Macbook Pro 15.4 inch

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
Hi All,

Hope y'all doing great!
my Sony VAIO laptop died so I'm considering buying a new one and thinking of getting a Mac this time around.

The reason I'm posting it here is because I used my laptop mostly for programming so I want to know if it's a good laptop for developers? my concern\ question is if I won't have any problems with software programs like Visual Studio, Android Studio, and all the common software programs that developers use?

I'm thinking of getting this one:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-...-flash-storage-silver/8532502.p?skuId=8532502

I don't think the new Touchbar feature is important though.
All your comments\ advice are welcome. I hope this will be a good investment...

Eric
 

bertus

Joined Apr 5, 2008
22,270
Hello,

As far as I know Apple is quite restricted with the software that can be used.
A windows or linux laptop will give you more opertunities.
On linux there is many software available for program development.

Bertus
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,720
It is common for folks trying to run program development software on a Mac written for MS Win to run into compatibility issues.
If you plan on doing a lot of this, you may want to stay with a MS Win machine.
 

DickCappels

Joined Aug 21, 2008
10,152
There is talk of Apple possibly switching to a proprietary ARM processor for some of their laptops sometime in the future, so before you buy make sure that the computer you are considering buying has an intel processor, otherwise you might have to wait for a compatibility solution to catch up.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
I don't think the new Touchbar feature is important though.
All your comments\ advice are welcome. I hope this will be a good investment...
You won't regret it. You'll get many years of service (mine is currently 6 years old and feels good as new) and that alone makes it a good value.

Any modern Mac can boot into Mac OS, Windows or Linux. There are also tools to set up virtual machines if you want side-by-side operating systems running at the same time. This is why developers lean towards Macs, because they can easily work in any OS. If hardware affects your job, you buy a Mac.

You might consider keeping an eye on Apple's refurbished models. It's a good way to save 10-20% and gives you access to earlier models, if the latest features don't really excite you. I got mine as a refurb just after they dropped optical drives, thinking I wanted to have that optical drive. I've since replaced that with an SSD and don't miss the optical drive.
 

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
There is talk of Apple possibly switching to a proprietary ARM processor for some of their laptops sometime in the future, so before you buy make sure that the computer you are considering buying has an intel processor, otherwise you might have to wait for a compatibility solution to catch up.
OK. thanks
 

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
You won't regret it. You'll get many years of service (mine is currently 6 years old and feels good as new) and that alone makes it a good value.

Any modern Mac can boot into Mac OS, Windows or Linux. There are also tools to set up virtual machines if you want side-by-side operating systems running at the same time. This is why developers lean towards Macs, because they can easily work in any OS. If hardware affects your job, you buy a Mac.

You might consider keeping an eye on Apple's refurbished models. It's a good way to save 10-20% and gives you access to earlier models, if the latest features don't really excite you. I got mine as a refurb just after they dropped optical drives, thinking I wanted to have that optical drive. I've since replaced that with an SSD and don't miss the optical drive.
Thanks wayneh!
 

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
Hi All,

I received my MacBook 2 days ago and I am happy so far and I been able to install Visual Studio and Android Studio successfully and all my projects are running fine!

Things are a bit different with Mac though and it confused me at first but I am getting used to it.

@wayneh I was wondering if running windows and Mac OS side by side will impact on the performance as the 2 OS will be running in parallel?
Correct me if I am wrong but I thing installing Windows using Boot camp is better as only one OS will be running at a time.

Eric
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
@wayneh I was wondering if running windows and Mac OS side by side will impact on the performance as the 2 OS will be running in parallel?
Yes it will. The better solution depends on your workflow. If you want to move info back and forth between OSes and maybe only need the alternate OS for a small part of your work (eg. I think I used Windows to secure a corporate VPN connection, and that was all I needed it for), then running in parallel makes sense despite the performance overhead. If you can work for hours at a time in one or the other, it'll be better to just boot into that OS. That's especially true with an SSD, since rebooting takes just seconds.

On the other hand you find you like the Mac messaging, mail, photo, and cloud integration enough to leave them on all the time, even though you may be working on something in another OS.
 

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
I am getting used to it and so far I don't see the need to boot into Windows or have both. Actually when I mentioned that I was thinking of SQL Management Studio... there are other manager for that on Mac anyway.

@wayneh @DickCappels I also wanted to know what if in the future I want to upgrade my drive size or cpu speed... how does this work?
Mine is a 2.2ghz quad core i7, 256 SSD drive... I could add some $$$ to get a 2.5ghz or 2.8ghz one and/or a 512 SSD drive but I was a bit short of money... so in the future if I want to upgrade my Mac... how do I go about it?

Eric
 

joeyd999

Joined Jun 6, 2011
5,237
I am getting used to it and so far I don't see the need to boot into Windows or have both. Actually when I mentioned that I was thinking of SQL Management Studio... there are other manager for that on Mac anyway.

@wayneh @DickCappels I also wanted to know what if in the future I want to upgrade my drive size or cpu speed... how does this work?
Mine is a 2.2ghz quad core i7, 256 SSD drive... I could add some $$$ to get a 2.5ghz or 2.8ghz one and/or a 512 SSD drive but I was a bit short of money... so in the future if I want to upgrade my Mac... how do I go about it?

Eric
Hard drive is easy. Not sure if Mac has a GUI tool, but the underlying Unix should allow you to dd from the old one to the new one (attached via USB).

Then it's a simple matter of expanding existing partitions or adding new ones.
 

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
What ever happened to your digital filters? I still want to know if my code works.
Hahahah one day I will work on it again... you really helped on that one...BUT I am still wondering if that algorithm we were following was right...
I miss Assembler and microchip... we did a lot of work on that...and I must finish what I started...
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
I also wanted to know what if in the future I want to upgrade my drive size or cpu speed... how does this work?
CPU speed, not gonna happen. Chips are not exchangeable. Swapping a motherboard would be the only option, and that makes no sense.

I recommend 16Gb of memory and if you don't have that, it's a pretty easy upgrade you can do yourself. Invest in the proper tool for opening the case. I believe it's a #000 philips but you'll want to confirm that. You can use a cheap tool OK, just don't use the wrong sized one and strip the head.

I saw a big boost in performance from the SSD drive also and mine is only a 256. I wish it was bigger but I got it for free! I have my old HDD still on board.
 

DickCappels

Joined Aug 21, 2008
10,152
@Eric007 Yours is the first mention I have heard of the concept of upgrading the CPU in a Mac portable. The traditional method of upgrading a Mac CPU is to buy a new Mac.

The hard drives are standard and easy to swap out once you get the computer open. Notice that Apple really doesn't want its customers under the hood?
 

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
CPU speed, not gonna happen. Chips are not exchangeable. Swapping a motherboard would be the only option, and that makes no sense.

I recommend 16Gb of memory and if you don't have that, it's a pretty easy upgrade you can do yourself. Invest in the proper tool for opening the case. I believe it's a #000 philips but you'll want to confirm that. You can use a cheap tool OK, just don't use the wrong sized one and strip the head.

I saw a big boost in performance from the SSD drive also and mine is only a 256. I wish it was bigger but I got it for free! I have my old HDD still on board.
Here's my specs:
  • 2.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
  • 16GB of 1600MHz memory
  • 256GB SSD
  • Intel Iris Pro Graphics
  • Two Thunderbolt 2 ports
  • Backlit Keyboard - US English
Ok. I am happy with the performance and everything but I mentioned the above because on the purchase I could have added a $100 for a 2.5Ghz or a $300 for a 2.8Ghz one. As for the drive size I could have added $200 for a 512 SSD 0r $600 for a 1T SSD.
As I mentioned I was short of money and my sister was traveling back from US so I did not have to pay for the shipping cost.
 

Thread Starter

Eric007

Joined Aug 5, 2011
1,158
@Eric007 Yours is the first mention I have heard of the concept of upgrading the CPU in a Mac portable. The traditional method of upgrading a Mac CPU is to buy a new Mac.

The hard drives are standard and easy to swap out once you get the computer open. Notice that Apple really doesn't want its customers under the hood?
Alright then I think I will just upgrade the hard drive in the future and I don't want to open it myself...anyway will do it when there's a need for that. For now I am still good. Thanks!
 
Top