Buying my first Macbook Pro!!!!

[mariot]

Hello Everyone !!
After days of comparing the air and pro. I finally decided on getting a Pro! I am going with the 13 inch because it is in my budget. I had a few questions before I go ahead and buy it .

1) I am planning to change my hard drive in the future when SSDs get cheaper. Should I keep the stock HD of 500 gb or get the 750gb? ( I already have two 1tb external drives. )

2) Should I upgrade the ram from 4gb to 8gb now or wait and buy an OEM ?

3) This is going to be a gift from my wife. If I decide on a refurbished model is there chances that the casing will be scratched?


Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[lfshammu]

Get the 750 because if your going to get a fast SSD may as well get the slow large one.

Always Buy ram from other sites than apple! they over charge by 100 to 120 percent.

I have a refurb and it came looking brand new, if you do get one of the rare ones with a defects you can always send it back.

 

[wrinkster22]

Hello Everyone !!
After days of comparing the air and pro. I finally decided on getting a Pro! I am going with the 13 inch because it is in my budget. I had a few questions before I go ahead and buy it .

1) I am planning to change my hard drive in the future when SSDs get cheaper. Should I keep the stock HD of 500 gb or get the 750gb? ( I already have two 1tb external drives. )

2) Should I upgrade the ram from 4gb to 8gb now or wait and buy an OEM ?

3) This is going to be a gift from my wife. If I decide on a refurbished model is there chances that the casing will be scratched?


Thanks in advance for the advice!

1) If you need the larger hard drive, get the larger one if not get the smaller because you will end up replacing it to an ssd anyway you mentioned.
2)Apple charges a lot for ram, your better off keeping it at 4 and if you need more you can get it from another company
3)Refurbished apple products are great. the laptops get a new case, battery, charger,etc. Only the internals are kept. They also have the same warranty. The chance is the same if not *less* that you will end up with a scratched model. Keep in mind though refurbished apple products *do NOT* come in the regular box, instead they are in a plain white box.

 

[mariot]

lfshammu, if I am understanding you correctly, I can get the 750 g hard drive then add the ssd rather than replacing the 750g hard drive? And if I buy the aftermarket RAM is that going to void my warranty?

Thanks

Mario

 

[ThirtyThr33]

lfshammu, if I am understanding you correctly, I can get the 750 g hard drive then add the ssd rather than replacing the 750g hard drive? And if I buy the aftermarket RAM is that going to void my warranty?

Thanks

Mario

No what I think he means is to get the 750 HD and replace it with a ssd when they get more space and become cheaper. And no RAM is a upgradable part that Apple allows you to modify.

 

[mariot]

Ok awesome so I think Im going to get the i7 refurb and save the extra cash and upgrade later !

Thanks you!!!

 

[Oxonian3]

I'd get the 500 7200RPM in my opinion.8gb ram of amazon $50!. and as an additional option antiglare screen.

 

[mariot]

So some of you might have read my post earlier this morning I am buying my first macbook pro soon . I was set on buying the 13 inch until my brother asked me if I am interested in buying his 2009 ultimate 17 inch macbook pro. He is still paying for it monthly and is in perfect condition. The laptop is sweet but my thinking is at that price I can get a new macbook 13 inch.

Is the 17 inch worth it or should I go for a new 13???

Thanks!!

 

[jenzjen]

Buy a new one will save you hassle in the long run

 

[petvas]

have read my post earlier this morning I am buying my first macbook pro soon . I was set on buying the 13 inch until my brother asked me if I am interested in buying his 2009 ultimate 17 inch macbook pro. He is still paying for it monthly and is in perfect condition. The laptop is sweet but my thinking is at that price I can get a new macbook 13 inch.

Is the 17 inch worth it or should I go for a new 13???

Thanks!!

Do you need a big laptop, or one that is lighter, easier to transport and with the newest processor available?
Will it be your main computer? What are you going to be doing with the laptop?

 

[Papanate]

Is the 17 inch worth it or should I go for a new 13???
Thanks!!

The 17 is huge...I was at an event last month and a research gal was sitting on the floor with a 17" MacBook....I almost died laughing at the juxtaposition of the two. I also think the portability of the 13 outweighs anything you gain with the 17. The 17 is a lot to lug around.

I would go for the 13" - and get a 24" monitor for home for the screen real estate.

 

[Elven]

I would prefer the newer one, I bet you right now, he wants a new one and that is why he is trying to palm you his.

 

[mariot]

It will be my main laptop and will be taking it to university next year. I know it is big but I feel like its still worth lugging it around at the price I am getting. I also have an ipad if ever I get tired of it .

I do not do much. I watch basic movies, office, email etc.

 

[eljanitor]

I'd go with the newer 13". its now 2011 and the extended apple care warranty (if any) will be up soon. It may not be the 17" but no need to pay off his old laptop if you can afford a new one. Ive said it more times then I can remember. Get the extended apple care warranty, its a great thing to have if something goes wrong after the first year, like a display, or logic board.

 

[mariot]

actually he is selling to buy a windows laptop

 

[mcdj]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Please don't make a separate thread for every installment of this epic saga.

 

[ActionableMango]

IMHO the 13" is too small and cripples the experience of several apps, especially those like Photoshop that have lots of toolbars. Also, the 13" have poor GPU performance.

The 17" can be a beast to lug around. If you carry one daily on foot like at a campus, it might be too much. If you only move it now and then, or always in a car or something, it's probably fine.

I've had many laptops from a 10" netbook to an 18" monster. 15" seems like the best compromise for all-round use, but it really depends on how portable or not that you need it to be.

Also, you are asking about laptops on the desktop forum. You might have better answers in the Macbook Pro forum.

 

[Velin]

Do not purchase a 2009 17 MBPro.

You will be much happier with a brand new 13-inch MBPro. First, the 17 inch machine is enormous and heavy. I don't even see the point of it. You will hate lugging it around.

Also, didn't new machines come out, or get announced, in Summer 2009? I'd check that for sure, because sometime around then they got upgraded graphics cards and other revs.

2009 machines, while not outdated, already are a bit behind the times. With a new MBPro, you get i5 or i7 dual core, 4G RAM standard, Thunderbolt port (very useful, don't underestimate this), and can easily stick in an aftermarket SSD. The machine will be very fast.

Get new, get portable, be happy.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

Go New Refurb!

Get the 15 inch, refurb. Get 8GB Ram from an outside vendor and replace the SSD with an outside vendor. Many guides and help are available. With the 15 inch you can do just about anything you want, to include moderate gaming.

 

[baypharm]

The 17 is huge...I was at an event last month and a research gal was sitting on the floor with a 17" MacBook....I almost died laughing at the juxtaposition of the two. I also think the portability of the 13 outweighs anything you gain with the 17. The 17 is a lot to lug around.

I would go for the 13" - and get a 24" monitor for home for the screen real estate.

Not to me. I wouldn't have anything other than a 17"