Should I go for the new Macbook Pro 13"

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amitn18

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As the title suggests, I saw the new Macbook Pro and I am in love with it!

I got a quote of ~70k + 13k(2yr cover) including the 6% student discount for the 2.4ghz version.

Specs:

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor 3MB L2 cache

NVIDIA GeForce 320M with 256MB DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory

4GB memory

250GB 5400-rpm hard drive

13.3-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display 1280 by 800 pixels

Up to 10 hours (wireless web browsing) Built-in lithium-polymer 63.5 watt-hour

Other Features

Precision aluminium unibody, MagSafe power port, Mini DisplayPort, Two USB 2.0 ports, One FireWire 800 port, SD card slot, iSight camera, Multi-Touch trackpad, Full-size, backlit keyboard, 8x SuperDrive

I need to buy a notebook in four-five days.

Main purposes:

Professional presentations

Lots of pdfs, creating and reading them.

Daily one HD movie (thanks to 8mbps)

Small chemistry simulations

Continuous wifi usage for emails and video conferences.

Question:

1. Does it make sense to buy the new Macbook considering the advertised 10hr battery life? (Real battery life ~7hrs). I can afford the price... thanks to Univ funding!

2. What are the cons of using a core2duo over the newer i3?

Will the core2duo be able to handle most of the upcoming applications over the next three years?

3. What is the battery life if using Win Xp via BootCamp? (Please... Please... tell me it will be at least 3hrs:)) I need windows for a few programs like chemdraw.

Please enlighten me TE.

Thanks in advance.
 
The laptop shall serve your purpose well. Also, since you have no issues with the price tag, I would advice you to get it. I will be getting myself the same one by this Sunday.

Your queries:

1. The battery life of 10hrs is one of the reasons why I am getting it. It should give at least 8hrs.

2. I am not really sure about good the i3 is over core2duo, but that dint really make any difference to my decision. Three years is surely a long time and cant really say how future proof a product can be. The addition of 320M gfx card is surely gonna be a plus point.

3. Not sure about the battery life with Windows, but 3hrs should certainly be available.

These are my personal opinions. Will know better only after I start using it.

EDIT: One more thing, just in case you wanna save some cash for the time being, you can get the additional warranty later as well. Before the 1yr standard warranty expires.
 
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Speak to Keane 16. He is coming to India on May 17th and is ready to sell his 15" MBP with a core i5 proccy for about 80k.
 
itll do everything u want plus its super light weight. go for it! ive got mine for almost a yr and i absolutely love it :hap2:
 
@All

Thanks for your replies.

Just got the MBPro 13".

It is Awesome! I'm getting a battery life of 8hrs on safari (non-flash sites of course)

Will post a review if time permits... otherwise surely some pics in the show-off section.

BTW, the total price I paid was:

69k -MBPro 13"

13k -AppleCare 2yr extended warranty

1k-Display to vga adapter

2.5k - Anti glare screen (ordered.. yet to arrive)

So total of 85.5k and I am loving every bit of the aluminium body!

@harish_21_10

The full advantage of AppleCare can only be taken when purchased within 90 days of purchase of macbook. Hence I got the warranty right away as well. Had thought of purchasing AppleCare from ebay but there were many reports of the AppleCare being revoked at a later date. Better safe than sorry!

@lilboy

The notebook runs really cool. Nowhere near as hot as dell systems...

The initial aluminium body macbooks had problems in wifi connectivity i.e. connection dropping, etc but these problems were rectified much earlier.

Advice for people wanting to buy macbooks:

1. Glossy screen on the MBPro is a mirror! Don't expect good visibility in a well-lit environment or sunlight.

2. The graphic switching in the 15" and 17" ones are not at all perfect.

once the dedicated graphics card kicks in, it rarely comes back to the integrated graphics, resulting in battery loss. People have reported battery life of only 3-4 hours only on Skype!

3. NO BUNDLED VGA CONNECTOR!

You have to buy one separately... I was hoping that the iStore may provide one free of charge, but not so. Apple should be punished for not providing something so basic! The vga connector is needed to make presentations on a projector, which is a very basic use of a laptop.
 
Thanks!

I already had the MBAir but it was completely useless!

On the other hand, the Pro is worth each rupee I paid!
 
I am in line too to make the same purchase! My only concern is that will it be able to run Windows smoothly! I can't shift completely to OS X.
 
yes nomad it'll run smoothly. parallels is what u need or even vmware depending on what u want to get done.. people mostly try both n see which works better for them.. parallels def if u want to game on it :)
 
@Nomad

BootCamp is the way to run wndows natively... very easy to set up and drivers come in the OS X CD. Only disadvantage: You have to turn off the Mac OS X to change into Windows.
 
amitn18 said:
Only disadvantage: You have to turn off the Mac OS X to change into Windows.
Click to expand...

For many it's an Advantage : you need not boot into MacOS if you intend to use Windows....
 
amitn18 said:
@All
Thanks for your replies.
Just got the MBPro 13".
It is Awesome! I'm getting a battery life of 8hrs on safari (non-flash sites of course)
Will post a review if time permits... otherwise surely some pics in the show-off section.
BTW, the total price I paid was:
69k -MBPro 13"
13k -AppleCare 2yr extended warranty
1k-Display to vga adapter
2.5k - Anti glare screen (ordered.. yet to arrive)

So total of 85.5k and I am loving every bit of the aluminium body!
Click to expand...
Hey, congrats mate..I got mine as well, get it on the 9th of May.

amitn18 said:
@harish_21_10
The full advantage of AppleCare can only be taken when purchased within 90 days of purchase of macbook. Hence I got the warranty right away as well. Had thought of purchasing AppleCare from ebay but there were many reports of the AppleCare being revoked at a later date. Better safe than sorry!
Click to expand...
What exactly did you mean by 'full advantages'?
 
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