Hard Drive *vs* Memory

[MacGroupie]

Which should i go for? I can either upgrade my new MacBook to 4GB in memory, or 320GB in hard drive space.

Im mainly going to be surfing the web, playing DVD's and storing my music. Thanks=]

 

[rjphoto]

JMHO... you can always hook up an external drive for more storage, but you can't hook up extra ram...

That being said how are you planning on getting more ram? If through Apple, I'd think twice and check out buying it somewhere else and installing it myself.

It may work out that you can get the HD you want and install the ram you want for the same price...

Anyone else priced it like that?

 

[MacGroupie]

JMHO... you can always hook up an external drive for more storage, but you can't hook up extra ram...

That being said how are you planning on getting more ram? If through Apple, I'd think twice and check out buying it somewhere else and installing it myself.

It may work out that you can get the HD you want and install the ram you want for the same price...

Anyone else priced it like that?

Oh i dont have my Mac yet, i was just on the apple sight putting together my MacBook and was just wondering which i should go for, Hard Drive or Memory.

 

[tdgrn]

Unless you have more stuff than what your HD can hold, get the RAM. You can always upgrade your HD when you need to, you wont see a performance increase other than just more space for stuff. However with the RAM, your computer will be noticably faster. RAM baby

 

[MacGroupie]

Unless you have more stuff than what your HD can hold, get the RAM. You can always upgrade your HD when you need to, you wont see a performance increase other than just more space for stuff. However with the RAM, your computer will be noticably faster. RAM baby

sweet, thanks

 

[DaveF]

Which should i go for? I can either upgrade my new MacBook to 4GB in memory, or 320GB in hard drive space.

Im mainly going to be surfing the web, playing DVD's and storing my music. Thanks=]

I'll say the opposite and upgrade the harddrive. You're not doing anything taxing; 2GB is plenty. I don't think you'll see a difference in speed surfing the web with 4GB.

However, if you do need more RAM, you can upgrade trivially. It takes 10 minutes. But if you want to upgrade drives, it's a bit more involved, as you need to a way to clone your current harddrive to the new one and then install the new one. Upgrading this initially means avoiding this little nuisance.

Or, if you don't need the RAM or the drive space, you can upgrade neither and spend the money on software, or music and movies

 

[yabxe]

It would really help if you stated which model you had decided on as the base unit. Generally speaking you get more value with RAM. You macbook starts out with 2GB of Ram but its in two dimms of 1GB each. If you choose to upgrade later you need to buy 2 2GB dimms since there are only two slots. Some will suggest selling the 1GB dimms you would then have left over but the resale is very poor. As for the HD 160GB is a good start and it would all depend on how much data you already have and anticipate. Without further information I would definitely go with the additional RAM.

 

[yabxe]

On second thought you might want to consider something completely different. If you do not have an external backup drive you would be best served by investing in that. With the use of time machine you will be able to protect your data without much thought or effort. That would be my first consideration beyond the initial machine.

 

[MacGroupie]

It would really help if you stated which model you had decided on as the base unit. Generally speaking you get more value with RAM. You macbook starts out with 2GB of Ram but its in two dimms of 1GB each. If you choose to upgrade later you need to buy 2 2GB dimms since there are only two slots. Some will suggest selling the 1GB dimms you would then have left over but the resale is very poor. As for the HD 160GB is a good start and it would all depend on how much data you already have and anticipate. Without further information I would definitely go with the additional RAM.

i wanted the 2.4gh model

 

[northy014]

Um... you can easily hook up extra ram later on, and if you want to get the music, then upgrade the hard drive. In future, we will all have more and more media on our computers, so this is a good investment for the future. Additionally, it may be worth waiting year or so as RAM prices will come down significantly.

 

[dukebound85]

It would really help if you stated which model you had decided on as the base unit. Generally speaking you get more value with RAM. You macbook starts out with 2GB of Ram but its in two dimms of 1GB each. If you choose to upgrade later you need to buy 2 2GB dimms since there are only two slots. Some will suggest selling the 1GB dimms you would then have left over but the resale is very poor. As for the HD 160GB is a good start and it would all depend on how much data you already have and anticipate. Without further information I would definitely go with the additional RAM.

upgradind drives is really easy to do...just like ram. makes it REALLY easy if you have a time machine backup

my advice, get the bigger hd now and ram later. i paid 100 dollars for a 1 gig stick close to 2 years ago. now they are dirt cheap

 

[5855997]

go for the harddrive. then you can store all your music and have it always with you. I just love to have all my music/videos/pictures with me on the road. you never know when you need it.

you wouldn't really see any benefits from 4gb ram. though I upgraded myself to 4gb this week. I don't really need it myself, (it speeds up a few apps by a little) but I bought it because of the whole market situation. ram is just so cheap at the moment. (surely depends where you're living and buying)

 

[pendo]

I'm thinking a faster HD would produce more noticeable results for everyday tasks.

 

[illegallydead]

Oh i dont have my Mac yet, i was just on the apple sight putting together my MacBook and was just wondering which i should go for, Hard Drive or Memory.

Do neither. Get the basic config. with the processor you want.
Then upgrade the HDD and RAM yourself. Definitely should have done that on mine, in retrospect. It'll be much cheaper, and you can get both for the price of upgrading one on the store.

 

[dubhe]

Do neither. Get the basic config. with the processor you want.
Then upgrade the HDD and RAM yourself. Definitely should have done that on mine, in retrospect. It'll be much cheaper, and you can get both for the price of upgrading one on the store.

I agree, get the most basic spec drive, then buy yourself an upgrade, from the manufacturer of your choice. Same goes for RAM, if you really feel you need it. For your needs, you will get more value from a bigger hard drive. The memory will make it feel faster, but not that much with your tasks. Once your HDD is full, it is full.

 

[Tom B.]

I would advise against getting a bigger hard drive from Apple because for just $40 more than Apple charge for the 320GB drive, you can get a 500GB Samsung Spinpoint M6 from newegg. Or alternatively, you might want a 7200rpm 320GB drive which Apple currently only offer for the MacBook Pro.

 

[dukebound85]

Do neither. Get the basic config. with the processor you want.
Then upgrade the HDD and RAM yourself. Definitely should have done that on mine, in retrospect. It'll be much cheaper, and you can get both for the price of upgrading one on the store.

I agree, get the most basic spec drive, then buy yourself an upgrade, from the manufacturer of your choice. Same goes for RAM, if you really feel you need it. For your needs, you will get more value from a bigger hard drive. The memory will make it feel faster, but not that much with your tasks. Once your HDD is full, it is full.

I would advise against getting a bigger hard drive from Apple because for just $40 more than Apple charge for the 320GB drive, you can get a 500GB Samsung Spinpoint M6 from newegg. Or alternatively, you might want a 7200rpm 320GB drive which Apple currently only offer for the MacBook Pro.

well yea obviously get the stock macbook and upgrade everything yourself. just buy a hd off newegg and upgrade it. really easy to do

the old mb's required a torx 8 screwdriver i believe which i found at sears. dont know about the new ones though but check

 

[Lurchdubious]

Get the RAM now, HDD later (when you need it). And ditto on the external HDD. You will notice the extra RAM daily. When the heck are you going to need a couple hundred GB of extra music/media? A road trip? Some simple planning (transferring files before your trip) can sure save some cash. OR, if you are able to work a small screwdriver just do both aftermarket & get some instant gratification.

 

[Jeremy08]

I would advise against getting a bigger hard drive from Apple because for just $40 more than Apple charge for the 320GB drive, you can get a 500GB Samsung Spinpoint M6 from newegg. Or alternatively, you might want a 7200rpm 320GB drive which Apple currently only offer for the MacBook Pro.

By chance do you know if I could purchase this hard drive, toss it in my new alum macbook 2.4 and take the 250gb that came with it and put it in my ps3/ my girlfriend's 2.0 ghz whitebook?? I am not very good with these different hard drive sizes, will this be an easy switch? I do have an external with time machine to do the backup and stuff. Just wondering if the sizes of the hard drives are all the same...Ideas?

 

[dukebound85]

By chance do you know if I could purchase this hard drive, toss it in my new alum macbook 2.4 and take the 250gb that came with it and put it in my ps3/ my girlfriend's 2.0 ghz whitebook?? I am not very good with these different hard drive sizes, will this be an easy switch? I do have an external with time machine to do the backup and stuff. Just wondering if the sizes of the hard drives are all the same...Ideas?

yea the ps3 will take the old hard drive no problem, as would your gf's mb. either or is easy to do

as far as swapping drives, its as easy as taking out ram

 

[yabxe]

i wanted the 2.4gh model

In order of priority:
1. Get a back up drive - you will never think this is worth it until the day your hard drive fails. Hard drive failures are not a question of if but when. Eventually they all fail and when it does having everything backed up using timemachine will make recovery a breeze. All of your music, photos, documents and even network settings will be recovered in less than 90 minutes.
2. Max your RAM
3. Upgrade the HD.

All three options are in the same price range. Hope this helps.