[dawXOR]

Hello,
I'm a 20 year old informatics student Form Germany and I'm currently in need of a new laptop for the next years. I currently use a five year old dell which was never a top model and it already was too slow the last years.
Currently I'm not sure whether to buy a 13" MacBook pro retina, a 15" or a 15" with discrete graphics. I'm about to say, that the biggest 15" will be the best for me because I want to use it 5-7 years until I replace it. What do you think?
I'll use it for University stuff, programming and playing a few games to kinda skip free time between lectures. I'm not sure what I need to do in the next Semesters, so it might be the best to get the biggest one.

[Just_Me_D]

The information via the following link may be useful to you.

http://forums.imore.com/guides-how-articles/257919-guide-buying-macbook.html

[DroidArmy]

Hello,
I'm a 20 year old informatics student Form Germany and I'm currently in need of a new laptop for the next years. I currently use a five year old dell which was never a top model and it already was too slow the last years.
Currently I'm not sure whether to buy a 13" MacBook pro retina, a 15" or a 15" with discrete graphics. I'm about to say, that the biggest 15" will be the best for me because I want to use it 5-7 years until I replace it. What do you think?
I'll use it for University stuff, programming and playing a few games to kinda skip free time between lectures. I'm not sure what I need to do in the next Semesters, so it might be the best to get the biggest one.

I would recommend the 15 inch retina MacBook Pro for you. I'm sure it'll last a while and be able to Withstand anything you throw at it


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[cardfan]

You basically want a laptop with a quad-core processor and 8 or 16gb of RAM. That's for 5 years plus assuming it doesn't fall apart on you by then.

If you want a good 2-3 years, you can drop to dual-core and stick with 4-8gb RAM.

That's really all you need to know. If you want to be assured of it lasting, get Applecare or some other long term warranty and upgrade before it expires.

Beyond that, when it comes to 15" rMBP with Iris Pro only vs 15" rMPB with discrete graphics? Discrete is better for gaming. Considering you want 5-7 years, it'd probably be a worthwhile upgrade to get the discrete model. It also maxes the RAM and gets you a decent harddrive size. I believe the education discount knocks off a 200 on the discrete graphics model vs only a 100 dollar discount on the other.

[Peter Cohen]

I'll just put this here.

MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro: Which laptop should you get? | iMore

[dawXOR]

I believe the education discount knocks off a 200 on the discrete graphics model vs only a 100 dollar discount on the other.

I would order it in a special German education store where the prices are:

15" with discrete graphics + Apple Care Protection Plan
2485€ => $3,419.24

15" without discrete graphics (16GB RAM) + Apple Care Protection Plan
2128€ => $2,928.02

13" with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 2.4GHz i5 Dual Core + Apple Care Protection Plan
1647€ => $2,266.19

Germany is pretty expensive when it comes to Apple Products, sadly.. Like other European states we have to pay the same price you do (excl. tax), just in €, which is 1.37x the price.
Still wondering if it's worth to spend $3400 on a laptop. (Decision would be clear if I would live in the USA. )

[Richard Nieves]

I would order it in a special German education store where the prices are:

15" with discrete graphics + Apple Care Protection Plan
2485 => $3,419.24

15" without discrete graphics (16GB RAM) + Apple Care Protection Plan
2128 => $2,928.02

13" with 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 2.4GHz i5 Dual Core + Apple Care Protection Plan
1647 => $2,266.19

Germany is pretty expensive when it comes to Apple Products, sadly.. Like other European states we have to pay the same price you do (excl. tax), just in , which is 1.37x the price.
Still wondering if it's worth to spend $3400 on a laptop. (Decision would be clear if I would live in the USA. )

Even people here say it's overpriced. Although with all it has sand it's size, shape and battery life I think its a fair price. I'm about to get my first one also. I'm debating between the 2.3 or 2.6 i7 15" retinas (both have discrete graphics. I'll be using architecture programs for designing and 3-d rendering when away from a desktop.