Which Macbook Pro to buy out of these THREE ??

[cool.aquarian]

Dear All,

After a long wait, and saving good money, I am on the verge of ordering a Macbook Pro.

But I am yet to make up my mind on which one to go for.
My requirement are:

1) What is your budget? (INR or USD)
I like to make long term investment, and want to keep this laptop for next 5-6 years. I can pay till $2500.



2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?

• Thin and Light; 12" - 14" screen
• Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:

b. Dislike:


4) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
I plan to keep a triple booting System: MacOS, Windows 7 and Linux.
Will use it for HD Videos/Movies (I want a good screen which is soothing for eyes), Music, Programming (Involves running Database/Application servers on Windows/Linux), Gaming on Windows with Bootcamp(light to medium games like Doom, Quake, NFS, GTA4, Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty4), Surfing Internet..


5) What screen resolution(s) & type (glossy/matte) would you prefer?
Glossy (but with less reflection) and resolution: atleast 1440x900.


6) Anything else you would like to say? (eg: local purchase, ASS,matte/glossy finish)
I want the laptop to be without any problems afterwards.
Would prefer to be as future proof as possible

Following are the ones on my mind:

Macbook Pro
13-inch: 2.9 GHz

• 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
• Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 8GB 1600MHz memory
• 750GB 5400-rpm hard drive[SUP]1[/SUP]
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• Built-in battery (7 hours)[SUP]2[/SUP]

$1,499.00


15-inch Standard: 2.6 GHz customized with Glossy High Definition Display (1680x1050)

• 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
• Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 8GB 1600MHz memory
• 750GB 5400-rpm hard drive[SUP]1[/SUP]
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• Built-in battery (7 hours)[SUP]2[/SUP]

• In Stock
• Free Shipping
• $2,299.00

15-inch: 2.3 GHz Retina display 2880x1800

• 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
• Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz memory (custom ordered)
• 256GB flash storage[SUP]1[/SUP]
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• Built-in battery (7 hours)[SUP]2[/SUP]

• In Stock
• Free Shipping
• $2,399.00

Which one should I opt for??
1. I will save lot of money on 13 inch one, but would it be sufficient for my needs (running database/web/application servers and gaming mentioned above)?
2. The standard 15 inch is upgradeable. I can upgrade RAM/Hard Drive later. Only concern is the screen reflection too much?
3. The 15 inch Retina, is not upgradeable. Though I can custom order 16GB RAM, I will be stuck with 256GB SSD drive forever(I have no budget to go for 512GB SSD one). I don't care about Optical Drive, but may need ethernet on rare occasions.


Please suggest.

 

[aroraanant]

Macbook Pro 13 will not be good for gaming, for other tasks it will works flawlessly.
Considering that there is not much difference in the above mentioned 15" models, the one with the retina display is more value for money as the screen is the best in the world till date and also it has got a 256GB SSD which will enhance the performance too.

 

[cool.aquarian]

Macbook Pro 13 will not be good for gaming, for other tasks it will works flawlessly.
Considering that there is not much difference in the above mentioned 15" models, the one with the retina display is more value for money as the screen is the best in the world till date and also it has got a 256GB SSD which will enhance the performance too.

Thanks for opinion on 13" MBP.
My only concerns with Retina MBP are:
- 256GB is not enough for triple boot OS configuration.
- Upgradability, repairability are out of question. So if something goes wrong and I am not covered under warranty, the machine is no better than a fancy thin aluminium serving plate with apple logo.

 

[aroraanant]

If you don't need to store much data then 256GB SSD will prove to a much better option than a normal SATA HDD.
I suggest you to buy the laptop now and extend the warranty anytime later(but it should be done within a year).
And don't worry about reliability, Apple products are the most reliable products in the world when compared to any other brand.

 

[chinmaya]

Dear All,

After a long wait, and saving good money, I am on the verge of ordering a Macbook Pro.

But I am yet to make up my mind on which one to go for.
My requirement are:

1) What is your budget? (INR or USD)
I like to make long term investment, and want to keep this laptop for next 5-6 years. I can pay till $2500.



2) What size & weight consideration (if any) would you prefer?

• Thin and Light; 12" - 14" screen
• Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen

3) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
a. Like:

b. Dislike:


4) What are the primary tasks will you be performing with this notebook?
I plan to keep a triple booting System: MacOS, Windows 7 and Linux.
Will use it for HD Videos/Movies (I want a good screen which is soothing for eyes), Music, Programming (Involves running Database/Application servers on Windows/Linux), Gaming on Windows with Bootcamp(light to medium games like Doom, Quake, NFS, GTA4, Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty4), Surfing Internet..


5) What screen resolution(s) & type (glossy/matte) would you prefer?
Glossy (but with less reflection) and resolution: atleast 1440x900.


6) Anything else you would like to say? (eg: local purchase, ASS,matte/glossy finish)
I want the laptop to be without any problems afterwards.
Would prefer to be as future proof as possible

Following are the ones on my mind:

Macbook Pro
13-inch: 2.9 GHz

• 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
• Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 8GB 1600MHz memory
• 750GB 5400-rpm hard drive[SUP]1[/SUP]
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• Built-in battery (7 hours)[SUP]2[/SUP]

$1,499.00


15-inch Standard: 2.6 GHz customized with Glossy High Definition Display (1680x1050)

• 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
• Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 8GB 1600MHz memory
• 750GB 5400-rpm hard drive[SUP]1[/SUP]
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• Built-in battery (7 hours)[SUP]2[/SUP]

• In Stock
• Free Shipping
• $2,299.00

15-inch: 2.3 GHz Retina display 2880x1800

• 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
• Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
• 16GB 1600MHz memory (custom ordered)
• 256GB flash storage[SUP]1[/SUP]
• Intel HD Graphics 4000
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
• Built-in battery (7 hours)[SUP]2[/SUP]

• In Stock
• Free Shipping
• $2,399.00

Which one should I opt for??
1. I will save lot of money on 13 inch one, but would it be sufficient for my needs (running database/web/application servers and gaming mentioned above)?
2. The standard 15 inch is upgradeable. I can upgrade RAM/Hard Drive later. Only concern is the screen reflection too much?
3. The 15 inch Retina, is not upgradeable. Though I can custom order 16GB RAM, I will be stuck with 256GB SSD drive forever(I have no budget to go for 512GB SSD one). I don't care about Optical Drive, but may need ethernet on rare occasions.


Please suggest.

you mean you are buying it in us and will be using it in india?

if yes you should enquire about extending warranty internationally.

 

[aroraanant]

^^^^
Warranty can be availed as well as extend in any part around the globe

 

[rider]

15-inch: 2.3 GHz Retina display 2880x1800


2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
16GB 1600MHz memory (custom ordered)
256GB flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
Built-in battery (7 hours)2


In Stock
Free Shipping
$2,399.00

Get this model. It seems to be really great deal!!

 

[cool.aquarian]

Thanks for advice.
I went with the standard MBP 15" option.

Waiting for it to be shipped and wondering.. Apple Care.. yay or nay ??

 

[rider]

why not retina display model? It is just 100 bucks more.

 

[cool.aquarian]

why not retina display model? It is just 100 bucks more.

I had my reasons..
Upgradeability..
Retina resolution is too high for reading stuff on screen. I found HighRes to be more practical all-round.
And even though it is SSD, is apple kidding with with a 256GB storage in a $2000+ laptop ??

 

[Neo]

What's there to think about? Just get the retina display one if you got the money.
As for storage, upgrade it to 512GB SSD. You can also get an external HDD if the storage is still less. You may also upgrade to 768GB SSD but that would be quite costly.
Also there is no need to upgrade to 16GB RAM. 8GB is enough.

Cheers!

 

[randomuser111]

^

I guess you didn't read, he already bought the laptop.