Which is Best Mac Computer at Budget under One Lakh
Apple is known for its world class products with great design and features. But all this comes at a price. Apple products are not cheap. If you are in the market and you want to buy a Mac Computer at budget of Rs. 100000 then this guide is for you. We are going to discuss about the best possible configurations you can have on your Mac under 1 Lakh.
Which Mac Computer you can buy under Rs. 100000?
- Macbook Air – both 11 inch and 13 inch.
- Macbook Pro – Non-Retina 13 inch.
- Macbook Pro – Retina Display 13 inch – 128 GB SSD.
- iMac – 21.5 inch – 1.4 and 2.7 GHz.
- Mac Mini.
Laptop Computers
Macbook Air
Macbook Air is the cheapest portable computer offered by Apple. Macbook Air is known for its light design, solid build and good performance. Our Chief Editor – Rohit Langde recently bought one. Macbook Air has a great battery life which I don’t think any other computer have. The 11 inch version gives you 9+ hours and the 13 inch version gives you 12+ hours of battery backup. It’s the coffee shop laptop. It’s the computer on which you can rely blindly when we talk about battery backup and portability. All Macbook Airs with standard configuration in India has a price of less than Rs. 100000.
Macbook Pro (Non Retina)
Macbook Pro (Non Retina) 13 inch version is still going strong not only in India but also in US. It’s the preferred choice of all those, who want a good Mac experience in this budget. It comes with a 3rd Gen Intel Core i5 Processor with 500 GB Hard Disk Drive and 4 GB of RAM. The good part about buying this Macbook is that you can upgrade it easily. You can install a SSD, use its internal Hard Disk as secondary drive with help of a Caddy and use its internal optical drive externally. You can upgrade it to 16 GB of RAM. Although, Apple officially says it can only be upgraded to 8 GB but it can be upgraded to 16 GB without any hassle. You can make this a beast machine which can handle tasks like Video Editing easily.
Macbook Pro (Retina Display)
If you love pixels then this laptop is for you. Macbook Pro – Retina Display 13 inch model with 128 GB of SSD is the only Mac you can buy under Rs. 100000 which has a retina display. It has a 4th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor clocked at 2.6 GHz, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB Solid State Drive. But the sad part is that it’s not user upgradable. You have to live with around 90 GB of space because the rest will be occupied by OS X and apps. Yes, you can always connect an external hard drive with it but carrying an external drive every-time is not a good idea.
Desktop Computers
iMac
Apple is offering two iMacs under Rs. 100000 and both of them are 21.5 inch. The 1.4 GHz dual core and 2.7 GHz quad core model. If you are looking for a computer which sits on your desk then iMac is the thing you should buy. It’s a gorgeous looking machine made out of aluminium. The 1.4 GHz model has a 500 GB HDD, 8 GB RAM and Intel HD Graphics 5000. The 2.7 GHz quad core model has a 1 TB HDD, 8 GB RAM and Intel Iris Pro Graphics. Unfortunately, both 21.5 inch iMacs are non-user upgradable. Both comes with in-box Apple Wireless Keyboard and Wireless Mouse.
Mac Mini
Mac Mini is the cheapest Mac you can buy. All three models, Apple is offering are under Rs. 100000. It’s just a small good looking mini desktop computer. You have to connect your own Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Webcam and other accessories. It comes with Thunderbolt 2, 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.0 which makes it future proof. This is also not user upgradable. The RAMs are soldered to the logic board.
Price Comparison
| Product Name | Price |
| Macbook Air – 11 inch – 128 GB | Rs. 65,900 |
| Macbook Air – 11 inch – 256 GB | Rs. 79,900 |
| Macbook Air – 13 inch – 128 GB | Rs. 72,900 |
| Macbook Air – 13 inch – 256 GB | Rs. 86,900 |
| Macbook Pro – Non Retina – 13 inch | Rs. 78,900 |
| Macbook Pro – Retina – 13 inch | Rs. 94,900 |
| iMac – 21.5 inch – 1.4 GHz | Rs. 79,900 |
| iMac – 21.5 inch – 2.7 GHz (quad core) | Rs. 92,900 |
| Mac Mini – 1.4 GHz | Rs. 36,900 |
| Mac Mini – 2.6 GHz | Rs. 49,900 |
| Mac Mini – 2.8 GHz | Rs. 69,900 |
Which Mac Computer you should buy?
Now comes the question Which is the Best Mac computer you can buy under Rs. 100000? Well, the answer totally depends on one’s requirements but I would like to break it down for you. The best mac under Rs. 100000 is definitely the Macbook Pro – Non Retina Version. And that’s because it’s user upgradable. You can install a Solid State Drive and 16 GB RAM in it. You can use Caddy and use its built-in Hard Disk as secondary drive. You can buy a cheap Optical Drive enclosure and use its built-in optical drive externally. After upgrading it, it will be a beast machine which can handle intensive tasks like Video Editing very easily. It’s portable and you can take it anywhere you want. After upgrading it to the maximum, it still gives a battery backup of 6-8 hours on casual tasks like: Watching movies, browsing the internet, word processing etc. But if you are using apps like Adobe Premiere Pro then the battery drains in less than 4 hours which is still impressive when compared to Windows Laptops. All in all, the Macbook Pro – Non Retina is the mac you want to buy. Even after upgrading it to the maximum configuration its still under Rs. 100000.
You might say that I want a Retina Display or I want great battery backup or I don’t have that much money to spend on just a laptop?
Users Switching from Windows or Ubuntu
If you are a first time user (switching from Windows or Ubuntu) then you should consider Mac Mini. Buy a Mac Mini and connect your Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse with it and you are good to go. Mac Mini is the cheapest Mac you can buy. It’s cheap in price but not in features. It has Thunderbolt 2, 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 4.0. However, if you are planning to do intensive tasks on Mac Mini then it’s not the machine. Previous generation Mac Mini was great on specs. It had a quad core processor. So, if you can get a previous generation Mac Mini then consider buying that over current generation Mac Mini.
For Pixel Lovers
For pixel lovers, Macbook Pro with Retina Display is the bet. Look no more around and buy one. It has a gorgeous display. It has Haswell Processor, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB SSD. You can buy a product like: Transcend Jet Drive to upgrade its SSD but they are not cheap and it will void your Macbook’s warranty. RAMs are soldered to the logic board and trust me you are not the only one who hates Apple for that.
For those who wants great Battery Backup
If you are travelling very often then you should consider buying Macbook Air. It’s a great portable machine with great battery backup. But its display is not that great. It’s a HD Display. Macbook Pro – Non Retina display is better than the Macbook Air’s. Macbook Air is not so good in performance. It’s great for casual things like: Browsing the Internet, Word Processing, Watching Videos, Playing games like Angry Bird etc. But if you try doing Video Editing or using Photoshop on it then it will get heated and you can make an omelette on it, which will not be a good idea. You can try making an omelette on Macbook Air, if you are super rich.
For Home Users
Now comes iMac. Both iMacs under Rs. 100000 are not that great. You cannot upgrade their RAMs, you cannot replace their HDDs with SSD. But if you want a computer that sits on your desk and your whole family can use it for their daily computing purposes then iMac is great. The quad core model is good on performance. You can do video and photo editing on it. Sad part is that both of them have 5400 RPM Hard Disk Drive which are very slow. Considering the fact that you are paying a premium price for it but you are not getting a SSD. You cannot upgrade anything on it. If you try so, Good Luck on that. You have to tear it down to access its logic board.
The Best Mac computer you can buy under Rs. 100000 is Macbook Pro – Non Retina version. But that totally depends on a person’s requirements. I hope that I have helped you in making the decision.
