Any compatibility issues when buying a retina MacBook Pro in America?

_Redzer_

Looking into getting a 13" retina MacBook Pro from America considering I'd save a substantial amount in comparison to buying it here.

Any set backs/issues I should know about before purchasing one?

(Customs won't be an issue as I know someone going over and they can claim it as their own)

Duff

Nope, I did the exact same thing in July along with an iPad mini. No issues at all. Just make sure you get an adaptor to power it over here.

_Redzer_

Duff wrote: »

Nope, I did the exact same thing in July along with an iPad mini. No issues at all. Just make sure you get an adaptor to power it over here.

That's great news! So then it'll only cost me about €960 for the base model

Can I just buy an Irish charger and do away with the adapter or are the differing voltages an issue?

Duff

You can just get a US to UK/IRL adaptor or you can get an Apple 3-pin plug adaptor. No voltage issues.

gctest50

http://www.amazon.co.uk/extension-power-Adapter-Charger-Macbook/dp/B004S6VIG2


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BAX9ZW0/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004S6VIG2&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=16PANR73AFV2S3DMZMMS



http://twelvesouth.com/products/plugbugworld/

Fiskar

_Redzer_ wrote: »

That's great news! So then it'll only cost me about €960 for the base model

Can I just buy an Irish charger and do away with the adapter or are the differing voltages an issue?

Redzer, which shop is selling a Pro at that price? Looking to pick up an MB Air in a few months but the Pro would be better at that price.

Blazer

if anyone's interested my mate could be selling his shortly on adverts ..its the macbook pro retina model he only bought in November in the US..
he did up the specs though I seem to remember.. he only bought it just to check it out and barely ever uses it...
256GB SSD and 8GB ram etc.

_Redzer_

Fiskar wrote: »

Redzer, which shop is selling a Pro at that price? Looking to pick up an MB Air in a few months but the Pro would be better at that price.

That was just on their american site, but I forgot to factor in VAT on top of that which isn't included in the price.

Still though, it's a nice saving.

I have one issue. I want a laptop and it's handy and all for college, but I can survive without one until next year. There's also the fact that the original was laggy because of the lack of a dedicated graphics card. I've read that the situation is improved now, but does anyone here still experience those problems?

If that's the case then I'd just wait until September for the refresh. By then I'd probably get a bigger hard drive and the lagginess would be completely sorted.

jester77

They have the small wider enter key, instead of the long one... feckin hate that key, would never buy a US version keyboard. Ask for the international version if you are buying.

Greentree_uk

I would make sure you buy applecare.

_Redzer_

I've decided I'll just buy from Apple.ie. at least this way I have warranty in Europe.

Now configurations. 4GB and 128GB SSD is pretty small, and considering you can't upgrade them easily should I pay an extra €200 for the 8GB 256GB.

I'm betting if I wait a year the 8GB model will be the standard model though...

Fiskar

to future proof it I'd go with 8GB and a 256GB.
Probably get a Lenovo laptop with these specs when it drops to <1,000 with a HD screen

shamelessidiot

_Redzer_ wrote: »

I've decided I'll just buy from Apple.ie. at least this way I have warranty in Europe.

Now configurations. 4GB and 128GB SSD is pretty small, and considering you can't upgrade them easily should I pay an extra €200 for the 8GB 256GB.

I'm betting if I wait a year the 8GB model will be the standard model though...

I'd certainly go with 8GB of RAM, but the SSD is easily upgradeable AFAIK. So if you can (don't think so, but not sure) I'd go with a 128GB SSD and 8GB RAM, then upgrade the SSD myself.

_Redzer_

shamelessidiot wrote: »

I'd certainly go with 8GB of RAM, but the SSD is easily upgradeable AFAIK. So if you can (don't think so, but not sure) I'd go with a 128GB SSD and 8GB RAM, then upgrade the SSD myself.

It's the one I know I should go for but I don't think I could afford to go higher. So rather than settling foolishly, I think I'll just wait it out. It's not a necessity anyway.
The next revision in September/October is bound to be 8GB 256GB SSD.

Graham_B18C

shamelessidiot wrote: »

I'd certainly go with 8GB of RAM, but the SSD is easily upgradeable AFAIK. So if you can (don't think so, but not sure) I'd go with a 128GB SSD and 8GB RAM, then upgrade the SSD myself.

If you choose the 4GB/128GB version and spec it up to 8GB RAM it'll be 100 euro more, but if you choose the 8/256 one it's 200 quid extra. Personally I'd go for this as you don't need to break out the soldiering iron!

_Redzer_

Graham_B18C wrote: »

If you choose the 4GB/128GB version and spec it up to 8GB RAM it'll be 100 euro more, but if you choose the 8/256 one it's 200 quid extra. Personally I'd go for this as you don't need to break out the soldiering iron!

Nope, I'm leaving my soldering days from engineering behind me thanks!

Tokyo

shamelessidiot wrote: »

I'd certainly go with 8GB of RAM, but the SSD is easily upgradeable AFAIK. So if you can (don't think so, but not sure) I'd go with a 128GB SSD and 8GB RAM, then upgrade the SSD myself.

If I'm not mistaken, the SSD in the latest macbook pro is PCIe now, but it's not a standard drive, and AFAIK are not available as a separate item.

I'm having the same issue trying to decide if I should upgrade or not, from what I've read the RAM is integrated and non-upgradeable and what ever they've done with the SSD it's very very difficult to change. I need to look up more on that as I'm heading to to states next week!

Tokyo

Yep, RAM is soldered to the board, so what you buy from Apple is what you are stuck with. The SSD *is* standalone, and connects to the main board via a socket, however it's a proprietary design, and upgrades can't be bought. The hope out there is that some 3rd party manufacturer will start pumping them out, but nothing is in the pipeline as of yet.

mike_ie

mike_ie wrote: »

Yep, RAM is soldered to the board, so what you buy from Apple is what you are stuck with. The SSD *is* standalone, and connects to the main board via a socket, however it's a proprietary design, and upgrades can't be bought. The hope out there is that some 3rd party manufacturer will start pumping them out, but nothing is in the pipeline as of yet.

That's a shame as the base 250 won't be enough for me... 567Gb of 750Gb used.... I'm sure I could shave that back to under 500 but I don't want to have that kinda restriction

Tokyo

Yeah, I ended up biting the bullet, and got the 16Gb memory upgrade with the 500Gb SSD. Was worth it for me, I do quite a lot of image processing on the road, and the lower specced machine I had beforehand wasn't cutting it.

Did you buy it directly from Apple and how much did it end up costing you if you don't mind me asking?

I've had my current MBP for 5 years so I'd probably be doing the same with this one.

Tokyo

Sure. I bought from the Apple online US store to the following specs:

2.6GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and with a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter for $2088 (€1536.76). That was with a $100 student discount.

Same specifications here cost €2,078.00 from the Apple IE store, so the savings are quite substantial.

Rael

mike_ie wrote: »

Sure. I bought from the Apple online US store to the following specs:

2.6GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and with a Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter for $2088 (€1536.76). That was with a $100 student discount.

Same specifications here cost €2,078.00 from the Apple IE store, so the savings are quite substantial.

How did you order it from them, when I tried to use my card before & get a custom order for store pick-up, they were looking for a US billing address.

Tokyo

Rael wrote: »

How did you order it from them, when I tried to use my card before & get a custom order for store pick-up, they were looking for a US billing address.

You're correct. I had an American friend order it on their card, and I reimbursed them.

mike_ie

mike_ie wrote: »

You're correct. I had an American friend order it on their card, and I reimbursed them.

Thats an issue?
I am planning on picking up one in store, I don't need to prove I live in America do I?

Tokyo

Nope. Walk in, purchase, walk out.