What to get? (Student edition).

Fragil1ty

Fragil1ty

Fragil1ty

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8 Jan 2011
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444
Hey guys, so here's the problem I'm facing.

I'm a University Student and I'm going back come January 5th, so I'll be buying my new Mac relatively soon, now here comes the problem:

Due to debts, I'll only have about £600-800 to spend on my new machine, I've been pricing them up and I can get a pretty good Macbook Pro (Which would be ideal for me I do a lot of graphical editing work, programming and coding), so it would be great if I could take it to lectures and what not.

On the other hand, I would suffice for one of those newer Mac Minis, they're quite powerful, compact and would get the job done with a little bit of ram inside them.

I would be buying the Macbook Pro off E-bay and the Mac Mini directly from the store, but I'm a little stuck and was wondering if you guys could help me, here are my options.

I.

Buy this Macbook Pro:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300640520...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_2685wt_1398

It is in absolutely fantastic condition and for £650 including postage, it's quite the bargain, the only problem is, it's not one of the newer i5 models and that is a little bit of a problem, not a massive problem, but a small one.

II.

Use my Student Discount (15%) and buy the Mac Mini off the Apple store and get the £699 Mini for roughly £594.15

or Finally.

III.

Buy the 'new' Macbook Pro 13" i5 edition and use my student discount, now this would set me back roughly £849, but i'd pay this.

The real problem that I'm facing here is that, I've got bills to pay and what not and buying either one of these machines would inevitably make me broke and I'm not sure how much money i'd have left and i'd be living on scrips and scraps for the next 3 months.

What would you guys do? help/opinions are greatly appreciated.
 
I'd go with a laptop......

but without wishing to sound patronising....you may be better to spend half the money and get a windows laptop given the financial situation you allude to.
 
As others have mentioned, I would get a cheap windows laptop + eat next year rather than a shiny apple laptop, which is sadly not going to keep you going.

Once you have finished or from working over the forth coming summer, then consider selling your cheap laptop and get some nice shiny apple based toys.
 
You are suicidal setting yourself up for debt, there is absolutely no need to do this.

We have at home several macs, and one is a MBP non i5. Its the P8800 Intel C2D job with 4GB ram and a standard type HDD.

It is more than adequate in its performance (I've got it doing video conversion at the moment, it's not as quick as my i7 Mac Mini, but its certainly not crap).

Bonus is you can chuck more RAM and an SSD in further down the line for much quicker performance.
 
You don't need one. I'm at uni and rarely take my MBP in and I study a computing course. And of the two I much prefer my desktop.

I would get the mini. Laptops also tend to just be huge distractions especially in lectures as all you see people doing is basically browsing facebook or playing some kind of game etc. And all you really need for note taking in lectures is pen & paper.
 
Thanks a lot for the replies thus far guys, I am looking more towards the Mac Mini at the moment, the better graphics card seems to be pulling me in!

I've always been more of a desktop guy myself, I'll just have words with the landlord and tell him that I wont be able to pay the full rent, until (date here), he's a nice guy, so i'm sure he'll understand lol.

Are those new Mac Mini's powerful? they seem to be quite decent!
 
Personally I've always been a Laptop and desktop uni guy... Desktop for work at home and laptop for when you work in the library/lab and socialise with housemates.

If you currently have a desktop (I assume?) I'd go for a cheap windows laptop (as much as I hate cheap laptops, they are the thing that makes Windows seem bad 90% of the time...). You can still find the occasional bargain in somewhere like the Dell outlet. Still go for a 13" model however, anything bigger is not really portable IMO.
 
Similar to Amp34, I'd vote for desktop at home and laptop to take into uni. I like netbooks for this, as battery life + small works well if you want to take it out in a lecture. They're also cheap.

When significantly higher performance is needed, I remote desktop into either the uni servers or my desktop at home.
 
I've currently got a gaming machine, specs are:

Intel core i5-750 @ 2.7ghz,
AMD HD 5770,
8GB DDR3,
750w PSU (OCZ).

I could possibly use that for the time being for the home use and get a cheap sony vaio notebook and use that for notes or whatever?

I did really want a MBP though, DAMN you debts, :(
 
Or just use pen and paper and save the money saved from a Sony Notebook towards your MBP? :p

Or, sell your desktop?
 
It's aboslutely stupid you buying one of these. Your overspending and your just going to tell your landlord you cant pay till x?

Ridiculous, save until you have enough money to actually buy it. In my course i wanted a macbook pro so i could use unix nativley, code ect like you but i actually waited, there was no issues waiting. Uni provide everything you need, theres no actual requirement for any laptop, in most cases i find it doesnt help but hinder, i end up playing on things when i should be listening.

Just wait till you can actually afford it.

/rant

Your home PC is plenty good enough for anything you need, save for a MBP, much better than a mini as its portable and you can take any work with you.
 
Get the MBP on 0% finance and pay for it over the credit term. Make sure you budget this into your incoming/outgoings....
 
I'm actually contemplating selling my iPhone 4 for £425 and putting that towards the MBP and just buying a cheap phone to tide me over, I only need the phone for texts anyway and the phone is just not getting used what so ever.

I see the points raised here though, it is foolish to presume that I'd need such hardware and putting myself out of money for a piece of hardware is also foolish.

If I cannot sell my phone, I will not buy the MBP and stick with my desktop machine for now.
 
I study Environmental Geoscience and take my Macbook air (11") to every single lecture, it helps a huge amount and people frequently ask to steal my notes as they are clearer and more comprehensive than most people who hand write.

I just have a 24" monitor in my room along with a keyboard mouse and usb hub that I hook my laptop up to when I'm there. I honestly would not want any other setup.
 
uniQ said:
You don't need one. I'm at uni and rarely take my MBP in and I study a computing course. And of the two I much prefer my desktop.
Click to expand...

Exactly the same with me. I have a Macbook Pro that I don't really use while I'm there, the only times I'll take it is when I have a few hours break and don't really have time to get home and back.

Actually using it at university is quite a rarity. I suppose it came in handy for sound recording lectures I can't be bothered listening to and taking notes at the time, but otherwise, I often prefer to write my notes.

I prefer to do my actual work at home, on a desktop with a large screen (multiple).

Given the situation you describe, I think I can only echo what else has been said in this thread, you'll probably do well with a Windows laptop for what you'll use it for.
 
Fragil1ty said:
I'll just have words with the landlord and tell him that I wont be able to pay the full rent, until (date here)
Click to expand...

To be blunt, your a bloody idiot if you actually do that !

You clearly can't afford this. Do not buy one. Thats nothing to be ashamed of, your a student for goodness sake !
 
The only other thing is, my current desktop is having serious issues at the moment, I've made another thread about it, link here:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18356598

So you know, it's somewhat of a troubling time for me, if I manage to sell my iPhone, I'll be able to buy a Macbook, pay rent, pay debts and afford food, but it's just selling it in time and what not! Bad times.

I think I'll go with what you guys have suggested and either just buy a cheap Windows laptop or 'try' and stick it out with my current desktop, despite the issues it's having.
 
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