Was gonna get the new air but saw the pro that's 200 dollars more and has 2.9ghz dual core i7 processer 8gb ram and 750hd and so far I'm pretty happy with my decision!
Just got a new mbp!
- Thread starter jnew619
- Start date
You made a good decision, now go buy a dual boot super drive adaptor and slap an SSD AND your 750GB HDD in there and watch it come to life...
jclisenby
Well-known member
You'll be very happy with this! I've had my first Mac for 5 years and its still going strong!
Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5
Tappin and Talkin from my iPhone 5
cardfan
Well-known member
Just to clarify, would it have been better to get the minimum specced Pro if you're going to upgrade the internals yourself anyways? And not to beat a dead horse or anything, but although these may be great machines, they have been on the market awhile which Apple sells at refurb prices with the same warranty as a new Mac would have. Why wouldn't you get a refurb (Refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Dual-core Intel i5 - Apple Store (U.S.)) if you're eying a year old product? The end goal after all is to max the RAM and throw a SSD in it right? i7 dual core vs i5 dual core isn't a huge difference IMO.
If you're a student or teacher (my wife is one), there's also the education discounts. I think for MBP it's a 200 dollar discount.
If you're a student or teacher (my wife is one), there's also the education discounts. I think for MBP it's a 200 dollar discount.
This will eliminate your super drive (CD/DVD drive) but will allow you to install an SSD drive in place of your existing HDD, and then you'll be able to move your HDD into the spot where your super drive was before, essentially giving you two storage devices inside your Macbook Pro, and your OS will be running off the SSD, which will substantially increase performance across the board. You should be able to get an SSD drive and the adaptor for under $200 total.
Apple currently does not carry the 13" i7 non-retina display as a refurb (i researched this when i sold my retina model a few weeks ago and went back to the 2012 MBP non-retina), and from what I saw on the other refurbs they offered, some of them only offered a $50-$100 discount off new machine pricing, and for that money, I'd rather have a brand new model personally (though i know the refurbs are essentially "new" for all intents and purposes).
The i7 is pretty legitimately different than the i5, especially when it it pushed and the speed boost comes into play. He said that he was going to be doing some graphics work (photo and video) so for that, it's always a good idea to have a computer that is worked the least on the internals (I know just from experience that video post production, especially in Pro-Tools software, can really make the computer work depending on what all you're trying to do simultaneously. Plus, at the very least, the i7 model is going to hold more value over time vs. the i5, so even if he never uses the i7 to capacity, he'll still have a more valuable computer down the road.
The education discount is always something good to use, but i know a friend of mine tried to do it when he bought is iMac last year and they asked him for identification (which he had, but from the previous year when he graduated), when they saw it was from 2011, they denied him the discount (I'm sure ordering it online would probably get you around this if they allow for that kind of order to be placed)...he wasn't overly concerned about it, but he did say he thought it was weird since they had never even asked him for I.D. before in that nature.
Fausty82
Well-known member
The difference between the MBP that the OP bought and the minimum spec'ed MBP is basically the processor. I have two thoughts on this - while it may be true that for day-to-day use the processor type (i5 vs i7) and speed may not make a huge difference, they are NOT upgradable, so you will be "stuck" with whatever you buy. Also, getting the higher spec'ed processor does future proof your MBP a bit better...
Fausty82
Well-known member
j_benj
Well-known member
I bought the same model a few months back and it's been great. Congrats on your purchase, it's a fantastic machine!
I don't really plan on upgrading internals for a while at the very least and when I saw the price difference at the navy exchange I looked at the specs and figured this was the best way to go
Fausty82
Well-known member
I’m guessing "a few months". Bwahaha. Sorry. I tried to walk away. Honest.
I?m guessing "a few months". Bwahaha. Sorry. I tried to walk away. Honest.
Yeah I didn't think about it that was my fault lol
Premium1
Trusted Member
j_benj
Well-known member
LOL no worries. Now that I think about it, it was more than a "few" months ago, I got it just after new years 2013. I haven't upgraded any of the internals, just been running stock so far and it's been very solid. In general, I haven't run into any serious performance issues aside from a few beach balls when opening heavyweight apps (Parallels, iPhoto, etc). I'm glad I opted for the i7 model.
I'd considered getting an SSD to replace the internal hard drive but I've decided to wait a bit and see if the prices on 500gb models come down now that larger versions are starting to ship. If I can get a Crucial M4 or a decent Samsung drive for $325 or less that might get me to pull the trigger. I need a few extra bucks to get a USB3 enclosure for the current hard drive so I can convert it into an external device. Unlike a lot of others I use my optical drive a LOT so removing it from my MBP and running with two internal HDs is really not an option right now.
taz323
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