so drive inside of it then the package is only as good as its weakest component. If you get a package from them, ask them what drive is inside (some vendors have no idea what's inside - went to an Apple Store recently and they couldn't tell me what was inside some of their Apple brand enclosures). My first thought if buying a new drive would be to buy a OWC enclosure with a WD drive, but chek around because I may be out of date.
10 years ago Seagate was one of the best drives. Now they rate poorly in reviews.

Buy new MacBook in Paris (with English keyboard layout)

I want to buy new Macbook in Paris with US keyboard layout not French one. Since there are no official Mac Store in France how can I do that ?
Oh one more thing. I also want to laser Russian alphabet on buttons in Paris. Is it possible to do that ?

http://store.apple.com/fr - this is a reseller.
No, it's not, not if you mean an independently-owned company apart from Apple. It's the official Apple Store, owned by Apple. When you order from that Apple Store, you're ordering directly from Apple.
why don't they writу full number with France code - as far as I know it is 33. so it is 33 0800 046 046
Probably because they assume that anyone ordering from the French Apple Store is in France and so doesn't need the country code. Why you can't get through to that number from another country, as I presume you're attempting, I can't say.
Well the information I have from Russian reseller is that they order them from US or UK they do not laser buttons in Russia.
Again, what Apple can and will do for a distributor/dealer is different from what they can do for an individual purchaser. Apple computers sold in a given country are usually only sold with a keyboard applicable to that country. Getting a different keyboard is often just not possible as may well be the case for you.
A workaround might be to get a MacBook with a keyboard from another language and get a set of Russian keyboard overlay stickers. Another possibility would be to purchase an external USB keyboard with Russian keys. Neither option would be an elegant solution but it might be worth it if you can save as much as you say by buying in France. Again, though, note that Apple France will not ship a system to you in Russia (or any other country); you'd have to go to France to get it.

About the new macbook pro connectivity .. help!!

I was wondering about the new macbook pro 13". If i use a mini displayport to hdmi cable, could i use the macbook pro as a display for ps3?

Hi and welcome to Discussions,
sorry, but no.
The MBP has only a Video-Out port, not a Video-In port.
Regards
Stefan
Message was edited by: Fortuny

So I'm thinking about buying a Macbook pro with 512 gb harddrive and 8gb of ram. But I don't know whether to get a 2.4 ghz or 2.7 ghz processor? I mainly use my computer for a lot of music, internet, and other teenage things

So I'm thinking about buying a Macbook pro with 512 gb harddrive and 8gb of ram. But I don't know whether to get a 2.4 ghz or 2.7 ghz processor? I mainly use my computer for a lot of music, internet, and other teenage things

2.4ghz is plenty of processing, if it means you'll save money over the 2.7ghz. I'd have suggested 2.7 if you also do heavy video editing/rendering using FCP, etc... but the spec you have is plenty

Looking to buy new MacBook Pro for editing with Premiere/After Effects, but wondering about trade-off between Processor Speed and Graphics Card

I'm a professional video editor (using Premiere and After Effects) looking to buy a new MacBook Pro and am deciding between two models. The slightly older model has a 2.8GHZ i7 (3rd generation) Quad Core processor with a 1GB SDRAM of NVIDIA GE FORCE GT 650M Graphics Card. Then newer model has a 2.3GHZ i7 (4th generation) Quad Core preocessor with 2GB SDRAM of NVIDIA GE FORCE 750M/Intel Iris Pro Graphics Card.
Which makes the most difference (processor speed vs. graphics card) with editing with Premiere and After Effects?
Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
mike

Poikkeus wrote:
1. Your MBP will be somewhat slower than your iMac, as reflected in the general speed; desktop Macs have more RAM and storage.
You recon? If he get's the 17", he would have up to 8x more RAM, 4 x more GPU,, and a bit faster CPU;.
2. Be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of extra RAM. Loading up the slot will make juggling multiple applications easier, like Photoshop, VLC, and Safari. However, more than 4gigs of RAM will make loading your MBP on startup twice as slow - at least a minute, probably longer. That's why a MBP user with extra RAM should sleep their machine nearly always when not in use, rather than powering off.
I did not know this, I just upgraded from 4gb to 8gb the other day. Have not noticed it being slower, but I don't often shut it down. It's nice to not even have to bother with ifreemem.
3. Additional storage and RAM will maximize the basic capabilities of your MBP, but you won't be able to make a 2.3ghz machine any faster than it already is.
SSD
4. I still feel that your iMac will be faster than your prospective MBP. The only way to dramatically increase the speed would be the installation of a SSD drive (like the lauded OWC series). But they're not cheap.
I don't want to rain on your parade, but want you to get a more realistic idea of your performance.
I chose a macbook pro, 17" of cause. I use it for gaming. Yes a iMac is better for gaming. But, it's nice to be able to move around. Set up a man cave in the lounge 1 week, or in the bedroom, the next. But you fork out a lot more dosh for that luxury. And yes, not as much power as Poikkeus has said.

Advice about buying a Macbbok Pro

I need to buy a laptop which is going to be used on a film set for playback of sound. Therefore it has to be reliable, powerful and fast. It has to be a laptop due to the fact that it needs to be mobile otherwise I would consider a Desktop. Therefore I am thinking a Macbook Pro with 4 gig of RAM and the 2.6 gHz processor upgrade. I have a couple of questions before I purchase it though. Firstly I have until early October to get it and am wondering if apple are planning to launch any new systems or introduce any new features/upgrades that would warrant me holding off for a while? Secondly I would rather go for the 300 gig HDD as it's larger, however I notice this runs at 4200 RPM as opposed to the 200 gig which runs at 7200 RPM. Do you think this would make much difference to the performance as I really want it to run as fast as possible, meaning that I would sacrifice the extra capacity for even a minor increase in HDD performance or write speeds. And generally can you give me any other useful advice that could help me to make the right purchase of this machine. As far as I can see, this is definately the most powerful laptop available.
Looking forward to any replies
Many thanks
L.Dudley

Hi L.Dudley;
We here have absolutely no idea what Apple is going to do. So we are not able to help you speculate about anything new.
If you can hold off until October then do so. That will give you the best chance of getting the latest and greatest.
As far as the rest of your questions go you would have to tell use more details on the software and hardware you plan to use for playing this sound back. Without know that it would be all guess work.
Allan

Buy new Macbook Pro now or wait until 2015

Hi!
I'm currently trying to decide between buying a new Macbook Pro 15" right now, or waiting for any possible releases next year.
I'm totally dependent upon my laptop for both school and work. I heavily use programs such as Photoshop, Xcode, and others on an everyday basis. My current laptop is a summer '09 unibody Macbook Pro 13" (the cheapest version), with upgraded aftermarket storage and ram (two years ago). It works surprisingly well, and I could probably go on living perfectly fine with it. However, I find myself every day swearing over how annoyed I am by it. I often resort to turning it off and back on due to it freezing or lagging. But by all means, I can live with it.
I was planning on buying a new Mac last winter, but I decided to wait for a possible upgrade this summer (2014). But when that was released I couldn't buy it until September because I was abroad. When I finally got back, I reluctantly decided to wait for a larger upgrade this October (heard something about Broadwell processors), but that didn't come.
I figured since I waited that long, I might as well just wait a bit longer (until January). However yesterday my charger stopped working (Apple gave me a new one free of charge), and I realized how fragile and old my laptop is. I better trade it in before anything serious goes wrong.
So now I'm trying to decided whether I should wait for a possible upgrade or buy a new one now. I don't think whatever upgrade is coming will be large enough for it to be worth it, but I just don't wanna splurge $2500 on a new mcbp if it's gonna be outdated soon. When I'm buying something I like it to be just after it was released, to avoid situations where I'm left with a brand new outdated product.
I'm scared that if I buy it now I will regret it if a new version comes out soon. However, I'm scared that if I don't buy it now I'll end up waiting indefinitely (or just until next summer).
It'd be stupid of me to waste time now using my old Mac when I'm clearly in need of a new one. But again, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if they release a new major update in early 2015.
So hopefully someone understands my problem. My question is: what do you guys think is the right thing to do? What updates can we expect to see to the Macbook Pro line, and when can we expect to see them? Are we talking about minor upgrades like this past summer, or are we talking massive design changes, lighter and thinner body, better screen and performance? And would we see this in early (Q1, Q2) 2015 or as late as 2016? I know you can't give any definite answers, but at least you can make better assumptions than me haha.
Thanks!

We don't know. We have no more insight into Apple's plans for 2015 than you do. Making your decisions for you is not the purpose of these forums, so please do your own research and make your own decisions. If you have a technical problem with an Apple product then that is a proper use of these forums.
Apple Support Communities - Terms of Use

Buying New Macbook

I would like to Buy a New Macbook, is anyone help me to choose which one is good to buy, white one or the new that recently came to market

Unless you really have to have the shiny Black glass model (which does look pretty awesome and has the light-up keys in the dark!), I see no reason to spend more on it instead of getting the classic White MacBook. There just doesn't seem to be that big of a difference to me in functionality for most users, except for looks and a big bad difference in price!
I do wonder if anyone has an opinion on whether the glass screen of the new model is easier to clean than the White MacBooks? I would be a little nervous touting glass around with me in my bag, but that may be false alarm.
Here is my experience with the early 2009 White MacBook and a refurbished early 2008 White MacBook:
I just picked out a new early 2009 White MacBook for my sister, and we are very happy with its performance. My sis runs Photoshop Elements on it to do graphics, loads graphic heavy websites and flash sites, watches and downloads tons of video and images, and she hasn't had any issues yet. The computer is fast and hasn't had any bugs or errors. Just the other day she was editing a movie she and classmates made in iMovie. The white MacBook has plenty of room and capability for everything she needs (and she is a downloader!), and the decision should be about what you need.
I use a refurbished early 2008 White MacBook, and it is great! I use it for all the same things as my sis on her newer model, with no complaints except that the fan annoys me a bit on some game websites (but I installed a fan controller that helps). It is indistinguishable from the 2009 White MacBook, except for these three details:
• It runs a tad bit slower and the fan kicks on more often, but not a big deal. This is because the 2008 model has only 1 GB of memory vs. 2009's 2 GB.
• Soon after I got my refurbished MacBook, I did have to send it to Apple once for repair (on AppleCare's dime) when the display went haywire, I think likely a result of the computer being refurbished. They returned it quickly and it's been perfect ever since.
• My computer, like many others, did get the mysterious "freeze-on-sleep" bug after upgrading to 10.5.7 -- easily fixed by adding the Ethernet option in Networks -- while the 2009 White MacBook did not.
I hope this is helpful!
Message was edited by: Jae B

Buy new MacBook or stay by my Powerbook

Hi
What will be the better choice?
Stay by my Powerbook 12" 1.5Ghz 1,25GB Ram, or sell my Powerbook and buy a
MacBook 13" 1,8Ghz 1GB Ram.
Thanks Martin

well martin. not really enough info there for any useful advice to be given, at least not from me. are you achieving everything you need to do in logic with the powerbook? are there reasons why you could use a machine that is more like a desktop dual G5 in performance? what plug ins do you depend on for day to day use? if something you need is not available yet as a UB, then you'll be cursing every day that passes till it's released. do you have the time to change over to a new system? are you in a break between important projects, so that you'll have the time to deal with any problems that might come up in getting it running? can you risk getting a new machine and totally getting rid of your old one -- there's always a risk that there will be a hardware problem with a new machine you buy, which could mean lengthy delays sending it back to be repaired or replaced.. what would you do to work in the meantime?
personally I would move on to a macbook or macbook pro, but I say personally because I can use the extra power for what I need to do. also, I kept my PB 12" and still have the G5 based logic setup, so it was pretty much a zero risk purchase for me.
elaborate on what you need. then people can advise.

Stay by my LiquidMix or buy new MacBook??

Hi
maybe some people can help me in my suggestion.
My Powerbook is now something about 5 years old. i like it because it is an 12". I would love to switch to the new MacBook, but it has no FireWire. So i´m strugeling. Should I sell my LM and buy a Plugin so that I can switch to the MAcBook? Or what would you do? I will not switch to the Pro Series because I want a small inch machine.
So, what would you do?

While the loss of FW is a heartbreak, the LM vs 2.4ghz on MacBook is a tough call.
The 2.4 Macbook with 4gb of ram will surely trump the LM, but what you sacrifice always is horsepower that can be allocated to other things.
Were it me? I would go for the MacBook and box the LM until such a time a Mac Pro or iMac become a reality for you. As much as we would all like to have it all, Apple has made it difficult for us.
The white MacBook is a bit of a sleeper. And maxed out, that 2.0 processor won't see the same headroom the 2.4 can.
Just my 2.

Advice about buying new Macbook

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