<p>I am starting college in the fall and would like to buy a new mac laptop. Any advice on which one is best for a college student? Also, has anyone heard of Apple coming out with new Mac laptops this summer?</p>
<p>I believe the new Macbook’s just came out a couple weeks ago?</p>
<p>I would also like to know which mac to buy and what to put into in? Without going crazy…</p>
<p>Macbook Pros came out like a week ago, but the regular Macbooks haven’t been refreshed yet.</p>
<p>Actually, the regular Macbooks have been updated with better batteries.</p>
<p>Oh wait, I take that back… that’s the 13" Macbook Pro.</p>
<p>I am expecting the MacBook to be updated this Summer, so I would wait until then to buy one. Also, Apple has back-to-school deals that usually include something like a free iPod.</p>
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<p>The 13" MacBook Pro seems to be the most popular option for this year’s entering college students. Many prefer the 15" - or even the 17" - but I find excessive screen size to be a bit unnecessary for my purposes (not to mention the superfluity of the additional expense). Upon purchase, I found that to be the case once again, which basically confirmed earlier notions. I bought a 13" eight days ago and it is absolutely fabulous.</p>
<p>The 13-inch MBP is pretty nice for students - plenty of computing power and a much better integrated graphics chip compared to the previous generation. If you need a bigger screen, then you could just get an external monitor for your dorm room.</p>
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<p>Same…on all accounts.</p>
<p>Some people reported that the new macbooks are running a bit hot on full load(as in 90-100C range). While the mobile chips have a thermal max rating of 107C…I can’t imagine it how it’ll feel using the darn thing considering the aluminum enclosure is essentially like a heatspreader in itself.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dailytech.com/New+i7+MacBooks+Hitting+100+Degrees+Celsius+Hot+Enough+to+Boil+Water/article18258.htm[/url]”>http://www.dailytech.com/New+i7+MacBooks+Hitting+100+Degrees+Celsius+Hot+Enough+to+Boil+Water/article18258.htm</a></p>
<p>Those are just the i7 models. I don’t really like the idea of those chips in a laptop.</p>
<p>The poster that was playing WoW was using the 15" MBP model.</p>
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<p>Yeah, I have a 13" (not i5 or i7) and I literally haven’t noticed any heat while using it.</p>
<p>There are also rumors that the Macbook Air will be getting an update soon, so you may want to hold off until that happens (Probably by July).</p>
<p>@kaekae</p>
<p>Yeah it won’t heat up on the normal workload. After you have it on 100% utilization for a while, it’s bound to heat up.</p>
<p>I also have a new 13" MBP and I love it love it love it.</p>
<p>I am buying a 15" Macbook Pro, and I seriously cannot wait to get it. I got a job and everything too. I guess I am just the average Apple fan. I’ll have an IPhone and a Macbook, so hopefully I will just be able to access my macbook through my IPhone.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your input. I’m probably gonna go with a 13" or 15" Macbook Pro. Does anyone know when they start offering the back to school deal?</p>
<p>The macbook pros do not become hot enough to boil water like a previous post I read. Go to CNET.com or Macworld.com and read their reviews on the core i5 and i7 macbook pros. They said they ran very cool and only got warm when they ran intensive video games. So you don’t have to worry about heat. That website only claimed the Macbook pro went to 100c so that people would go to their website and generate them more add revenue. </p>
<p>13in or 15in? They are both great machines; however, I recommend the low end 15inch. The low end 15inch is SOOO much more powerful than the high end 13inch because the 15inch has the new core i5 processors. The only reason why the 13inch doesn’t have new core i series processors is because there is currently a major shortage. Basic law of supply and demand. This shortage is a fact just Google search it. The 15inch also has a MUCH better graphics card than the 13inch. The graphics card is important even if you are not running games because it is and will continue to be used even more to process common tasks. It will currently accelerate flash video, photo and video editing programs, and much more. The 15inch is a much better investment value if you will be keeping it for at least 4 years of college. And because the 15inch has more power, you will be able to keep it longer (its more future proof as they say). The 15inch also has a bigger screen with a higher screen resolution so you can see more on the screen at once (like putting a word document next to a Firefox window to view the 2 at the same time). </p>
<p>As for size, the 15inch is just as east to carry around and use in class as the 13 inch. This is because the 15inch has only a marginally bigger “foot print” and only weighs 1 lb more. You won’t even be able to discern a 1lb difference in your backpack. You will however notice the screen size and resolution differences quite easily. </p>
<p>Battery life: The battery life of the 13inch is rated at 10 hours. The battery life of the 15inch is an hour less at 9 hours. In my opinion there isn’t a large enough difference to say that the 13inch offers a huge improvement in battery life. You won’t even need 9 hours. You only need your laptop to last around 3-4 hours and the 15inch will last well above those numbers!</p>
<p>The low end 15inch is the best value in my opinion. Don’t forget that you will be using this laptop for everything and everyday! It is important to get a good one and the 15inch macbook pro is probably the best laptop available in terms of power and portability.</p>
<p>Don’t buy your computer until early June though. Apple always starts their “buy a mac get a free ipod” campaign in early June. </p>
<p>If you have anymore questions, I’m here for yeah!</p>
<p>Miami77,
Nice write up. Pretty much in sync with what I’ve researched too. Surprisingly, the low end MBP 15 inch rates very high on macrumers.com for what it offers over the higher ends price.</p>
<p>One question though: do you think it’s worth the extra $ to get the anti-glare screen?</p>