Need advice on Mac laptop

[rgwalt]

Hi all! It has been quite awhile since I last touched a Mac. Nothing against the product, just became a PC users back in college after being a long time mac user growing up. My GF wants a new laptop to replace her POS Dell, and has decided that she wants a Mac for the ease of use and stability. I'm not going to try to talk her out of it, in fact I'm thinking of heading that direction myself at some point.

Anyway, I've been doing some research for her, and I am trying to steer her towards the 13" Macbook Pro with an i5 processor. Not sure of the exact model as she is going to buy from Best Buy (she has a ton of gift cards there).

What I want to know is this:
1) Should we wait for the 2011 models to come out, and try and snag a discounted 2010? When will this happen? (or has it already?)
2) Should I try to talk her into the i7? Her budget is limited and the i5 is already stretching it.
3) Any other models / options I should be considering? They are offering the machines in the Core 2 flavor, but I figure the i series processors are the current mainstream line. But in a laptop, there is no possibility for an upgrade, so I don't suppose it matters.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[postaled]

The Sandy Bridge models are already out but last I checked there were some major issues with cooling on the 15 and 17 inch versions(possibly 13 also)

 

[Beysl]

I have a 13" 2011 mbp.

Heat is alright. But while gaming or when cpu is fully working the temp goes up to 90 and fans are spinning like crazy. Maybe this is "normal" for a mbp (it's my first one), but probably not... With normal use (browsing and so on) you won't hear them at all with temps around 45-50. On youtube around 70+ (fans still unhearable @2k rpm).

My guess is that she won't need a lot of processing power. Try to get a cheaper 2010. Take the aditional money for an ssd!

If she wants that extra horsepower, get a 2011. I wouldn't recommend the i7. The i5 is already very powerfull. And here again: better invest into a ssd. It will run like a dream!

 

[runawayprisoner]

Better yet, get her a MacBook Air. Little ah heck runs cooler than the Pro and has enough power to do most things except for gaming, but she isn't going to run StarCraft II, right?

 

[Ns1]

what the fuck could she possibly need an i7 for?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

what the fuck could she possibly need an i7 for?

YouTube.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

YouTube.

And Facebook.

...

Okay, actually, Flash games and Hulu were the reason I finally traded in my old PowerPC iBook and G5 tower for an Intel Macbook.

OP: The current Macbook Pros were just updated, and use the new Sandy Bridge CPUs. Waiting for an update will push the purchase out until at least next fall. Probably next winter.

Laptops of most types get awfully hot when you max the CPU use or play games. Apple hardware vs. Everybody else? Meh, I've never worked with one that was really good. Cram enough fans in to really cool it down, and you just end up needing earplugs.

 

[Kadarin]

Think in terms of what she's going to use the laptop for, not what you would use it for... Does she need portability? Longer battery life? Performance? Storage? Then have her buy accordingly.

 

[Ns1]

Think in terms of what she's going to use the laptop for, not what you would use it for... Does she need portability? Longer battery life? Performance? Storage? Then have her buy accordingly.

this.

I evaluated my GF's needs and found that the iPad would meet 95% of them, so I got her that and she couldn't be happier. (not implying that you should get her an iPad, merely that you should be analyzing her actual needs)

In the off-chance that she needs a PC (flash, uploading pictures, etc) she can use my gaming rig.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

When my roommate gets (very) drunk she refers to her 13" Macbook Pro as "Baby Laptop." She's got a soft spot for shiny things, and the MBP is no exception.

"Baby Laptop." I shit you not.

Suffice to say, she's quite happy with it. Particularly iPhoto's Facebook integration features.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

HP envy, anyone?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

HP envy, anyone?

What about it?

 

[Emulex]

you have:
1. old macbook air - cheap - slow but can do 720p all day long. less batt life/warranty
2. new macbook air - cheap - light
3. new macbook pro - same as air but has optical drive and weighs a ton more
4. old macbook pro - same as old macbook air + optical drive.

the difference between 1.6ghz and 2.13ghz is linear. the video cards used on the low end models have not gotten any better honestly.

so if you are a gamer. skip the macbook dude. simple.

If you are using it for casual i'd get the light air or the 17"model.

I have both and use both for each purpose. portable lightweight 3lb sexy and 1920x1200 sexy that weighs a ton. I could knock the teeth out of an attacker with the 17" - the air would probably dent the case and take 1 tooth out or cut his head off with the screen lol.

 

[kowalabearhugs]

The Sandy Bridge models are already out but last I checked there were some major issues with cooling on the 15 and 17 inch versions(possibly 13 also)

I own a 15" Macbook Pro w/ i7-2720QM +HD 6750M and have had zero heat related issues. The laptop stays pretty much whisper quiet when multitasking, transcoding, etc

 

[Emulex]

ifixit found quality issues on assembly of their model. low QA - google the teardown its not pretty.

 

[rgwalt]

Thanks for all of the great responses everyone!!! Her uses are going to be mainly web, email, some word processing, spreadsheeting and power point. iTunes is a given, of course. She is a high school teacher, so I imagine that she will value portability, so we'll take a look at an Air model in her price range. My one concern is the lack of an optical drive as she watches a lot of netflix movies (along with Hulu).

It sounds like the i5 Sandy Bridge rev 2011 is the way to go. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to miss much going with an i7. It also looks like she will need to get adapters to take her from the Apple display port to either DVI or VGA. Whats up with HDMI on these machines?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for all of the great responses everyone!!! Her uses are going to be mainly web, email, some word processing, spreadsheeting and power point. iTunes is a given, of course. She is a high school teacher, so I imagine that she will value portability, so we'll take a look at an Air model in her price range. My one concern is the lack of an optical drive as she watches a lot of netflix movies (along with Hulu).

So you get a Macbook Air. Nice choice.

(Netflix Streaming. You can rip the DVD on another computer and stick the VOB files on a thumb drive to watch in VLC, if you really NEED to watch DVDs on the go.)

It sounds like the i5 Sandy Bridge rev 2011 is the way to go. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to miss much going with an i7.

Macbook Pro. Nice choice. (Macbook Airs are C2D CPUs still.)

It also looks like she will need to get adapters to take her from the Apple display port to either DVI or VGA. Whats up with HDMI on these machines?

It's not "Apple's" Display Port. It's just normal mini-DP. Same as the six outputs on the Eyefinity 5870s. Apple doesn't make a mini-DP to HDMI adapter, but other people do.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

So you get a Macbook Air. Nice choice.

(Netflix Streaming. You can rip the DVD on another computer and stick the VOB files on a thumb drive to watch in VLC, if you really NEED to watch DVDs on the go.)

This would be a hassle if you're just renting Netflix movies and going through them one a day.

 

[Ns1]

Thanks for all of the great responses everyone!!! Her uses are going to be mainly web, email, some word processing, spreadsheeting and power point. iTunes is a given, of course. She is a high school teacher, so I imagine that she will value portability, so we'll take a look at an Air model in her price range. My one concern is the lack of an optical drive as she watches a lot of netflix movies (along with Hulu).

It sounds like the i5 Sandy Bridge rev 2011 is the way to go. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't going to miss much going with an i7. It also looks like she will need to get adapters to take her from the Apple display port to either DVI or VGA. Whats up with HDMI on these machines?

nothing a 20 dollar external dvd drive can't fix.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

nothing a 20 dollar external dvd drive can't fix.

The one for the Macbook Air is $79 from Apple.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB397G/A

I'm not sure if any regular external dvd drive will work.

 

[Ns1]

The one for the Macbook Air is $79 from Apple.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB397G/A

I'm not sure if any regular external dvd drive will work.

uhhhh USB external drive from newegg buddy. why WOULDN'T any normal usb external drive work?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

uhhhh USB external drive from newegg buddy. why WOULDN'T any normal usb external drive work?

I said I wasn't sure. I'm not sure because Apple products don't always place nice with other devices.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

This would be a hassle if you're just renting Netflix movies and going through them one a day.

Fair.

But if you're watching 7 DVDs a week, I think you may need a new hobby... :\

Any old USB external DVD will work to play DVDs. The Apple one is guaranteed to be bootable, although I've got an external LaCie DVD-RW that is also bootable, so it's not so much that you NEED the Apple one, as much as it can be hit or miss if you don't.

But if you really need the optical drive that badly... get the Macbook Pro 13".

 

[Beysl]

If the MBA is in the price range and if she is ok with an external drive this might be a nice solution. Especially if she won't be watching the movies on the way.

As she doesn't seem to need a LOT of processing power and if you could find a nicely priced 2010, this could be more valuable solution. Especially because the 2010 seems to be a bit cooler.

Adapters:
dvi to hdmi just needs an dvi to hdmi dongle. They are cheap or maybe you have one from and old graphics card.
dvi to vga doesn't work with the adapter from apple. You would need an active adapter to translate the analog vga signal to a digital signal (dvi, hdmi).
Not sure if there is a perfect solution for the adapters.