mac for computer science?HELP!

[lewis0150]

so im about to start a computer science course in 2 months time at uk collage that is 16 years old age range and i want to get a mac book pro but i dont know if i can do all the stuff i need to on it and weather it will be more of a annoyance to my teacher who i think will teach about 20-39 of us on 10 year old shitty desktops? help please?

[Lord Nicoll]

1 minute ago, lewis0150 said:

so im about to start a computer science course in 2 months time at uk collage that is 16 years old age range and i want to get a mac book pro but i dont know if i can do all the stuff i need to on it and weather it will be more of a annoyance to my teacher who i think will teach about 20-39 of us on 10 year old shitty desktops? help please?

Depends on the course work really, usually it's ok to use whatever if it's not specific programmes, my friend uses mostly Linux in his course work and the provided machines when windows is needed. Generally I'd avoid Macs but I'm not an Apple fan. 

[lewis0150]

yea im kinda a apple fan boy so im just looking for a excuse to buy one.

[Lord Nicoll]

1 minute ago, lewis0150 said:

yea im kinda a apple fan boy so im just looking for a excuse to buy one.

I'd advise quoting someone if you want them to see the reply. I actually really hate Macs, the only one I own is an old school Prismo G5 from 2000. It's got a killer keyboard, I almost like it as much as my desktops one. 

[NTDaws]

Well you will be using anything between Windows and Linux likely. So I would look into a pc. Not recommended to be a fan of apple iMac, they are seriously way overpriced for the hardware they have.

[lewis0150]

1 minute ago, Being Delirious said:

Well you will be using anything between Windows and Linux likely. So I would look into a pc.

also i do have a decent pc at home i was just thinking of getting a laptop so i dont have to use some old shitty computers for another 2 years and its only 3 days a week course so i will be doing a lot of work at home so it will be easier to do it on the same machine then taking drives everywhere

[79wjd]

3 minutes ago, Being Delirious said:

Well you will be using anything between Windows and Linux likely. So I would look into a pc. Not recommended to be a fan of apple iMac, they are seriously way overpriced for the hardware they have.

CS generally uses a lot of Linux and very often any Unix OS will work (with the occasional need to run in a Linux VM for some things). As a CS student, I'd say Linux > Mac OS > Windows. 

[NTDaws]

If you ever noticed, they design Mac OS X with Windows.

[fjdhdhcyfhf]

i used a mac at uni. no problems. the only time i really needed windows was for game programming for which you really need a desktop or expensive gaming laptop. theres always bootcamp. linux does not run perfectly on new macs but just about anything you need linux for you can do on mac.

[Creed1]

I got a macbook pro 2012 for $400 and installed 16GB of memory + 250GB SSD. I have a 120GB Mac OS Partition and 120 GB Linux Partition. Total cost is $600 - $700 USD. Its a little bit bigger macbook compared to others, but its not too bad. 

[DrMacintosh]

Sure, Macs can do this just fine. It depends on how much you are willing to pay though. 

 

These puppies aint cheap and you better know for sure you want one:

 

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPTR2LL/A&step=config#

 

alternatively you could get the 2015 15" model: 

 

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MJLQ2LL/A&step=config#

 

The 13" models will be able to perform but I an not sure what kind of tasks you are going to be dealing with. If you want a 13" get this one: 

 

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPXV2LL/A&step=config#

 

• 3.1GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
• Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
• 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
• 256GB SSD storage1
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650
• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports

 

 

Although saying what you did about teaching on old comps, a 13" would do just fine and you could even get the base one. Although I recommend 256GB or more since you might want to install Windows. 

[lewis0150]

1 minute ago, DrMacintosh said:

Sure, Macs can do this just fine. It depends on how much you are willing to pay though. 

 

These puppies aint cheap and you better know for sure you want one:

 

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPTR2LL/A&step=config#

 

alternatively you could get the 2015 15" model: 

 

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MJLQ2LL/A&step=config#

 

The 13" models will be able to perform but I an not sure what kind of tasks you are going to be dealing with. If you want a 13" get this one: 

 

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPXV2LL/A&step=config#

 

• 3.1GHz dual-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
• Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
• 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
• 256GB SSD storage1
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650
• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports

i was planning on getting the £1250 mac book pro and a thumb drive

[DrMacintosh]

Just now, lewis0150 said:

i was planning on getting the £1250 mac book pro and a thumb drive

check the post, I added a bit at the bottom. 

[lewis0150]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

check the post, I added a bit at the bottom. 

oh aha

[lewis0150]

30 minutes ago, lewis0150 said:

oh aha

also dose anyone know when the refresh will happen? 

[argyle]

8 hours ago, lewis0150 said:

also dose anyone know when the refresh will happen? 

The MacBook Pro and iMac lines were just refreshed in June at WWDC with 7th Gen intel processors and Thunderbolt 3 connections.

 

I would say anecdotally as I work at a college that most students have Macs, but a lot of the CS students have Macs and dual-boot or run VMs for other OSes.