›

MacBook Pro purchasing advice

CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts
edited July 2008 in Strut Central
Hey, my laptop is for shit and I'm going to get a new one, probably within the next few days.Here's my question - I'm getting a 15" MacBook Pro. But is there much of a difference in the 2 that Apple offers?Here's the specs for the first: 2.4GHz2GB memory2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo200GB hard driveDouble-layer SuperDriveNVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256 MBAnd the second...2.5GHz2GB memory2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo250GB hard drive1Double-layer SuperDriveNVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MBNow the second one is $500, but I was planning on maxing it all the way out with:Memory : 4GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x2GB ($200)Hard Drive: 200GB Serial ATA @ 7200 rpm ($100)Should I just get the 2.4GHz jawn? Does that .3GHz make that much of a difference? ALSO, do I even need to get another HD if I get the second one? And does the 200GB @ 7200 rpm make that much of a diffenece than the 250GB @ 5600 rpm?Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

  Comments

  • danmccauleydanmccauley 25 Posts
    You probably won't see much of a difference unless you're using graphic intensive applications. If that was the case , I would opt for the second option with the additional video memory. If that's not the case, go for the cheaper option. Maxing out the memory is going to help both options and the difference in CPU speeds won't make that much of a difference. I wouldn't be too concerned about hard drive space, nowadays you can get a 500-750 gb external drive for around ~$100....
    my 2 cents....
  • street_muzikstreet_muzik 3,919 Posts
    Don't max it out with their ram. Buy the ram from somewhere else and save a hundred.
  • danmccauleydanmccauley 25 Posts
    Don't max it out with their ram. Buy the ram from somewhere else and save a hundred.

    W0rd Up
  • DeegreezDeegreez 804 Posts
    What were you on before?

    Make sure your ram can be under your apple care though if you buy from elsewhere, otherwise you are paying for more than one warranty, but get that ram, speed to operate is key esp with s.erato etc and all types of downloading.
  • StringsStrings 82 Posts
    Don't max it out with their ram. Buy the ram from somewhere else and save a hundred.


    Its insane how much Apple charge to upgrade your RAM,HD etc. You can easily save hundreds of dollars by doing it yourself.

    Unless you work with some high end 3D modelling software or need to play the latest games at max graphics it is no reason to buy the most expensive one.

    Do you still break the warranty if you install the RAM or HD yourself on Macbook Pro? On Macbooks you can do this easily without losing anything.
  • danmccauleydanmccauley 25 Posts
    I think once the desktop/laptop in question has been opened up and changed by anyone who is not Apple Certified, that voids the Apple Care.
    If they are Apple Certified, they work in conjunction with the Apple Care warranty and document all changes......
  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts

    Do you still break the warranty if you install the RAM or HD yourself on Macbook Pro? On Macbooks you can do this easily without losing anything.


    This sounds key. Voiding your warranty to save 100 bucks is not gangsta....
  • FYBSFYBS 271 Posts
    I do a bunch of motion graphics, so I got the faster jawn. Love it. Also, I would highly recommend the 17". The screen is awesome.
  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    cosmo, if you are thinking of using the Microwave video plug-in, you should get the second one because it has twice as much video memory. as far as hard drive speed goes, 7.2k will be noticeable but it comes at the cost of battery life and loudness. i would stick with the regular internal one if you're just planning on using Microwave mostly.

    as far as warranty goes, as long as you don't royally fuck up something while installing RAM, you are covered. apple even details how to install RAM in their manuals. just keep the old RAM around and stick it back in if you ever have to get it serviced because they will give you the runaround if they see any third party stuff in there.
  • djbrigidopedjbrigidope 166 Posts
    cosmo, if you are thinking of using the Microwave video plug-in, you should get the second one because it has twice as much video memory. as far as hard drive speed goes, 7.2k will be noticeable but it comes at the cost of battery life and loudness. i would stick with the regular internal one if you're just planning on using Microwave mostly.

    as far as warranty goes, as long as you don't royally fuck up something while installing RAM, you are covered. apple even details how to install RAM in their manuals. just keep the old RAM around and stick it back in if you ever have to get it serviced because they will give you the runaround if they see any third party stuff in there.
Sign In or Register to comment.