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Mac advice please.

jmebbk said:
Would you get the 2015 MacBook 13' or the new non touchbar one?
Click to expand...

I don't feel the need for the touch bar one (I don't hate it, though). If I was on the go, I'd be more inclined to get the lighter 13" model. If I had to edit video in final cut pro on the go, the touch bar might appeal to me.

Test the screens at an Apple store or other electronics dealer. Is the 13" screen just too small for you to use on the go? This is where hands on time works very well. You may find that you need a minimum of 15 to see comfortably. In that case, the newer 15 inch has a fantastic screen with wider color gamut. They get brighter than previous models, too. Good if you are outdoors or in a sunny location.

You might just enjoy the look of the new ones more. IMHO, the screen is super important since you will stare at it so much. This is where I do not like the Mac Book air as much.
 
Jack Burton said:
I don't feel the need for the touch bar one (I don't hate it, though). If I was on the go, I'd be more inclined to get the lighter 13" model. If I had to edit video in final cut pro on the go, the touch bar might appeal to me.

Test the screens at an Apple store or other electronics dealer. Is the 13" screen just too small for you to use on the go? This is where hands on time works very well. You may find that you need a minimum of 15 to see comfortably. In that case, the newer 15 inch has a fantastic screen with wider color gamut. They get brighter than previous models, too. Good if you are outdoors or in a sunny location.

You might just enjoy the look of the new ones more. IMHO, the screen is super important since you will stare at it so much. This is where I do not like the Mac Book air as much.
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True
I might go with the 13 non touchbar bar and get a PC monitor with it
 
OP, the Mac Mini is not at all a capable device. Don't listen to these people leading you off a cliff

The Mac Mini is under all circumstances a waste of money and literal garbage

The only iMac worth buying is the top end 5K iMac, rest are a waste and perform horribly.

15 inch mbp is a fine buy.
 
varian55zx said:
OP, the Mac Mini is not at all a capable device. Don't listen to these people leading you off a cliff

The Mac Mini is under all circumstances a waste of money and literal garbage

The only iMac worth buying is the top end 5K iMac, rest are a waste and perform horribly.

15 inch mbp is a fine buy.
Click to expand...
I'm in a similar position.
I'm thinking of buying the non touchbar model 13' and an external monitor
Or does it make sense to buy the 2015 15' model
 
jmebbk said:
I'm in a similar position.
I'm thinking of buying the non touchbar model 13' and an external monitor
Or does it make sense to buy the 2015 15' model
Click to expand...
The biggest difference between the 13' and 15' is GPU. The 15' has a dGPU whereas the 13' only has iGPU. I would base your decision off of how many GPU related tasks you plan on doing.

That and screen size are the two primary differences.

I mainly use my computer from a desk so I opted for the iMac but I think the MBPs are fine buys as long as you aren't doing anything that requires the highest level of performance.
 
varian55zx said:
The biggest difference between the 13' and 15' is GPU. The 15' has a dGPU whereas the 13' only has iGPU. I would base your decision off of how many GPU related tasks you plan on doing.

That and screen size are the two primary differences.

I mainly use my computer from a desk so I opted for the iMac but I think the MBPs are fine buys as long as you aren't doing anything that requires the highest level of performance.
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is it worth getting an i7 processor?
i want my computer to last me at least 5 years....
 
It wouldn't even be a bad option to consider the Macbook Air. For the price, it's a capable machine, able to last another 3+ years. I'd recommend the 15" 2015 or "13 non-touch-bar 2016 (the two I'm looking at, once my 2011 15" dies).
 
Taz Mangus said:
Considering you know nothing about the software needs of the OP.
Click to expand...

First off, you made the assumption that he dosn't use heavy software and now you're saying I assumed things about his software needs?

Also, I assumed nothing about his software needs. Sierra is harder to run than Lion which is harder to run than Tiger which is harder to run than Mac OS.

Additionally, websites in 2016 have more interactive and heavy components than websites did in 2012, and more still than 2008 and 2004 and so on.

So it doesn't matter what OP is doing, software is always becoming more demanding to run. My original point about the mac mini not being updated in years being problematic holds true. You're overpaying for a dated machine at this point.

You can say whatever you want until you're blue in the face but you're not going to change the fact that the Mac Mini hasn't been updated in 768 days, that macrumors themselves suggests not to buy it because waiting at this point will probably pay off, and the price point in todays money for this 2014 machine is an absolute and utter nonsensical ripoff. Compounded with the fact that OP lives in the UK and his currency is currently making any american export even more expensive, them buying a mac mini right now would be barking mad.
 
macTW said:
It wouldn't even be a bad option to consider the Macbook Air. For the price, it's a capable machine, able to last another 3+ years. I'd recommend the 15" 2015 or "13 non-touch-bar 2016 (the two I'm looking at, once my 2011 15" dies).
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thats what I've narrowed it down to

i prefer the big screen which is why the 2015 is a good option but the new touch bar model has all the new ports and it seems more future proof.
Many are suggesting the 13 non touchbar with an external monitor but the monitor is going to be pricey isn't it?
[doublepost=1479868205][/doublepost]
macmee said:
First off, you made the assumption that he dosn't use heavy software and now you're saying I assumed things about his software needs?

Also, I assumed nothing about his software needs. Sierra is harder to run than Lion which is harder to run than Tiger which is harder to run than Mac OS.

Additionally, websites in 2016 have more interactive and heavy components than websites did in 2012, and more still than 2008 and 2004 and so on.

So it doesn't matter what OP is doing, software is always becoming more demanding to run. My original point about the mac mini not being updated in years being problematic holds true. You're overpaying for a dated machine at this point.

You can say whatever you want until you're blue in the face but you're not going to change the fact that the Mac Mini hasn't been updated in 768 days, that macrumors themselves suggests not to buy it because waiting at this point will probably pay off, and the price point in todays money for this 2014 machine is an absolute and utter nonsensical ripoff. Compounded with the fact that OP lives in the UK and his currency is currently making any american export even more expensive, them buying a mac mini right now would be barking mad.
Click to expand...
yes the mac mini isn't an option
its the non touch bar 13' or the 2015 15'
 
boateng said:
is it worth getting an i7 processor?
i want my computer to last me at least 5 years....
Click to expand...
In the interest of future proofing absolutely. An i7 would greatly help in stretching that 5 years.

Personally I would never buy a MacBook Pro w/out an i7. Especially considering they are laptop i7s which are weaker than their desktop counterpart
 
boateng said:
thats what I've narrowed it down to

i prefer the big screen which is why the 2015 is a good option but the new touch bar model has all the new ports and it seems more future proof.
Many are suggesting the 13 non touchbar with an external monitor but the monitor is going to be pricey isn't it?
[doublepost=1479868205][/doublepost]
yes the mac mini isn't an option
its the non touch bar 13' or the 2015 15'
Click to expand...
Any 2016 laptop will have an expensive monitor, because of the USB-C port connection. HDMI or any other connector will be cheaper, which can even come from 2015 13" (which saves money)
 
varian55zx said:
In the interest of future proofing absolutely. An i7 would greatly help in stretching that 5 years.
Click to expand...
Not if the OP is running software that isn't taking advantage of the cores. That is if he's running office apps, and a few apps that are not multithreaded, the i7 advantages will be unused now and in the future. It won't really be future proofing
 
maflynn said:
Not if the OP is running software that isn't taking advantage of the cores. That is if he's running office apps, and a few apps that are not multithreaded, the i7 advantages will be unused now and in the future. It won't really be future proofing
Click to expand...
This is true
 
varian55zx said:
OP, the Mac Mini is not at all a capable device. Don't listen to these people leading you off a cliff

The Mac Mini is under all circumstances a waste of money and literal garbage

The only iMac worth buying is the top end 5K iMac, rest are a waste and perform horribly.

15 inch mbp is a fine buy.
Click to expand...

That's nonsesence. My 2009 Mini is perfectly capable for everything the OP wants performance wise. I use it for work, home office, media streaming and library, iPhone/iPad backup. Any second hand Mini from late-2009 onwards will do what the OP wants.

Ditto iMac comments, was just updating my BIL's 2011 iMac still a very capable machine for what 95% of people want to do.
 
macmee said:
First off, you made the assumption that he dosn't use heavy software and now you're saying I assumed things about his software needs?

Also, I assumed nothing about his software needs. Sierra is harder to run than Lion which is harder to run than Tiger which is harder to run than Mac OS.

Additionally, websites in 2016 have more interactive and heavy components than websites did in 2012, and more still than 2008 and 2004 and so on.

So it doesn't matter what OP is doing, software is always becoming more demanding to run. My original point about the mac mini not being updated in years being problematic holds true. You're overpaying for a dated machine at this point.

You can say whatever you want until you're blue in the face but you're not going to change the fact that the Mac Mini hasn't been updated in 768 days, that macrumors themselves suggests not to buy it because waiting at this point will probably pay off, and the price point in todays money for this 2014 machine is an absolute and utter nonsensical ripoff. Compounded with the fact that OP lives in the UK and his currency is currently making any american export even more expensive, them buying a mac mini right now would be barking mad.
Click to expand...

LOL! Please point to where I said anything about the software that the OP is going to use. You can't because I didn't and that is the difference about my post and your post. And to be clear, based on what the OP stated, the Mac-Mini would be very usable for their needs:
boateng said:
Mainly Microsoft office tbh for writing up essays
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1479917184][/doublepost]
Jambalaya said:
That's nonsesence. My 2009 Mini is perfectly capable for everything the OP wants performance wise. I use it for work, home office, media streaming and library, iPhone/iPad backup. Any second hand Mini from late-2009 onwards will do what the OP wants.
Click to expand...

Exactly. I also have a 2009 Mac-Mini and it is a very capable little computer.
 
Last edited:
jmebbk said:
What's the better buy
The 2015 15' or the 2013 non touchbar?
Click to expand...

None of the 2013 models had a touch bar. Do you mean the 2016 non-touch bar?

The future looking part of me wants to say the 2016 non-touchbar with the better screen and USB C. The wallet sensitive part of me says that you can save a bunch of cash going with a 2015 15" and still have access to media card readers and classic USB ports, and thus probably need to buy less adapters.

I'm sorry if that doesn't help you, I suffer from "analysis paralysis". ;)
 
Jack Burton said:
None of the 2013 models had a touch bar. Do you mean the 2016 non-touch bar?

The future looking part of me wants to say the 2016 non-touchbar with the better screen and USB C. The wallet sensitive part of me says that you can save a bunch of cash going with a 2015 15" and still have access to media card readers and classic USB ports, and thus probably need to buy less adapters.

I'm sorry if that doesn't help you, I suffer from "analysis paralysis". ;)
Click to expand...
Sorry I meant the 2016 non touchbar version.
 
[MOD NOTE]
Lets stop with the arguing and bickering, a number of posts were removed because they were derailing the thread
 
Taz Mangus said:
LOL! Please point to where I said anything about the software that the OP is going to use.
Click to expand...

Literally the next sentence you said after this ^ is:

Taz Mangus said:
And to be clear, based on what the OP stated, the Mac-Mini would be very usable for their needs:
Click to expand...

so thanks for making that easy......

You've incorrectly asserted that the 2 year old mac mini would be fine for OP's needs and thus inferring that he doesn't run any software heavy enough to warrant a new computer instead. You then accused me of assuming things about OP's software needs.

What's more, I say you wrongly asserted that OP would be fine with a mac mini, because OP infact has said that he does not want a mac mini....

Boateng said:
yes the mac mini isn't an option
its the non touch bar 13' or the 2015 15'
Click to expand...

so really, I think we should move on from suggesting that OP buy a mac mini because as aforementioned he doesn't really want one.

personally I think OP should consider the MBP with an i7 because it's sort of in between a lower end MBP and a higher end iMac. I was watching mobiletechreview checking out the new macbook with an i7 and it benchmarked pretty darn close to my 2014 iMac with an i7. Obviously GPU on the iMacs will be better. Although, the new rMBPs with the 460 with 4GB of ram is pretty good too, although I would wait for Apple to resolve the graphical issues going on with that atm before sinking money into it.
 
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