Which is a better buy for college a non-retina display 15 inch macbook pro with a 2.6ghz processor or a 2.9 ghz 13 inch non retina max specs macbook pro both with 8 gb of ram will be using to write papers basically for general use im a Science major

im a college student im studying to be a vet tech and i want this computer too last which a more sound investment the non retina macook pro 15 inch with these specs:2.6 ghz 1 tb ata hd with 8 gb of ram or a maxspec 13 inch mac book pro: 2.9 ghz 1Tb and 8gb of ram any help is appreciated thank you

Hi,
I am a researcher so I store a lot of papers, data, and use numerical software. I have had a 17inch high spec macbook pro for over a year now. I find that apart from the large screen, it was unnecessary to get the high specs. This is why. Firstly, the hard drive is easy to replace and upgrade, apple charge a lot for their own ones. Secondly, the ram in my one was upgradable (which i didnt know when i bought it) and i since upgraded to 16gigs from 8 and its amazing. Thirdly, the newer macbook pros run hotter than the previous ones.
The retina is overrated and the programs for retina need more memory and processing power, so what you find is that your hard drive will get taken over sooner, your mac will run hotter, and battery life lower.
I would say to you, dont worry about the processor speed, the normal speed offered is perfect, more than that is not necessary unless you are running highly demanding apps, the mac will run hotter too. Dont bother getting a large hard drive in the macbook. Get a flash SSD drive, and buy a good portable 2tb HD, like a WD one, and use that to store as much of your work as possible. I believe apple started soldering their ram cards to the motherboard or something so that people cant upgrade. Check in advance and see if the macbook you want can be ram upgradable, then get a lower ram model and buy good 8gb ram cards to make 16gig. Very very easy to install them, took me about two minutes to do mine, it will be much cheaper.
If I think of anything else i will post back. Dont forget to install GFX card status too and use integrated only when on battery, i get up to ten hours of battery life without wifi, around 8 with wifi.
edit. I forgot to mention that if you buy your mac and try to open it you will void the warranty.

Similar Messages

  • Which is a better buy?

    Hi folks,
    I've been using an Imac 700MHz G3 for a few years now, and it's time again to upgrade my computer. I'm looking at two possible used systems: an emac G4 1.42GHz (1Gig, 160gb, Pioneer DVD/RW-CD) and an Imac G5 1.8ghz (256mb, 80gb, superdrive).
    The imac doesn't come with a keyboard, mouse, or system software. The emac comes with 10.5 installed but with no disks.
    I think I can purchase the emac for $500 including shipping. I can buy the imac for $600 including shipping.
    I'm planning on using photoshop and scanned-in images but not in a major way.
    Which computer would be the better buy?
    Thanks!
    Al

    <$0.02>
    I recently had to upgrade from my 1.42GHz emac to a G5 imac because some lightning fried my ethernet. It was a reluctant change as I really like a crt for working with images.
    The 160GB 1.42 emac would have a superdrive plus a radeon 9600 with 64Mb of ram. The imac you are looking at is an early model with the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra graphic card, which is not as good as the radeon 9600. Plus you'll definitely have to put in a gig of ram minimum.
    If it was down to those two I'd go for the emac. $600 (USD?) is a rip off for that particular specced g5. When buying second hand it's always better to get the best in the class, especially as there is not a lot of price difference (if any) between the best and the worst because many buyers do not take into account things like video cards they just see 1.8 and 1.9 and think there's no real difference.
    However having said that, seeing as you are going to have to bite the bullet and go with LCD eventually I think your best option is to buy the latest G5 imac, which is what I did.
    You should be able to get a 1.9GHz G5 with an X600 card (basically the same as a 9600) and 128Mb of Vram + a gig of ram for about $700 with keyboard mouse and disks, plus you'll get the built in isight as well. The ram on the 1.9 will be faster too.
    </$0.02>

  • I have an iMac OS X ver 10.7.5.  Processor speed is 3.06 GHz intel core i3, and the memory is 4 GB 1333 MHz RAM.  My online banking app is being updated and requires OS ver 10.8 or newer.  When I ask for available updates, the system says there are n

    I have an iMac OS X ver 10.7.5.  Processor speed is 3.06 GHz intel core i3, and the memory is 4 GB 1333 MHz RAM.  My online banking app is being updated and requires OS ver 10.8 or newer.  When I ask for available updates, the system says there are none available.  How can I update my system to ver 10.8 or newer to accommodate the new banking app?

    You can update directly to Yosemite (for free) through the App Store (this is 10.10). Make sure your existing applications will run on this OS.
    If you wish to stay at 10.8, you can order this through the online Apple Store (it's $20), and they will email you a redemption code to be used on the App Store.
    http://store.apple.com/us/product/D6377Z/A/os-x-mountain-lion
    Matt

  • Processor advice- buying max spec rMacbook Pro

    Hi guys, I'm about to splash out on a full spec Macbook Pro retina 15" for music production.
    512GB SSD
    750M GPU
    16GB RAM
    2.? GHz i7
    Which processor should I choose?
    I'm using Logic X with Waves plugins, NI Komplete on external drive etc.
    My little 13" 2.66GHz core2duo is CPU maxing out hard in my latest tracks, bless.
    My question is, the 2.5GHz i7 (boost 3.7GHz) is the stock choice, and the £150 ish option takes it up to *2.8GHz* (boost 4GHz)
    For a change, the extra money is not an issue, since it's a work investment.
    However I want to know if there are any issues, e.g. heat or power, in upgrading to the 2.8GHz.
    I'd like to have the best available since I look after my tools and will keep it for years, unless the next update is radically different but I don't know if the Broadwell update will affect me that much.
    What are your opinions on:
    1. the 2.8GHz vs the stock 2.5 i7
    2. buying a macbook pro r15" at this time? (I really do need one ASAP)
    Thanks all. Look forward to your replies...

    Awesome input, thank you.
    I do agree with the logic behind buying the 1TB, but it's an extra £400 which is a HUGE difference haha.
    I could buy more than one great backup drive for that money.
    (Since I work with project files of 0.5-10GB at a time, having 512GB storage and a couple of backup solutions is a more useful way to spend that cash I think).
    Thank you!

  • Hi apple, I have the new ipad with retina display, i have however cracked the screen pretty badly. I was just wondering how much it is to replace this ipad with the same one. It is a 32gig. Thanks

    Hi apple,
    I have the new ipad (4th gen) with retina display. Yesterday I cracked the screen pretty badly. I was just wondering how much it is to replace it with the same ipad. I have the 32gig ipad with wifi.
    Thanks

    The iPad will be $329 AUD if replaced via postage service or $309 AUD if replaced at an Apple Store. Yes they will give you the replacement and take your old iPad so I would suggest if you can back it up to iTunes so that you can restore the back up to the replacement.

  • I purchased Lightroom on my old Macbook but recently updated to a Mac with Retina display for editing my photos. I don't want to purchase Lightroom again and want to keep my catalog I have been using. Is there a way to access it on my new computer?

    I purchased Lightroom on my old Macbook but recently updated to a Mac with Retina display. How do I access Lightroom on my new computer without purchasing it again?

    If you created a new Apple ID, you have to purchase the app again. If you can still use the old ID, then you can download it again for free by using that ID. But you will run the risk of locking yourself out of your new Apple ID for 90 days by downloading the app with your old ID and associating the iPad with the old ID.
    Is the risk of locking yourself out of your new Apple ID worth not having to pay $.99 again for an app?

  • Which laptop is a better buy?

    Which is a better buy?
    Asus - Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 15.6" Display / 6GB Memory
                                                                   OR
    Dell - Inspiron Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 17.3" Display / 6GB Memory / 640GB Hard Drive
    Or if you have any other suggestions!!!

    You won't find a laptop that is good at gaming. You will find some laptops that will play some games pretty well (web based games), and some that will play some games okay with everything turned down, and a tiny handful of (very expensive) laptops that will play some of the most demanding games with some features cranked up a bit.  You will not find a laptop that will play demanding games like a desktop, 
    Since you are looking in the $1000 and below range, you'll not find a single laptop that will play demanding games with any power.  They will do fine on non-demanding games.  Those with dedicated graphics (as opposed to integrated graphics) will do a better job at playing games, but they are much more expensive...
    AMD has some new CPU/GPU hybrid chips which look very promising, but it is very early in the technology...
    If you find my post useful or informative, please click the icon below with the plus sign and star to give kudos. Thank you!

  • How much RAM will be recognized on my Macbook 5,2?

    hey guys,
    just wondering... i have a Macbook (5,2) with 2GB of 667Mhz RAM currently installed (factory). I was wondering how much the maximum amount of RAM i can install is, and also how much my computer will recognise as i am going to upgrade to 4GB. I was also wondering whether i can only install 667Mhz RAM on it, when the bus speed is 1.07Ghz ?
    Specs:
    Model Name: MacBook
    Model Identifier: MacBook5,2
    Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
    Processor Speed: 2 GHz
    Number Of Processors: 1
    Total Number Of Cores: 2
    L2 Cache: 3 MB
    Memory: 2 GB
    Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz

    Hi and welcome to Discussions,
    officially according to Apple the max RAM is 4GB.
    However according to this http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook/stats/macbook-core-2-duo-2.0-white -13-early-2009-nvidia-specs.html and OWC up to 6GB RAM is possible.
    Might be a limitaion of the used logic board / chipset that limits the RAM speed to 667MHz.
    Regards
    Stefan

  • Printer for college dorm

    I need some advice on a good quality printer for a college dorm room
    My daughter will be going off to college and is bringing her new MBP with her. 
    You know the dorms are not very big so the size of the printer is key.  Also she will mostly be printing documents. 
    Thanks for all your help 
    Have a nice day

    Any will do. Check for Mac comparability first of course, like those from Dell might not work.
    HP, Epson, Compaq etc., should work fine. Just make sure if it's  all-in-one to install the latest drivers from their website, not from the included disk as it's usually outdated.
    OS X 10.4/10.5 need to upgrade, 10.6.8 ok still

  • Will a 256 gig SSD be enough for caches or should i go for 500?

    I'm getting a laptop for AE which will come with a terabyte HDD. Im going to put the OS and AE on an SSD. Do you think 256 gigs will be enough or should i go for 500? How much space would be enough for caching? I dont want to get a 500GB SSD and then realize it was overkill. thanks

    Yes, you're right about the boot and application start.  
    And that's just the point for putting user files on the SSD.  SSD's are far faster at reading & writing than a hard drive... with no physical wear & tear.  And when you're reading a hundred layers of HD footage and a hundred more layers of Photoshop & Illustrator documents -- for each and every frame of your AE composition -- you stand to boost the machine's performance significantly with shorter read times multiplied by 200... to say nothing of the absence of physical wear & tear.
    You might also consider putting media files on an external hard drive.

  • Which model gives better performence Invoker/Definer?

    Hi all
    in terms of performance in a large database 1000 tables 30GB DB size and in a centralized schema which model is better either Invoker or Definer / any method to get the performance percentage?
    thanks

    Invoker versus definer is a matter of access privileges. It has absolutely nothing to do with performance. It is completely orthogonal.
    a centralized schema If by this you mean you have only one account which owns the objects used by everybody else, the question you must ask is: do you want your packages to run as the application owner or as Joe Soap? This is a security question; the access paths are the same, the data is the same. Only the privileges are different.
    Cheers, APC
    P.S. The default position is Definer and that seems to me to be the right way to go in the scenario you have described.

  • I want to use an IPad (w/retina display-newest) in my church hooked up to a projector

    I want to use an IPad (w/retina display-newest) in my church hooked up to a projector and shown on a screen.  I'd like to do it wirelessly as the projector will be installed in the ceiling.  I am not sure exactly what I would need to get this set up. I do not have wifi at church or cellular but would be getting the iPad (not yet purchased) with wifi only.  If I use Apple TV to hook up the projector to, would it need wifi to work if I will only be using the ipad for documents, worksheets (much like what a school/professor would use) or other things that an app could do (draw a line, etc.)  

    Epson projectors have such a feature, so if you're going to buy a new projector, you might start with their units. The app is described here:
    http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Landing/ProjectorApp.do
    and there's a projector compability list linked from the very bottom of the page. There may be other projector manufacturers with similar apps, but I don't know for sure. All will probably also require a local WiFi network set up, though said network should not need Internet access if that's an issue for you.
    Regards.

  • Windows XP on macbook pro with retina display?

    I am going to be helping a client with putting Windows XP on a brand new Macbook Pro with retina display later this week.
    This client has two programs that are XP-specific, and MUST be run by booting XP fully and not virtually with Parallels or other options.
    So we are going to be using bootcamp.
    We have the XP install disc, and an external USB CD/DVD drive from Apple.
    I've found postings online about people installing more recent flavors of Windows (Vista, 7, etc) on these machines
    but I haven't found anything about Windows XP on the MBPro with retina display.
    Anyone have any tips to share?
    This should still be possible and not a big problem, right?
    Yes, I know the resolution will likely be the biggest issue, but it should still install and run, yes?
    Thank you for any helpful info anyone can provide.

    First off there are no programs that are XP specific and no programs, that I know of or ever heard of, that can not run in XP in a virtual machine.
    Most all programs that will run on XP will run on Win 7, unless they are older programs. Those older program that will run on XP and not on Vista or 7 will also run on Win 2000 or 98SE. So as stated before I don't know of any programs that will only run on XP and no other operating system.
    A Virtual Machine is Just That, IE a set of Virtual hardware. The Operating system has No Idea it is running in a Virtual Machine on top of a Host operating system. They are completely separate except for the VM using some of the physical hadware in the host computer. Like the USB ports, the network interfaces and the CD/DVD drive. And the VM software is made to allow those devices to look like they are part of a Physical computer the VM OS is running on.
    So I have not idea what these programs could be that would not run on/in a Virtual Machine with XP Installed.
    Please let me know for future reference.
    So your options are.
    1) Install a Virtual Machine software program. VMware Fusion, Parallels or Virtualbox. Then install Win XP into a Virtual Machine.
    2) Buy and older Windows computer that will run XP natively. It doesn't need to be that old, 3-4 years old will do as most all major PC manufacturers have XP drivers for their 3-4 year old computers and most if not all hardware manufacturers, Vid cards, Ethernet & WiFi cards, still list drivers for XP.

  • Ipad with Retina Display - Cracked Screen options

    I have the following Ipad:
    Ipad with Retina Display, 64GB, Wi-Fi, Apple A6X Dual-Core Processor.  It was purchased about 6 months ago from John Lewis with 2 year warranty.
    It fell about 2 feet in its case and the screen cracked anyway - frustrating and expensive accident.
    Accidental is not covered under any warranty - I understand and realise that.  My question is this:
    Can I get it replaced for about half the price of the original cost using the Apple 'Out of Warranty' Repair option I have seen mentioned here? Even if I bought it via John Lewis?  If so how much is this model to repair (and yes I know this means replace in reality) ? Can I just turn up in my local Apple Store tomorrow and ask for this option? Or do I have to book an appointment? Or can I do it through Apple Live Chat/support? Which would be quickest option? I am going on holiday on Friday first thing and would like to get replacement ASAP to take with me.
    Many Thanks for any answers.

    Apple's Limited Warranty http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/ for iPad excludes coverage for damage resulting from accident, disassembly, unauthorized service and unauthorized modifications.
    Out-of-Warranty Service
         If you own an iPad that is ineligible for warranty service but is eligible for Out-of-Warranty (OOW) Service, Apple will replace (Apple doesn't repair) your iPad with an iPad that is new or equivalent to new in both performance and reliability for the Out-of-Warranty Service fee listed below. (The replacement will most likely be a refurbished iPad in a brown box, however, it has a new screen, back and battery.)  
    iPad model
    Out-of-Warranty Service Fee
    iPad mini
    $219
    iPad 3rd, 4th generation
    $299
    iPad 2, iPad
    $249
    A $6.95 shipping fee will be added if service is arranged through Apple and requires shipping. All fees are in US dollars and are subject to local tax.
    Certain damage is ineligible for out-of-warranty service, including catastrophic damage, such as the device separating into multiple pieces, and inoperability caused by unauthorized modifications. However, an iPad that has failed due to contact with liquid may be eligible for out-of-warranty service. See http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_States&product=ipad
    Make a Genius Bar Reservation
    http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/
    You may can get the iPad repaired at 3rd party repair sources for less $, however, any remaining Apple warranty will be voided.

  • Website Issues with Retina Displays

    An apple rep stated, that “Yes, some websites are not very clear when viewed with a retina display.” He wouldn’t elaborate further. So, is this a problem? If it is, how major of one is it?
    Also, is there a real difference between the retina display and a high-res non-glare display?  I really like non-glare displays. This apple rep also admitted that although there is less glare in the new retina displays than the previous high-res screens, they are still not as ‘non-glare’ as the older MBP ‘non-glare’ screens.  What’s your opinion about this?  No one really likes any glare if they can get away with it. But is the retina display really a big deal?

    I have not had any issues with web sites. Be aware that if a web site is coded to be 1024 pixels wide and you have your screen resolution set at 2880 wide then the page will be very small and the text unreadable. So you will have to decide what is the best resolution for you. I have mine set at 1920x1200 pixels and all web sites seem to work well.
    There is a noticeable difference between the retina and the glossy screens. About 70% less glare according to Apple. Seems right from my experience.
    You should go to an Apple store and check out the display for yourself.

Maybe you are looking for