Yes you really need to buy a miner to mine btc. You'll use your MacBook to set it up, though! Latest generation machines are the R4 and S9 from bitmain, Avalon 741 from Canaan.
Thank you for your advice, VRobb. To set it up whats the best website to mine?.
One step back...
In order for you to mine profitably, you need:
- A latest gen ASIC (see VRobb's post)
- Really, Really, Really cheap electricity (i mean, less than 7-8 cents/kwu). If you pay more/Kwu, not even a brand new ASIC will earn you some money
- A mining room, A/C, soundproof, no dust, good wiring, shelves,...
- Technical knowledge to set everything up and keep it running 24/7
Don't forget: sometimes you need to buy a seperate PSU, seperate controllers,... Also, custom duties and shipping/handling can be a pain, and especially in the case of bitmain, their support isn't that great, their gear has 3 months of factory warranty and is know to break easily.
Before you even THINK about investing in gear, or chosing a pool, do the math to find out if you CAN THEORETICALLY mine with profit... If there isn't a theoretical chance to make money, forget about mining altogether...