Buying A MacBook Pro soon

[CoolBradG]

I'm going to be buying a MacBook Pro soon for college (discount + iPod) and currently I'm just pricing and weighing my options. This will be my first Mac by the way.

I would buy the 13" 2.66ghz but I want the extra resolution that the 15" offers. Heres my first question: Glossy or Matte (Anti-glare)? I've read glossy is not good in sunlight and that graphic designers prefer matte.

Now I really want this to be fast and last me a long time so I'm gonna go with the 500GB (7200 rpm) hard drive. Now this brings me to my next question, the RAM. I'm leaning towards the 8GB (2x4GB) but have heard its cheaper to buy + install yourself. How hard is it to install yourself/whats the risk associated with doing it? What is the brand/type RAM I'd have to buy?

I appreciate any input or feedback.

 

[TZRaceR6]

I'm going to be buying a MacBook Pro soon for college (discount + iPod) and currently I'm just pricing and weighing my options. This will be my first Mac by the way.

I would buy the 13" 2.66ghz but I want the extra resolution that the 15" offers. Heres my first question: Glossy or Matte (Anti-glare)? I've read glossy is not good in sunlight and that graphic designers prefer matte.

Now I really want this to be fast and last me a long time so I'm gonna go with the 500GB (7200 rpm) hard drive. Now this brings me to my next question, the RAM. I'm leaning towards the 8GB (2x4GB) but have heard its cheaper to buy + install yourself. How hard is it to install yourself/whats the risk associated with doing it? What is the brand/type RAM I'd have to buy?

I appreciate any input or feedback.

Wanna wait a short while till the new iPod's are released? Get the new ones that are supposed to have a front facing camera and Facetime.

Installing a new HDD and RAM is easy, with RAM being extremely easy.

 

[Hellhammer]

What classes are you taking in college? If the extra resolution is not needed, i would go with 13" but if you do graphic stuff like editing, it's definitely worth it. Glossy vs matte is just a personal preference, I prefer glossy but i don't do graphics stuff. Matte might be better for you.

You may want to add SSD later on as that, if something will make it a lot faster. They cost pretty much atm so wait for prices to come down.

RAM installation video and RAM you need

 

[CoolBradG]

Wanna wait a short while till the new iPod's are released? Get the new ones that are supposed to have a front facing camera and Facetime.

Installing a new HDD and RAM is easy, with RAM being extremely easy.

When does the Free iPod Promo end though? I'm pretty sure its done before they release the new ones?

Also the hard drive upgrade is like $50 so I'll probably just get that from Apple but the RAM however I'll do myself. Can you link me to what I'd need to get?

 

[CoolBradG]

What classes are you taking in college? If the extra resolution is not needed, i would go with 13" but if you do graphic stuff like editing, it's definitely worth it. Glossy vs matte is just a personal preference, I prefer glossy but i don't do graphics stuff. Matte might be better for you.

You may want to add SSD later on as that, if something will make it a lot faster. They cost pretty much atm so wait for prices to come down.

RAM installation video and RAM you need

Currently I'm unsure of pursuing graphics design but I might do it free lance. I kind of just like having extra screen space so I could run say MS Word and Safari side by side.

 

[Adidas Addict]

When does the Free iPod Promo end though? I'm pretty sure its done before they release the new ones?

Also the hard drive upgrade is like $50 so I'll probably just get that from Apple but the RAM however I'll do myself. Can you link me to what I'd need to get?

I'm pretty sure they end the back to school promo just before the new iPods go on sale every year. Its a way of clearing old stock and nice bonus for people buying in the summer.

 

[CoolBradG]

I'm pretty sure they end the back to school promo just before the new iPods go on sale every year. Its a way of clearing old stock and nice bonus for people buying in the summer.

Yeah I don't wanna pay retail for the new one. I have Nano 4th Gen 16GB thats still going strong but I figured $99 for a 32GB Touch in unbeatable.

 

[TZRaceR6]

When does the Free iPod Promo end though? I'm pretty sure its done before they release the new ones?

Also the hard drive upgrade is like $50 so I'll probably just get that from Apple but the RAM however I'll do myself. Can you link me to what I'd need to get?

Damn, $50 for something that literally takes 5 minutes to do? If you can use a screwdriver, then I can't see paying $50!

It's 10 screws for the back plate of the MBP (top right 3 screws are long, all the rest are the same), two screws on a plastic piece hold the drive in place, then 4 torxbit screws actually on the HDD itself. So you need a small phillips and a T6 screwdriver. And you have to unplug the connector. That's all there is too it. (Youtube has a ton of vids onthis.)

As for the RAM, once you take the back plate off, you don't need any more tools. More vids on youtube for this. Very simple.

 

[Tmacfan4321]

Damn, $50 for something that literally takes 5 minutes to do? If you can use a screwdriver, then I can't see paying $50!

It costs ~$75 to get a 500GB 7200RPM HDD. The $50 is the cheapest way to get the upgrade.

 

[TaKashMoney]

The math you are using isn't right.

Thru apple, you pay 50$ and get the larger harddrive.

Thru third parties, you pay 75$ and get the larger harddrive AND the smaller harddrive. In reality, by buying yourself from some third party, you are paying $25 for a 320gb harddrive. Seems like a better deal to me.

 

[TZRaceR6]

The math you are using isn't right.

Thru apple, you pay 50$ and get the larger harddrive.

Thru third parties, you pay 75$ and get the larger harddrive AND the smaller harddrive. In reality, by buying yourself from some third party, you are paying $25 for a 320gb harddrive. Seems like a better deal to me.

Exactly. No reason to give Apple any additional money, especially when you can use the $50 towards a much better harddrive (i.e. Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200rpm HDD - great harddrive!) And keep the other one as an external drive for Time Machine, vids, pics, etc...