General

@Burning: If you could, could you please send me the questionnaire you have so I can fill it out? It would probably help me if someone could help me narrow down my choices. Someone has recommended that I take a look at the Lenovo Thinkpads W series.

Honestly, I wasn't always entirely convinced that spending the large amounts of money on a Macbook pro was a good idea. I think the biggest problem that I thought I might encounter a problem with compatibility if I were to get a different brand of laptop (which doesn't seem to be the case.) Granted my knowledge of computer specifications is fairly limited, I had a gut feeling that the 4k price tag was just too much for what I was getting.

Thanks for the help. If you guys do have any more information that could be useful, please send me a pm.

[quote=GeEmEs]From what I've read up on, the core aspects of a good laptop for design is that you have a decent amount of RAM (I thought 8GB of RAM would've been adequate for Architecture), a good graphics card (the Nvidia GeForce GT 650M seems to be a good graphics card from the reviews I've read about) and CPU.

Granted I've used Windows computers since my family first got a computer (I was 5 at the time?), but my sister and brother seemed to have switched sides because my sister has both a macbook and a ipad whereas my brother has an ipad. My parents also use iphones which seem to fair well with their busy work life.

So I could cut down on the hertz on the processor but what about the RAM? Would I be better off going somewhere else to get the RAM upgraded? I've heard Apple charges absolutely absurd prices for RAM upgrades. (Thanks lots @Nehalem.)

Really, I'm looking for something with a long battery life (my current laptop - a sony vaio - has like a 2 hour battery life.) and all of the things mentioned above (they seem to be crucial for Architecture projects.)[/quote]

One thing in Nehalem's post isn't true - the RAM in the Retina Macbook Pro actually cannot be changed. Apple does charge an absurd amount for relatively small changes to the amount of RAM and the inability of the end-user to change the rMBP's RAM exacerbates that. That is less a problem on the non-Retina Display MBP because it uses normal laptop RAM which can be changed by the end-user and 8 GB of laptop RAM only cost [url=http://www.msy.com.au/default.jsp?category=5]$50 AUD[/url]. Indeed 8 GB is more than one will need at the university level. Architecture software (or really software in any other major) won't need more than 8 GB of RAM especially on OS X systems which have a relatively low memory overhead. The other number statement is true: an additional 300 MHz on the i7 is not worth the amount of money Apple is charging. The cheaper non-Retina Display variants also retain a DVD drive which may be a deal breaker if you do anticipate the use of DVDs.

Most high profile reviewers actually either don't know what the graphics does or don't explain its purpose. The GeForce GT 650M is good if one can use it, which at the student level is solely for intense 3D gaming. It's very unlikely you can utilize that dedicated GPU for professional applications and purposes. While there is no option to exclude the GT 650M from the 15-inch rMBP and MBP models, this does mean that the 13-inch models or any luxury-level Windows laptop are still options for you (if your mom is okay with that; Mac fanboys/girls can be scary.)

A number of luxury-level laptops do match Apple's overengineered designs. Seemingly mundane things are better such as the screen and speakers, which is something most PC vs Mac arguments don't acknowledge. While a number of Windows Ultrabooks match the Macbook Airs in performance, features, and design, they don't best another. However, the undeniable fact remains that Macbooks have bad price-performance ratios. The GeForce GT 650M for example, is found on a number of gaming laptops that are cheaper than all Macbooks with the same GPU and gaming laptops aren't usually known to have good price-performance themselves.

Do I think you are going overboard with that Macbook Pro Retina configuration? Yes I do. On top of the fact that it costs a little over $4000 AUD, it costs nearly $1000 over the cheaper model for relatively small gains in performance. Then there are the 15-inch version without Retina Display, the 13-inch Macbooks, and high-end/luxury Windows laptops for less money, but more than adequate for your college laptop needs. I can't fairly recommend you a laptop because I don't know what you want and need from a college laptop - I actually have a questionnaire that greatly helps me narrow the choices. I also don't see any real problem of buying a rMBP or MBP for college because lots of college students have high-end or luxury-level computers.

In terms of Photoshop/art programs, with your bamboo, i say 8gb is more than enough RAM.
Just that your hard drive space is a bit too small to be used as a scratch pad for memory.
u'll end up investing external hard drives lol.

Rendering videos and other stronger 3Dmodeling tasks... i recommend getting an iMac or a windows desktop to be delegated to.
from what i know Mac products cannot be modified later, it's pretty much a 2 option thing when you buy and its forever unless replaced.

Battery performance should not be an issue as long as you don't plan to do heavy processing unplugged. [definitely not recommended either]
Typical class-day-2-day note taking shouldn't eat much of the battery at all.

From what I've read up on, the core aspects of a good laptop for design is that you have a decent amount of RAM (I thought 8GB of RAM would've been adequate for Architecture), a good graphics card (the Nvidia GeForce GT 650M seems to be a good graphics card from the reviews I've read about) and CPU.

Granted I've used Windows computers since my family first got a computer (I was 5 at the time?), but my sister and brother seemed to have switched sides because my sister has both a macbook and a ipad whereas my brother has an ipad. My parents also use iphones which seem to fair well with their busy work life.

So I could cut down on the hertz on the processor but what about the RAM? Would I be better off going somewhere else to get the RAM upgraded? I've heard Apple charges absolutely absurd prices for RAM upgrades. (Thanks lots @Nehalem.)

Really, I'm looking for something with a long battery life (my current laptop - a sony vaio - has like a 2 hour battery life.) and all of the things mentioned above (they seem to be crucial for Architecture projects.)

[quote=Peperz276]That is way overkill... Just get a decent computer from Newegg... They sell laptops that aren't for gaming, but are still good for the things you are into for like 450-800$.[/quote]

He lives in NZ.

@Nivea
forgot to put http i think

Seems a little overboard what exactly are you doing?

My laptop has a slightly lesser processor (.1 GHz), 8GBs, double the size of space, and a better Graphics card (I have a 660M). I can do full HD on my laptop as well.
But here's the thing
I paid $1.2k CAD for it buuuuut if you really want to an Apple computer no one is stopping you.

My laptop is a Lenovo Y580 15.6" and 6 pounds.

@Nehalem:
Apple is overpriced considering the hardware they put into it but I think most people but Macbooks not for it's power but for how it looks and it's OS. I just don't think an extra $2k is worth it.

a used laptop is enough to satisfy your school needs.

you don't need that computer. Just get something cheap. ~$500-$1000 range should be good enough.