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A few questions about the base 13" MBP.

D

dh2005

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 25, 2010
907
0
Hello everyone,

My netbook just bought the farm. Yesterday, I was in the market for a new iMac/secondhand Mac Pro - today, a MacBook Pro. Bugger.

But not to worry. MBPs are nice, and stuff. Three questions, please:

1). Is fitting RAM easy enough?

2). Does it take the same RAM as 2010/11 iMacs?

3). Would there be any value in adding an SSD for generic computing use - MS Office, Safari, iTunes, the occasional DVD rip?

Thanks in advance,



DH.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

What's interesting about the BTO option for the 128GB SSD is that it actually seems to be vaguely reasonably priced! I mean, with the academic discount, it's an additional £171 - which is about the same price as an SSD of that same size from Amazon. Apple BTOs are usually stupidly expensive - but because this is (dare I say it...) pretty fair, I'm considering having it fitted.
 
SSD's do make quite a difference in terms of usability. That's why tons and tons of threads here at the forums are devoted to it (which tbh are repeat threads that kind of get annoying).

They decrease boot time as systems files are fetched faster, and they make applications open faster for the same reason. Boot time differences are pretty dramatic.

as for the 128gb size though, are you sure that'll be enough to fit all your data? my 500gb standard 5400's already filling up :/
 
Well, I also had questions about the RAM. I wouldn't have opened a thread just about the SSD... but point taken. I appreciate the reply.

I read you, about the size of the drive. It's small, sure, but it'll probably suffice. I won't be putting everything on there - 70% of the data on my iMac is on the Windows side, and I don't intend to Boot Camp the MBP.


Do SSDs have a genuine 128GB available, or is it the same BS as with magnetic drives? As in "320GB drive" = 297GB available after formatting.
 
oh no no i wasn't commenting on your thread at all.

It just amazes me how many threads called vertex 3, momentus xt, etc. exist that ask the same question every time.

As for actual usable space. I think there are alot of marketing gimmicks so it's hard to say, as standards for nomenclature are not always upheld.

I'd say you'll probably get around 120 usable when you account for the 6gb for OS X :)

Hope this helps

EDIT: get an SSD. They're freaking amazing :D
 
Last edited:
Hah! Thanks for the edit...!


Can I ask another question, about Migration Assistant?

Is it possible to send some information from one Mac to another, or do you need to send the whole lot? I'm asking because I have a few casual games downloaded from the App Store - Braid, Angry Birds, etc. - that I never play on my iMac, but that might be just the ticket when I'm exiled in rural France writing my dissertation on the MBP this August.
 
i didn't think that the iMac used "laptop" memory, but I could (and probably am)
 
It definitely does. I recall having a temporary freak-out when the RAM upgrade for my iMac arrived and declared itself on the packing "Laptop Memory"...!

It's in my thinking to take the 2x2GB sticks out of the new MBP to put those into the iMac, and take the 2x4GB sticks from the iMac to put those into the MBP. I don't think I do enough with the iMac to warrant its current 12GB - 8GB should do just as well.
 
dh2005 said:
It definitely does. I recall having a temporary freak-out when the RAM upgrade for my iMac arrived and declared itself on the packing "Laptop Memory"...!

It's in my thinking to take the 2x2GB sticks out of the new MBP to put those into the iMac, and take the 2x4GB sticks from the iMac to put those into the MBP. I don't think I do enough with the iMac to warrant its current 12GB - 8GB should do just as well.
Click to expand...

Yeah will work, as mentioned iMacs take laptop RAM. 12GB is well .... Excessive to say the least unless you run many high end programs simultaneously. Both 2010 and 2011 iMacs have 1333Mhz RAM too, which is the same used in the MBPs.

Also SSDs are truly amazing i could never go without one now. ~13-19 second startups are awesome and near instant opening on apps greatly improves my workflow (Gives me time to waste on MacRumors).
 
I am working on my dissertation as well. I have a 13" MBP with 8GB RAM. I purchased the extra 4GB of RAM because I use Adobe Acrobat Pro to work with PDF files (scans of primary sources, OCR scans of secondary sources, conference materials, research group materials, etc.). I don't know if I "needed" it, because my computer rarely digs far into that extra 4GB RAM (I have 3.94 free at the moment while I run Adobe in the background), but it is nice to know it is there.

As for SSD, it is certainly fast, but if all you mainly do (like me) is work with Word and a web browser, rarely accessing data on your hard drive or starting things up (I boot in the morning and programs pretty much stay on all day) then I don't think you will get much bang for you buck. That is, of course, unless you are annoyed at how slow your Macbook Pro is (I think it is quite speedy), in which case you will appreciate it more. If you do opt for an SSD upgrade, in order to avoid taking a hit on memory, get rid of your optical drive to make room for the SSD, use it as your boot drive, and keep your regular HDD. That would probably be plenty of room for your dissertation!
 
Yeah? What's your paper on?


I ordered an MBP with an SSD a few days ago. I hear what you're saying about how starting the machine once a day means it won't really matter... but I intend this machine to have a life after my dissertation. Plus, this is an experiment - my first foray into SSD territory - so that when I buy a new iMac, I have a better idea of what I want.
 
dh2005 said:
Yeah? What's your paper on?
Click to expand...
That's the same question my advisor asks me :)

I ordered an MBP with an SSD a few days ago. I hear what you're saying about how starting the machine once a day means it won't really matter... but I intend this machine to have a life after my dissertation. Plus, this is an experiment - my first foray into SSD territory - so that when I buy a new iMac, I have a better idea of what I want.
Click to expand...
I'm sure you will love it!
 
For anybody still interested...

... the SSD is excellent. Waiting times for everything offline have fallen to a fraction of a second. For a poisonously impatient prick such as myself, this represents a definite improvement in quality of life.


Now all I need is for 512GB SSDs to become vaguely affordable. Then I can fit one to my new iMac...
 
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