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Am I on the right track?

G

GaresTaylan

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 11, 2009
870
30
Hey everyone. I have finally decided to make the plunge and purchase my first MAC. My fiancee has a low end older macbook that I really dont care for (its brutally slow). But over the past couple of months at work I have had the ability to work with a few middle of the road iMacs.

My desktop setup at home still gets me by. Windows 7, Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz, NVidia GeForce 8800GTX, 10,000RPM HD, 8GB of RAM.

My laptop, I had custom made about 2 years ago and serves a smaller purpose. At 4GB of RAM and a NVidia 8600M GPU, its a decent machine. I have been longing for something newer however.

A majority of what I do is web browsing, email, music, watch movies/videos.. but I will toss in an occasional game. Nothing graphically intense like Crysis, but something like neverwinter nights intensity. I will also more than likely be setting it up so I can use Windows 7 as well.

I thought about waiting until the new models come out, but I really dont think I will need all that power from the newer processors and higher end GPUs. My biggest concern is that it will move like a snail like my fiancee's does. Then again, hers only has 1GB of RAM.

-So would something like a 13" Macbook Pro be ideal? I was thinking of choosing to upgrade to the 128GB SSD to increase the overall speed/performance.
--Should I get the 2.26 or the 2.53GHz machine to fit my needs?
---I noticed that the 15" has the option for the antiglare display. Is this a necessity and should I ideally go with the 15"? I wanted a smaller machine, but I dont want to be 100% disappointed in the display.

Thanks for any and all help.
 
I just got a new MBP. Originally, I wanted to go 13", cause I had a 12" Powerbook and loved it to death. But I wanted to play Dragon Age, so 9400 seemed a little bit weak. And since there were no 15" refurbs in the german store, I got a 17" matte refurb for less than a new 2.8 15".

So far I don't regret it, and I even travel quite a bit due to my job. I would, however, prefer the 13" form factor if I could get it with a matte screen and the 9600.

If the 13" is good for you depends on how you like the screen. Just try it in a store, and you'll know whether to go 13" or 15". And I don't think the 2.53 would be much faster than the 2.26. Just make sure to get at least 4 Gigs of RAM.
 
Well, after more thought, all I have managed to do is confuse myself more, lol.

I think I might go with the 15" just because it seems that the antiglare display you can add seems to be popular (correct me if I am wrong).

But then... I started looking at the iMac's which are so sexy. As much as I would love to get a quad core, I dont think it's really necessary but so many people seem to rave about them. Portability isnt a necessity, but would be helpful.

I am trying to think about the future (difficult to do with technology I know) but I dont want to get a iMac or a MBP and have to purchase a new one in a year because its so outdated.

Any additional thoughts to clear my mind?
 
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