MacBook Pro 15 inch Retina

[Patre]

I've been given the task of buying a MBP 15 inch Retina (as a gift for a family member) and not knowing much about Apple products, I'd like your advice on this.

The general budget is around 2k, but can be easily raised to $2500. Although this is going to be used for general purposes (surfing the net, listening to music etc...yes, a bit overkill), his son is a gamer and will probably inherit this in a year or two. So, I'm thinking a bit on the long run as far as the components are concerned. Can the graphics card be updated later?

Now the base price for this is $1999, in which it offers:

2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
256GB PCIe-based flash storage1
Intel Iris Pro Graphics

I would need to buy a CD/DVD Superdrive seperately? (doesn't make much sense to me considering this should be included in a 2k laptop.......I understand it's thin, but still....).

The site states that I cannot upgrade the 8GB RAM after this initial purchase and if I wanted 16GB, I'd have to get it now. (Doesn't leave much of a choice :\)


I guess I need to know which parts should be upgraded (before this purchase to be somewhat future-proof), and which can be done after.......as well as any other accessories that are needed??

Thanks and appreciate any input.

 

[Eug]

Essentially nothing can be upgraded. Personally, I would just the cheapest model with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. Unless absolutely important, I personally forget about the son's gamer wants, since this is not initially aimed at the son.

Do they even need an optical drive? I use mine about twice a year, and yes having it as an external would be even better, since you drop about 1 lb by losing the optical drive.

 

[TheStu]

Maybe jump up to 16GB? Maybe? But like Eug said, nothing is upgradeable.

Is there any chance that the 13" will suit them? That either saves them money, or allows you to upgrade it more within the budget.

 

[Patre]

Maybe jump up to 16GB? Maybe? But like Eug said, nothing is upgradeable.

Is there any chance that the 13" will suit them? That either saves them money, or allows you to upgrade it more within the budget.

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking to upgrade the RAM, HD to 512GB, and the optical drive.
Regarding the optical drive, wouldn't movies be better with the retina and also if you had to install software via CD's?

Yes, I think the 13" will suit their needs very well, but they do like to get the "latest/greatest" and apparently, spending for it is not a problem.

 

[TheStu]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking to upgrade the RAM, HD to 512GB, and the optical drive.
Regarding the optical drive, wouldn't movies be better with the retina and also if you had to install software via CD's?

Yes, I think the 13" will suit their needs very well, but they do like to get the "latest/greatest" and apparently, spending for it is not a problem.

Software on CDs???

It'll be on either the Mac App Store or the internet.

They don't have their movies on a hard drive already? Bear in mind that BluRay on OS X is limited (though possible I think), and that the external SuperDrive is only for CD/DVD.

 

[Eug]

That's just it. You don't install software very often, and even when you do you can often just download it. As for movies, does s/he really carry piles of DVDs with the laptop when going on vacation? I personally never do.

And yeah, Mac laptops don't have Blu-ray.

 

[Patre]

Software on CDs???

It'll be on either the Mac App Store or the internet.

They don't have their movies on a hard drive already? Bear in mind that BluRay on OS X is limited (though possible I think), and that the external SuperDrive is only for CD/DVD.

I as well as they are Windows guys and didn't know software was in the App store or internet....glad I asked here though. This is their first Apple purchase.

I think they do have a bunch of DVD's (no BluRay's).......I suppose they should put all of those on an external. So, most of you don't have a need or have a use the Superdrive?

Are there any other accessories that are needed to be bought with this purchase?

 

[TheStu]

I as well as they are Windows guys and didn't know software was in the App store or internet....glad I asked here though. This is their first Apple purchase.

I think they do have a bunch of DVD's (no BluRay's).......I suppose they should put all of those on an external. So, most of you don't have a need or have a use the Superdrive?

Are there any other accessories that are needed to be bought with this purchase?

Where do you get your software now for Windows if not from the internet?

Anyway, I haven't used an optical drive on any of my computers in something like a year and a half. The last time was burn a Windows 8 beta iso to disk since the usb drive install wasn't working.

As for other accessories, I can't really think of any. Maybe the thunderbolt-ethernet adapter, but you'll only need that if you're doing large file transfers or will in places that don't have wifi.

 

[Patre]

Where do you get your software now for Windows if not from the internet?

Anyway, I haven't used an optical drive on any of my computers in something like a year and a half. The last time was burn a Windows 8 beta iso to disk since the usb drive install wasn't working.

As for other accessories, I can't really think of any. Maybe the thunderbolt-ethernet adapter, but you'll only need that if you're doing large file transfers or will in places that don't have wifi.

I just built the new rig (see my sig) and it was built for my home recording studio (DAW - digital audio workstation). A lot of the virtual instruments (soft synths) have huge sample libraries (many were upto 50GB's) that only came in DVD's.......also Acronis True Image was in CD format.......Win8 Pro had to installed via the CD etc....these, are a few that come to mind.

The rest were downloaded (possibly 60%) from the internet.

 

[JAG87]

I just built the new rig (see my sig) and it was built for my home recording studio (DAW - digital audio workstation). A lot of the virtual instruments (soft synths) have huge sample libraries (many were upto 50GB's) that only came in DVD's.......also Acronis True Image was in CD format.......Win8 Pro had to installed via the CD etc....these, are a few that come to mind.

The rest were downloaded (possibly 60%) from the internet.

Unless you are have a very slow internet connection, you don't need any optical discs for anything (even in your case, someone somewhere has uploaded those 50GB libraries). OSX even re-installs itself directly off the internet if your OS should for whatever reason get screwed.

OP, you don't seem new to computers so I'm going to be candid. In my humble opinion, if the gift is intended for a traditional Windows user who believes he will have a hard time without an optical drive... I would be VERY wary of introducing them to a new operating system. I just know the type, so make sure you book them some how-to workshops at the Apple Store.

Having said that, you can't really go wrong with the base $1999 model. There is no need for 16GB of ram for sure for the tasks you listed, not now and not 3 years from now. I think 256GB is plenty, but this might actually be the only thing you may want to scrutinize. If the above paragraph is true, these type of people never know why their C: drive is full (even though they have every single photo and movie from the past 3 years on it), so you may want to consider a spec bump to 512GB.

Just my 2c.

 

[Eug]

As mentioned, for the rare times you need to install software off optical discs, you can just use an external optical drive. Apple sells a portable USB powered one for $100, but you can buy external desktop optical drives (AC powered) for much, much less. Yes, some content creation apps have lots of media for multi-tens-of-GB of extra support file installation, but it's not as if you do this every week.

Gone are the days (for most people) of doing most of your backups on DVD-R. Similarly, gone are the days (for most people) of bringing DVDs with you on vacation for movie playback.

 

[Patre]

Thanks everyone for the replies......


@Jag87: It's not that my uncle believes he will have a hard time without an optical drive, but rather if/when he needed it and it wasn't available, he'd come looking for me. ;0 (But, seeing that everything Apple is online, the popular consensus seems to be in not getting the oprical drive and I'll remove that from the list).

In my case regarding "not needing any optical discs for anything", that's incorrect. The software libraries I've purchased from 3rd party developers as well as some direct vendors, only ship via DVD format. Yes, someone somewhere may have uploaded those libraries online, but I don't subscribe to piracy. I value the hard work these sound designers/developers do in order that I can create my music, and I support them as much as I can afford to.

 

[JAG87]

Thanks everyone for the replies......


@Jag87: It's not that my uncle believes he will have a hard time without an optical drive, but rather if/when he needed it and it wasn't available, he'd come looking for me. ;0 (But, seeing that everything Apple is online, the popular consensus seems to be in not getting the oprical drive and I'll remove that from the list).

In my case regarding "not needing any optical discs for anything", that's incorrect. The software libraries I've purchased from 3rd party developers as well as some direct vendors, only ship via DVD format. Yes, someone somewhere may have uploaded those libraries online, but I don't subscribe to piracy. I value the hard work these sound designers/developers do in order that I can create my music, and I support them as much as I can afford to.

I figured, but you'll have to explain to your uncle that optical media is pretty much dead. If he has a collection of something (CDs, DVDs), it's time to start ripping them and storing them in HDDs. Space is cheap and wifi is fast nowadays.

In regards to your second comment, I am in every way a power user and I have not needed an optical drive for over 8 years now. I realize that some content is very big (such as for example synths for audio creation or texture packs for graphics creation), and I am not inciting piracy. You have to understand that if you have paid for a license, you are free to acquire the content however you want. You are not allowed to reverse engineer it, copy it, or distribute it, but if you read software EULAs, nowhere does it say that you're not allowed to install the software from another medium besides the disk you purchased. In fact, if I purchased software that was extremely hard to find online and was delivered to me on disk, the first thing I would do is rip it to an image that I can store on a hard drive for two reasons: 1) It's a second copy and I don't have to worry about the optical disk and 2) It installs WAY faster if I need to re-install it. So to re-iterate, if I paid for a license, it's the same thing whether I rip that image from the disk itself or download that same image off a 100 mbit internet connection (which is pretty much just as fast as ripping from a DVD at 8x). If you think otherwise then it's just a semantics argument, not a logical one.

 

[Eug]

I figured, but you'll have to explain to your uncle that optical media is pretty much dead. If he has a collection of something (CDs, DVDs), it's time to start ripping them and storing them in HDDs. Space is cheap and wifi is fast nowadays.

Nah, the solution is just to get an external drive. Only geeks (like me) rip everything to hard disk.

 

[Zaap]

I'm curious: why the need for a rMBP in the first place? Based on the usage, and the owner being a PC person, and son a gamer, I'm not quite getting the need for the MacBook Pro.

Would something like a Dell XPS 15 suit better? (Windows, decent build quality, 3200 x 1800 res screen, 750M/2GB GDDR5 graphics, price savings of $700 vs. the higher end rMBP).

Basic comparison here: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/mo...o-late-2013-vs-dell-xps-15-late-2013--1193211

I'm not knocking the choice of an rMBP (awesome laptops, I love mine) but for just surfing the net, music... and eventually a gamer's laptop? Is there some express need of the owner to switch to OSX?


As for optical drives:

Whatever you do, I wouldn't get Apple's 'superdrive', I'd just get any reasonably priced external USB DVD burner and call it day. If you were to go with a PC like the Dell, you could make that an external Blu-ray drive/DVD-R as well. (Well, you could with the Mac as well, just you need third party software to view Blu-ray discs on OSX.)

 

[Eug]

Apple's SuperDrive has the advantage of being reliable and fully-powered off a single USB port. A lot of 3rd party portable drives do not function consistently powered off USB only, even if you use two USB ports for power. This part about 3rd party portable drives is true not only for the Mac, but also for Windows laptops too.

The way Apple gets this to work reliably is that when the MacBook Pro senses the SuperDrive, it goes into high power mode, beyond the specs of USB, to power the drive. This doesn't happen with 3rd party drives. MBPs just provide regular spec power levels to 3rd party drives. And with USB power on Windows laptops, it's like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.

 

[Zaap]

No one needs to pay $75 for a reliable DVD-R drive. This is tech that was perfected at least a decade ago.

Just stick with reputable brands and check user reviews.

Ironically, you'll find that it's Mac users dominating a lot of the user base on many drives found on Amazon. For example:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Portab...s=external+DVD

Every other review mentions iMacs, MacBooks, MacBook Pros.

Ditto this one:

http://www.amazon.com/External-Styli...s=external+DVD

And this one...

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-W...s=external+DVD

and half a dozen others at very first search.

You never know what you're gonna get....

...if you can't read and look around at what plenty of others already have and report using.

And as for the two USB ports thing- even an $8 generic enclosure for an extracted DVD-R drive I use (about once a blue-moon, as like most I rarely bother with disks anymore) with my rMBP works just fine off a single USB port. (Just toss out any Y-adapter and use a single USB cable). I've seen where some USB powered hard drives that require two USB ports can be flaky if plugged into one port, but never encountered that problem with a laptop optical drive.

 

[Patre]

Is Best Buy omitting something (hardware wise) in this $250 dicount price or is everything included that the Apple Store offers? (I couldn't tell if the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M is included with this deal).

I'm trying to find the best deal before purchasing.

Best Buy Deal: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/macbook-...specifications


Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/ma...onfig#hardware

15-inch: 2.3GHz
with Retina display


2.3GHx quad-core Intel core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
16GB 1600MHz memory
512GB PCIe-based flash storage 1
Intel Iris Pro Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M
with 2GB GDDR5 memory
Built-in battery (8 hours)2

 

[Eug]

No one needs to pay $75 for a reliable DVD-R drive. This is tech that was perfected at least a decade ago.

True, but Apple's SuperDrive is the most idiot proof.

And as for the two USB ports thing- even an $8 generic enclosure for an extracted DVD-R drive I use (about once a blue-moon, as like most I rarely bother with disks anymore) with my rMBP works just fine off a single USB port. (Just toss out any Y-adapter and use a single USB cable). I've seen where some USB powered hard drives that require two USB ports can be flaky if plugged into one port, but never encountered that problem with a laptop optical drive.

I've had problems with 3rd party laptop-type external optical drives when using just a single USB port, and even when using dual ports. It depends on the model of the drive and the model of the enclosure.

 

[TheStu]

Is Best Buy omitting something (hardware wise) in this $250 dicount price or is everything included that the Apple Store offers? (I couldn't tell if the NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M is included with this deal).

I'm trying to find the best deal before purchasing.

Best Buy Deal: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/macbook-...specifications


Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us/buy-mac/ma...onfig#hardware

15-inch: 2.3GHz
with Retina display


2.3GHx quad-core Intel core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
16GB 1600MHz memory
512GB PCIe-based flash storage 1
Intel Iris Pro Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M
with 2GB GDDR5 memory
Built-in battery (8 hours)2

According to that link, that's the 750m version. They are just dropping the price by a good amount.

 

[Patre]

According to that link, that's the 750m version. They are just dropping the price by a good amount.

I suppose what threw me off was Best Buy mentioning the 13 inch MBP in the "Product Features" of the 15.4 inch MBP????


Product Features

• Retina display with 2560-by-1600 resolution on the 13-inch model and 2880-by-1800 resolution on the 15-inch model
• Fourth-generation dual-core Intel Core i5 (13-inch model) and quad-core Intel Core i7 (15-inch model) processors
• Intel Iris Graphics in the 13-inch model and Intel Iris Pro Graphics or Iris Pro plus NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M graphics with 2GB video memory in the 15-inch model
• Up to 9 hours (13-inch model) or 8 hours (15-inch model) of battery life1

 

[JAG87]

I suppose what threw me off was Best Buy mentioning the 13 inch MBP in the "Product Features" of the 15.4 inch MBP????


Product Features

• Retina display with 2560-by-1600 resolution on the 13-inch model and 2880-by-1800 resolution on the 15-inch model
• Fourth-generation dual-core Intel Core i5 (13-inch model) and quad-core Intel Core i7 (15-inch model) processors
• Intel Iris Graphics in the 13-inch model and Intel Iris Pro Graphics or Iris Pro plus NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M graphics with 2GB video memory in the 15-inch model
• Up to 9 hours (13-inch model) or 8 hours (15-inch model) of battery life1

If you're ever in doubt, look up the model, in this case it's ME294LL/A

 

[phillyboy]

True, but Apple's SuperDrive is the most idiot proof.


I've had problems with 3rd party laptop-type external optical drives when using just a single USB port, and even when using dual ports. It depends on the model of the drive and the model of the enclosure.

...and this is why we tell people to buy the Superdrive. It's worth the extra money not combing through reviews and all the rest of the hassle.

(Just agreeing with you here)

In my opinion the drive will last for years and there will be a few times where it is needed. Granted it is not all that often but I appreciate having a drive I can simply plug in and have it just work when I do need it.

 

[Zaap]

Heh. twice to three times the price for what's actually the exact same thing... that will spend most of the time shoved in a drawer somewhere rather than spend two seconds to look up a rating.

To each his own. One of the many ways Apple laughs all the way to the bank.

 

[Rottie]

Just pick up a MacBook Pro with Nvidia 750m and your son will love you forever!