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1.83 ok?

T

TheCreeper

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 14, 2007
31
0
I have an external LACIE DVD Burner and HDD. I also have an old iMacG5 (2GB RAM) that I use for heavy duty stuff (video editing).

main thing I'm going to use the new Macbook for is web surfing, email, iPhoto, iTunes (a lot with music), MS Word, MS Excel.

Will the 1.83 version be fine for what I'll be doing? I'd rather not spend more than $1100.

I can use my external Lacies that I use with my iMac with the Macbook right? I have the 500GB HDD and the D2 DVD burner.
 
TheCreeper said:
I have an external LACIE DVD Burner and HDD. I also have an old iMacG5 (2GB RAM) that I use for heavy duty stuff (video editing).

main thing I'm going to use the new Macbook for is web surfing, email, iPhoto, iTunes (a lot with music), MS Word, MS Excel.

Will the 1.83 version be fine for what I'll be doing? I'd rather not spend more than $1100.

I can use my external Lacies that I use with my iMac with the Macbook right? I have the 500GB HDD and the D2 DVD burner.
Click to expand...

The 1.83 GHz processor should be fine, but the 512MB of RAM I assume it has will not be. If you want to be run MS Office, I'd suggest AT LEAST 1GB, but you'd see great preformance increase with 2GB. This is because MS Office must run under Rosetta emulation which eats ram.
 
I have a refurb 1.83 macbook, and it's working great for me for surfing, office and web authoring. I also use Parallels, which also works well. As long as your La Cie has a usb connection, you should be good to go.
 
Damn I was thinking about that RAM. 512 is not enough? I guess maybe I can order 1GB of RAM at a cheap price. suggestions? i didn't realize MS Office would need more RAM

would i be able to pop out 1 256 stick and put in a 512? or should i just get 2 512 sticks?
 
TheCreeper said:
Damn I was thinking about that RAM. 512 is not enough? I guess maybe I can order 1GB of RAM at a cheap price. suggestions? i didn't realize MS Office would need more RAM

would i be able to pop out 1 256 stick and put in a 512? or should i just get 2 512 sticks?
Click to expand...

Well, your MacBook will come with 2 x 256 MB sticks. I'd suggest matching the RAM pairs (2 x 512MB or 2 x 1GB). Also, keep the original RAM because I think you need it in the Mac if you send it back in for repair or replacement.
 
psycoswimmer said:
The 1.83 GHz processor should be fine, but the 512MB of RAM I assume it has will not be. If you want to be run MS Office, I'd suggest AT LEAST 1GB, but you'd see great preformance increase with 2GB. This is because MS Office must run under Rosetta emulation which eats ram.
Click to expand...
psycoswimmer said:
Well, your MacBook will come with 2 x 256 MB sticks. I'd suggest matching the RAM pairs (2 x 512MB or 2 x 1GB).
Click to expand...

Firstly, you don't need 2 GB of RAM to run Office well, even under Rosetta. That's crazy. Do you think everyone has 2 GB of RAM in their MacBook? I don't. I'd suggest having a total of 1 GB of RAM, minimum. More RAM is always better, but for the cost of RAM today, it won't help you Get 2 x 512 MB of RAM from Apple if you want. It's not that pricey and they'll install it for you.

Secondly, you dno't need to match the RAM pairs. It's a completely overrated thing to do. If you do, it'll make your computer around 4% faster, which is nothing.

TheCreeper said:
Damn I was thinking about that RAM. 512 is not enough? I guess maybe I can order 1GB of RAM at a cheap price. suggestions? i didn't realize MS Office would need more RAM

would i be able to pop out 1 256 stick and put in a 512? or should i just get 2 512 sticks?
Click to expand...

Yes you would. It wouldn't perform extremely well, but my PhD supervisor only runs his MacBook with 512 MB of RAM. I gave him a 512 MB stick so that he'd have a total of 768 MB of RAM, and it runs OK. He doesn't do anything intense on it, so it's fine. :)
 
my wife's MBP is 1.83 and I hardly notice the difference between it and my 2.0. She has 1.5Gig ram in it, I have 2gig... again, cant really notice any performance issues :)

def need over 1gig ram
 
I have the original MBP 1.83 CD, and I think it feels perfectly speedy. I do the same kinds of things you do, mainly web surfing, Word, Excel, iPhoto, as well as a degree of Photoshop. The 1 gig of ram is essential, but I think you will be very happy with the 1.83!
 
since i get the edu discount, should i just have Apple Store put in 1GB of RAM? I think its an extra $68. is that right?
 
TheCreeper said:
Damn I was thinking about that RAM. 512 is not enough? I guess maybe I can order 1GB of RAM at a cheap price. suggestions? i didn't realize MS Office would need more RAM

would i be able to pop out 1 256 stick and put in a 512? or should i just get 2 512 sticks?
Click to expand...

The RAM price at the Apple Store is quite ok; I don't think buying the memory for a 1GB upgrade elsewhere is worth it. If money is really tight, I would look at the Apple Store for refurbished MacBooks. They have a nice 1GB, 2GHz Core2 Duo for $1099 right now.
 
I have a 1.83.

It came with 512, and some of the Rosetta stuff ran pretty slow. But after I slapped in a 1gig chip eerything FLIES. I don't think I have ever maxed out my memory either, at least according to istat.

Also as it was said above, matching up the ram is completely overrated. You will get better performance with a 1gig chip and a 256 chip, than with two matching 512 chips.
 
getting the 2.0 instead

well i am off to buy a 2.0 instead. i figure with the discount and the RAM upgrade its not that much more to get the 2.0 w/the larger HDD and faster processor and the burner. so wish me luck!!!!
 
1.83GHz Has Half The Cache of The 2GHz Model

TheCreeper said:
well i am off to buy a 2.0 instead. i figure with the discount and the RAM upgrade its not that much more to get the 2.0 w/the larger HDD and faster processor and the burner. so wish me luck!!!!
Click to expand...
I'm late to the party but you should get the 2GHz C2D MacBook because it has a 4MB cache - twice the size of the 1.83MHz C2D's 2MB cache.

So you are doing the right thing for sure.
 
i am at the store now, its packed and am waiting to get my 2.0. I think i made the right choice
 
home w/new 2.0. awesome, so much faster than the old iBook its like night and day. It might even be faster than my iMac G5!!!!!

gotta get things set up, thanks for everyone's comment. I'm glad I got the 2.0 version. trying to optimize HDD space as I have 62.22GB available. Really want to free up some space as I want to import some music and photos.
 
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