Any Help In Buying My First MBP? :)

Hey everyone,
I know this is likely a question asked over and over again on these forums, I have searched and found some questions that partially answer what I wanted to know but nothing conclusive.

I have recently decided to purchase my first mac, at first I was going to go with just a macbook being the cheapest model, however I can't, the macbook pro's just seem too good and after looking into them I have decided to go for a macbook pro.

unfortunately I don't possess the massive budget some of you seem to have.

Being from england (u.k ), The prices I will list will be in £ but I shall put the equivalent in $ as a lot of users seem to be american however these are the mac related forums I browse the most so seemed like a better idea to post this here.

I have not been able to go to a apple store and check anything out in person which would be more practical but I live miles away from one and its not really a option.

I had originally decided to go for the new 13 inch model as it was in my budget and I was pretty much buying it for no reason other then I wanted one (I didn't really have much of a use for it), I was planning to use my younger brother who is at school to get the student discount because it would save me a bit of money, this would mean it would cost me £938.83 ($1,348.48).

However I am not sure if I would be okay with the screen size, others have made out that the 13 inch screen is quite a lot smaller then the 15 and I have read quite a few people saying its too small (if anyone who has a 13 inch macbook could give me their personal opinion on this then I would be grateful ), as I said previously I don't have a specfic need for buying a macbook atm other then to try the mac experience so to begin with it would be mostly for music/web browsing/generally fiddling with, however I was planning to try out web design and photography and the like on it too eventually, nothing serious, it would only be light.

I have found on the apple store, they have what I think is a refurbished base mid 2009 model 15 inch

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo - Apple Store (U.K.)

they have this for £1,099.00 ($1,579.14) which is not that much more expensive then the new 13 inch.

A new base 15 inch 2010 MBP is £1,408.83 ($2,023.99) with the student discount which is waaay out of my budget.

MacBook Pro - Apple Store (U.K.)

I am not sure if my needs make the spec of the 15 vs the 13 a big thing, as the 13 does have the better graphics though I have a pc for gaming and the like, really I was hoping others would have something to say about that. any personal opinions would be good.

So pretty much I was hoping to get advice on what I should get and what you would recommend me to get, also feedback from people who actually use the 13 inch screen would be good as others I have read are using it for specific needs such as traveling and collage, niether of which is a issue for me so portability doesn't matter much so feedback from people who own one in my kind of situation would be really helpful

Thanks

Craig

Welcome to the forum.

The refurbished route is always a great way to go you get the same quality and warranty.
Also have you considered getting one off Ebay or Craigslist? I have bought most of my Macs from both,I know here in the states there are plenty for sale locally on CL and most times when paying with cash you can get a really good deal. If warranty is issue I would suggest buying one that's still within it's one year warranty then you can extend the Apple care if you choose too.

Anyhow this one is a cheaper option I'm throwing out there.

I took a look at the specs on the refurbished one, and it has integrated graphics (not discrete like the higher priced 15" macbook pros) and the integrated graphics on it will not be as fast as the integrated graphics on the new 13" macbook pro.

Really as all as you are getting for the extra money is the larger screen. For what you are going to use it for, and because you already have a desktop computer, I would go with the 13". It is much easier to carry around and the graphics are better on it.

bargsbeer said:

Welcome to the forum.

The refurbished route is always a great way to go you get the same quality and warranty.
Also have you considered getting one off Ebay or Craigslist? I have bought most of my Macs from both,I know here in the states there are plenty for sale locally on CL and most times when paying with cash you can get a really good deal. If warranty is issue I would suggest buying one that's still within it's one year warranty then you can extend the Apple care if you choose too.

Anyhow this one is a cheaper option I'm throwing out there.

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for your reply

I have considered ebay but decided I was going to go new/apple refurbished rather then second hand for my first mac, I didn't find the pricing for new products to be that competive, and including postage it tended to come out at about apples prices plus with apple I could get the students discount which overall was usually cheaper then anywhere else I looked.

a2applegirl said:

I took a look at the specs on the refurbished one, and it has integrated graphics (not discrete like the higher priced 15" macbook pros) and the integrated graphics on it will not be as fast as the integrated graphics on the new 13" macbook pro.

Really as all as you are getting for the extra money is the larger screen. For what you are going to use it for, and because you already have a desktop computer, I would go with the 13". It is much easier to carry around and the graphics are better on it.

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for replying

I noticed it was the model with only intergrated graphics too, and if I was buying on graphics, a geforce 9400m vs a geforce 320m , theres a huge performance difference between the two, I know the new graphics are quite a lot better , though a 9400m is totally acceptable for me too as I am seriously not looking to play games on it.

I don't think I will ever do enough video editing for it to matter in that respect either so for me graphics are something I can sacrifice.

Of course there is the battery life difference, 7 hours vs a possible 10 hours which is pretty huge yet I am not sure that will be too much of a issue for me either, a bigger one then the graphics for sure but I think I should be able to get by, really the main issue for me was how I would be able to get by with a 13 inch screen, I know its a personal thing, some people are fine with them but I really wasn't sure and 15 inches sounds like it is a big difference for people along with the higher resolution, Thats why I was hoping to get some feedback from people on how they feel about the too different sizes., Portabilty isn't too much a issue for me, I can deal with the extra size of the 15 if I got it.

otherwise the specs are pretty much the same between the two I think

Its really a lot of money for me to spend too

Thanks for the replys everyone, anyone elses I would be so grateful for , I am still totally stuck between the two

Craig

CraigGB said:

otherwise the specs are pretty much the same between the two I think

Its really a lot of money for me to spend too

Thanks for the replys everyone, anyone elses I would be so grateful for , I am still totally stuck between the two

Craig

Click to expand...

I think that you need to decide if you want a 13" or a 15" display. If you disregard the differences in video hardware (9400m vs. 320)...then the display size is your main deciding point.

You said that the 15" is really not a problem to carry around (I would agree as well)...since a 15" display "form factor" has pretty much been the norm for a laptop for a VERY long time.

The bottom line is (In My Humble Opinion):

- a bigger display is better...and something you can never upgrade later.
- the processor speed is slightly better on the 15"
- you said the 15" is not a problem to carry
- you said that the 9400m graphics would suit your needs

I think that everything points towards purchasing the refurbished 15" MacBook Pro.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

bargsbeer said:

Welcome to the forum.

The refurbished route is always a great way to go you get the same quality and warranty.
Also have you considered getting one off Ebay or Craigslist? I have bought most of my Macs from both,I know here in the states there are plenty for sale locally on CL and most times when paying with cash you can get a really good deal. If warranty is issue I would suggest buying one that's still within it's one year warranty then you can extend the Apple care if you choose too.

Anyhow this one is a cheaper option I'm throwing out there.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up, I've considered buying off ebay but worried about warranty (been stitched up so many times with ebay items) but I guess if you can extend the warranty that would be perfect.

Thanks.

pigoo3 said:

I think that you need to decide if you want a 13" or a 15" display. If you disregard the differences in video hardware (9400m vs. 320)...then the display size is your main deciding point.

You said that the 15" is really not a problem to carry around (I would agree as well)...since a 15" display "form factor" has pretty much been the norm for a laptop for a VERY long time.

The bottom line is (In My Humble Opinion):

- a bigger display is better...and something you can never upgrade later.
- the processor speed is slightly better on the 15"
- you said the 15" is not a problem to carry
- you said that the 9400m graphics would suit your needs

I think that everything points towards purchasing the refurbished 15" MacBook Pro.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Click to expand...

I gotta agree with Nick on this one, A bigger display is better (size matters in this case)

Good luck, A warning to you these things are not only expensive,but also addictive.

I have a 13" MacBook Pro, and the screen size is perfect for me. Of course I don't do major photo editing, but if you're going to get one for general use like surfing the internet, e-mail, multi-media(music, movies), or light photo editing, creating movies, or productivity work, than a 13" MacBook or MacBook Pro would be plenty of power for you to do those tasks.

I had a 17" Sony VAIO before I purchased my 13" MacBook Pro, and don't really miss the size. It's only 4.5lbs, and the screen is pretty comfortable for me.

pigoo3 said:

I think that you need to decide if you want a 13" or a 15" display. If you disregard the differences in video hardware (9400m vs. 320)...then the display size is your main deciding point.

You said that the 15" is really not a problem to carry around (I would agree as well)...since a 15" display "form factor" has pretty much been the norm for a laptop for a VERY long time.

The bottom line is (In My Humble Opinion):

- a bigger display is better...and something you can never upgrade later.
- the processor speed is slightly better on the 15"
- you said the 15" is not a problem to carry
- you said that the 9400m graphics would suit your needs

I think that everything points towards purchasing the refurbished 15" MacBook Pro.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for your reply.
when you say it like that everything does indeed point to the 15 inch, that has pretty much convinced me to try and go for the 15, it will really be a peace of mind thing and it will fit my needs better then the 13, I am really leaning towards it now and should be able to buy it in a few days hopefully, will have to make my mind up for sure though but I think it will be the 15

bargsbeer said:

I gotta agree with Nick on this one, A bigger display is better (size matters in this case)

Good luck, A warning to you these things are not only expensive,but also addictive.

Click to expand...

thanks for replying,
haha yeah I am pretty set on the 15 now I think, I really get what you mean by addictive, I realised that early on with apple products, my collection seems to keep growing , I doubt a MBP is going to help this

TF626 said:

I have a 13" MacBook Pro, and the screen size is perfect for me. Of course I don't do major photo editing, but if you're going to get one for general use like surfing the internet, e-mail, multi-media(music, movies), or light photo editing, creating movies, or productivity work, than a 13" MacBook or MacBook Pro would be plenty of power for you to do those tasks.

I had a 17" Sony VAIO before I purchased my 13" MacBook Pro, and don't really miss the size. It's only 4.5lbs, and the screen is pretty comfortable for me.

Click to expand...

thanks for your feedback and reply .
I don't think I will be going for the 13 even though it might have been fine for me size wise, purchasing the 15 will give me peace of mind I think and the size won't be a problem to carry it around and use it, if I got the 13 it would bug me just because I didn't buy the 15 , but thanks for your feedback, I will keep it in mind for others I know who have those kinds of needs and are looking at buying a macbook


thanks everyone for your replies, advice and feedback, looks like I will be going with the refurb 15 inch then, refurbs from apple have a good reputation from what I have heard so hopefully they do live up to it, looking foward to my first mac

Thanks Again

Craig