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Any advice? First time Macbook Pro buyer here!

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ballnluv23

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 29, 2007
23
0
I'm an iPHONE owner, and am graduating from college and entering the business world...I'm going to be using my new Macbook Pro as both my laptop, as well as my desktop....so it's my main, one and only machine.

My question is on which to buy: 15.4 inch with 2.5 GHZ (2000$), 15.4 with 2.6 GHZ and a little extra ram ($2400), or the 17" with 2.6 GHZ and even more ram (2800$).....

Before some of you might say, "Go with the 17" with the fastest processor and most ram"......My question is, is the extra .1 GHZ processor really that much more effective, and make that much of a difference? I already have a 150GB external portable hard drive, so is it worth paying extra for more RAM?

Ultimately, what is the best "bang for your buck" machine? And finally, do I go with the regular screen, or the "glossy screen"?

Thanks Macfans!
 
If it is going to be your only machine I would go with the 17". Get the 2.5 the 2.6 is not worth the extra money. Spend the money you save on the processor and buy ram from a 3rd party like newegg or OWC. I have the 17" 2.5 with 4gb of ram and glossy screen. I love it. I really debated the glossy or matte decision and I have not been disappointed with my choice. It is just a matter of personal opinion.
 
The 17" is awkward to carry around as a laptop. I would upgrade to processor to the 2.6 and get a bigger hard drive on a 15" screen. The matte is really nice if you are by a window or outside at all because it does not have the glare issues associated with the glossy, and glossy looks better when its clean but it shows prints and smudges and is difficult to clean. I have the glossy and my wife has the matte, I prefer hers.
Go with vansouza's advice on memory. Go with OWC or check Frys.com, they have great sales on 4gig packages.
 
I would say get the $2000 machine unless money is no problem for you. I would say that is the best bang for your buck. A 17" laptop is a bit on the bulky side and I don't consider it to be that portable. I'd say go for the 2.5ghz MBP. You'll be happy with it.
 
ballnluv23 said:
I already have a 150GB external portable hard drive, so is it worth paying extra for more RAM?
Click to expand...
They're totally different things. More RAM (memory) will speed things up for you, especially if you do processor intensive stuff like video editing. If you're just doing word processing etc., the stock RAM will be just fine. RAM's cheap at the moment and easy to install, but don't buy it from Apple.

Good luck with your purchase ;)
 
Buy the 2.5 GHz ($2000) machine, save up that extra money for ram from OWC/Crucial, upgrade the hard drive, maybe treat yourself to a nice mouse, and even get a nice external monitor for extra screen real estate when at home :)

Really, it depends what you'll be doing with the computer. If you're going to move around a lot, I say go with the 15" since it's much easier to carry around than the 17" (based on personal experience).

I've used MBPs with both glossy and matte screens. I personally like the glossy because everything looks extremely sharp and saturated with colour. There's really no glare even if you shine a light directly on it, which impressed me. You should probably go into an Apple Store and compare them yourself (do that for the 15" - 17" comparison too). That's the best way for you to decide.

Good luck with your purchase, you won't regret it :D
 
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