OT: Best Mac laptop for high school student?

[UConnLen]

Understand 100%. They way I look at it is I love cars. They mean a lot more to me than daily commuter transportation and I'm willing to pay to play. What year S4? I would very like to be driving a B8 S4 myself in the next couple years. Its a great drivers car (especially with the sport diff) and the supercharged V6 can safely pump 375-400 awhp with a tune and pulley's.

Macbook's are the Audi's and BMW of the computer world. Not necessary at all as other options can do similar things for cheaper, but as an all around package very few are in the same class. You get what you pay for, which is also why I'm a big Apple guy too and currently using my 15" retina MBP. It's a beast.

I've had a lot of really nice cars, going back to the late 60's including Z28, Supras, 3000GT, Lexus 400GS, Bimmer 645ci w/SMG tranny+paddle shifters, Infiniti G37XS w/paddle, and just bought a 2014 Audi S4 w/sport diff/ carbon fiber inlays, 505 watt B/O sound, 19" wheel pkg, Upgraded black ext paint w/ napa black/silver seats-virtually every option. It is a B8 w/paddle shifters and 5 settings for steering, tranny, suspension etc. (of course all my settings are dynamic mode!). Rated 333 hp/325 ft-lb torque for insurance purposes but if you read closely many feel it is closer to 400/400 STOCK! It is an awesome car w/ 0-60 times 4.4-4.5 sec which is as fast as a 450 hp Camaro they say. Drive one and you'll want one. I live in NL county but went to Valenti Audi in Watertown-nice people that have many CPO Audi S4's. And yes-the tune and pulleys will get those 60 times under 4 sec if you really need that LOL.

 

[8893]

Thanks all for the input. This has helped narrow the focus considerably.

Any thoughts on getting a refurbished one through Apple?

 

[TasteofUConn]

It's true, a teenage girl could accomplish the same tasks using a $400 Walmart computer [stuff about why cheap is bad] . . . A Toyota gets you to work just as well as a BMW can.

I'm not sure how your last sentence integrates with the first part? Is the Walmart computer the Toyota? or is it a Yugo?

I bought a Toshiba Satellite at Walmart for about 350 bucks w/Windows 8. I've had it for about a year and a half. I run Office on it, play some 1st person shooter games, surf, watch videos, and so on. There are a few Windows-type idiosyncracies, no doubt, and the audio is laughable, but it runs all I need it to run. No issues.

The cheapest Apple laptop appears to be a grand for a basic model.

Of course, everybody should spend their money on what they want - that's the beauty of it. You want a wallet that says "Bad MotherF-cker" on it, you can get it. You want to buy the car with the moon roof - it's yours.

But your Toyota/BMW analogy, I think, really hits the mark. The one gets you to work. The other gets you there as well, but with more luxury and style.

Finally, being the father of multiple females, I'd be remiss in my duty if I didn't point out for the record that, if a female daughter tells you she "needs" such and such, but such and such won't work, it can usually be fairly translated as "the first is the one that the cool people have, which is why I want one too, and the second, while I acknowledge it would be perfectly suitable and a thriftier purchase, would drop me squarely in dorkville."

Everybody overspends on some thing that has value to them but not to others. If you don't you're boring.

 

[8893]

Finally, being the father of multiple females, I'd be remiss in my duty if I didn't point out for the record that, if a female daughter tells you she "needs" such and such, but such and such won't work, it can usually be fairly translated as "the first is the one that the cool people have, which is why I want one too, and the second, while I acknowledge it would be perfectly suitable and a thriftier purchase, would drop me squarely in dorkville."

Understood fully. Note that the "need" is the laptop, which, up to now, has been my former, 10-year old Dell, the battery for which stopped taking a charge years ago, and on which the wireless no longer works.

The "want" is the Mac. We've been over the functionality, etc. and there are no misunderstandings about that.

I've relegated them all to dorkville in several respects throughout the years. It doesn't take much in our town, so I've tried to teach them early that keeping up with the Joneses (or Kardashians) is a recipe for a miserable life. And some things that her older sister (and many peers) find dorky, she finds to be cool; and vice-versa.

Funny thing about Apple products is how they tend to draw out such strong reactions from both those who are fans and those who are not. I have found that the stronger the opinions, the more likely they are to be irrational. It's just stuff. I'll never eliminate the influence of peer pressure, but I am trying to focus on things as to which the satisfaction with the purchase--for whatever reason--lasts long enough to justify the expense. For most people (including us), it seems that Apple products deliver on that score. By way of contrast, I'm none too thrilled that the oldest is already dissatisfied with her Sony laptop, which was not inexpensive either. But she insisted that was what she "wanted" at the time, and she knows that we are not revisiting that now.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I've relegated them all to dorkville in several respects throughout the years. It doesn't take much in our town, so I've tried to teach them early that keeping up with the Joneses (or Kardashians) is a recipe for a miserable life. And some things that her older sister (and many peers) find dorky, she finds to be cool; and vice-versa.

Sounds like we're cut from similar cloths in that regard. We pinched a lot of pennies, drove simple cars, and so on for many years. The bright side of that is we cut checks for college and the kids got to start their lives after college with no debt.

 

[Fishy]

Any thoughts on getting a refurbished one through Apple?

Fine - it will be like new.

If she's heading to college, she should qualify for educational pricing.

 

[temery]

Thanks all for the input. This has helped narrow the focus considerably.

Any thoughts on getting a refurbished one through Apple?

Fine - it will be like new.

Yep. I bought a refurbished one two months ago. Works great. No regrets.

 

[intlzncster]

That's fine and my fiancee's 3 year old Macbook is a piece of trash, and my last HP lasted 5 years, so your experience isn't necessarily universal. You're also comparing one machine that is 3x more expensive ... it should last longer by definition.

That all being said, I'd take my Lenovo Yoga 3 over a MB Pro, straight up. First time I haven't thrown in a price qualifier in that statement. The Yoga 3 is the best PC laptop I've ever had, it's brilliant.

Not referring to your specific experience, but it doesn't necessarily have to last three times longer to justify price. It can perform better over it's lifespan too.

Also, RE yoga 3, I heard the screen isn't the best color-wise. What's your experience? And how is the hinge?

I'm in the market and considering that one. Also considering
ASUS Zenbook UX303UB and DELL XPS 13. Waiting for new skylake chips though.

 

[intlzncster]

Does she like a good lambic?

Down Dove. Down.

 

[boba]

Thanks all for the input. This has helped narrow the focus considerably.

Any thoughts on getting a refurbished one through Apple?

Should be good. Many, if not all, of them are the floor demo's from Apple Stores so they are lightly used. Apple Care might be worth the expense given the primary user is a teenager.

 

[intlzncster]

An Air would be fine today. But last 4-5 years? Not in my experience. My daughters air was sucking wind in 2 years. A 13 inch pro will definitely be able to hold up 4-5 years.

The new Airs are definitely a jump in quality though. Yours was 2nd gen or so?

 

[intlzncster]

Just bought myself one of these at work under the guise of " gotta keep up to properly support the graphics department ".
3500 bucks. Pretty badass though.

Feel free to expense one my way. Thanks in advance.

 

[intlzncster]

Fine - it will be like new.

Should be good. Many, if not all, of them are the floor demo's from Apple Stores so they are lightly used. Apple Care might be worth the expense given the primary user is a teenager.

But why bother though? The price difference isn't that huge. And you can make it up in a few years if you want to sell your old one and upgrade. jmo

Of course you could sell the refurbished at the same pp too.

Applecare for a teenage girl is a pretty good idea. I've seen my mid-twenties girlfriends absolutely destroy their apple products....AC saved them a ton of money in the end.

 

[August_West]

The new Airs are definitely a jump in quality though. Yours was 2nd gen or so?

yes

 

[jleves]

Not referring to your specific experience, but it doesn't necessarily have to last three times longer to justify price. It can perform better over it's lifespan too.

Also, RE yoga 3, I heard the screen isn't the best color-wise. What's your experience? And how is the hinge?

I'm in the market and considering that one. Also considering
ASUS Zenbook UX303UB and DELL XPS 13. Waiting for new skylake chips though.

Surface Pro 4 will be announced Oct. 6 and may well be the 'laptop' to beat. There are rumors of a 14" variant. I have the Haswell XPS 15 and it's a great, albeit pricey, laptop. The resolution of the screen is ridiculous. The new XPS 13 has a proprietary for now screen (infinity display) that people rave about. A new Skylake XPS 15 with the same infinity display is expected in Oct as well. Not sure if 15" is too large but that will be a sweet rig but will easily run $2,000+.

I will almost definitely snag a SP 4 at release.

 

[intlzncster]

Surface Pro 4 will be announced Oct. 6 and may well be the 'laptop' to beat. There are rumors of a 14" variant. I have the Haswell XPS 15 and it's a great, albeit pricey, laptop. The resolution of the screen is ridiculous. The new XPS 13 has a proprietary for now screen (infinity display) that people rave about. A new Skylake XPS 15 with the same infinity display is expected in Oct as well. Not sure if 15" is too large but that will be a sweet rig but will easily run $2,000+.

I will almost definitely snag a SP 4 at release.

Thanks jleves. I'm dying for a new laptop here. Mine is resetting constantly, pissing me off to no end. After a lot of troubleshooting it's definitely the motherboard. But I'm holding out to get what I want.

15" might be a bit too large for my taste. Portability is key. 12-14 is my range. But you never know. Hoping to keep it under 1500, but we'll see.

 

[Fishy]

I have a Surface 3 at work - I had the first Surface previously. The first Surface was unusable, the 3 is better.

I'm not crazy about it.

If you need a laptop, it's not a good choice. If you need a tablet, it is an absolutely horrible choice. If you improbably need one thing that does both, it's okay.

The saving grace is that it is portable and it has LTE so I can use it when I'm out of the office.

I was in the Microsoft store last weekend to buy a computer for the kid and we saw the Dell XPS - the screen is really, really nice. (The kid got an HP Stream 360 - very inexpensive Windows touch laptop where the screen bends to make it into a tablet of sorts. Windows on a tablet still makes no sense, but the computer itself is surprisingly nice for $200 and change.)

 

[huskiesNhoos]

Not referring to your specific experience, but it doesn't necessarily have to last three times longer to justify price. It can perform better over it's lifespan too.

Also, RE yoga 3, I heard the screen isn't the best color-wise. What's your experience? And how is the hinge?

I'm in the market and considering that one. Also considering
ASUS Zenbook UX303UB and DELL XPS 13. Waiting for new skylake chips though.

I have the Asus zenbook UX32, and it's fantastic. I upgraded ram on it and put in a new SSD to run some of my work/school programs better. I don't know how the newer zenbooks hold up, but when I got it in 2013 it was one of the nicer ultra books around

 

[BUConn10]

I'm not sure how your last sentence integrates with the first part? Is the Walmart computer the Toyota? or is it a Yugo?

I bought a Toshiba Satellite at Walmart for about 350 bucks w/Windows 8. I've had it for about a year and a half. I run Office on it, play some 1st person shooter games, surf, watch videos, and so on. There are a few Windows-type idiosyncracies, no doubt, and the audio is laughable, but it runs all I need it to run. No issues.

The cheapest Apple laptop appears to be a grand for a basic model.

Of course, everybody should spend their money on what they want - that's the beauty of it. You want a wallet that says "Bad MotherF-cker" on it, you can get it. You want to buy the car with the moon roof - it's yours.

But your Toyota/BMW analogy, I think, really hits the mark. The one gets you to work. The other gets you there as well, but with more luxury and style.

Finally, being the father of multiple females, I'd be remiss in my duty if I didn't point out for the record that, if a female daughter tells you she "needs" such and such, but such and such won't work, it can usually be fairly translated as "the first is the one that the cool people have, which is why I want one too, and the second, while I acknowledge it would be perfectly suitable and a thriftier purchase, would drop me squarely in dorkville."

Everybody overspends on some thing that has value to them but not to others. If you don't you're boring.

I completely botched that last sentence. I meant to say that a Toyota gets you to work just like a BMW, but there's a reason some people gladly pay twice as much for the BMW.

 

[nomar]

Understood fully. Note that the "need" is the laptop, which, up to now, has been my former, 10-year old Dell, the battery for which stopped taking a charge years ago, and on which the wireless no longer works.

The "want" is the Mac. We've been over the functionality, etc. and there are no misunderstandings about that.

I've relegated them all to dorkville in several respects throughout the years. It doesn't take much in our town, so I've tried to teach them early that keeping up with the Joneses (or Kardashians) is a recipe for a miserable life. And some things that her older sister (and many peers) find dorky, she finds to be cool; and vice-versa.

Funny thing about Apple products is how they tend to draw out such strong reactions from both those who are fans and those who are not. I have found that the stronger the opinions, the more likely they are to be irrational. It's just stuff. I'll never eliminate the influence of peer pressure, but I am trying to focus on things as to which the satisfaction with the purchase--for whatever reason--lasts long enough to justify the expense. For most people (including us), it seems that Apple products deliver on that score. By way of contrast, I'm none too thrilled that the oldest is already dissatisfied with her Sony laptop, which was not inexpensive either. But she insisted that was what she "wanted" at the time, and she knows that we are not revisiting that now.

I'm no "fanboy" in the sense I don't have some crazed love for Apple and hatred for everything else, but I do only buy Apple products because once you go down that road, and everything syncs so well with everything else, it's hard to go back. I suppose I first bought a MacBook about 10-12 years ago (I'm on my third, but I kept upgrading not because my laptops died but because I was running out of room due to my growing mp3 collection-- pretty wasteful, but whatever) because every Windows-based computer I'd ever had froze up just about every 15 minutes. The MacBook was a breath of fresh air. And then I got an iPhone, and an iPad, etc... I know there are Windows-based laptops that work just fine, but I ain't going back anytime soon. I've had this 13" MBP for 4-5 years. Still working well.

I've never really had an Apple product crap out on me, except for my iPhone 4S, which was due to it being incompatible with the new ios that I was prompted to upgrade to -- don't get me started on that. That went beyond planned obsolescence into outright fraud. But I let them get away with it. Stockholm Syndrome kicked in.

As to your point about features, 8893, you're absolutely right. Spend the extra couple hundred dollars now. My story above about having to upgrade is all about being penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[I Bleed Blue]

I completely botched that last sentence. I meant to say that a Toyota gets you to work just like a BMW, but there's a reason some people gladly pay twice as much for the BMW.

fools like me lol

 

[jleves]

I completely botched that last sentence. I meant to say that a Toyota gets you to work just like a BMW, but there's a reason some people gladly pay twice as much for the BMW.

I always thought people were stupid for buying a BMW for the money they cost. Then I drove one. I'm on my second now.

 

[8893]

I always thought people were stupid for buying a BMW for the money they cost. Then I drove one. I'm on my second now.

I never thought people were stupid for buying them once I owned a 1974 BMW 2002. My brother bought it on the cheap from Harry Reasoner's daughter, who sold it because the A/C wasn't working. The A/C was an easy fix, but he somehow ended up running one side along an 18-wheeler on the highway late one night and he sold it to me for $500 after that. I installed a killer stereo and drove the hell out of, finally parting it out for more than I paid for it.

I vowed to get another BMW once I paid off my student loans and was earning a nice paycheck, and I shopped long and hard before landing a beauty of a used 530i with a manual transmission. To this day it's still my favorite car I've ever owned, but after a few years we moved to a house with a steep incline for our driveway, and a rear-wheel drive car was simply the wrong tool to get out of a snow-covered driveway from a standing start. The ix was not yet released in the 5-series then, so I very sadly traded it in for an Audi A6, thinking I was making a big sacrifice. Although I preferred driving the 530i, the A6 impressed the hell out of me and was much more versatile--and it was a tank in the snow.

Traded that in for a company car a few years ago and have been driving Ford Explorers since. Once again I've been presently surprised, especially by my latest one (2014 Sport).

But the six-speed BMW 530i remains the best. Period.

Oh, and the 6x9 Alpine box speakers that I put in my 2002 almost 30 years ago are now connected to my turntable and dual tape deck in the basement, still cranking away.

 

[jleves]

I never thought people were stupid for buying them once I owned a 1974 BMW 2002. My brother bought it on the cheap from Harry Reasoner's daughter, who sold it because the A/C wasn't working. The A/C was an easy fix, but he somehow ended up running one side along an 18-wheeler on the highway late one night and he sold it to me for $500 after that. I installed a killer stereo and drove the hell out of, finally parting it out for more than I paid for it.

I vowed to get another BMW once I paid off my student loans and was earning a nice paycheck, and I shopped long and hard before landing a beauty of a used 530i with a manual transmission. To this day it's still my favorite car I've ever owned, but after a few years we moved to a house with a steep incline for our driveway, and a rear-wheel drive car was simply the wrong tool to get out of a snow-covered driveway from a standing start. The ix was not yet released in the 5-series then, so I very sadly traded it in for an Audi A6, thinking I was making a big sacrifice. Although I preferred driving the 530i, the A6 impressed the hell out of me and was much more versatile--and it was a tank in the snow.

Traded that in for a company car a few years ago and have been driving Ford Explorers since. Once again I've been presently surprised, especially by my latest one (2014 Sport).

But the six-speed BMW 530i remains the best. Period.

Oh, and the 6x9 Alpine box speakers that I put in my 2002 almost 30 years ago are now connected to my turntable and dual tape deck in the basement, still cranking away.

I got a 5 speed Camaro soon after I got out of college and that was my favorite car for most of my life. When it was stolen I went to SUVs for most of my adult life (Pathfinder, Explorer, Durango). About 8 years ago I decided I wanted an entry level luxury car and looked at the Charger (not really luxury, but close). I heard the G37 was coming out and waited 3 months to finally see one and was shocked at how much plastic it had. I had driven a 335 coupe while I was waiting for the G37 and ordered one the day after I saw cheap interior of the Infinity. I waited 8 weeks for it to be built and shipped and found out I had actually purchased a entry level luxury sports car. I couldn't believe how fun it was to drive. I had just gotten a new motorcycle a month before the car arrived and hadn't finished breaking it in. Once I had the 335 coupe, I never got back on the motorcycle again.

I had the service for 6 years and loved driving it the entire time. When I had my first bill I had to pay for a repair (water pump and thermostat for $800), I immediately ordered my current car, a loaded orange Z4. I had to wait 8 weeks again, but got exactly what I wanted. The car is an absolute blast to drive and living in socal, the top is down as much as possible. A little mid life crisis flashy but I've never seen another one like it. I got it with the extended leather interior and when I got to the dealer to pick it up, there were 6 sales people all crowded around because they had never seen one delivered with that option. Never thought I would ever spend that much on a car (without winning the lottery), but it's been totally worth it and there hasn't been a second of buyers remorse.

 

[August_West]

My brother bought it on the cheap from Harry Reasoner's daughter, , still cranking away.

Interesting, I know a guy who once bought Jon Voigts 1989 LeBaron convertible.

 

[uconndoit]

To follow a BY trend of not answering the question asked, I've been looking at the dell xps 13 as my likely next laptop. It is being described as a Windows machine that is turning the heads of Mac lovers. Fwiw.

 

[TasteofUConn]

I'm no Apple "fanboy" . . .
. . . but I do only buy Apple products . . . .
. . . because once you go down that road, and everything syncs so well with everything else, it's hard to go back . . .
. . . every Windows-based computer I'd ever had froze up just about every 15 minutes . . .
. . . MacBook . . . And then I got an iPhone, and an iPad, etc . . .
. . . I ain't going back anytime soon . . .
.

Let's play a game.
The game is, "Spot the plainly false statement. LOL dude. Sometimes it's okay to own it! A man has got to know who he is!

 

[NJHusky]

Thanks jleves. I'm dying for a new laptop here. Mine is resetting constantly, pissing me off to no end. After a lot of troubleshooting it's definitely the motherboard. But I'm holding out to get what I want.

15" might be a bit too large for my taste. Portability is key. 12-14 is my range. But you never know. Hoping to keep it under 1500, but we'll see.

Not sure what you are looking for but I travel a lot and love my Lenovo X1 carbon

 

[8893]

Interesting, I know a guy who once bought Jon Voigts 1989 LeBaron convertible.

Funny. Sweet ride.

It was actually Reasoner who told me that she sold because the A/C didn't work. I met him a few years later when he was eating dinner at the restaurant where I tended bar. I sent him a drink and told the waitress to tell him it was from the bartender who bought his daughter's car. He came to the bar to thank me and couldn't have been a nicer guy, and he said he always thought she was silly for selling it.

 

[epark88]

I tinker with computers as a side hobby and I just started getting hip to the Apple stuff about a year and a half ago. Here's what I've learned so far - I hope it helps:

Apple is pretty big on planned/perceived obsolescence. They would have you think that you need to upgrade your entire rig to keep up with the latest software, but the dirty little secret is that their hardware is so darn fabulous, you don't need to.

Case in point: early last year I found an old, first-generation Mac Pro (the big aluminum one), a 2006 model, at a thrift store . The thing worked flawlessly so I snagged it and took it home to tinker with. Apparently the previous owner gave it away because it would not run the latest operating system or any current software - mainly because Apple engineered the model that way. Long story short, within a month I found out how to re-code the machine so that it actually would accept the necessary upgrades, and I am proud to report that the beast is currently running Yosemite 10.10, handling all my music programs without a hitch, and with a couple more upgrades (processors, hard drive) that bad boy will be handling it's business for the next few years to come.

As far as MacBook Pro's are concerned, I've found that if you're not a graphic designer and in need of the Retina display, a maxed-out 2011 or 2012 model is sufficient for anything you'd need to do (heck, I'm typing this on a 2011 model right now). Again, the hardware is still superb and the price point versus an entry-level MacBook Air makes it worthwhile.

A refurbished 2012 MacBook Pro with an i7 processor, 16GB of memory and a solid-state hard drive (or 'SSD') will handle anything your daughter can throw at it - and probably drive her to school as well!...