rMBP 13" for EE major?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>I'm in my senior year of high school, but am looking to replace my desktop now. My desktop's motherboard has had issues, and I'd rather not bother replacing it when I'll be replacing it with a laptop sooner or later anyway. I don't think I want to be taking a desktop with me - how much do most people work in the dorms anyway? (That said, I'll likely take my 1080p desktop monitor with me. Think it's worth keeping things like the case and PSU from the desktop in case I decide to build another machine, or should I sell them now?) Besides, I don't think Broadwell will be in shipping products by the time the next school year starts, so why not buy a Haswell machine now?</p>

<p>What do you guys think of the 13" retina Macbook Pro with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD? Yes, it's a bit pricey ($1500), but they're really nice machines and (subjectively) performed quite well when I've played with them in stores. My only thoughts are screen space on a 13" laptop (though 1680x1050 simulated is usable and good enough for me). It feels a bit small when using it, but seems like it's perfect for small lecture hall desks (though it probably won't be of much use with math or engineering classes), and is great for throwing in a bag and taking places. 15" laptops have always seemed a bit big to me, considering they take most of the space in a bag (aside from thickness obviously).</p>

<p>The other issue is OS X - it's growing on me and I think I'll use it most of the time, but how much will I need Windows to run things for EE? I'm perfectly willing to use a VM or dualboot if needed just for those apps. And of course, a lot of these tools probably don't scale well. (Scaling in Windows is part of the reason I'm looking at Macs - all the issues have been sorted out, and it works smoothly even if enabling more space means running non-native. Besides, I don't want a tablet UI in the way - it just makes things unnecessarily complicated IMO.) The other concern here is the lack of upgradeability - granted, it looks like the batteries don't wear down very quickly (judging by the numbers I've seen on friends' machines, they're among the best in the industry), and system requirements have mostly plateaued over the past few years, so this might not be too big of a deal. 8GB RAM is plenty right now, though I worry in a few years. (particularly with VMs) I definitely want at least a few years use out of this. Of course, I'll probably be taking 5 years anyway as an engineering major, so I might replace it before the end anyway. Who knows..</p>

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<p>If you’re not already in the Mac ecosystem and you’re an engineer, going with the Macbook is one of your pricier options, by far. And adding Windows is going to up your costs (though see if you university has MSDNA once you settle on a school; you could get a copy of Windows for free).
Now I will propose my alternative that is probably just as biased as the mac fanboys/fangirls… Linux. Since you are looking at engineering and might want to have Windows on hand, you could get a PC and add Linux as a dual boot (or run it through a virtual machine, but that compromises the capabilities for resource-intensive programs). I am currently looking at a Lenovo T440p (22% off for today only, so I have to decide soon). It offers upgradability in a decently sized package with a reputation of durability. With the new Haswell processors, they are also predicting some pretty impressive battery life. If you want to have the best upgrade options, stay away from the Ultrabook types.</p>

<p>I would recommend keeping the monitor; it’s nice to have the portability of a small screen laptop, but then with the external monitor you can have the screen real estate when you want it. Also useful if you want to have people over to watch movies/Hulu in your dorm room.</p>

<p>And this is the right season to be looking at computers, with the insanity of the Christmas season.</p>

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<p>Thanks for responding!</p>

<p>Thing is, compared to the other high-DPI machines out there that I’ve looked at, the rMBP is actually pretty competitive. As for the cost of Windows, I should be able to transfer Windows 7 from my desktop (the motherboard has had issues and I’ll be getting rid of the entire thing soon enough). Not sure if I want to bother with 8.1 because I’d need a new license, and I wonder if Apple’s drivers are better optimized for 7. In VMs, I suppose RAM usage is an issue (and 8.1 does use less than 7, I’ll admit). I’m not in Apple’s ecosystem yet, but am not convinced that’d be an issue. Chrome and Libreoffice are both available on it (I stopped using Microsoft Office when they moved to a subscription model to make a point), most of my apps run on it, etc.</p>

<p>I’ve thought about Linux (ever since the Windows 8 betas came out), but the problem is that I haven’t seen any distros that handle those screens well. (I’m really tired of the 96dpi standard…) Windows, meanwhile, seems to resize things when on a monitor of a different DPI. At least that’s better than before - versions before 8.1 couldn’t even deal with it at all. OS X, on the other hand, seems to work quite smoothly with this (getting more space does involve running that screen non-native, but it’s not that bad when I’ve seen it in person).</p>

<p>I’ve looked at the T440p - problem is, it’s also a bit bulky compared to the other machines I’ve looked at. (probably due in part to the optical drive, which I don’t need) As for the price today, it looks like I’d end up spending, IDK, $1250 or something if I buy one with the i5, 1080p screen, and 9-cell 99.9Wh battery and then throw another 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD in aftermarket. Not bad at all, and no doubt that should get some pretty good battery life (10 hours maybe?), but I still think I’d rather have the Mac.</p>

<p>The T440s, meanwhile, probably works out to around $1300 with the 1080p screen, 9-cell battery (95.2Wh total - sweet!), and 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD aftermarket. Not bad, and it has upgradeability and most likely killer battery life, but it just doesn’t have the screen of the Mac… and I am a sucker for good screens sometimes. To be fair, I wouldn’t have to purchase an ethernet adapter (I suspect I’ll need it in the dorms) or a VGA one (if I need to use it with projectors), though I would need an HDMI adapter.</p>

<p>Yeah, I’m keeping the monitor. (the 25" 1080p one anyway - I have a 1280x1024 19" one as well, but probably don’t need 2 externals) I thought about a 15" laptop for more screen space on the go, but I just don’t want the extra bulk. 1680x1050 simulated on 13" or the like is still good enough for a lot of things. I know, it’s a bit crazy right now, but I’ve been looking at the rMBPs for a while now, they came up with new ones a month ago, and I figure I can justify it to my parents as a college expense (even if I end up paying for part of it). :slight_smile: What kind of longevity do you think I can expect with these machines?</p>

<p>Also, how much would you say college students study in the dorms? (where I’ll have the monitor) I’d love it if I could get a tablet (like the Nexus 7) with HDMI in so that it could be a second monitor, but those don’t exist, and screen sharing over the network or USB doesn’t work smoothly (with my Android phone anyway).</p>

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<p>Did Windows come with your desktop or did you purchase it separately? If the former, it is probably tethered to the machine and you wouldn’t be able to use it on your new laptop. I wouldn’t bother spending the money to upgrade to Windows 8.1. Especially if it is a secondary OS, it is likely to cause more problems with programs than it solves.</p>

<p>You seem pretty well set on the Mac, and the screen seems to be a big factor for you. There is nothing at all wrong with that setup, and when you describe your reasons, it makes sense. I was able to get the specs I was looking for out of the T440p for ~$840 with the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale, and I’m not a stickler for the high DPI screens (though I did opt for the upgrade to 1600x900, which is the same as my current 17" machine).
Everything you’ve said is totally valid and you seem to have sound reasoning. If you can afford it, go for the rMBP.</p>

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<p>As an engineer , the Dell Precision M3800 is more appealing to me (user removable RAM , SSD , battery , etc.).</p>