Macbook Pro 15'' options for gaming and college

Hi there Apple Community!
I'm having trouble choosing the best cost benefit for a new Mac. I'm a college student and my main priority is to have a mobile unit to cary with me for classes. I'm also a gamer, and since this will be my main computer I'd like to have one that could also run games like Civ 5 and WoW smoothly. Therefore I believe the best option for me would be the cheapest 15'' MBP.
However, both the price and the extra weight scare me. I'm not confortable with walking around with a R$ 6,600.00 notebook (about US$ 3,300.00 - I'm in Brazil and thanks to taxes all the prices are overrated ).
I'm studying options to reduce the risk of walking with such a valuable piece of hardware around while giving me what I need where I need, and after some time I've matured the idea of having more than 1 device.
My first option would be to get me cheapest 13'' MBA along with a Mac Mini - the one with the Radeon 6630M videocard on it. They cost together about the same as the 15' MBP, and would give me both a lighter option to go to college and a dedicated videocard for games, though this card is weaker than the one in the MBP - and I'm not sure how well this card would handle the games I want to play.
Another option would be to get myself the both cheapest 21'' iMac (with the same videocard as the MBP) and the cheapest MBA. This would be a bit more expensive than the MBP, but no big deal, and I'd still have both a decent unit at home for games and the mobility I need for college.
My last option would be to get the 13'' MBA and use the rest of the money to assemble a gaming Windows 7 PC. This would be my last resort, though. I know I can assemble a terrible machine with this budget, but I believe I could have what I need - decent (not extreme) gaming experience at home - from a Mac, even if I have to use Bootcamp.
I'd like to know from you who own Macs what you think about these options. I intent to make my purchase this month or the next, as my classes begin in August. What would u think to be the best combination? Or is the MBP the best option? Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

Thanks for the reply, OGELTHORPE. Refurbished products were the 1st thing I thought when I saw the cost of a 15''MBP. Unfortunately there's not even a link for this store in Brazil's store. I'm not sure, but I believe this is because of the mistrurst we brazillians have upon refurbished equipments sold by many other companies that fail to meet quality specs - some companies even try to push them as 'new' to the customers... I know that US Apple follows refurbishing rules to the letter - not hard to find people around the web saying that they got a nice deal for buying a refurbished Apple and that they would do it again. I wish I could buy a refurbished unit from the american Apple Store and have it delivered to Brazil, but I believe this is way too much to ask for the 'free shipping' they offer...
As for gaming, I do like it, but I'm not looking for a gaming station - otherwise I'd look for a PS3, Xbox 360, etc. I do want a computer to complement my studies at home - this is my main focus after all, and it would be desirable if this new computer could also run some games for me to play when I can.
I'm just not satisfied with the Intel HD 3000's performance (some people say they are even weaker than the previous nVidia models they replace). This is why I'm trying to get my hands on one of those new Radeon videocards.
Anyway I've heard that Apple may show some new products on this week's presentation at WWDC.Let's hope something good is coming.

Similar Messages

  • I have a macbook pro I use for work and iMac at home. What is best way to manage my files? Use iCloud? Dock my laptop when I come home? Appreciate any suggesitons

    I have a macbook pro I use for work and iMac at home. What is best way to manage my files? Use iCloud? Dock my laptop when I come home? Appreciate any suggesitons

    That depends on what kind of "files" you're talking about and what your employer's policy is on using cloud storage.
    I found dropbox and/or OneDrive work very well for keeping documents in sync between multiple machines.

  • MacBook Pro Cooling Pad for Gaming

    Ok, I'm having problems with MacBook Pro overheating when I'm playing a game and the FPS drops very low, so does anybody know the best solution for this situation?

    Cooling pads will not work as there are no ports to remove hot air on the bottom of the laptop. The only vents on the macbook/macbook pro line are in the back side of the computer. As there are no cooling pads that have functions to suck hot air/flow cold air to that specific vent, all conventional cooling pads are useless. the most you will do with normal cooling pads/gaming colling pads, is possibly lower external temperature by 2 degrees at the most.  unless you manage a way to function the computer without a bottom case, use a desk that has a built in liquid nitrogen colling spot, or drill holes into the bottom of your laptop, cooling pads are useless for macbook pros.
    sorry to tell you this, but trust me, i've gone through this with many people and genius' and 1800 apple reps.
    best advice, use your laptop in a well ventilated area and air out your vents with dust spray cans regularly.
    oh and do not use on your lap. dust is composed of fibers, skin and other foreign objects.  using it on your bed, your clothes, etc increases the chance of dust build up inside your computer.  use on a solid surface. Glass desks (like i have) are able to disipate the heat best IMO.

  • MacBook Pro or Air for gaming? 13-inch

    Know neither of these machines are designed for gaming but I'm getting one or the other.
    Only mid-range games really like StarCraft, Warcraft etc.
    I have also seen Diablo 3 play on these machines so that would be good.
    Also, I may have to install Bootcamp to play some of these games.
    It's for uni so it'll need to do all the uni things but I know both of these can.
    Thanks in advance!

    Hello Tinman!
    It is a shame that Warcraft is no longer supported :(((
    I own a maxed out 11" Air. I really love it! If you want to go Pro here is my advice:
    Wait another 3-4 month. I have word from an Apple employee that the retina display is not yet perfected. As soon as there are 13" Pros with a retina display go and get one :)
    The 13" Pros with a non retina display are tempting, but they do not have the fast SSDs that are included in the 15" Pro or the MacBook Air... That is "legacy tech" ;)
    If you need a good MacBook now go for the 13" Air. If you can wait, wait for the next release of Retina Pro Macs.
    Cheers

  • MacBook Pro late 2013 for Motion and FCP

    Hi,
    before buying the MacBook Pro 15-inch, I am turning the internet upside down trying to find out how well the model without the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M would perform when doing Photoshop work and editing HD video in Final Cut Pro and Motion.  Almost all tests I read tell me frame rates when playing games.  But I wonder how well the MacBook Pro 15-inch is doing on the mentioned tasks if there is only the Intel Iris Pro Graphics ?  It would be great to read experiences of people who bought the 15-inch base model.  Thanks.

    Hey Clo1,
    This video meight give you an idea of what the iris pro can handle...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATKDuQOQw9k

  • What will the new high end 15" Retina Macbook Pro be like for gaming?

    With Nvidia Geforce GT 750M 2GB GDDR5, what kind of performance can I expect? I must stress that this is not my main concern, but I would like to know that in my down time I can enjoy myself and not got worried about frame rates etc.  So what sort of standards for the "average" game will I see? I will be using Windows 7 via bootcamp.

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    Read some benchmarks in the Internet > http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-750M.90245.0.html They will tell you how games would work with this GPU, but note that this may change depending on your screen resolution, GPU drivers...
    In general, you shouldn't have any problem with that GPU to run games in medium-high settings. Be careful with the MacBook temperature, as it may get hot quickly

  • Macbook Pro Mikrophone Echo for SIP and Skype

    Hi All
    I have a Macbookpro retina 2013. When I try to Skype or use my SIP phone apple phone app, The receiver of my call has an Echo. Should I take the laptop back?

    First your machine is NOT affected by a virus because none as in zero, nada, zip, nope exist for OS X. What it sounds like to me though is 1 of 2 possibilities, both related to your HD. First is it's too full, Mac's need a minimum of 10-15% of the disk available at all times. For example if your drive is 250GB it always should have at least 25-38GB available. If you aren't sure how much yours has in Finder click it and then type Command + I and it will tell you the size and how much is available.
    The next thing I think it might be is that it's failing. I would recommend running Apple Hardware Test in Extended Mode immediately and see if it reports any errors.
    Roger

  • I have a Macbook Pro 15" that is three and a half years old.  Although it has slowed a bit, it still runs well and runs every program I need. Any tips for how to keep this old computer running well and in good health?

    I have a Macbook Pro 15" that is three and a half years old.  Although it has slowed a bit, it still runs well and runs every program I need. Any tips for how to keep this old computer running well and in good health?
    I have a 250 gig drive and try to keep at least 100 gigs unused at all times, 4 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory, back up with Time Machine and CrashPlan, and have OS X 10.7.3.
    This was my first Mac since an old Apple II GS.  After that I used PC's and got really good at reformatting, replacing drives, reinstalling, defragging, resolving software conflicts, etc.  Since switching back to Macs (five in my extended family now), I haven't had to do any of those things. So, although, the cost is three times as much, the aggrevation has been ten times less.
    I'm retired and living on a fixed income and would therefore like to keep this computer running as opposed to constatntly upgrading.
    That said, any tips?
    Thanks
    It does have a crack on the left of the screen case about 3/4'' up from the bottom.  I've posted that as another question.

    Kappy's Personal Suggestions for OS X Maintenance
    For disk repairs use Disk Utility.  For situations DU cannot handle the best third-party utilities are: Disk Warrior;  DW only fixes problems with the disk directory, but most disk problems are caused by directory corruption; Disk Warrior 4.x is now Intel Mac compatible. Drive Genius provides additional tools not found in Disk Warrior.  Versions 1.5.1 and later are Intel Mac compatible.
    OS X performs certain maintenance functions that are scheduled to occur on a daily, weekly, or monthly period. The maintenance scripts run in the early AM only if the computer is turned on 24/7 (no sleep.) If this isn't the case, then an excellent solution is to download and install a shareware utility such as Macaroni, JAW PseudoAnacron, or Anacron that will automate the maintenance activity regardless of whether the computer is turned off or asleep.  Dependence upon third-party utilities to run the periodic maintenance scripts was significantly reduced since Tiger.  These utilities have limited or no functionality with Snow Leopard or Lion and should not be installed.
    OS X automatically defragments files less than 20 MBs in size, so unless you have a disk full of very large files there's little need for defragmenting the hard drive. As for virus protection there are few if any such animals affecting OS X. You can protect the computer easily using the freeware Open Source virus protection software ClamXAV. Personally I would avoid most commercial anti-virus software because of their potential for causing problems. For more about malware see Macintosh Virus Guide.
    I would also recommend downloading a utility such as TinkerTool System, OnyX 2.4.3, or Cocktail 5.1.1 that you can use for periodic maintenance such as removing old log files and archives, clearing caches, etc.
    For emergency repairs install the freeware utility Applejack.  If you cannot start up in OS X, you may be able to start in single-user mode from which you can run Applejack to do a whole set of repair and maintenance routines from the command line.  Note that AppleJack 1.5 is required for Leopard. AppleJack 1.6 is compatible with Snow Leopard. There is no confirmation that this version also works with Lion.
    When you install any new system software or updates be sure to repair the hard drive and permissions beforehand. I also recommend booting into safe mode before doing system software updates.
    Get an external Firewire drive at least equal in size to the internal hard drive and make (and maintain) a bootable clone/backup. You can make a bootable clone using the Restore option of Disk Utility. You can also make and maintain clones with good backup software. My personal recommendations are (order is not significant):
    Carbon Copy Cloner
    Data Backup
    Deja Vu
    SuperDuper!
    SyncTwoFolders
    Synk Pro
    Synk Standard
    Tri-Backup
    Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQs on maintenance, optimization, virus protection, and backup and restore.
    Additional suggestions will be found in Mac Maintenance Quick Assist.
    Referenced software can be found at CNet Downloads or MacUpdate.
    Be sure you have an adequate amount of RAM installed for the number of applications you run concurrently. Be sure you leave a minimum of 10% of the hard drive's capacity as free space.
    Adding more RAM, if feasible, and a new, faster hard drive may also help pep it up a little.

  • Macbook Pro with 128Mb video card and gaming

    Everyone is saying that the Macbook is no good for gaming. Ok, I can see that. But how does the base model Macbook Pro do with games ? I'm in the market for a new notebook and it's either going to be a black macbook with 2Gb or a macbook pro 2.16Ghz with 128Mb video and 2Gb RAM. I can't afford a more expensive macbook pro with 256Mb of video ram since I'll already be stretching my budget with the 2.16 pro. I'm not a hardcore gamer (used to be, though) but I definitely enjoy gaming from time to time. I don't want to be able to play the lastest games at super high resolutions but I would expect a 2006/2007 computer to be able to run a two year old game like c&c generals without a hitch (which the macbook doesn't, even with the universal binary patch). Anyone have the baseline macbook pro ? How does it do with games (OS X, I'm not planning on forking out for a copy of Windows XP).

    I'll second blamb327. I am playing World of Warcraft on my MBP C2D, 128MB video ram, 1.5GB ram. It runs extremely well, in full screen or windowed mode. I prefer to use windowed mode so I can see IMs coming in or email notifications. But it runs really well. It certainly heats up though, usually the high 140s, sometimes into 150. The fans run constantly at about 4000-6000rpm. It still runs cooler than it does when ripping cds or making iMovies. I may put a small desk fan on it for really long sessions, just to keep things running nice and cool.

  • In Acrobat pro 9, I can't find staple and fold options for booklets and no matter what options I choose in the print dialogue my booklet ends up with pages upside down and out of order?

    In Acrobat pro 9, I can't find staple and fold options for booklets and no matter what options I choose in the print dialogue my booklet ends up with pages upside down and out of order? I am working on a Macbook pro running OS X 10.9.4.  Our printers are fully capable for booklets with staples and folds. Would love some help. Thank you!

    To: ~graffiti
    (This email is not intended to go on public forum -- but I wanted to respond
    to you)
    Thanks for your reply....FYI...I was trying to download from www.adobe.com on
    the specific page that has downloads of your products.    As far as the
    alternate source is concerned I am not totally sure what the capabilities it has as
    I am recovering from a hospital stay and had to send my wife to retailer to
    pick this up because I am accessing email from home until I return to work and
    need something to work now.  I don't yet have the SW.  (I would have had her
    buy the actual Adobe Pro 9.0 -- but it is a wapping $499 and change).
    Regards,
    Staurt Rednor ("Stu") - [email protected]
    ===========================================================
    Subj:   New message: "No matter what I try can't download
    Adobe Pro 9.0 or free Adobe Reader"   
    Date:   4/5/2009 7:38:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time  
    From:   [email protected]   
    Reply-to:   [email protected] 
    To: [email protected]  
    Sent from the Internet (Details)   
    SGuitar43,
    A new message was posted in the thread "No matter what I try can't download
    Adobe Pro 9.0 or free Adobe Reader":
    http://forums.adobe.com/message/1867664#1867664
    Author  : ~graffiti
    Profile : http://forums.adobe.com/people/~graffiti
    Message:

  • Im looking for a MacBook that is worth the money and decent for gaming and editing, any suggestions?

    Im looking for a MacBook that is worth the money and decent for gaming and editing, any suggestions?
    There all so AWESOME!

    Then you are best to get a Macbook Pro. Your real aim should be the graphics card.
    You won't be doing really good gaming on a discrete graphics card sharing RAM.
    Depending of coarse what games you play.
    eg. card games / COD games.

  • Where can I buy a larger hard drive for my late 2008, 15" macbook pro?  From reviewing questions and answers on the support community it would appear that having Apple remove the old and install the new hard drive is recommended.  But how/where?

    Where can I buy a larger hard drive for my late 2008, 15" macbook pro?  From reviewing questions and answers on the support community it would appear that having Apple remove the old and install the new hard drive is recommended.  But how/where?

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    You can install the new hard disk yourself if you want to. You just need a 2'5" SATA II hard drive, which is compatible with your MacBook Pro. You can buy one at OWC > http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/ You can filter hard drives by computer, so press a "Click to view all...", choose your computer in the sidebar and it will give you the compatible hard drives.
    There are different brands for the MacBook Pro. The most recommended are HGST and Seagate, which have good reputation. A 7200 rpm hard drive will give you extra performance

  • Please read my question carefully, this is, I think, a question for the experts. It's not the usual name change question.   When I setup my new MacBook Pro, something slipped by me and my computer was named First-Lasts-MacBook-Pro (using my real first and

    Please read my question carefully, this is, I think, a question for the experts. It's not the usual name change question.
    When I setup my new MacBook Pro, something slipped by me and my computer was named First-Lasts-MacBook-Pro (using my real first and last name).
    I changed the computer name in Preferences/Sharing to a new name and Preferences/Accounts to just be Mike. I can right click on my account name, choose advanced, and see that everything looks right.
    However, If I do a scan of my network with my iPhone using the free version of IP Scanner, it lists my computer as First-Lasts-MacBook-Pro! And it lists the user as First-Last.
    So even though another Mac just sees my new computer name, and my home folder is Mike, somewhere in the system the original setup with my full name is still stored. And it's available on a network scan. So my full name might show up at a coffee shop.
    Can I fully change the name without doing a complete re-install of Lion and all my apps?

    One thought... you said the iPhone displayed your computer's old name? I think that you must have used the iPhone with this computer before you changed the name. So no one else's iPhone should display your full name unless that iPhone had previously connected to your Mac. For example, I did this exact same change, and I use the Keynote Remote app to connect with my MacBook Pro. It would no longer link with my MacBook Pro under the old name, and I found that I had to unlink and then create a new link under the new name. So the answer to your question is, there is nothing you need to do on the Mac, but rather the phone, and no other phone will display your full name.

  • I have a macbook pro 15 inch mid 2012 and I want to change the hard drive, what specifications do I need to search for?

    I have a macbook pro 15 inch mid 2012 and I want to change the hard drive, what specifications do I need to search for?

    Does a Seagate - 1TB Internal Serial ATA III/Serial ATA II Solid State Hybrid Drive for Laptops - Multi with the following specifications may work??
    Height
    4 inches
    Width
    2.75 inches
    Weight
    3.5 ounces
    Color Category
    Multi
    Minimum System Requirements
    PC: Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8; MacBook®, MacBook Pro or Mac Mini: Intel®
    processor; OS X; Linux; internal Serial ATA III or Serial ATA II support

  • I am running a MacBook Pro with 10.7.5 and I downloaded the OS X 10.10.2 Update Combo, however when I try and open the package the error message "This volume is used for TimeMachine-backups". Which is not true. I´m using TimeCapsule.

    I am running a MacBook Pro with 10.7.5 and I downloaded the OS X 10.10.2 Update Combo.
    When I try and open the package after accepting the lincence-agreement and upon choosing the install-volume the error message appears: "This volume is used for TimeMachine-backups".
    Which is not true. I´m using a timecapsule for backups.
    How can I proceed?

    I am using a MacBook Pro (2010) with 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5, 4GB, 1067 MHz, DDR3, Startvolume Macintosh HD.
    After downloading the package and starting upgrading it asks acceptance of the license-agreement. After that it asks for the volume were to install. And when I click on the Startvolume Macintosh HD (which is the only available on the machine) it says: "The volume is already being used for Time Machine-Backups".
    It doesn´t offer to skip that point or to reconfigure the Time Machine settings.
    The point is that my Time machine is not and has never used the Mac HD for Backups. In the past I have used an external drive and since 05/2014 I am using a Time Capsule which is appropriately addressed in the Time Machine settings.

Maybe you are looking for