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Macbook pro for college

chowdog13
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Hello, I am looking to purchase a Macbook pro for college, my major is computer science. Of the 13 inch retina models, which model would you recommend? I'm searching for the best price/performance ratio, the sweet spot. I would like it to last me through four years of college.

 

http://store.apple.com/us-hed/buy-mac/macbook-pro

 

Thank You, 

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Base line Macbook Pro Retina 13inch for best money. If you need it to be super portable Macbook Air 13inch. For power and bigger screen Macbook Pro Retina 15inch.

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13in 256GB SSD model

That's the one I've been eyeing, I guess my next question would be if a cpu bump would drastically effect it's longevity. Is the i7 worth it, also will 8gb of RAM be suitable? I do not plan to do any heavy editing. 

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That's the one I've been eyeing, I guess my next question would be if a cpu bump would drastically effect it's longevity. Is the i7 worth it, also will 8gb of RAM be suitable? I do not plan to do any heavy editing. 

i5 should be fine. I wouldn't get one without 256GB/8GB myself. I'm looking for the same thing you are, just different application.

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That's the one I've been eyeing, I guess my next question would be if a cpu bump would drastically effect it's longevity. Is the i7 worth it, also will 8gb of RAM be suitable? I do not plan to do any heavy editing. 

 

8GB of RAM should be fine unless you plan on doing some work in VMs. OS X is pretty efficient with RAM. 

 

A CPU bump would have a negligible boost in performance for coding stuff. 

 

Are you sure though you want a macbook? There are great options on the PC side. 

Aesthetics of rigs matter

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Base line Macbook Pro Retina 13inch for best money. If you need it to be super portable Macbook Air 13inch. For power and bigger screen Macbook Pro Retina 15inch.

I have a suspicion that the 15 inch models are a bit overkill for my desires. I have a powerful Windows based desktop at home that I built for games but can also handle editing. It's important to note that I will be commuting to college from home, my Macbook pro would be primarily used on campus for notes/work while I'm away from home.

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I personally would go for a Y50

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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I have a suspicion that the 15 inch models are a bit overkill for my desires. I have a powerful Windows based desktop at home that I built for games but can also handle editing. It's important to note that I will be commuting to college from home, my Macbook pro would be primarily used on campus for notes/work while I'm away from home.

MBA 13inch if you ask me, just because it'll wont need to do anything to powerful, MBA will easily do everything you want and it's cheaper and smaller.

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8GB of RAM should be fine unless you plan on doing some work in VMs. OS X is pretty efficient with RAM. 

 

A CPU bump would have a negligible boost in performance for coding stuff. 

 

Are you sure though you want a macbook? There are great options on the PC side. 

Yes, I'm certain. I've spoken with a few friends that have gone through computer science programs and they swear by them. I do my best to always keep an open mind though, I'm curious as to what you would suggest on the Windows side. Lenovo's Thinkpad T series has caught my eye in the past. 

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Yes, I'm certain. I've spoken with a few friends that have gone through computer science programs and they swear by them. I do my best to always keep an open mind though, I'm curious as to what you would suggest on the Windows side. Lenovo's Thinkpad T series has caught my eye in the past. 

 

Macs are solid and reliable. But also quite expensive. I was about to suggest the Thinkpad T series as well, and thinkpads in general. There might be something there that might catch your eye. However, the rMBP 13 has a standard wattage processor vs the ULV stuff in the lenovos, so you will get a bit more performance on the Apple side (who would have thunk it?)

Aesthetics of rigs matter

42

If you're interested, participate in LTT Build Offs

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