So I am about to buy a MacBook Pro and need help

[MaTiCeK]

Hi,

well I decided to move to the Mac OS camp. I've never had an Apple computer before. So I'd like to know some things first.

How bad is the heat issue really? Currently I have a Centrino Notebook, which means I'm not really used to heat, or at least so I think. Will it be a dangerous for the MBP to run for more hours a day without turning off?

Noise? I have a problem with my left ear (tinnitus). It actually amplifies certian high pitch sounds so that they are even more distracting.

OK to the more technical questions.
I'm deciding between a 100GB 7200 disk over an 80GB 5400 and 1024MB of RAM over 512MB RAM.

I'd like to use the Boot Camp option to boot WinXP as well. How important is RAM in daily multimedia usage (internet, music, dvd, maybe same games) in Mac OS? I'm thinking of going for the faster HD, as I assume that it's easier to upgrade the RAM, than change the HD.

THx for help.

 

[musicalmcs8706]

The heat issue isn't too bad. It gets warm, and mine is on for a good portion of the day. Go with the ram over the harddrive if you can only pick one. That's something that you need more than just the 512 for it to really work nice.
Or go with the slower drive and still get the memory.

 

[MacMan314]

Hi,
OK to the more technical questions.
I'm deciding between a 100GB 7200 disk over an 80GB 5400 and 1024MB of RAM over 512MB RAM.

Bad idea. Don't buy RAM from Apple! Their prices are insane! You're better off buying it from macsales.com or crucial.com.

As far as the HD goes, unless you're installing lots of massive games or using digital video you're just not going to be able to fill it. I've used around 21 GB on mine, and I've had it for 4 years. I do have an external, but it's got some iMovie projects on it along with backups of most of my stuff, so it's got more space used, but also more available. I know it's unrelated to the macbook, but if you don't have one you might want to consider an external, because hard drives tend to die at times when you have lots of really important stuff that you need right then.

 

[MaTiCeK]

I know they tend to die, but well I'm not afraid of it. The problem is more that I want to have a dual boot system. I plan to use Mac OS as my first OS, and Windows for programs that don't exist for Mac and games (this take a lot of space). Mostley I use it for multimedia - watching movies, listening to music. My laptop now has a 60 gig drive and it feels to small sometimes.

For me there is no point in buying from macsales as I'm from the EU, shipping and customs would be too high. Is there a difference between original apple RAM and some third party RAM?


Would I notice the speed difference between a 80 GB 5400 rpm and a 100 GB 7200 rpm?

 

[treblah]

Would I notice the speed difference between a 80 GB 5400 rpm and a 100 GB 7200 rpm?

Here is a comparison of the 5400 vs. 7200 in a MBP.

 

[Mord]

i've bought ram from macsales and i live in the UK, it's worth it if you buy a few other things aswell.

even if you buy it in the EU it's cheaper than the apple store, their is no functional diffrence between apple ram and 3rd party ram, if you buy micron ram it's acctually the same stuff.

 

[MaTiCeK]

treblah thx for the link.

I think I'm going for a 100GB 5400 rpm disk and additional 512 MB of RAM.

Before I finally decide, can you think of a objective reason why I should not buy it?

 

[Mord]

if you hate yourself.

 

[spencecb]

Bad idea. Don't buy RAM from Apple! Their prices are insane! You're better off buying it from macsales.com or crucial.com.

As far as the HD goes, unless you're installing lots of massive games or using digital video you're just not going to be able to fill it. I've used around 21 GB on mine, and I've had it for 4 years. I do have an external, but it's got some iMovie projects on it along with backups of most of my stuff, so it's got more space used, but also more available. I know it's unrelated to the macbook, but if you don't have one you might want to consider an external, because hard drives tend to die at times when you have lots of really important stuff that you need right then.

Do NOT listen to this HDD recommendation. You must get a 100GB HDD. They fill up so fast now, it is insane. Between my iMac and MBP, I have 350GB of storage, and I have filled a good portion of that.

 

[MaTiCeK]

if you hate yourself.

Heh, it seems that I must buy it now!