[mralexosborn]

Quote:

I always laugh when I see posts trying to assert that performance is the gold standard by which to judge a phone or laptop.
 
I have a rMBP.  They've taken a lot of stick, but it's the best laptop I've ever owned, and I bought it because, to my view, it's the best laptop on the market.
 
OS X Mountain Lion is a terrific operating system for a lot of reasons.  I also use iOS devices because, while I think the OS has many shortcomings, it also has a lot of advantages over Android and Windows that matter to me, and these devices play so nicely with my computer and my data and my music system.
 
I find the Mac a wonderful machine to drive my stereo (though I do that with a dedicated headless Mac mini) and once you get used to a retina screen, it's hard to put up with the lower resolution devices out there.
 
For a student, however, I'd say it's damned heavy (though lighter than much of the competition).  Have you thought about a MacBook Air.  As of two years ago, I was biking to school through London four days a week, and I wouldn't have wanted to do that with this 15" beast.  For the portability, the MBA is really a lovely machine, running OS X smoothly and, yes, there is also an optical out on that device.  I believe there is an optical out on all Macs to be honest.
 
It's true that it doesn't offer the screen of the retina computer, but in real world terms (forget benchmarks) the subjective speed for the user is blazing.  When Jobs stood up and said that he believed the Air represented the future of computing, while the first and even second generation machines weren't quite there yet, today's MBAs are fantastic devices.
 
And so is my rMBP
 
Hope that helps

The problem with the Air is that it does not have 8 gigs of RAM or an optical out. I like the form factor though. 

 

[netdog]

You're right that it doesn't have an optical out, but it can come with 8GB of RAM.  And you could certainly run a USB Asynchronous DAC/HA using it.
 
If you can wait for the next revision, I wouldn't be surprised to see a rMBA if they can squeeze enough life out of the battery.

 

[proton007]

Get a cheap laptop for college, or an iPad etc if you already have one, and use a PC for heavy usage. A PC is almost always more flexible and cheaper for the performance, and if you've got money to throw, get a 27" 1440p screen, its got more screen space than anything on the market.

 

[mralexosborn]

Quote:

Get a cheap laptop for college, or an iPad etc if you already have one, and use a PC for heavy usage. A PC is almost always more flexible and cheaper for the performance, and if you've got money to throw, get a 27" 1440p screen, its got more screen space than anything on the market.

While this seems to be a good idea, in my experience a cheap laptop isn't worth its weight in gravel. 

 

[Battlescarze]

I use a MBA with WIN7 running on Parallels 8...its  fantastic for portability and all bases are covered for College too.
 
While the rMBP's are beautiful its overkill for college IMO.
 
I have had the MBA for just under 2 years and it has been flawless whether running Windows programs or MAC.
 
No brainer if you can afford the higher end MBA.
 
Just my 2 cents.

 

[moedawg140]

I currently use the Surface Pro 2 in college and it's great because it is small enough to fit on any small desk, and it is a full PC, which means that the computer is compatible with 99+% of any format or Windows software you can throw at it. What is also great is that if you live in the US (not sure if other countries do this) but you can write it off as an educational expense.

 

[Noobmachine]

Generally speaking, cost wise, and in the case of a college student it's a good investment to get yourself a macbook, as a student I myself find the macbook to be extremely convinent, and running OSX I have no issues with speed, lag, or performance drops, whereas on past Windows laptops I find the computer slowing down after a while.

Coming from a person who both advocates and builds PCs, I just can't argue with the user friendliness and reliability of a macbook, even if it hurts the pride a little

 

[Noobmachine]

Edit: double post

 

[moedawg140]

As an independent and salaried information technology specialist/engineer/technician/jack of most technical trades for over 10 years and worked with various enterprise networks (built and repaired thousands of PCs, Macs, laptops and netbooks), my humble suggestion is that it comes down to your own personal preference. Macs are good, but can be costly, and a lot of college students simply do not have the funds for such an expense. Both Macs and PCs will develop issues as time goes on, especially with non SSD based computers, no argument with that aspect. There is no need for me to go into detail regarding the pros and cons of both Macs and PCs, because it is your preference that truly counts. I will say this: as long as you purchase either a Mac or PC that has at least an i5 processor and a SSD or mSSD, you will be well taken care of, performance-wise for 99% of most people's computing needs. I would suggest going to your local electronics store, such as Fry's, Best Buy, etc. and trying every model out yourself. Feel how the keyboard feels. Pick up each model and feel its weight to find out if you can manage carrying around that weight. On PC based 2 in Ones and or tablet laptops, open up the screen all of the way, turn it around, check how easy it is to do so. Put the device on your lap. Put it in landscape and portrait mode (Windows 8 based tablet laptops do this easily). Navigate the GUI and notice how easy it is to replicate your normal tasks. Notice the speed (or lack there-of) and make your determination if you will be happy with that speed (as it will get slower as time goes on, no matter what). Then make your determination of what is best...for you.