The Student Room Group

Help on getting a macbook pro

Hi, I'm starting university in september to study graphic design and I am looking at buying a mac for it but as it's a lot of money I want to make sure I am buying the right one. I've done my research and the macbook pro 13" is definitely the best option for me but I'm a bit undecided over whether i should get the new retina display model or should i get the old model without retina display?
The reason I'm asking is I've read in places that the retina display is such as good quality screen that when you print out the colours and the overall apperance of a design is different to how it looks on a screen. This is what worries me as a lot of my use for the macbook is using adobe software for design and I don't want the retina to affect my designs in a bad way.
Are the any other big differences the two laptop's have that make then better or worse??
Another question, is 8gb ram and 255gb storage enough, is it worth upgrading to 16gb??
Thanks to any answers!!!!

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Reply 1
Original post by Adam1995
Hi, I'm starting university in september to study graphic design and I am looking at buying a mac for it but as it's a lot of money I want to make sure I am buying the right one. I've done my research and the macbook pro 13" is definitely the best option for me but I'm a bit undecided over whether i should get the new retina display model or should i get the old model without retina display?
The reason I'm asking is I've read in places that the retina display is such as good quality screen that when you print out the colours and the overall apperance of a design is different to how it looks on a screen. This is what worries me as a lot of my use for the macbook is using adobe software for design and I don't want the retina to affect my designs in a bad way.
Are the any other big differences the two laptop's have that make then better or worse??
Another question, is 8gb ram and 255gb storage enough, is it worth upgrading to 16gb??
Thanks to any answers!!!!


Definitely go for retina. It really depends on how heavy the programs you are using will be when deciding to go for 8gb or 16gb, though 8gb should be fine tbh. The storage is fine and you can always get an external hard drive later too.
(edited 8 years ago)
I wouldn't bother with either of them but if you insist on getting shafted go for the retina display with 8gb RAM and 256gb SSD. My mate did graphic design and he didnt even have a laptop as the uni had imacs. Consider that before spunking 1k+ on a fairly low spec laptop.
Well the first thing you should realise is that the MacBook Pro Retina has an 8 bit IPS panel. If you need the granularity of a 10 bit display, you'll need a 10 bit panel and even then, OS X doesn't support the 10 bit spectrum. If that's not an issue, then the Retina display should be very nice. Its high res(2560*1600), is very bright and colour accurate. The only issue you MAY have with the 13 inch model is in the GPU department as its only an integrated Iris 6100 chip. The dedicated GPU is only available with the highese end 15 inch MacBook which is an R9 M370 but its real damn expensive. If the GPU is not an issue with your design software, the best combo would be the 256GB model with 8GB of RAM. If you feel you need some growing room, go up to the 512GB/16GB combo
Original post by RoundTrip
I wouldn't bother with either of them but if you insist on getting shafted go for the retina display with 8gb RAM and 256gb SSD. My mate did graphic design and he didnt even have a laptop as the uni had imacs. Consider that before spunking 1k+ on a fairly low spec laptop.


Not every university will have iMacs. God forbid one of the universities using a TN panel, that would be a disaster for an aspiring art student wouldn't it
Reply 5
Original post by RoundTrip
I wouldn't bother with either of them but if you insist on getting shafted go for the retina display with 8gb RAM and 256gb SSD. My mate did graphic design and he didnt even have a laptop as the uni had imacs. Consider that before spunking 1k+ on a fairly low spec laptop.


MacBook Pros are high spec laptops. But you have a point, any design school worth their salt will have an iMac suite. Use that and get a cheap Windows laptop for light work when not on campus.
Original post by Plutonian
MacBook Pros are high spec laptops. But you have a point, any design school worth their salt will have an iMac suite. Use that and get a cheap Windows laptop for light work when not on campus.


For the price you are paying they are not high spec at all. Sure, if presented one without the price tag - they're fairly decent but for 1K? Never.
Original post by Adam1995
Hi, I'm starting university in september to study graphic design and I am looking at buying a mac for it but as it's a lot of money I want to make sure I am buying the right one. I've done my research and the macbook pro 13" is definitely the best option for me but I'm a bit undecided over whether i should get the new retina display model or should i get the old model without retina display?
The reason I'm asking is I've read in places that the retina display is such as good quality screen that when you print out the colours and the overall apperance of a design is different to how it looks on a screen. This is what worries me as a lot of my use for the macbook is using adobe software for design and I don't want the retina to affect my designs in a bad way.
Are the any other big differences the two laptop's have that make then better or worse??
Another question, is 8gb ram and 255gb storage enough, is it worth upgrading to 16gb??
Thanks to any answers!!!!


The non-retina Pro is outdated and overpriced garbage, don't touch it with a bargepole. If you were to buy the Retina Pro and found the colours weren't matching what your prints/files were looking like, you can calibrate the display to make it colour-accurate. There are software tools and pieces of physical tech you can use to accomplish this, the latter of which are very popular among professionals working in photography and design.
Reply 8
Original post by bailfire
For the price you are paying they are not high spec at all. Sure, if presented one without the price tag - they're fairly decent but for 1K? Never.


Retina display, SSD and i5 for under a grand is a good deal. I agree though that Macbooks and iMacs without the Retina are a waste of money
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Plutonian
Retina display, SSD and i5 for under a grand is a good deal.


Are you mad? SSD's are dirt cheap, i5 mobility CPU's are also dirty cheap now. The retina display is no longer a one of a kind, there are plenty of 2K display laptops on the market now all for well under a grand.
Original post by bailfire
Are you mad? SSD's are dirt cheap, i5 mobility CPU's are also dirty cheap now. The retina display is no longer a one of a kind, there are plenty of 2K display laptops on the market now all for well under a grand.


If you want a thin, light laptop with very good battery life the macbook pro is fair value compared with its competition.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 11
Original post by bailfire
Are you mad? SSD's are dirt cheap, i5 mobility CPU's are also dirty cheap now. The retina display is no longer a one of a kind, there are plenty of 2K display laptops on the market now all for well under a grand.


Trust me Apple laptops > Windows laptops. Windows doesn't scale down well and it's not unibody but rather plastic bits bolted together that is almost always heavier than a comparable Apple version. When it comes to laptops you have to take a holistic approach. Sure Alienware laptops have mad crazy specs but the things are bricks and loud as hell.
Reply 12
Original post by Undisclosed 15
If you want a thin, light laptop with very good battery life the macbook pro is fair value compared with its competition.

Posted from TSR Mobile


If you want a light, thin laptop with decent battery life, I'd go for the dell XPS range, specifically XPS 13.

i7/8gb ram/256gb or 512gb SSD can be had for around £700 on Dell outlet.
I'm gonna nip this in the bud before the thread gets completely derailed- If you want to debate the merits and issues of Macs, take it to PM/VM, the Tech forum has a rule specifically against this sort of brand bashing and arguing specifically to stop other people's threads turning into a mess.
bailfire

Plutonian
(edited 8 years ago)
Sorry, replied before reading that.
Original post by bailfire
Sorry, replied before reading that.


No worries :yy:
I got the 15 inch retina model (late 2012) and is really worth it. I got 16GB ram/512gb solidstate/1GB graphics card, 150GB for windows bootcamp with Solidworks/Matlab installed. It cost me £2.1k after student discount (14%) and still works well after 2.5 years. My sis has had her macbook pro since 2008 and she said it works fine for browsing and youtube.

The base 15 inch retina will cost £1375 after student discount and it comes with 16gb ram/256 SSD, whereas the 13 inch retina with 16gb ram/256GB ssd will cost £1340. I would go for the first option tbh or if you got a bigger budget with the one with 2GB graphics card (£1719).
(edited 8 years ago)
If you are buying a macbook Pro then possibly wait until you have been issued with the academic email address which allows a discount at a mac store.

Looking on the apple education site, the best 13" macbook pro retina ( specced as per the first page that comes up)

is £1400 on the normal page v £1200 with student discount.

( took so long to find the prices that I was beaten to it)


possibly worth emailing the dept to see if they provide access to cheap software as well.
the ability to swap projects between dept machines and yours is quite important.

think of the machine as lasting three years over a degree - any other life is a bonus.

don't be in a rush.
take advantage of applecare ( check the price) but it was a massive bargain with edu discount a few years back.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 18
13" laptop for graphic design is gonna be a nightmare, unless you're only designing logos/tiny postcards.
Reply 19
Hello there,

If your thinking of Macbook Pro 13 with Retina (2015), then go for it, it is totally worth the price.
Also with Apple Store for Education you'll get student discount meaning you'll be able to get it for £859.
I also have one and not only is the retina screen amazing, but if you go for the non-retina version, you will also miss out on the hardware specs such as the newer CPU/GPU and the trackpad which the 2015 version has.
The Iris 6100 is still a very powerful GPU and the OS runs smoothly.
Also, there is Bootcamp, if you ever need Windows OS for certain graphics applications, and again you can gain a free Windows licence through your student status.
As your doing graphics, 8gb RAM and 256GB SSD should be great.

Apple website link: http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/mac/education

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