Which MacBook Pro should I buy for college: retina vs. standard?

I looked at both of the 15"ers today at the Albany store. The Retina display is nice and is anti-glare. However, I ran some numbers and for me, I would be better off buying the non-Retina one + a refurb Thunderbolt display...that setup is about $100 more and gives me a lot of options.

For college, the new machine will be much lighter than the standard, so that is a win for the new one.

Both computers will be obsolete in 2 years so that is a wash.

As far as I know, Autocad already runs on the Mac.

You definitely don't need Adobe CS6 to make presentations, posters, handouts, etc. I do that on my iPad. The only innovations Adobe is doing these days is breaking new ground in bloat. All you need for this level of work is iWork (Pages & Keynote).

Retina with all the bells and whistles. 2.7 CPU, 16GBs RAM, 768GBs Flash storage, external CD/DVD drive and Applecare. For the tune of $4177.00

Caleb Amundson wrote:

There was one specific program that saves incompatible with the Windows version of the program for some reason with AutoCAD. I'll have to purchase two rendering programs plus the drafting program.

Do you need compatibility with the Windows version? If Autocad doesn't provide that, then you need to complain to Autocad.

It's a requirement of the school to use the Adobe Suite. iWork is great for home users, but it is by no means meant for the professional field.

Adobe is by no means meant for "presentations, posters, handouts". The Adobe Suite is mostly bloatware. Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator are useful if you are an artist or typsetter. Taking the months or years required to master these tools for simple tasks like presentations, posters, or handouts is not a wise idea for a successful professional.

Caleb, If you were worth several million you might. Just depends on how much money you have to spend, don't you think?

Good choice. 🙂

Don't count on that 2 year mark for everything to be cross platform. Apple Mac has been around longer the Windows PCs, or PCs running any operating system, and still most programs aren't cross platform. Even with Apple doing well in the sales/money department they are still only Max 10% of the computer market and don't outsell Android devices. The sales and money come from the iPhone, iPod and iPad. If they had to live on just the computer sales they'd have much less money in the bank, if any. The world runs on PCs running either Windows or Linux/Unix. That is not going to change especially with the way Apple is closing done the Mac system.

Mac is a Niche market. And with what they have cost and still cost it is going to stay that way. You can get the same hardware in a Windows PC for half if not less then half of what Apple charges. Except the screen and that will soon be available in PCs

Pay no attention to etresoft he likes to start fights (at least that is what I get from most of his posts). Very combative.

For what you are paying for that model Mac you could get 2 PC notebooks with the same hardware and not have to worry about running your school required software on them.

In any event Good Luck.

I should have known you were going to jump in and say that. The OP asked which MacBook Pro to get. He did not ask about whether to get a Mac or PC.

And your post helps how?

If you are going to run Windows as your main OS a Mac is a poor choice for this. It is limited even though you can install Windows on it in several ways.

I run OS X on my Mac. I do have XP installed in a VM just so I can use some of the software that does not have a Mac version or equivalent. But my main systems are PCs because that is the OS that runs all the software I use on a daily basis. I certainly would not expect a Mac to do that with a BC install of Windows. Also Mac's are limited in what you can upgrade and how you have to install Windows. Windows PCs are not in that respect.

Have a nice day.

Shootist007 wrote:

Pay no attention to etresoft he likes to start fights (at least that is what I get from most of his posts). Very combative.

The only person being combative here is you. Someone asked an honest question and you immediately tried to post misleading information. The MacBook Pro with Retina display sells for $2199. The original poster is a college student with a budget of $2000, so you quote "all the bells and whistles" for $4177. But that isn't true. "All" the bells and whistles is $8,865.94, but that includes things like a 27" external display and Thunderbolt RAID. You just included some plausible, but unnecessary, upgrades to make it seem more expensive than it really is. Then you tried to push a PC and attacked me for no reason. Someone else calls you on the PC issue and you attack him too.

Luckily, the original poster is smart enough to ignore you and literally laugh at your advice. He clarified the questions I had and seems to have made the right decision.