I have a white macbook from early 2007 (the nov 06 update) and it's getting slow (despite 4 gb ram and 320-7200 hdd), the case is cracking and the screen suffers from from the flicker syndrome. So I think I can justify getting a new one... As hundreds of other posters I'm not 100 % sure what to do...
A new MBP will be my only computer and I'll use it for my studies which include all the basic stuff + GIS, which can be quite demanding depending on what you work with (I've used my MB so far, so of course the 13" could do the job). But I also use Aperture a bit, and I suspect I'd use it more if my computer was more capable. I'd like to be able to play the occassional game of FIFA, Madden, BF1943 or similar, which I can't right now. All in all, this points to steppeing up to a 15", I think I could deal with carrying it... However.. it is freekin expensive..
But if I go for it - I might as well do it right: I need a 500gb hdd for my collection of photos and I've set my mind on the hi-res screen...
So I guess my question is how do I get what I need for the different tasks for the least money?
- Should I go for the 15" base model and switch the hdd when I need to? (I can take a few more shots before I get to 320gb...). What are the pro/cons for swapped/Apple hdds?
- Should I go for the mid 15" with a higher clock and an "original" hdd 500-5400? or 7200?
- Should I go all the way and get the high-end 15" with i7 and 512mb vram? Is it better value and will it last longer?
I obviously don't buy a new laptop every time Apple updates so this will also be an investment - it's not just meant to last a year or so. 3-4 is what I expect to get from it... So in a long-term pespective, which of the 15" will give me most value for money?
A new MBP will be my only computer and I'll use it for my studies which include all the basic stuff + GIS, which can be quite demanding depending on what you work with (I've used my MB so far, so of course the 13" could do the job). But I also use Aperture a bit, and I suspect I'd use it more if my computer was more capable. I'd like to be able to play the occassional game of FIFA, Madden, BF1943 or similar, which I can't right now. All in all, this points to steppeing up to a 15", I think I could deal with carrying it... However.. it is freekin expensive..
But if I go for it - I might as well do it right: I need a 500gb hdd for my collection of photos and I've set my mind on the hi-res screen...
So I guess my question is how do I get what I need for the different tasks for the least money?
- Should I go for the 15" base model and switch the hdd when I need to? (I can take a few more shots before I get to 320gb...). What are the pro/cons for swapped/Apple hdds?
- Should I go for the mid 15" with a higher clock and an "original" hdd 500-5400? or 7200?
- Should I go all the way and get the high-end 15" with i7 and 512mb vram? Is it better value and will it last longer?
I obviously don't buy a new laptop every time Apple updates so this will also be an investment - it's not just meant to last a year or so. 3-4 is what I expect to get from it... So in a long-term pespective, which of the 15" will give me most value for money?
the last few hundred dollars wouldn't matter all that much. But I already think its an expensive machine, so unless it really prolongs the estimated lifetime or increase the joy of using it I'll probably do what you suggest. I also upgraded the ram in my current mb when it had one leg in the grave and it was like a brand new machine so I know what it can do.. And no, I'd never go for the apple ram, but thanks for the heads up 