MacBook. What is the difference?

[Inequality Street]

Ok, Im struggling here. I want a laptop that I can use for iTunes, video editting, photoshop and general browsing.

I have an iPhone 4S and an iPad 2 already, so apple seems to make sense.

However, the different specs, figures, 'Pro' options etc mean nothing at all to me (apart from £££).

Would a £999 MacBook really be that bad compared to a £1600 MacBook? What are the key bits to look for/upgrade?

 

[Ex-User (19928)]

Macbooks are nice computers, but just because you have a 4S and an iPad doesn't mean you need one. Go have a look in store, if the specs mean nothing to you then it's likely you don't need them. Lot of money for a laptop though.

 

[DB.]

I have an iPhone, iPad and iMac and the 3 interface brilliantly with each other.

Back in 09 I had a base spec MacBook and it was great and I couldn't fault it for performance so don't feel pressured into going for a high spec machine unless you truly need one

 

[DB.]

Also, make sure you get student discount!

 

[MG cup]

I'm no expert but I went for a MBP with retina display which means it gets a better screen but it also drops the CD rom drive. I never use that in a daily basis anymore but I did buy the separate CD drive later as I deceided to use it as my DVD player at home.

Being a retina display the boards (I'm quoting computer geeks) are welded toghter which improves speed over being interfaced with ribbons etc like older computers I believe.

They're amazing for the start up speeds, litterally a few seconds and the thing is switched on, it's ready to use. It speaks to all your other apple devices seamlessly and they share all pics, notes, contacts, browsing history, messages or whatever it may be.

That's my favourite part of it, my least is that I have to pay for an Microsoft office subscription to be able to read/adjust documents from my work witbout it throwing a full on wobbler.

I got my 128gb for £749 from Currys when it should have been £999, it was a display model of one month and just before Christmas Currys/PC world were offering a £100 cash back offer 14-60 days after purchase which might be worth looking at.

Edit: As DB said, dont pay the stupid prices for the top models when all you really get is extra memory. It's too easy onwards to use a separate wireless hard drive or even the cloud/one drive which you get a a 2tb yearly allowance when you take an annual Microsoft office subscription.

 

[MG cup]

Another thing that attracted me to one is, just like your other apple products it will never really be out of date with the continual updates they do. For me I wanted two USB's as a minimum and the lighting connectors are the thing if the future too with switch over cables to most device connections.

 

[Gavin.]

I bought a 13" i5 in 2011 and haven't looked back since, I honestly don't think i'd buy a pc again. Still running the same machine and it's not missed a beat since i bought it.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Buy refurbed. All 3 of my iMac/MB's have been refurbished.

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_pro/13

 

[Stay Puft]

I have a macbook air, with student discount I paid £730 with 3yrs applecare and £60 giftcard. I love it, and although I could have got a similar spec for less I am a brand snob, and the start up speed still amazes me.. oh and the weight is ridiculous.

 

[jenic]

As said, buy through student and prices are comparable to refurbs, you get a new latest model, and 3 years applecare.

Personally I'd avoid the new Macbook, poor connectivity and imo poor spec.
You don't sound like you need high performance so I recommend going for a 13" air as a do it all machine. I've had my air for 2.5 years now, it's probably the most used piece of tech I own, I take it literally everywhere with me, the battery lasts ages (even after ~500 cycles I'm getting 7 hours from it) and it's fast.

 

[Jay_A]

My wife has the Air and I have a 15"Macbook Pro (with Retina). I bought mine purely for photography work, but since its become my daily workhorse and I couldn't be without it. Its a little faster, has more RAM (8GB) and of course the lovely Retina screen which makes the whole experience much nicer.

 

[Inequality Street]

I'm not a student unfortunately, so don't think that would work. I did look at refurbished also, so will definitely consider!

Sounds like I thought, I probably wouldn't notice the difference except for the price, so I'll go for one of the £999ers I think!

 

[Goodj]

Alternatively, if you can live without having 1/2 eaten fruit on the lid, and are capable of using a computer without needing nannying, Just get one with Windows loaded onto it instead and get probably double the spec for the money.

 

[msremmert]

Personally I'd avoid the new Macbook, poor connectivity and imo poor spec.