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About to buy Macbook Pro, questions

W

whitefang

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 1, 2009
288
0
I have a lot of questions about macbook and OSX.

1) When I get the macbook pro, do I need to reinstall Leopard? (most PC notebooks come with bloatware, so re installation is a must)
2) Is a Leopard installation CD included? (I plan to install an SSD later on, so I will have to reinstall Leopard)
3) Is 2gig of RAM really enough? I know for Vista, 2gig is not enough.
4) Is there a planned "new revision" of the 15.1" Macbook pro?
5) If I wanted to get the "latest" revision, should I buy from BestBuy or Apple? I sort of want to buy from BestBuy because they have an accidental coverage warranty where as Apple does not.
6) Can I install SSD + Ram myself without voiding the warranty?
7) Can I make the "trackpad" NOT click and instead require only taps?
8) If I decide to run Vista perhaps "emulate", will 2gig be enough?


iWorks 09
I currently use Microsoft Office 2007 for research. One of the apps I use is OneNote for notetaking + inking (math equations). Is there a replacement app for OneNote? If I get Office 2007 MAC version, will I get OneNote too?
 
1. No.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. 15.4". Of course there is a new one planned. There always is.
5. Apple.
6. Yes.
7. Yes.
8. You'll want more for Vista emulation. Vista in Boot Camp will be fine with two.
 
whitefang said:
iWorks 09
I currently use Microsoft Office 2007 for research. One of the apps I use is OneNote for notetaking + inking (math equations). Is there a replacement app for OneNote? If I get Office 2007 MAC version, will I get OneNote too?
Click to expand...
it's Office 2008 mac - no, you do not get OneNote with the package.
 
If there is a 15.4" planned, when is it going to be released? And why would I get it from the Apple store when they don't have an accidental warranty?

Also, it sucks that OneNote isn't available :(
 
whitefang said:
1) When I get the macbook pro, do I need to reinstall Leopard? (most PC notebooks come with bloatware, so re installation is a must)
2) Is a Leopard installation CD included? (I plan to install an SSD later on, so I will have to reinstall Leopard)
3) Is 2gig of RAM really enough? I know for Vista, 2gig is not enough.
4) Is there a planned "new revision" of the 15.1" Macbook pro?
5) If I wanted to get the "latest" revision, should I buy from BestBuy or Apple? I sort of want to buy from BestBuy because they have an accidental coverage warranty where as Apple does not.
6) Can I install SSD + Ram myself without voiding the warranty?
7) Can I make the "trackpad" NOT click and instead require only taps?
8) If I decide to run Vista perhaps "emulate", will 2gig be enough?


iWorks 09
I currently use Microsoft Office 2007 for research. One of the apps I use is OneNote for notetaking + inking (math equations). Is there a replacement app for OneNote? If I get Office 2007 MAC version, will I get OneNote too?
Click to expand...

1, many mac users do it, because default installation of leopard on a new mac includes many components that you might not need. some people would like to save 5-10GB space by reinstall leopard to include only the stuff they want.

2, its a DVD, yes, its included

3. 2G isn't enough for vista? what major app are you using? plan your purchase accordingly.

4. dk

5. they should be both up to date

6. dk

7. ??

8. what major app are you using? plan accordingly, I found 2GB to be enough for the vista machine i had hand on.
 
I have lots of firefox tabs, documents, vmware open. They use alot of ram.

When I reinstall Leopard, is it easy (how long will it take)? I'm brand new to OSX so is there any complicated configurations?
 
whitefang said:
I have lots of firefox tabs, documents, vmware open. They use alot of ram.

When I reinstall Leopard, is it easy (how long will it take)? I'm brand new to OSX so is there any complicated configurations?
Click to expand...

Leopard reinstall doesn't take as long as Windows, less than half an hour, and unlike Windows you can choose it to save all your existing data and configurations and just resinstall the Operating System so you dont loose any data.

Dont worry you'll find OS X great, you dont have to worry about 'complicated configurations' etc like Windows, OS X looks after itself, Windows seems to have destroyed your love of computers, but hopefully OS X will bring that back :)
 
whitefang said:
I have lots of firefox tabs, documents, vmware open. They use alot of ram.

When I reinstall Leopard, is it easy (how long will it take)? I'm brand new to OSX so is there any complicated configurations?
Click to expand...

no, just be sure to skip the disk check when you see it, that saves 40+ minutes. after that, its pretty quick ad takes about the same time as modern windows installation (30-45minutes).

Default installation of retail leopard is about 12GB, you will see a customize button during installation. Among the 12GB, only printer drivers and language packages are know to be ok to remove. still, be careful with them since you never know what printers you gonna encounter.

There should be extra packages on your disk comes with the laptop, including things like iDVD, iMovie, iWork (trial), garageband, etc, you can install them later if you want.

VMWare will be big system resource hog, I dont think you can blame vista for that :D
 
Will there be a difference in speed from a fresh install VS stock install that already came with the laptop?

Also, during regular use....how hot will it get? My current HP is burning on the bottom after 2 hours of use. Even if the ambient temperature is pretty cool! Will the apple run cooler? I checked out some of the Macbooks at the store and they all seem to run very cool and make zero noise.
 
whitefang said:
Will there be a difference in speed from a fresh install VS stock install that already came with the laptop?
Click to expand...

No, again, this isn't Windows, you dont have to worry about things like that anymore.

whitefang said:
Also, during regular use....how hot will it get? My current HP is burning on the bottom after 2 hours of use. Even if the ambient temperature is pretty cool! Will the apple run cooler? I checked out some of the Macbooks at the store and they all seem to run very cool and make zero noise.
Click to expand...

Assuming your buying one of the new aluminum unibody Macbook Pro's, like you'll find in any Apple store, then its going to run quite cool, certainly cooler than your HP, and if it does get hot (the processor) you wont feel it on the outside because the aluminum is very good at cooling.

It might get a bit hot if you try intensive video editing, or heavy high graphics gaming, but less hot than most laptops get.
 
Alright. Last question before I actually buy...
Should I buy from bestbuy or apple? Buying from apple worries me because there's no accidental warranty and buying from Bestbuy worries me because I'm worried I won't get the latest hardware revision.

Some say buy from apple, some say it doesn't matter...should I flip a coin?
 
i never buy from apple, warranty is the same either way, I prefer bestbuy's 30 days return policy and amazon's no tax purchase.
 
whitefang said:
Alright. Last question before I actually buy...
Should I buy from bestbuy or apple? Buying from apple worries me because there's no accidental warranty and buying from Bestbuy worries me because I'm worried I won't get the latest hardware revision.

Some say buy from apple, some say it doesn't matter...should I flip a coin?
Click to expand...

Do you qualify for the student or developer discounts? 10 to 20% off? if so, buy from Apple. All other cases buy from bestbuy. But make sure your getting a Late 2008 Unibody Aluminum Macbook Pro
 
Bestbuy gives a $100 off student discount. I think they are unibody because it has an LED screen and gray metal body. Only the unibody's have LED screens right?
 
whitefang said:
Bestbuy gives a $100 off student discount. I think they are unibody because it has an LED screen and gray metal body. Only the unibody's have LED screens right?
Click to expand...

No, LEDs were introduced in the previous MBP before the unibody.

One easy way to id the new unibody is the black frame around the screen (on the 15 and glossy 17), and the black keys. Older MPBs has Al colored keys.
 
Make sure what your getting looks like this:
and is costing you less than $1799.00 including BestBuy Warranty ($1799.00 is Apples price with student discount and Apples student discount includes free 3 year warranty)

overview-gallery1-20090106.png


Also, this is one reason not to buy from BestBuy and get best buys warranty:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/659416/
 
That's what I got. The screen is black, and the keys light.

At Bestbuy, it's $1999 - $100 Student Discount = $1899. Same price as Apple. I bought a $390 accidental coverage warranty as well.

One thing that is weird is there are DUAL seals on the box one over the other (the second one is overextending a little bit)....I hope I'm not getting a refurbished one or something.
 
One more question, I just bought the macbook inside and it's been sitting here on my desk for the past half hour but the aluminum body is extremely cold still. Should I power it on? My room is hot but the macbook body is still cold.
 
whitefang said:
One more question, I just bought the macbook inside and it's been sitting here on my desk for the past half hour but the aluminum body is extremely cold still. Should I power it on? My room is hot but the macbook body is still cold.
Click to expand...

Aluminum has a high thermal capacity, thats why its cold, mines freezing sometimes even when its on, nothing to worry about.
 
1) When I get the macbook pro, do I need to reinstall Leopard? (most PC notebooks come with bloatware, so re installation is a must)
2) Is a Leopard installation CD included? (I plan to install an SSD later on, so I will have to reinstall Leopard)
3) Is 2gig of RAM really enough? I know for Vista, 2gig is not enough.
4) Is there a planned "new revision" of the 15.1" Macbook pro?
5) If I wanted to get the "latest" revision, should I buy from BestBuy or Apple? I sort of want to buy from BestBuy because they have an accidental coverage warranty where as Apple does not.
6) Can I install SSD + Ram myself without voiding the warranty?
7) Can I make the "trackpad" NOT click and instead require only taps?
8) If I decide to run Vista perhaps "emulate", will 2gig be enough?
Click to expand...

1. No. MacOS is not Windows. MacOS does not come with bloatware.

2. Yes.

3. It depends on what you intend to do with MacOS. If you intend to use a virtual machine to run Windows alongside MacOS, it is recommended to have additional RAM. It may be also recommended if you intend to use lots of software that hogs memory. Tell us what you're willing to do with the Mac. 2 GB is normally more than enough for Windows Vista. If it isn't enough for your Vista needs, perhaps it is also not enough for your MacOS needs too.

4. Yes, but Apple will never let you know until it releases the next version. The last MacBook Pro redesign was in October 2008, so expect the next one to happen within 2 years. According to MacRumours Buying Guide, a new revision of the current MacBook Pro line-up (updated processors, RAM, HD, etc.) is likely to happen within 2-3 months from now.

5. I don't live in the U.S., so I don't know.

6. I've never done that, but I guess so.

7. I guess so. I bought a mouse for my non-multitouch white MacBook and I'm happy eversince.

8. If you plan to use Vista with BootCamp, 2 GB will be enough (unless you really use a lot of memory). If you intend to run Vista on a virtual machine such as VMWare Fusion or Parallels, I think you should get more RAM. Maybe 4 GB depending on the tasks you want. I use VMWare Fusion on a 2.4 GHz Penryn MacBook white with 2 GB RAM. Windows XP runs fine (not for very heavy apps, though); Windows Vista is very sluggish and unusable; and Windows 7 runs slowly, but usable nonetheless.

iWorks 09
I currently use Microsoft Office 2007 for research. One of the apps I use is OneNote for notetaking + inking (math equations). Is there a replacement app for OneNote? If I get Office 2007 MAC version, will I get OneNote too?
Click to expand...

There is no Office 2007 for Mac. Mac has Office 2008, which is quite similar, but it only has Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage. There is no OneNote for MacOS. But there are lots of other good note-taking applications for MacOS. You may use OmniOutliner, Journler or MacJournal for note-taking. And you may use DEVONThink or EagleFiler for research.
 
6) Can I install SSD + Ram myself without voiding the warranty?

6) Can I install SSD + Ram myself without voiding the warranty?

Does this mean that if I buy a macbook pro with HD, will I be able to replace it with SSD later on?
 
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