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General discussion

Unsure on base 13 MBP

Apr 11, 2011 5:37PM PDT

I'm trying to find out if it is worth buying the 13 inch MBP with integrated graphics? I'm considering the 13 inch because it is the cheapest model and this is will be my first mac (plan on getting it in the summer), But might it be worth the money to step up to a 15 inch base model. It looks as if apple got cheap and created a potential bottle neck with this update(2011). Can someone let me know if the integrated graphics will last for at least 5 years? I don't feel like babying a computer this expensive by running programs on very low settings just because of the integrated graphics. I'm not gonna be doing heavy duty editing or stuff like that it's just that to me it seems the integrated graphics are limited even for basic things.

Discussion is locked

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It really depends
Apr 11, 2011 11:22PM PDT

It really depends on what you're going to be doing with the system. If it's just web browsing, email, word processing, etc, the integrated graphics will probably be fine for many years to come. If you're looking to play games beyond your simple Flash based game, first off you don't want a laptop PC or Mac, and second then you would want some kind of discreet graphics.

The only real potential issue is that the integrated graphics carve out a chunk of the main system RAM for its own use, so you'd probably want to max out the RAM capacity for the unit first thing after getting it if you plan to keep it for several years.

You're going to have to share a bit more about your intended uses of the laptop to give a better answer.

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A few things
Apr 12, 2011 8:53AM PDT

Gaming occasionally when plugged to the wall at home (don't care for max settings just want it to be playable) I'm curious if the 13 can handle a game like Rome total war( it's a game That let's you command large armies of units to battle other armies and is a large scale game requires at least 2 gigabytes of ram)I found it on apple's website it looks cool and wondered if I could play it) probably not but worth asking anyway. It's not the type of game I usually play but then again it looks to good to pass up.

I need a laptop with good enough battery life which is partially why I turned to apple laptops, and why I will game only at home while it's plugged in to a power source.

iMovie maybe... For fun.

I do plan on bringing the mbp with me to school and use student software programs like Word, PowerPoint or equivalent software (15 is the most I can handle I tried it out at a best buy store and it wasn't that heavy, of course I realize the 13 seems ideal for school, but I will choose whatever fits the bill adequately be it 15 or 13 inch).

And the rest of my uses for it are basic: web browsing, YouTube , ITunes, watching movies.

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Laptops in general
Apr 12, 2011 10:55AM PDT

Laptops in general are very poor gaming platforms. Doesn't matter if it's a Mac or PC laptop, they suck for gaming, the end. Even so-called gaming laptops suck for gaming. Do not buy a laptop if you have any aspirations of playing anything beyond simple card games. Get a Wii/PS3/360 and/or PSP/DS for gaming.

If gaming is taken out of the equation, as it should be, then I'd still say that a 13" MBP should be able to last you for a good couple of years. Odds are the CPU will start to become the bottleneck long before the GPU if we remove gaming from the list.

Did I mention at all that you shouldn't get a laptop for gaming of any kind, because if not, you really shouldn't get a laptop for gaming.

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Thanks for the advice
Apr 12, 2011 12:23PM PDT

You got a point, thanks for the help.