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ANOTHER Configuration Question/Thread

Darius Aziz

Darius Aziz

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 22, 2011
50
4
Minneapolis
Ok! So this week I am planning the purchase, I want to get the 2.2, Antiglare. I want to upgrade the ram and I have some HDD/SDD questions.

1. What ram would you buy? From where? Specially if you don't have the tools.

2. 8 or 16, I hear the new ones can handle 16.

3. Go with Apples SSD for the OS and grab a HDD and Optibay at the same time? Wait for SATA3 SSD's to get better and go with a HDD for now? Are the HDD's you can order with the optibay good enough?

Thanks for all the help so far, I would have made so many mistakes if not for the Macrumors crew!
 
Darius Aziz said:
Ok! So this week I am planning the purchase, I want to get the 2.2, Antiglare. I want to upgrade the ram and I have some HDD/SDD questions.

1. What ram would you buy? From where? Specially if you don't have the tools.

2. 8 or 16, I hear the new ones can handle 16.

3. Go with Apples SSD for the OS and grab a HDD and Optibay at the same time? Wait for SATA3 SSD's to get better and go with a HDD for now? Are the HDD's you can order with the optibay good enough?

Thanks for all the help so far, I would have made so many mistakes if not for the Macrumors crew!
Click to expand...

1. Buy it from OWC or Newegg. Apple sells their 8GB for 200 bucks which is a ripoff and you can buy it online for 40 bucks.

2. Yes the new QUAD core ones can hold 16GB EXCEPT for the 2.0GHz.

3.No! Never from Apple! Buy it from 3rd party.
Just buy a SSD from OWC.
I would hold off on optibay.
 
Wow that 16 gigs is pricey.

Why OWC over Crucial? I was just looking at their site, their ram (8gigs) is 53 USD whereas OWC is 70.

So you would suggest sticking with the HDD then until I can afford an SSD?
 
Get 8GB of RAM from newegg, shouldn't be more than $45 or so. More or less all brands are the same. As for tools, RadioShack sells a kit with the #00 Phillips, T6 you'll need for the hard drive if you ever plan on changing it, and 18 other bits for like $15.

As for the SSD, get a Samsung 470. It won't give you any issues, yes there are "faster" drives, but in real life you'll be hard pressed to notice.

With the optibay, IMO I would just get the empty bay, and a Weatern Digital HDD from newegg. Since it won't be a boot drive, I would(will) go with a 5400rpm drive since speed won't really matter, and less vibration/noise/power consumption is a nice benefit.



EDIT: There's ZERO reason to buy OWC branded(meaning it's OWC selling another manufactures RAM) RAM over any other brand; same for SSDs as well, they're just sandforce drives.
 
Darius Aziz said:
Wow that 16 gigs is pricey.

Why OWC over Crucial? I was just looking at their site, their ram (8gigs) is 53 USD whereas OWC is 70.

So you would suggest sticking with the HDD then until I can afford an SSD?
Click to expand...

Im just giving you suggestions.
But I would buy it from Newegg.com
The 16GB is near 1.6K which is pricey at this min.

And the price maybe different depending on the RAM (1333, 1066, 1600MHz)
 
204 pin, SO-DIMM, DDR3 right?

Is there a brand name more trusted? I was reading someplace that some brands have issues with dual OS usage and some games, fact or fiction?
 
Fiction. RAM is pretty much a commodity, there's only a few manufacturers of chips to begin with.


Maybe if it was a gaming PC with overclocking and blah blah, it could(COULD) make a difference, but in a MacBook it doesn't matter.
 
yusukeaoki said:
That type would be 1333MHz.
Which means there is a faster one with 1600
Click to expand...

So will a 1600 work?

EG: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104257

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DWBurke811 said:
Fiction. RAM is pretty much a commodity, there's only a few manufacturers of chips to begin with.


Maybe if it was a gaming PC with overclocking and blah blah, it could(COULD) make a difference, but in a MacBook it doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I was a tad worried since I would be doing a bit of gaming on my MBP
 
The HyperX you listed is the one to get, the one that the model number ends with an X does not work(I don't know the reasons why, but it doesn't.


1866MHz seems to be hit or miss, with a lot more misses. It isn't something I would try.


EDIT: I can't say if it's noticeable as I haven't done it myself, but since it's not a lot of money for the 1600 I would just get it.
 
DWBurke811 said:
The HyperX you listed is the one to get, the one that the model number ends with an X does not work(I don't know the reasons why, but it doesn't.


1866MHz seems to be hit or miss, with a lot more misses. It isn't something I would try.


EDIT: I can't say if it's noticeable as I haven't done it myself, but since it's not a lot of money for the 1600 I would just get it.
Click to expand...

Ok, but the one I linked is safe? Ill go ahead and bookmark that.

Now sorry to rehash, but this is my first major purchase on my own, and I want to get it right.

Tools for cheap at radio shack, check.

The Kingston Ram (caught my eye because of speed and the heatsinks on it heh), check.

HDD and SDD, so if I can't afford a good SDD right now, just get the bigger HDD and wait? I am trying to keep the total expenditures sub 2.5k.

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yusukeaoki said:
Mmm if you are a hardcore user then yes. (ie photoshop (CS5), Aperture, gaming, Final Cut Pro).

If just a daily user for internet, mail, itunes, then no.
Click to expand...

Well I use PS, Aperture, and Game. So I guess it makes sense for me!

I was planning to change over to lightroom, but I am assuming thats on the same level as aperture.
 
Darius Aziz said:
Ok, but the one I linked is safe? Ill go ahead and bookmark that.

Now sorry to rehash, but this is my first major purchase on my own, and I want to get it right.

Tools for cheap at radio shack, check.

The Kingston Ram (caught my eye because of speed and the heatsinks on it heh), check.

HDD and SDD, so if I can't afford a good SDD right now, just get the bigger HDD and wait? I am trying to keep the total expenditures sub 2.5k.

----------



Well I use PS, Aperture, and Game. So I guess it makes sense for me!

I was planning to change over to lightroom, but I am assuming thats on the same level as aperture.
Click to expand...

If you are concerned about the HDD space get a 750GB @ 7200rpm aftermarket. Apple doesnt offer you a 750 running 7200 but only 500Gb @7200. I have the 500GB model but hell im suffering from shortage of space.
 
yusukeaoki said:
If you are concerned about the HDD space get a 750GB @ 7200rpm aftermarket. Apple doesnt offer you a 750 running 7200 but only 500Gb @7200. I have the 500GB model but hell im suffering from shortage of space.
Click to expand...

<insert irl reasoning here> In a few months once some living arrangement stuff is handled id be more gung-ho with doing some upgrades, Ill probably grab up an SSD then as well. But for now, remaining conservative, will I notice a huge difference in the speed of the two? right now I would rather work with externals than experience lag on the apps/games/work I would be doing. But I was under the impression that 5400 - 7200 is a pretty minimal change.
 
The RAM you linked is good to go. And yeah, I wish my RAM had the cool looking heatsink, even though it's not like anyone would ever see it lol

For tools, I checked Lowes first, they only had #0 Phillips and said to check radio shack. I wanted them that day(as my SSD just got delivered and I was like a kid on Christmas), I'm sure you can find them online cheaper(as you only really need #00 and a T6)

For the HDD from Apple, I would just get the base HDD(unless it's like under $50 to upgrade). A 750GB/7200rpm or a 1TB/5400rpm drive is right around $100 from new egg, and if you upgrade it yourself you still get to keep your stock hard drive(which you could put in an ugly, cheap enclosure and just keep at home for back-ups, of if you have an air port extreme or a router with a USB, hook up for some NAS.


EDIT: 5400 vs 7200, they'll bench mark a little different, but it's not going to be a big change in real life stuff by any means. I would bet if you used one, then a week later the other, you wouldn't be able to tell(not guess) which was which.
 
DWBurke811 said:
The RAM you linked is good to go. And yeah, I wish my RAM had the cool looking heatsink, even though it's not like anyone would ever see it lol

For tools, I checked Lowes first, they only had #0 Phillips and said to check radio shack. I wanted them that day(as my SSD just got delivered and I was like a kid on Christmas), I'm sure you can find them online cheaper(as you only really need #00 and a T6)

For the HDD from Apple, I would just get the base HDD(unless it's like under $50 to upgrade). A 750GB/7200rpm or a 1TB/5400rpm drive is right around $100 from new egg, and if you upgrade it yourself you still get to keep your stock hard drive(which you could put in an ugly, cheap enclosure and just keep at home for back-ups, of if you have an air port extreme or a router with a USB, hook up for some NAS.


EDIT: 5400 vs 7200, they'll bench mark a little different, but it's not going to be a big change in real life stuff by any means. I would bet if you used one, then a week later the other, you wouldn't be able to tell(not guess) which was which.
Click to expand...

Yeah this brings me to the Optibay question. because of a HDD of new egg is cheap enough, why not go with the apple SSD ($90 for a 128gig but it removes the HDD) and then grab an optibay and a cheap HDD.

Right now optibay is offering a free enclosure for the optical drive to turn into an external optical drive.


EDIT: this in my opinion saves the need to migrate the OS to an SSD at a later date, which I hear is no big deal anyway. But I figured I would mention.
 
Darius Aziz said:
Yeah this brings me to the Optibay question. because of a HDD of new egg is cheap enough, why not go with the apple SSD ($90 for a 128gig but it removes the HDD) and then grab an optibay and a cheap HDD.

Right now optibay is offering a free enclosure for the optical drive to turn into an external optical drive.
Click to expand...

That might be pretty great.
Make your SSD a boot drive so it boots up fast and store mass files into ur HDD.
But the only reason why I dont do that is because I actually use my super drive.
 
I didn't know it was only $90 to upgrade to a SSD. That is a good deal, even with giving up a 500GB HDD(say it's like $50, so it's still only $140 vs. ~$200+ for a nice after market SATA2 drive)

Apple drives work and work well, but they aren't the fastest. They're magnitudes faster than a HDD, but compared to what's out now(even SATA2), they aren't top performers. It's up to you if having something that works with 0 issues(and is covered by AppleCare) is worth giving up a little speed(that you may or may not notice).
 
DWBurke811 said:
I didn't know it was only $90 to upgrade to a SSD. That is a good deal, even with giving up a 500GB HDD(say it's like $50, so it's still only $140 vs. ~$200+ for a nice after market SATA2 drive)

Apple drives work and work well, but they aren't the fastest. They're magnitudes faster than a HDD, but compared to what's out now(even SATA2), they aren't top performers. It's up to you if having something that works with 0 issues(and is covered by AppleCare) is worth giving up a little speed(that you may or may not notice).
Click to expand...

Try not to get the Toshiba SSD which is actually slower than the Samsung.
If you do, just ask Apple to replace it and they will do it for you for free.
 
DWBurke811 said:
I didn't know it was only $90 to upgrade to a SSD. That is a good deal, even with giving up a 500GB HDD(say it's like $50, so it's still only $140 vs. ~$200+ for a nice after market SATA2 drive)

Apple drives work and work well, but they aren't the fastest. They're magnitudes faster than a HDD, but compared to what's out now(even SATA2), they aren't top performers. It's up to you if having something that works with 0 issues(and is covered by AppleCare) is worth giving up a little speed(that you may or may not notice).
Click to expand...

I just kind of want to make the jump into the SSD world, but I also need the capacity for things like games, photos, etc. It's the only reason I was somewhat hesitant.

I am assuming that the optibay installation isn't the hardest thing on the planet? I am not too worried, I am decently savvy with things like that, I am mostly just concerned about not messing up my 2k+ laptop.

Are the prices for the HDD's that they will send you already connected to the optibay reasonable? I figure the less things I need to wait for in the mail the better.

----------
yusukeaoki said:
Try not to get the Toshiba SSD which is actually slower than the Samsung.
If you do, just ask Apple to replace it and they will do it for you for free.
Click to expand...

About what you said above, I do use my superdrive, but mostly at home to watch DVD's etc. I am figuring that with the enclosure they send you though it should be fine. It is USB 2.0, but at least they give you a set of drivers that makes it operate as if it were still inside, launching iDVD instantly, etc etc.
 
Well I would love a continued followup, but either way you both have been Legends thank you very much for all the help with this!
 
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