If possible you should definitely get an SSD; mac or otherwise, the speed bump is more than worth the price. However, if developing for osx/ios is a priority, y

If possible you should definitely get an SSD; mac or otherwise, the speed bump is more than worth the price. However, if developing for osx/ios is a priority, you don't (easily) have a whole lot of choice. I was in the same boat as you roughly two months ago (needing to develop on ios/osx) and vmware/vbox ios wasn't cutting it. I was able to snag a 2014 mbp on ebay for a measly $1,000 (ha). Best of luck either way!