Thinking about switching to a MBP from Windows:

Eileen89

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Dual core/quad core.. it really comes down to what you are going to be doing with it. I did a quick review of this thread and didn't' see that list... so I guess the questions that I have are:


  1. What will you be using this computer for? If we’re talking about web surfing, school papers, email and similar, the dual core i5 is plenty. But if you are going to be rendering high def video, that’s a completely different matter.
  2. Also, how long to you plan to keep/use this computer? I would suspect that this is a long-term proposition... and as such, I would suggest beefing the system up as much as you can reasonably and comfortably afford. I have a 2009 MacBook that still runs fine - even with OS X Mavericks, it’s fine for day to day stuff - light photo editing, web surfing, email, etc... but again, it pretty much chokes out with iMovie rendering 1080p video.

The Mac hardware will serve you well, and the evolution of OS X is still in process, so I can say with confidence that either machine that you have spec'ed out will be a good investment. But think about the future. If you can spend an extra $200 today and get something that will still handle the taxing tasks in 3-4 years, that, to me, would seem like a wise investment.

Take a good look at your financial position, and decide whether it makes enough sense to you to kick in a bit extra to protect you down the road. And either answer ('yes' or 'no') is fine, based on your situation... but at least consider it.

Most of my computing will be web surfing, storing and printing pictures, storing videos of the kids, and emailing. I think that's about it. I do watch YouTube videos, but I don't save any of them. I do plan on keeping my computer long term. I have always kept my Dells for as long as they were trouble free which is about 6 years for 3 of them so far. I would hope that a MBP costing over half the amount of money that I paid for my Dell's would last as least that long..... You mentioned that you would suggest "beefing the system up" as much as you can . Would you add something to that 15" MBP that I have in that screenshot, or are the specs that I listed above good enough for long term use?

Thanks for your continued help and answering my questions. :)
 

Eileen89

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Like Fausty said, but I'd say the 13" configuration does look like it has the 16GB RAM although I could be missing that. Anyway, assuming budget allows go for the more powerful one.

I know that previously the 13" rMBP maxed out at 8gb of RAM, but I noticed with the keynote yesterday, the new models appear to have a 16gb option... max out the RAM.

The 13" MBP that I listed comes standard with 8GB of RAM, however, based on what I was told in this thread, I added 16GB of RAM as an option. With the 15" MBP, 16GB is standard.
 
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Fausty82

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Most of my computing will be web surfing, storing and printing pictures, storing videos of the kids, and emailing. I think that's about it. I do watch YouTube videos, but I don't save any of them. I do plan on keeping my computer long term. I have always kept my Dells for as long as they were trouble free which is about 6 years for 3 of them so far. I would hope that a MBP costing over half the amount of money that I paid for my Dell's would last as least that long..... You mentioned that you would suggest "beefing the system up" as much as you can . Would you add something to that 15" MBP that I have in that screenshot, or are the specs that I listed above good enough for long term use?

Thanks for your continued help and answering my questions. :)

The 13" MBP that I listed comes standard with 8GB of RAM, however, based on what I was told in this thread, I added 16GB of RAM as an option. With the 17" MBP, 16GB is standard.

For the uses that you listed, both would work for now and for quite a while. The 15" rMBP is a nicely spec'ed machine, and one that should last you a long time.

I get a little uneasy spending other people's money and telling them what they need... but since there’s no option to go back and add memory, I would still bump the 13" rMBP to 16gb... it will definitely be overkill for now, but you never know where life will take you. :)

As far as answering the questions, that’s what we’re here for. Continue to ask until you are satisfied with your choice...

And I made an assumption that you meant the 15" rMBP when you said 17" being stock with 16gb - the high end 15" rMBP is 16gb RAM standard.
 

Eileen89

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For the uses that you listed, both would work for now and for quite a while. The 15" rMBP is a nicely spec'ed machine, and one that should last you a long time.

I get a little uneasy spending other people's money and telling them what they need... but since there?s no option to go back and add memory, I would still bump the 13" rMBP to 16gb... it will definitely be overkill for now, but you never know where life will take you. :)

As far as answering the questions, that?s what we?re here for. Continue to ask until you are satisfied with your choice...

And I made an assumption that you meant the 15" rMBP when you said 17" being stock with 16gb - the high end 15" rMBP is 16gb RAM standard.

Oops, yes I did mean 15". I would definitely go with the 16GB add on for the 13" model if that is what I end up getting. I like the 13" model as it would be a little cheaper and still allow for the new Retina Mini when it comes out. Only thing I'm still stuck on is whether the dual core processor will last long term as the quad core would. I've read a lot of posts from people on other forums who all say dual core is fine, while others insist on going quad core. I really wish they offered the quad core as an option on the 13" model as my decision would be a lot easier.


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Eileen89

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Just wanted to update my thread to say that I have placed my order for the MBP 15" Model. Took me a few days to decide as it was a lot more than I wanted to spend. However, after looking at some of the Dell XPS laptop reviews and seeing all the WiFi issues that it had, I decided that putting my money toward a good laptop now that will hopefully last me at least 5 years is a worthwhile investment... Only thing I didn't purchase at the checkout was Apple Care as I think I have a year to add it.

This is the MBP that I went with:

azyje5a4.jpg



Thanks for everyone's help in making my decision much easier. :)


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Fausty82

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Just wanted to update my thread to say that I have placed my order for the MBP 15" Model. Took me a few days to decide as it was a lot more than I wanted to spend. However, after looking at some of the Dell XPS laptop reviews and seeing all the WiFi issues that it had, I decided that putting my money toward a good laptop now that will hopefully last me at least 5 years is a worthwhile investment... Only thing I didn't purchase at the checkout was Apple Care as I think I have a year to add it.

This is the MBP that I went with:

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/25/azyje5a4.jpg

Thanks for everyone's help in making my decision much easier. :)

Congrats! I am sure you will be happy with your new purchase... it will serve you well... and congrats on doing your 'homework' first... you really did a thorough job and asked a lot of questions. THAT's really the only way to make a good decision of this magnitude.

And when you have that "how do I" question tomorrow, next week or even next year, know that we (and more like us) will be here to help you through that, as well.
 

Eileen89

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Congrats! I am sure you will be happy with your new purchase... it will serve you well... and congrats on doing your 'homework' first... you really did a thorough job and asked a lot of questions. THAT's really the only way to make a good decision of this magnitude.

And when you have that "how do I" question tomorrow, next week or even next year, know that we (and more like us) will be here to help you through that, as well.

Thank you so much. :) Given that this is my first Mac, I have a feeling I will have a lot of questions. In the meantime I've been reviewing some of the past threads in this forum for questions that others have already asked which might help... Just checked my shipping status again for the 20th time, lol, and I see that it is now in the Preparing for shipment status. Also, I called Apple this evening to ask a question about the shipping carrier and the rep said he would waive the $15 that I paid for the 2-3 business day shipping. This is one of the many reasons why I love Apple and will continue buying their products.

y2y9azer.jpg



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Eileen89

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I picked up my new MBP today after work and have been playing with it for almost 5 hours trying to figure everything out. The Mac is soooo much different than my Dell PC, but I think I'll get used to it in a week or so. I downloaded FireFox and Google Chrome, set up my Gmail account so far. Unfortunately my Verizon mail is not setting up right so I'll have to trouble shoot this tomorrow. The display on here is so bright and clear with no glare that I can notice. I'm glad that I went with the 15" display. Have to get up at 4am so it's time to put this on the charger for a few hours.