Which laptop should I Buy?

[Rondo2287]

So first off im definitely getting a Macbook, its just up in the air between two models.  (Please no mac haters, I already have a ton of mac ecosystem set up so I think it makes the most sense.)

The big kicker here is that since I still have access to my Grad school email account i got a EDU $100 off macbook coupon in addition to a $775 best buy credit through some solid complaining about a grave injustice they did me.  (I found the phone number of the vp of customer service and placed a call to their desk phone!)

so here are the two laptops.  One I think Is definitely more future proof the other is pretty solid now and cheaper.  Which do you think?  I play some games but mostly starcraft 2 and warcraft 3 so nothing super intensive.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Apple%26%23174%3B+-+MacBook+Pro%26%23174%3B+with+Retina+Display+-+13.3%26%2334%3B+Display+-+8GB+Memory+-+256GB+Flash+Storage/6942007.p?id=1218815255477&skuId=6942007#tab=specifications

vs

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/MacBook+Pro%26%23174%3B+with+Retina+Display+-+15.4%22+Display+-+8GB+Memory+-+256GB+Flash+Storage/7809068.p?id=1218861012434&skuId=7809068&st=macbook retina&cp=1&lp=1#tab=specifications

So keep in mind, the 15.4 inch will cost me 1169 before tax and the 13.3 inch will cost me 724 pretax (after the coupon and credit)

[Rondo2287]

I guess my big question is what is the difference between the I5 processor on the 13 inch and the I7 on the 15 inch.  It looks like the I5 is a dual core and the I7 is a quad core though the Ghz speed is faster on the I5 than on the I7. 

Anybody understand that?  Im confused.

[BostonNative]

The 15" one is better for gaming purposes and more future proof. If you play any games at all that is what you should go for..the other ones graphics card isnt worth while

[Rondo2287]

The 15" one is better for gaming purposes and more future proof. If you play any games at all that is what you should go for..the other ones graphics card isnt worth while

Thanks very much for the input.  the games I play are super fancy like I said, just starcraft and warcraft, but I do like playing them

[BostonNative]

also i7>i5....quad core > dual ...... The i7 is faster but it don't really matter tbh. I wish i could elaborate and compare it to a cars engine but i don't really know much about cars lol just computers.

[bello_man09]

Just got a Mac book, been a pc user my whole life..I love the Mac, I got the Mac book pro 13 inch

[BostonNative]

The 15" one is better for gaming purposes and more future proof. If you play any games at all that is what you should go for..the other ones graphics card isnt worth while

Thanks very much for the input.  the games I play are super fancy like I said, just starcraft and warcraft, but I do like playing them

at the end of the day you want to go with a computer with a  real graphics card like nividia or radeon not that integrated trash. If you want a computer with better performance then the 17 what you need if you want something basic (not really used for gaming) then the 15 is what you want..

[Rondo2287]

The 15" one is better for gaming purposes and more future proof. If you play any games at all that is what you should go for..the other ones graphics card isnt worth while

Thanks very much for the input.  the games I play are super fancy like I said, just starcraft and warcraft, but I do like playing them

at the end of the day you want to go with a computer with a  real graphics card like nividia or radeon not that integrated trash. If you want a computer with better performance then the 17 what you need if you want something basic (not really used for gaming) then the 15 is what you want..

Sorry, thatwas supposed to say the games I play "are not" super fancy haha

[LB3533]

I don't think macbooks are that great for gaming, but that doesn't mean it can't run starcraft 2 or warcraft (wow), probably not on the best settings.

[Rondo2287]

I don't think macbooks are that great for gaming, but that doesn't mean it can't run starcraft 2 or warcraft (wow), probably not on the best settings.

Ya, I mean I ran warcraft 3 on my ibook G4 so i have a good feeling it can run on this, though no CD/DVD drive yuck!

[BostonNative]

eh cd drives are overrated lol..i havent opened mine up in years...maybe to burn a few 360 games but that was stil like last year

[Silent Storm]

I dual boot my Macbook with Windows 7 and OS X and I can run games on it like it's a PC. It's the most reliable computer I've ever had, and I work in the IT industry.

[Boris Badenov]

I dual boot my Macbook with Windows 7 and OS X and I can run games on it like it's a PC. It's the most reliable computer I've ever had, and I work in the IT industry.

I do this too, it's great. The only extra expense is buying a copy of Windows. It really opens up the possibilities for gaming.

Agree with others about the video card. Definitely a big performance hit with that integrated video card...you may not think you need the extra performance but if you change your mind you want the flexibility (and my understanding is that the integrated video card in the MBP 13.3" is not something you can swap out or upgrade).

As far as the CPU, that will matter only if you do processor-intensive tasks - statistical analysis or something else. For most day-to-day tasks it is not going to be noticeable.

I'd also consider going to 16gb of RAM. RAM seems to be one thing - more than processor speed or HD space - that is still getting more valuable to have over time.

Also I think it's worth doing a quick search to see what upgraded models might be on the horizon. (The Mac Pro for example just got a huge re-design). You don't want to buy something and regret it when something superior comes out 3 months later.

http:/macrumors.com has some useful info about stuff like this.

[BostonNative]

pfft...vmware!!!