New to Mac, is this a decent macbook

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Hello,

I just ordered my first Mac Book Pro. It is a 13 inch without retinal display, since I just wanted to keep the cost down and am using it for personal home use.

I got the following options on it:


13-inch MacBook Pro

$1,269.00

With the following configuration:
• 2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM — 2x4GB
• 1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
• Accessory Kit

I am feeling a little insecure because the CS person at the Apple Store told me I would be really unhappy with 8GB of RAM, he wanted me to buy the $2700.00 15 inch Mac Book Pro with Retina Display.

He said that 8GB of RAM would be outdated in a few years. My current Windows laptop only has 4GB of RAM and it seems fine, so I was thinking 8 should be good for awhile.

Did I make a mistake or will I be OK? Just wondering what the normal users of Mac Books think.
 
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Depends, really, on what you want to do. Mind, for a normal user, what you ordered is perfectly fine.

Also, sounds like the rep was trying to up-sell you, which I, personally, hate. I mean, you weren't getting Retina on purpose to save some costs; annoying.

For me at least (I do normal internet and email and so on, the occasional game) the 4GB Mac Mini I have is more than enough. If you're not a power user, than the rig you talked about is wonderful and perfect.

I will say a lot of mac users on other forums yell and scream about anything less that 16GB and Retina and all that. Again, admitting I do virtually no video editing or music whatever or photograph anything, I find my current machine more than fits me. Yes, in three or four years I may be in a position to buy another computer. But I don't imagine my needs will change. The only thing that'll keep me from buying a similar machine in that time will be if things on the internet refuse to run anymore.

And with that in mind, I can't imagine 8GB isn't enough. So don't worry; I think you made a great purchase, and welcome to the Mac World! I'm new myself and I keep kicking myself that I didn't switch sooner.
 
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Your MBP configuration sounds just fine. It is my opinion that it would be a good idea to purchase Apple Care as well.
 
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Mencelus,

Thank you for your feedback. We sound like we have similar usage patterns. I don't work with photography or video or anything like that. I just want to do email, work on some documents, upload pics from my phone, etc... and do email and internet things.

Maybe in 5 years I can order whatever Mac I want, but for the here and now I had to keep the cost down because we are on a budget. I felt grateful to be able to spend what I did!!

I am very excited about switching over to Mac. I love my phone and my daughter's iPad. I anticipate that this will just complete my technology experience. LOL
 
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That system will be perfect for you. 8GB is plenty for what plan to do with it.

My home computer is a Macbook AIr i5 with 4gb of memory for email, internet, quickbooks, a little photoshop work and using teamviewer to remote into my work computer when needed. I have not had an issue.

Your new computer with it's specs will smoke mine so be prepared to have lots of fun! Enjoy! You did great!

Lisa

BTW: Switching to a mac is a learning curve. Ask lots of questions. There are great people here who will help you.
 

pigoo3

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I am feeling a little insecure because the CS person at the Apple Store told me I would be really unhappy with 8GB of RAM, he wanted me to buy the $2700.00 15 inch Mac Book Pro with Retina Display.

He said that 8GB of RAM would be outdated in a few years.

8gig of ram is fine…and probably will be fine at least for a few years. Like already mentioned…sounds like the Apple person was trying to sell you more than you need (15" MacBook Pro…and I'm assuming 16gig of ram).

I wanted to comment on one thing. In your first post you said that you purchased the 2.9ghz 13" MacBook Pro WITHOUT the retina display. You must have purchased the 2.5ghz 13" non-retina MacBook Pro…and upgraded the CPU to 2.9ghz.

If this is the case…the ram in this MacBook Pro is UPGRADEABLE. The max. ram on this MacBook Pro is 16gig. So if you feel at sometime in the future you need to upgrade the ram from 8gig to more…you can do it!:)

- Nick
 
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Thank you for the feedback Lisa! I will probably be asking so many questions, you guys will be tired of me. I have already found many useful links/threads on this forum that I plan to read and use!

Nick,

Yes, I upgraded everything as much as it would allow me to do so. That is great news that the RAM is upgradeable (it wouldn't let me order more then 8GB at the time of purchase). The Apple CS person told me that no RAM could be upgraded and I did read one review before purchasing that said it could be with aftermarket RAM; however, you might void your system warranty if you did so. But if Apple can actually do an upgrade, that would be great. I will cross that bridge when I need to though, thanks for reassuring me that it is an available option.
 

dtravis7


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The Retina and the Air's have soldered in RAM that is NON upgradable, but that MBP you purchased is totally upgradeable in both the RAM and the Hard Drive.
 

pigoo3

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That is great news that the RAM is upgradeable (it wouldn't let me order more then 8GB at the time of purchase). The Apple CS person told me that no RAM could be upgraded...

8gig of ram is the "Apple official" max ram for this computer...that's why it wasn't possible to ungrade the ram past 8gig when you ordered it. But quite a number of Apple computers have been found to be able to handle more ram after they are released. So the actual max ram for this MacBook Pro is 16gig.:)

- Nick
 
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Nah it is terrible Kelly ~ mail it direct to me lol!

Seriously you got a great model with adequate memory so settle back and enjoy.
 
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If it works for you that is fine.

Is it decent?

Well.. That model has not changed at all since 2012. The screen is very low res, only the 11" Air is lower vertically (and the iPhone 6 Plus is higher). It's the heaviest laptop Apple currently sells (slightly more than the 15" Retina). It's the last thing Apple makes with an optical drive, so if you use discs still, score. Also note the 15" and 17" models of that form factor were discontinued some time ago.

For me personally, in that general price range, I would have tried to find a 13" Retina with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. It would be substantially faster, significantly better looking display, lighter, and the mid-2014 models are on significant sale right now.
 
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Mencelus,

Thank you for your feedback. We sound like we have similar usage patterns. I don't work with photography or video or anything like that. I just want to do email, work on some documents, upload pics from my phone, etc... and do email and internet things.

Maybe in 5 years I can order whatever Mac I want, but for the here and now I had to keep the cost down because we are on a budget. I felt grateful to be able to spend what I did!!

I am very excited about switching over to Mac. I love my phone and my daughter's iPad. I anticipate that this will just complete my technology experience. LOL

We do sound quite similar. Our Apple journey began with used iPods. We had those for a few years, then one year for a birthday my wife suggests we get our daughter an iPad. I saw how cool it was, but was an Android man at the time, so I got a cheap Chinese knockoff thing, to see if I liked them. Turns out tablets were useful for work, so I upgraded to an iPad mini.

Then my wife got an iPhone for our little private office. And then demanded an iPad when she saw how much the daughter and I loved ours! After that, when my old PC finally died, I decided to make the switch to Mac. That was in the middle of Feb. And two weeks ago got an iPhone as well, to make the circle complete.

Really, quite the journey, and I'm beginning to feel I should have been here all along. The way my devices are just fit so WELL together.
 
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If it works for you that is fine.

Is it decent?

Well.. That model has not changed at all since 2012. The screen is very low res, only the 11" Air is lower vertically (and the iPhone 6 Plus is higher). It's the heaviest laptop Apple currently sells (slightly more than the 15" Retina). It's the last thing Apple makes with an optical drive, so if you use discs still, score. Also note the 15" and 17" models of that form factor were discontinued some time ago.

For me personally, in that general price range, I would have tried to find a 13" Retina with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. It would be substantially faster, significantly better looking display, lighter, and the mid-2014 models are on significant sale right now.

On my budget, storage was my main concern. My current Windows laptop has 400GB of storage and I am almost maxxed out, so I knew I would at least need 500GB as a minimum on my Mac. It was the storage upgrade that pushed the newer models out of range for me. I was able to upgrade the model I ordered to 1T storage for only $45, which I thought was a steal. I am OK with having an older model as long as it is reliable and won't be outdated tomorrow and I won't run out of storage space. This budget strangle hold won't be forever, so maybe in 4 or 5 years I can replace my 13" MBP with a nicer one. I felt pretty secure ordering what I ordered for myself until I talked to the Apple guy who made me feel like I totally goofed up. And maybe I did, but after reading the opinions here, I once again feel like I will be fine with what I ordered.
 

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