MacBook Pro

[julianarx]

I'm considering a MacBook Pro for grad school. Does anyone have advice on specifics such as the 2.3 Ghz verses the 2.7 Ghz? I am definitely getting the 13". Also, what about the memory and hard drive size? I am going to use this for my papers, presentations, etc. I want to store some of my music on it (not all). Also, can anyone recommend a good external hard drive that I could store all of my music files on? Thanks.

[mandarin.orange]

I'm considering a MacBook Pro for grad school. Does anyone have advice on specifics such as the 2.3 Ghz verses the 2.7 Ghz? I am definitely getting the 13". Also, what about the memory and hard drive size? I am going to use this for my papers, presentations, etc. I want to store some of my music on it (not all). Also, can anyone recommend a good external hard drive that I could store all of my music files on? Thanks.

I have a 2.3 Ghz MacBook Pro (bought last year, so can't remember if 2.7 Ghz was an option at the time) and I love it. It replaced a Powerbook from 2004 that I'd had and used daily for 6 years. The memory on the new laptop easily stores all my music, photos to date, financial info, papers, MS research, subsequent research, and hundreds of PowerPoint presentations (both mine and my students') from teaching, with room to spare.

I recently bought a WD Elements 1 TB hard drive for grad school and to backup my stuff regularly. I haven't set it up, so can't speak for its performance just yet. It was in the $60-70 range on amazon.com, connects with USB, and was one of the most highly recommended devices for Macs.

[sacklunch]

Don't waste the money on a Pro. Just get a regular Macbook. You don't need the extra power of the Pro if you are just doing papers, browsing, music, ect.

[vitaminquartet]

Don't waste the money on a Pro. Just get a regular Macbook. You don't need the extra power of the Pro if you are just doing papers, browsing, music, ect.

You seem to be ignoring the fact that Macbook Pros are prettier and shinier and more solidly built than ordinary Macbooks, and since, lets face it, most of the techno-fetish desirability of buying a Mac comes from the fact that they're pretty, shiny, and solidly built - you may as well just get a non-Mac PC then then!

[UnlikelyGrad]

You seem to be ignoring the fact that Macbook Pros are prettier and shinier and more solidly built than ordinary Macbooks

YES!!! Do not get an ordinary MacBook. I had one which my ex bought me used during my first year of grad school. The case, being plastic, cracked in a not-good place and I had trouble with the keyboard/trackpad ever after. Now I have a MacBookPro which is more or less indestructible aluminum and I am soooo happy!

I would say, get a minimum 4 GB RAM and 250 GB hard drive. I had 2 GB/150 GB (I think) on the old machine and I *was* starting to run out. But then, I have a huge music library and lots of pictures of my kiddos...

[StrangeLight]

the white macbooks do crack around the casing. apple stores will replace the casing for free, as often as it needs. when i got mine replaced, it took them all of 2 hours to do. not really a major inconvenience if you live near an apple store. but that's only if you get an old white macbook used. the old black ones don't crack. the new white unibody macbooks (you can tell the difference because the batteries don't come out anymore) don't crack around the casing anymore. so if you're buying new and not refurbished, the cracking won't be a problem.

for anyone with an old/non-unibody white macbook, the problems with the trackpad aren't necessarily from the cracked casing. it's because the removable battery is swelling. batteries have limited life cycles and need to be replaced. if you don't get them replaced, they swell up (in addition to no longer holding a charge for as long as they used to). when they swell, they place pressure on the trackpad, which is what makes them randomly click by themselves. it's really annoying and it's really easily fixed: buy a new battery. you should after 300 charge cycles anyway.

i upgraded from a macbook to macbook pro, but that's because i do a lot of film, audio, and photograph editing. i also run a few programs regularly that hog a lot of performance capacity. if all you're doing is writing papers, making powerpoints, and playing music, the macbook (rather than the pro) is more than adequate. i wouldn't say "just get a PC" because windows operating systems suck my non-existent balls and it doesn't sound like you're about to use linux or anything.

[timuralp]

it's because the removable battery is swelling. batteries have limited life cycles and need to be replaced. if you don't get them replaced, they swell up (in addition to no longer holding a charge for as long as they used to).

Are you sure the age is what impacts the "swelling"? Can you find any sources confirming this? One explanation I've found mentioned, which seems plausible, is overcharging the battery and I've found one article in the Journal of Power Sources that seems to corroborate that claim. I don't think it's just the number of charge/discharge cycles the battery has gone though.

if all you're doing is writing papers, making powerpoints, and playing music, the macbook (rather than the pro) is more than adequate. i wouldn't say "just get a PC" because windows operating systems suck my non-existent balls and it doesn't sound like you're about to use linux or anything.

By the same token, if all the user does is writing papers, making presentations, and playing music, Win 7 is also more than adequate...

[UnlikelyGrad]

for anyone with an old/non-unibody white macbook, the problems with the trackpad aren't necessarily from the cracked casing. it's because the removable battery is swelling. batteries have limited life cycles and need to be replaced. if you don't get them replaced, they swell up (in addition to no longer holding a charge for as long as they used to). when they swell, they place pressure on the trackpad, which is what makes them randomly click by themselves. it's really annoying and it's really easily fixed: buy a new battery. you should after 300 charge cycles anyway.

OOOH! Will do. (My kids have the old MacBook now, and it's driving them crazy.)

[hejduk]

Are the processors a i3, i5, or i7? There's quite a difference between them. Clock speed (2.5 ghz) isn't the huge factor it used to be. Processors are multicore now, so a single core processor with a faster processor speed isn't necessarily faster than a slower dual or quadcore processor.

Make sense?

Get a Mac on Ebay. I've bought my wife's, and my last three off of Ebay. The money I saved (~900), i put back into the laptop by maxing out RAM (8 Gb), as well as the hardrive (750 Gb).

Love me some nerd talk!

Forgot to add: While you may not need the powers/speed of the MBP (Macbook pro) right now, it's nice to have it and be more "future proof". The aluminum casing, as others have attested to, are significantly more durable than the crappy plastic of the MB (Macbook).

And don't worry about MBPs or MBs having an internal battery; anyone with a torx set of screwdrivers can quickly undo 5-6 screws and change the battery themselves (as well as add RAM and a better hardrive).

Edited June 21, 2011 by hejduk

[natsteel]

buy a new battery. you should after 300 charge cycles anyway.

Really? I bought my MacBook Pro 19 months ago and it says my "battery loadcycles" are 393 but that I still have 88% (4846 mAh) of my original battery capacity (5450 mAh). Instead of a little over the 6 hours I got in the beginning, I now still get over 5 hours 15 minutes.

[hejduk]

Really? I bought my MacBook Pro 19 months ago and it says my "battery loadcycles" are 393 but that I still have 88% (4846 mAh) of my original battery capacity (5450 mAh). Instead of a little over the 6 hours I got in the beginning, I now still get over 5 hours 15 minutes.

No, not worth it. Wait until the battery is completely kaput.

[Eigen]

Iirc, the new MBP and MBA batteries are rated at 1000 cycles, not 300. I know the batteries in this years MBP are rated to 1000 cycles before deterioration.

[natsteel]

FWIW, I upgraded the RAM in my MBP from 2GB to 8GB for $80. Bought Kingston RAM off Amazon and installed it myself in 10 minutes instead of paying $200 for Apple to do it.

[Behavioral]

For the love of mercy, buy refurb from Apple if you're going MBP

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro?afid=p201|552179&cid=AOS-US-AFFC

Same computer, probably better product overall due to increased factory QC, and still covered by AppleCare for a year (like new models), but for cheaper.

[sacklunch]

While the MBP looks more "awesome" and it seems to be made from better materials, the last models were pretty crap. The case warped, hardware crapped out, ect. I'm not saying the new ones will have the same problems, just saying historically the older ones were no more structurally sound than the regular Macbooks.

If it helps I'm a graduate assistant in my schools computer tech services. I deal with older/newer model macs, helping professors with software/hardware issues.

Like I said before, just get the Macbook. My .02.

[StrangeLight]

Are you sure the age is what impacts the "swelling"? Can you find any sources confirming this? One explanation I've found mentioned, which seems plausible, is overcharging the battery and I've found one article in the Journal of Power Sources that seems to corroborate that claim. I don't think it's just the number of charge/discharge cycles the battery has gone though.

how is that not what i said? overcharging the battery often happens when you keep using the same battery after it's been through all of its charge cycles. i don't really understand your point.

By the same token, if all the user does is writing papers, making presentations, and playing music, Win 7 is also more than adequate...

sure, windows 7 is fine. i would just never recommend it to someone if they have the (financial) option of going with a mac OS or linux or something. but it's fine.

[hejduk]

how is that not what i said? overcharging the battery often happens when you keep using the same battery after it's been through all of its charge cycles. i don't really understand your point.

sure, windows 7 is fine. i would just never recommend it to someone if they have the (financial) option of going with a mac OS or linux or something. but it's fine.

I've run into situations where I needed Windows, so it's a good option to run a dual-boot on the MBP. My former university's wireless network had connectivity issues with OS X, so I'd have to boot into Windows. PITA, but made it easier with having the dual-boot via Bootcamp or Parallels.

[juilletmercredi]

I don't have a MacBook, but I was going to get one so I researched them, and specs are specs. Personally I'm a tech geek and I like to max out my specs, but unless you are planning to do some hardcore gaming what's going to drive the speed of your computer will primarily be memory (RAM), not the processor clock speed. If you can afford it I'd go with the 2.7 GHz, because like someone said it's more "future-proof." But if you are trying to save money, that'd probably be what I'd sacrifice.

My Toshiba has 500 GB of hard drive space. I think about half of it is full. 250 GB wouldn't have been enough for me - I have an external HDD filled up that's that capacity - but I like to store movies and stuff on it. I would recommend at least 320 GB and 4 GB RAM.

Don't they all come with backlit keyboards now? Those are nice. I have one on my Toshiba and I'm surprised at how much it actually makes a difference, especially on airplanes.

Also, while I would recommend a MacBook Pro over a Windows machine if you have the dough...there's nothing really wrong with Windows 7. People say it sucks, but honestly I have had few problems with the OS besides the annoying UAC. It's not great by any stretch of the imagination; I would say Mac OS X is great. I would say Windows 7 is meh. But *shrugs* it's whatever. Now Windows Vista, THAT sucked. My Toshiba was a lot cheaper than the Mac and it has better specs, but it also doesn't have a fancy aluminum unibody (I'm not scoffing - my computer is built like a tank but I pay dearly for it in weight. The unibody would make it just as sturdy, but lighter) and the integration that the MacBooks have. I would've gotten the MacBook Pro if not for the price.

[Eisenmann]

If you have microcenter nearby, I would highly suggest you buy from them since they are by far the cheapest. To the person who suggested to buy refurb- refurb is $1019 for the 2.3 i5 and microcenter is $999.

I have a 2011 13" 2.3 ghz i5 (bought at microcenter) and it's plenty fast for normal usage and probably enough for 90% of computer users; however, it is not that fast for video/photo editing. 4gb ram will not be definitely not be enough as I routinely use all of it during processes.

bottom line: the computer will be plenty for word precessing, web browsing, music, occasional/light photo editing. If you use photoshop, iphoto/aperture, imovie/final cut then you may consider the 15" mbp or even a mac pro.

for reference, it takes about 5-6 hours to compile a 25 min long 1080p video with imovie and takes about 20-30 sec to export a 10mp jpg in aperture.

edit: do not get the i7 13" since there is a problem with the turbo boost and you will not be able to take full advantage of its processing power. at least that is what i have read.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Eisenmann

[sacklunch]

Microcenter is the place to go. Strangely enough I JUST got back from there with my friend who bought the MBP i5 for 999. It's the same price as the white Macbook!

[timuralp]

how is that not what i said? overcharging the battery often happens when you keep using the same battery after it's been through all of its charge cycles. i don't really understand your point.

The point is that overcharging, as defined in that paper and what I've commonly come across, is once the battery is fully charged (according to cell voltage level, for example), current is still applied. At this point, once the voltage raises above that level, a secondary reaction takes place, which can cause the battery to start bulging. That paper goes into the details a bit more.

The difference is that this is not because of the number of *charge cycles* it has undergone. The process with charge/discharge cycles is that deposits form on the electrodes (from what I understand), raising internal resistance. The charge circuitry will still prevent the cell voltage to exceed that of the voltage corresponding to 100% charge. The battery at that point stores less charge, but also charges up quicker.

[runonsentence]

Microcenter is the shit.

Related advice from a less-intense computer geek: with the most recent Macbooks/MBPs, it is really easy to upgrade the hardrive yourself. If you upgrade your own hardrive instead of asking Apple to do it, you will save the $150-200 markup by just buying your own HD from Microcenter. (It doesn't have to have the Apple logo on it to work well.)

I bought a MBP last February, and plan to upgrade my HD capacity in about 2 years, instead of asking Apple to upgrade for me.