Computer decision help

[ChrisCol]

I just finished my business degree and am now going to return to school for a degree in information technology with a specialization in programming. Aside from minor self-taught knowledge and general interest i'm actually not incredibility knowledgeable in the area yet so that's why here looking for some advice :embar:

I'm looking into buying a macbook pro, don't necessarily have a budget but the more i can save the better. If you guys could suggest a build from the apple canada store new or refurb that's going to last me through school and give me the power i need for my degree that would be great! :love:


PS. Have always used PC/ a little linux but want to make a change

 

[BF4 Booster]

I just finished my business degree and am now going to return to school for a degree in information technology with a specialization in programming. Aside from minor self-taught knowledge and general interest i'm actually not incredibility knowledgeable in the area yet so that's why here looking for some advice :embar:

I'm looking into buying a macbook pro, don't necessarily have a budget but the more i can save the better. If you guys could suggest a build from the apple canada store new or refurb that's going to last me through school and give me the power i need for my degree that would be great! :love:


PS. Have always used PC/ a little linux but want to make a change

Get a windows PC and just partition your harddrive and install OSX on the second partition.

Not worth buying the macbook when you can get a more powerful computer for $400 less and just manually install OSX

 

[ChrisCol]

I want a mac though, I have a high end PC and want to make a change

 

[SASRT8]

You want a mac for the name then. Cuz physically there is no difference from it and a PC laptop. Internally, they use similar processors, but with an inferior availability of upgraded processors(can't get the higher spec i7's and such) Same goes for the graphics cards...exact same hardware, just you can't get the high-end versions(870m,880m, SLI options) Literally the only difference is the logo on the lid....and the poor cooling characteristics. If you want MAC OS so bad, buy a good pc laptop(with the money you'd spend on a loaded MacBook pro, you can get a PC laptop with VASTLY better hardware...nearly double the performance capabilities...) and install OSX on it as mentioned above.

You'll find afterwards that you're glad you built a "hackintosh" laptop, because OSX sucks anyways.

 

[krutoi]

I'm looking into buying a macbook pro

I think that you've answered yourself. If you want it then go for it, I think you're not even into windows anymore, you want a MAC.

 

[pinky boy]

Since you want a macbook pro, I recommend getting the base i5 processor since it was bumped up recently to 2.6 GHz and upgrade the ram to 16 gb to future proof it. It comes with a 128gb ssd which you can upgrade but I wouldnt because it would get costly, so just get an external hard drive if you ever need it.

 

[ChrisCol]

Guyzzz not getting the hate, clearly i understand they are over priced and you can build a cheaper pc for better blah blah blah.. It's pretty irrelevant why I want one. Apple hating when i'm asking for advice on which model/spec build is the best bang for my buck is spam!!

Pinky thanks for the advice

 

[BF4 Booster]

There are really not "builds" for macbooks. There are standard base units and you can choose from several "upgrades" (like 8-16gb of ram) (upgraded HDD/SSD)


I'd just go with a base unit. I got the upgraded i7 and 16 gb of ram like a fucking idiot, but I have yet to even utilize 8gb of ram and the i7 has BARELY helped at all (maybe a little bit with rendering but I don't do it all that often.)


If you want a 1 year old macbook pro (13") then hit me up I'd be happy to sell haha

 

[SASRT8]

^listen to this guy. It's such a basic OS, with such little that you can actually do with it...it's not worth getting an exuberant build. a basic model is all you'll need.

I gave my first (and only) mac away for free. I have no idea where they got such a coveted label as a multimedia rendering machine.

 

[Xolr]

Nevermind. Op is of lesser intelligence.

 

[Crescent]

So you're wanting help but you've already stated you want a Apple product?

What's the point of this thread than? Get an Apple product then lol.

 

[iAGZzzz]

I suggest waiting possibly another month for the launch of the ASUS GX500 release. It's specs are near identical to that of a macbook pro but with a superior GFX card (GTX 860M) and better 4th gen i7 processor. In addition, there is the standard 1080p IPS screen or the 4K IPS display. Both have 100% colour coverage of sRGB too so the colours will be fantastic.

It will cost less than what you'd have to pay through Apple to get a display which comes anywhere near the ASUS one. However, I say wait a month as you will want to read proper reviews first, it could turn out to be a terrible laptop, who knows, it hasn't been released yet. Just thought it's a decent comparison and something to think about, do some research

 

[Instructions]

I just finished my business degree and am now going to return to school for a degree in information technology with a specialization in programming. Aside from minor self-taught knowledge and general interest i'm actually not incredibility knowledgeable in the area yet so that's why here looking for some advice :embar:

I'm looking into buying a macbook pro, don't necessarily have a budget but the more i can save the better. If you guys could suggest a build from the apple canada store new or refurb that's going to last me through school and give me the power i need for my degree that would be great! :love:


PS. Have always used PC/ a little linux but want to make a change

Just make a VMware Partition and run a fresh install of OSX.