Hi Guys - I am about to take the plunge and purchase my first mac. I look forward to a computer that actually works! Well, here is my 1st post......
I have opted to go for the midrange white macbook (2.2Ghz, 120gb HD). My uses will be to rip dvds to itunes with Handbrake, store music & photos, browse net and some light gaming (pro evo 7 and some older games such as KOTOR etc. via bootcamp). Would have loved a MBP for better gaming but cannot justify the cost @ 1170 GBP! And after a couple of months wait for Macworld Expo, the Macbook Air is not for me.
So, here is my plan (in GBP).
Macbook with H.E. Discount (829.00) - 712.84 (14% discount)
New Internal WD 320GB Drive - 119.99
2 GB Memory from Crucial.com - 32.89
External enclosure for removed 120gb drive - 10.29
Total cost: 876.01
I will be doing the upgrades myself as from what it read it should be simple
So, here are my questions and then I plan to buy all this tomorrow. If anyone can answer them, then it will be very much appreciated.
1. Can I use the 120gb SATA HD pulled from the mac, put it in a HD enclusre (DYNAMODE 2.5" SATA EXT ENCLOSURE USB2) and use this as backup HD for time machine? This will be good until I use more than 120GB in time machine and will then upgrade to a 320GB external or more...
2. Is 2GB ram sufficient for the uses above i.e. the "sweet spot". Will I see a significant increase (i.e. greater than 25%) if I get 4gb, the cost is about 33.00 GBP extra? As, if necessary, the extra 2gb can be added later (and probably cheaper).
3. I spoke to 2 different people at Apple today and they BOTH mentioned that by doing these upgrades will ruin any warranties (I was considering 3 years Apple Care for 58.00 which would then be useless). Yet, I have searched the forums on this and warranty will apparently be valid though NOT on the replaced parts (i.e. new HD and RAM). What is the bottom line please (in the UK at least)? Anybody have experience with this?
4. Has anyone played Pro Evo 7, KOTOR or San Andreas on this, or a similar Macbook configuration? I know the likes of Oblivion is a no go. Not too much on the forums for this apart from some 3d mark 2003 scores for the X3100...
5. Finally, has anyone seen any of the above cheaper?!
Looking forward to any responses and of course, to start using Leopard & Front Row! Just spent 2 straight days researching
Would have loved to have seen a 13" MBP with updated GPU instead of MBA @ the expo but not to be! There are rumours of updating the MBP in the next few days but I cannot wait anymore as my CPU sells on sunday!
Cheers guys,
Austin
I have opted to go for the midrange white macbook (2.2Ghz, 120gb HD). My uses will be to rip dvds to itunes with Handbrake, store music & photos, browse net and some light gaming (pro evo 7 and some older games such as KOTOR etc. via bootcamp). Would have loved a MBP for better gaming but cannot justify the cost @ 1170 GBP! And after a couple of months wait for Macworld Expo, the Macbook Air is not for me.
So, here is my plan (in GBP).
Macbook with H.E. Discount (829.00) - 712.84 (14% discount)
New Internal WD 320GB Drive - 119.99
2 GB Memory from Crucial.com - 32.89
External enclosure for removed 120gb drive - 10.29
Total cost: 876.01
I will be doing the upgrades myself as from what it read it should be simple
So, here are my questions and then I plan to buy all this tomorrow. If anyone can answer them, then it will be very much appreciated.
1. Can I use the 120gb SATA HD pulled from the mac, put it in a HD enclusre (DYNAMODE 2.5" SATA EXT ENCLOSURE USB2) and use this as backup HD for time machine? This will be good until I use more than 120GB in time machine and will then upgrade to a 320GB external or more...
2. Is 2GB ram sufficient for the uses above i.e. the "sweet spot". Will I see a significant increase (i.e. greater than 25%) if I get 4gb, the cost is about 33.00 GBP extra? As, if necessary, the extra 2gb can be added later (and probably cheaper).
3. I spoke to 2 different people at Apple today and they BOTH mentioned that by doing these upgrades will ruin any warranties (I was considering 3 years Apple Care for 58.00 which would then be useless). Yet, I have searched the forums on this and warranty will apparently be valid though NOT on the replaced parts (i.e. new HD and RAM). What is the bottom line please (in the UK at least)? Anybody have experience with this?
4. Has anyone played Pro Evo 7, KOTOR or San Andreas on this, or a similar Macbook configuration? I know the likes of Oblivion is a no go. Not too much on the forums for this apart from some 3d mark 2003 scores for the X3100...
5. Finally, has anyone seen any of the above cheaper?!
Looking forward to any responses and of course, to start using Leopard & Front Row! Just spent 2 straight days researching
Would have loved to have seen a 13" MBP with updated GPU instead of MBA @ the expo but not to be! There are rumours of updating the MBP in the next few days but I cannot wait anymore as my CPU sells on sunday!
Cheers guys,
Austin
