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norahfields

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 31, 2016
11
0
Norway
- I thought upgrading your existing Late 2011 15" wasn't an option since you need to return it soon?

If that's want you want to do, follow the instructions above and buy the Samsung 850 EVO SSD in your desired capacity off Amazon or from your preferred electronics shop.
Yeah, it's not but if I can upgrade the Mac i'll by that's what i'll do and stick to Mac. :)
 

jerryk

macrumors 604
Nov 3, 2011
7,421
4,208
SF Bay Area
If you can get a 2012 or earlier, non-retina macbook pro, then you can upgrade them pretty easily. Adding memory and an SSD is simple in these units. And once you change the drive and memory they run well.

The downside is the screen resolution is much less, they weigh more, and they are older so other things may fail. Also, performance is down from the current models.
 

JTToft

macrumors 68040
Apr 27, 2010
3,447
796
Aarhus, Denmark
Yeah, it's not but if I can upgrade the Mac i'll by that's what i'll do and stick to Mac. :)
- I really don't understand... Do you want to upgrade your existing machine with an SSD? Or do you want a Retina MacBook Pro (which all have crazy fast SSDs and so don't need any upgrades)? Or are you thinking of purchasing a used non-Retina MacBook Pro and then upgrading that with an SSD?
 

norahfields

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 31, 2016
11
0
Norway
- I really don't understand... Do you want to upgrade your existing machine with an SSD? Or do you want a Retina MacBook Pro (which all have crazy fast SSDs and so don't need any upgrades)? Or are you thinking of purchasing a used non-Retina MacBook Pro and then upgrading that with an SSD?
I'm considering buying a new Retina Macbook Pro (and upgrading the SSD on that), because my current Retina Macbook Pro i'm using is super slow and isn't mine so it's being given to a new media student next year, so then i'll have no laptop. Did that explain it well or?
 

JTToft

macrumors 68040
Apr 27, 2010
3,447
796
Aarhus, Denmark
I'm considering buying a new Retina Macbook Pro (and upgrading the SSD on that), because my current Retina Macbook Pro i'm using is super slow and isn't mine so it's being given to a new media student next year, so then i'll have no laptop. Did that explain it well or?
- Yes, thanks for that. But in that case, there's no sense in upgrading the SSD on the Retina machine. A new Retina MacBook Pro purchased now (meaning the 2015 models) already have pretty much the fastest SSD that exists on the market. No better (or even comparable) third party upgrades are available.

You just need to buy the Retina MacBook Pro you want and that's it. There's literally no sense in performing any kind of upgrades afterwards.
 

jerryk

macrumors 604
Nov 3, 2011
7,421
4,208
SF Bay Area
I'm considering buying a new Retina Macbook Pro (and upgrading the SSD on that), because my current Retina Macbook Pro i'm using is super slow and isn't mine so it's being given to a new media student next year, so then i'll have no laptop. Did that explain it well or?

You cannot easily or inexpensively upgrade the SSD on retina MacBooks after you buy one.

Are you sure the Mac you have now is a retina macbook? Click the Apple menu in the upper left of the screen and select "About this Mac". Post the MacBook Pro ... line.
 

Bending Pixels

macrumors 65816
Jul 22, 2010
1,307
365
Truth hurts. #Facts



It's called the Apple Tax. And I'll gladly take pics of my 13 inch Macbook Pro if you want accuse me of being a fanboy. $2,000 for the base model 15 inch is absurd. If the top end was $2,000 I would say it would be fair.
Cool your jets....

In looking at Dell's website, their base model 15" XPS comes with an Intel i3 8GB of RAM and a 500GB 7200 RPM. Screen resolution is 1920x1080. Base price is $999.

The base model 15" rMBP comes with an Intel quad core i7, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Screen resolution is 2880x1800. Base price is $1,999.

So...please keep telling us that the cheaper Dell is the same as a rMBP - 'cept...it ain't. You'll find you'd wind up spending about the same amount for a similarly configured PC laptop as you would for a rMBP. Add in that you'll pay extra for Office 2016 (Apple provides Pages, Numbers and Keynote at no cost - all three very usable), photo and video editing software (Photos and iMovie are actually pretty decent). Then there's the potential crapware that often comes with PC's, along with the need for antivirus/security suite.
 
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Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,317
1,849
Cool your jets....

In looking at Dell's website, their base model 15" XPS comes with an Intel i3 8GB of RAM and a 500GB 7200 RPM. Screen resolution is 1920x1080. Base price is $999.

The base model 15" rMBP comes with an Intel quad core i7, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Screen resolution is 2880x1800. Base price is $1,999.

So...please keep telling us that the cheaper Dell is the same as a rMBP - 'cept...it ain't. You'll find you'd wind up spending about the same amount for a similarly configured PC laptop as you would for a rMBP. Add in that you'll pay extra for Office 2016 (Apple provides Pages, Numbers and Keynote at no cost - all three very usable), photo and video editing software (Photos and iMovie are actually pretty decent). Then there's the potential crapware that often comes with PC's, along with the need for antivirus/security suite.


Lol of course you want to the base model.


Here's 4 different options of the Dell XPS and both are lower than $1,999.99.

Option one:

XPS 15 : $1,599.99

Intel i5-6300HQ
8GB DDR4 RAM
15.6 4k display
Nividia 960m
1TB 7200 rpm hdd and 32gb of flash storage
( wouldn't actually suggest it unless you don't mind the slightly longer wait for boot ups)


XPS 15: $1,829.99

Intel i7-6700HQ
16GB DDR4 RAM
15.6 full HD screen ( with laptops full HD is fine)
Nividia 960m
512gb pcie ssd


Same XPS as the one just stated above but with a 4K display: $2,229.99

4K touch display




All these come with better specs with the exception of the first one with a HDD but they all have dedicated gpu's and are lower in price or a better value at the same price or slightly higher than the base Macbook Pro 15 inch and cheaper than the top end Macbook Pro 15 inch.



As far as pages goes.... Meh I get office for free with school so I use that but I would rather buy office since I find it superior. Plus it integrates with pulse drive so I can use it on my Macbook Pro and Windows devices. And anti virus that's with Windows does the job fine.... You don't need to buy anti virus or you can simply download a free one which works.
 

greytux

macrumors member
Jun 17, 2014
45
15
They are better for half the price. I can spend less money for better specs for both the 13 inch and 15 inch. The Dell XPS 15 is a capable device and a fraction of the 15 inch Macbook Pro price. The 13 inch the prices are somewhat comparable. Sorry i don't drink the Apple Kool-aid.

You only get a FullHD display and a measly HDD in the XPS 15 base model.

Lets compare similar specs: i7, 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM
MacBook Pro: $2200
XPS15: $2400

You're welcome.
 

BeefCake 15

macrumors 68020
May 15, 2015
2,050
3,123
Lol of course you want to the base model.


Here's 4 different options of the Dell XPS and both are lower than $1,999.99.

Option one:

XPS 15 : $1,599.99

Intel i5-6300HQ
8GB DDR4 RAM
15.6 4k display
Nividia 960m
1TB 7200 rpm hdd and 32gb of flash storage
( wouldn't actually suggest it unless you don't mind the slightly longer wait for boot ups)


XPS 15: $1,829.99

Intel i7-6700HQ
16GB DDR4 RAM
15.6 full HD screen ( with laptops full HD is fine)
Nividia 960m
512gb pcie ssd


Same XPS as the one just stated above but with a 4K display: $2,229.99

4K touch display




All these come with better specs with the exception of the first one with a HDD but they all have dedicated gpu's and are lower in price or a better value at the same price or slightly higher than the base Macbook Pro 15 inch and cheaper than the top end Macbook Pro 15 inch.



As far as pages goes.... Meh I get office for free with school so I use that but I would rather buy office since I find it superior. Plus it integrates with pulse drive so I can use it on my Macbook Pro and Windows devices. And anti virus that's with Windows does the job fine.... You don't need to buy anti virus or you can simply download a free one which works.

But at the end of the day "Dude You're Getting a DELL", eww...I suffer enough from DELL at work to ever want it in my home and/or near my family.
 
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Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,317
1,849
You only get a FullHD display and a measly HDD in the XPS 15 base model.

Lets compare similar specs: i7, 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM
MacBook Pro: $2200
XPS15: $2400

You're welcome.


Your adding about $100 between the top end dell and your comparing to a base line Macbook......good job?


Top end dell XPS is 2299 not 2400
 
Last edited:

Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,317
1,849
But at the end of the day "Dude You're Getting a DELL", eww...I suffer enough from DELL at work to ever want it in my home and/or near my family.



I wouldn't touch a Dell in a heartbeat since I hate their customer service but that was over a decade ago. I have seen reviews and they all say great things about it. You can find other similar products similar in price though.


Samsung notebook pro 9: $1,399.99

15.6 4k display
Intel i7 2.6ghz ( doesn't say if it's quad or dual but I'll assume quad? With that 3.5ghz turbo boost speed)
8gb DDR3 RAM
Nividia 950m

Cheaper and has a dedicated gpu which you can't find in the base model 15 inch Macbook Pro but in the $2,499.99 model .



Yeah less ram but for $600 less.
 

dallegre

macrumors regular
Feb 25, 2016
229
227
The Dell business lines offer "Pro" support, which is significantly better than the consumer phone support. It's still a bit of luck of the draw, but I find the same to be true with Apple tbh. With Apple, I just end up doing everything through my local authorized repair center, who happen to actually be reasonable people that I can communicate with.

If I were going dell, I'd probably go with a 5510 (basically an XPS with a Quadro M) or 7510 rather than an XPS just for the pro support.
 

BeefCake 15

macrumors 68020
May 15, 2015
2,050
3,123
I wouldn't touch a Dell in a heartbeat since I hate their customer service but that was over a decade ago. I have seen reviews and they all say great things about it. You can find other similar products similar in price though.


Samsung notebook pro 9: $1,399.99

15.6 4k display
Intel i7 2.6ghz ( doesn't say if it's quad or dual but I'll assume quad? With that 3.5ghz turbo boost speed)
8gb DDR3 RAM
Nividia 950m

Cheaper and has a dedicated gpu which you can't find in the base model 15 inch Macbook Pro but in the $2,499.99 model .



Yeah less ram but for $600 less.

Have you played around with the Asus Zenbook? I'm interested in that for a work PC replacement.
[doublepost=1464814865][/doublepost]
The Dell business lines offer "Pro" support, which is significantly better than the consumer phone support. It's still a bit of luck of the draw, but I find the same to be true with Apple tbh. With Apple, I just end up doing everything through my local authorized repair center, who happen to actually be reasonable people that I can communicate with.

If I were going dell, I'd probably go with a 5510 (basically an XPS with a Quadro M) or 7510 rather than an XPS just for the pro support.

The people on the Pro support are nice but their technical skills is a bit of a luck of the draw indeed...I would always spend no less than an hour with them no matter the complexity of the problem, and I was doing it often due to many hardware issues that come out of the box with the brand new business line PCs we buy from them.
 

Closingracer

macrumors 601
Jul 13, 2010
4,317
1,849
Have you played around with the Asus Zenbook? I'm interested in that for a work PC replacement.
[doublepost=1464814865][/doublepost]

The people on the Pro support are nice but their technical skills is a bit of a luck of the draw indeed...I would always spend no less than an hour with them no matter the complexity of the problem, and I was doing it often due to many hardware issues that come out of the box with the brand new business line PCs we buy from them.


I've tried one Asus laptop and I returned it because of the horrible keyboard. It was as bad as the Macbook (12 inch) in terms of key travel but had a lot of flex which was annoying. This was in 2014 so maybe they improved. I currently have a MSI gaming laptop 17 inch, Macbook Pro 13 inch 2015 and a HP spectre 13.3 inch laptop 2 of which has windows 10 on them. Got the HP for free and if your interested in a 13 inch it's a good laptop in a slim factor
 
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norahfields

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 31, 2016
11
0
Norway
So I should just buy the MacBook and hope it runs my programs smoothly? Because I know that it should but so should my current Mac tbh so i'm really worried MacBooks just don't work for me usually idek
[doublepost=1464850842][/doublepost]
@norahfields

Buy the retina. HDD is the problem in your case, since it's slow. And PC with 2 TB HDD will be slow as well, since it is still just and old mechanical disk.

rMBP uses flash storage, and everything works like it should. But you could also try with replacing your HDD. Bump it up, put SSD inside and enjoy the ride. You will save money, and the upgrade speed will be awesome.

But it's still and old macbook, with usb 2.0. I would wait for WWDC, and then purchase new retina MBP.
But if you can get a current retina MBP for a decent price, I wouldn't think twice. It has all the bells and whistles you need.

Just go to any store with apple laptops, test new retina out and see for yourself. Best possible solution to your problem.

If I wait till the announcements from WWDC, how long would it take from the announcement till I could buy the new one (if it comes)? It's important that I have it before September 4th because that's when i'm moving to England for school.
[doublepost=1464850918][/doublepost]And how would I test retina myself? The only things I honestly understand is storage.
 

c0ppo

macrumors 68000
Feb 11, 2013
1,890
3,268
So I should just buy the MacBook and hope it runs my programs smoothly? Because I know that it should but so should my current Mac tbh so i'm really worried MacBooks just don't work for me usually idek
[doublepost=1464850842][/doublepost]

If I wait till the announcements from WWDC, how long would it take from the announcement till I could buy the new one (if it comes)? It's important that I have it before September 4th because that's when i'm moving to England for school.
[doublepost=1464850918][/doublepost]And how would I test retina myself? The only things I honestly understand is storage.

Nope, your current mac lacks ram and ssd to work like a charm. Upgrading that would help, but that is not an option for you :(

Current retina MBP would put all of your problems away. WWDC is in 10 days or so. Wait for WWDC. If they announce new MBP, you will probably be able to buy it in a couple of days after. If they don't announce it, just purchase the current generation.

I'm currently using my MBP15 (late 2013, dGPU model) connected to 3 external displays. Using it for programming 2D and 3D games. And it works like a champ. No hickups, no problems what so ever. Even when I have windows 7 and windows 10 in parallels booted at the same time.

So I really doubt you will have any problems what so ever, since my use case scenario is way more 'heavier' on the mbp then yours.
 

Bending Pixels

macrumors 65816
Jul 22, 2010
1,307
365
Double dittos to what c0ppo said. Your current MBP probably has 4GB of RAM and 256GB of video RAM (512 if you have the late 2011 model). The current rMBP's have 16GB of RAM and at least 1.5GB of video RAM if it has just the Intel Iris Pro built in graphics (which isn't half bad).
 

pat500000

Suspended
Jun 3, 2015
8,523
7,515
I have no issue with wanting to use programs Mac doesn't support - i basically just use Sims, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop and such. Problem is it runs them too slow! Playing Sims is a struggle and don't even get me started on high quality video editing in Final Cut Pro (i click something and it takes minutes to respond).

I love my mac tho, and I love the system and clean look inside and the folders - just everything really. I'm the kind of person who likes clean and minimalistic looks, the look Mac thrives on. My current Macbook Pro is 2,2GHz intel core i7 for the processor, and has about 8GB in memory and a graphic card around 512MB.

I've found a PC with 64GB in memory, 1TB Drive Slot and 2TB hard drive. But with a weaker screen - the colours are sort of grey and cold (which is not good when doing anything related to graphics design which is what I study and mostly do on my computer).

But i'm also looking at the 15-inch Macbook Pro with Ratina display at 2,8GHz processor, 16GB memory and 1TB flashsave-thing.

I know the computer i'm looking at (at almost half price) is way better, but I love my Macbook and everything about it except for the lagging when doing HQ things.

Worst part is, people say the Mac i have now and my second mac (i have one from school which they take back this summer and one at home) are supposed to run all these programs smoothly at the settings they're at but they don't. So i'm worried that even if I order the improved Mac it'll still freeze and suddenly i've wasted so much money for an upgrade that didn't work!

Sorry this is so long, but my main question is: should I upgrade to the better MacBook and pray it works smoothly with the programs, or should I switch to the PC even if I don't like the Windows layout or system and the screen is sorta pale?

If anyone answers this, thanks in advance!

And plus question; since people seem to think that both my current Macbook Pro's should be able to run these programs smoothly, any idea why it's not?
You should have gotten Mac Pro desktop.
[doublepost=1464888946][/doublepost]
So I should just buy the MacBook and hope it runs my programs smoothly? Because I know that it should but so should my current Mac tbh so i'm really worried MacBooks just don't work for me usually idek
[doublepost=1464850842][/doublepost]

If I wait till the announcements from WWDC, how long would it take from the announcement till I could buy the new one (if it comes)? It's important that I have it before September 4th because that's when i'm moving to England for school.
[doublepost=1464850918][/doublepost]And how would I test retina myself? The only things I honestly understand is storage.
We don't know if they are gonna release or not.. It's rumor.
 

btbam91

macrumors regular
Nov 23, 2015
148
110
They are better for half the price. I can spend less money for better specs for both the 13 inch and 15 inch. The Dell XPS 15 is a capable device and a fraction of the 15 inch Macbook Pro price. The 13 inch the prices are somewhat comparable. Sorry i don't drink the Apple Kool-aid.

This.

I would definitely recommend the PC unless the lack of FCP is a deal breaker.
 

pat500000

Suspended
Jun 3, 2015
8,523
7,515
I think its difficult to recommend a Mac Pro given that its not been updated in 3 years.
She said fcpx. Yeah...It is difficult to recommend but then if they release new update then I think it would be fine. (I hate these disposable non upgradeable macs)

Actually... Wouldn't it be difficult to recommend anything at this moment?
 

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
She said fcpx. Yeah...It is difficult to recommend but then if they release new update then I think it would be fine. (I hate these disposable non upgradeable macs)
I think a 5k iMac would be a good option has the performance on par of the Mac Pro, its a fairly recent update, and you get a 27" display.

Since the OP posted this in the MBP forum, there may be some mobilitiy needs, that being the case, then wait until WWDC and see what the new laptops from apple looks like.

Even in the remote chance apple updates the Mac Pro at WWDC, I think its not a choice I recommend, given the configuration, and closed nature. Its easier to justify a 2k expenditure with limited upgradability, then something that will cost over 3k and not be very upgradeable.
 
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