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MBP 13 - 2.4 with 8gb or 2.66 with 4gb

K

kndawg07

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 14, 2010
11
0
Hey you guys!

I'm a college student looking to purchase his first Mac! Other than the typically college use, I plan to use it to record music (I'm a hip hopper, so mostly creating beats with a midi keyboard and capturing vocals all with Logic Pro) and creating flyers and such with Photoshop. I may also use Bootcamp and install Windows 7.


I have the budget to either purchase the MBP 13 with 2.4 with 8gb RAM or the 2.66 with 4gb RAM.

Based on my needs, which would you guys suggests and why?

Thanks a bunch!
 
Get the 2.66ghz with 4gb. It should be mostly be enough for the tasks you have mentioned, and even if you don't, you can always upgrade to 8gb for a hundred bucks more later. You cannot upgrade the processor though.
 
alust2013 said:
I suggest the 2.4 with 8GB. The CPU speed increase is minimal with the 2.66, and more memory is always better with photoshop.
Click to expand...

That's what I was leaning towards. I just don't know much about Macs just yet to really say... I did the Live Chat at the Apple site and were kind of split, some said maxed out 2.4, othere were stock 2.66... so I'm not sure
 
evilweasel47 said:
Get the 2.66ghz with 4gb. It should be mostly be enough for the tasks you have mentioned, and even if you don't, you can always upgrade to 8gb for a hundred bucks more later. You cannot upgrade the processor though.
Click to expand...

Where can I get the 8gb ram for about a hundred bucks? Would installing it yourself void apple care?
 
Real world difference between 2.4>2.66 just isn't worth it. Just go with the 2.4 with 8GB.
 
This is same as i5 or i7...

So I would say the best way is get 2.4 +4GB RAM
After that, if you think you needs some more RAM, then just add it :D
Because 4GB RAM are quite expensive at the moment. Well, for me it is :rolleyes:

PS: If you think 8GB will make your laptop much faster, then I'd suggest you get an SSD :)
 
henry72 said:
PS: If you think 8GB will make your laptop much faster, then I'd suggest you get an SSD :)
Click to expand...

If you have to pick between the two, the choice might depend on whether or not you are wanting to run VMWare or Parallels.

I'm running across more and more people who are wanting Windows 7 64-bit in their other partitions, and this would more or less necessitate 8 GB to get the most out of it.

I dunno. I understand what you mean about the SSD (I just ordered one), but I think I'd get 8 GB of RAM first, if I had to pick, and then put the SSD on the list of things to buy in the future.

But I'm new at Mac stuff...so what the hell do I know.
 
If you use alot of samples --> 2.4 ghz / 8 gb
If you use alot of plugins --> 2.66 ghz / 4 gb
 
George Knighton said:
If you have to pick between the two, the choice might depend on whether or not you are wanting to run VMWare or Parallels.

I'm running across more and more people who are wanting Windows 7 64-bit in their other partitions, and this would more or less necessitate 8 GB to get the most out of it.

I dunno. I understand what you mean about the SSD (I just ordered one), but I think I'd get 8 GB of RAM first, if I had to pick, and then put the SSD on the list of things to buy in the future.

But I'm new at Mac stuff...so what the hell do I know.
Click to expand...


I wouldn't be running either one, however I do plan to use Bootcamp and install Windows 7
 
kndawg07 said:
I wouldn't be running either one, however I do plan to use Bootcamp and install Windows 7
Click to expand...

I'm a every day "Aperture" user, sometimes VMWare with XP or even 7 (I got both), Photoshop CS5 etc...

I don't know how many GB of RAM does Logic needs. At least 4GB+2.4 is enough for me.

Anyways... are u going to buy it in Apple Store Online?

PS: You might needs an external monitor for Logic :D
 
Most people are gonna tell you to get the 2.4Ghz since (as they mentioned) the day to day use is quite minimal. I would recommend get the 2.66Ghz (and eventually, 8GB of RAM) because I personally feel the difference between both of them. I wish I had gotten a 2.66ghz, but I also wish the price was lower :eek:
 
I can't see .26Ghz making that much of a difference, especially for the price. Get the 2.4Ghz and use the savings for more RAM and bigger or faster hard drive.
 
2.66 is a waste of money in any circumstance.

8GB is only good if you need it. Otherwise it is also a waste of money.

Look into SSDs, they will give you far more bang for the buck.
 
2.4 with 8GB

I'm running on 4GB and it's not enough for when I edit in Lightroom for example, the processor is not the problem for my 13", the ram is.
 
henry72 said:
I'm a every day "Aperture" user, sometimes VMWare with XP or even 7 (I got both), Photoshop CS5 etc...

I don't know how many GB of RAM does Logic needs. At least 4GB+2.4 is enough for me.

Anyways... are u going to buy it in Apple Store Online?

PS: You might needs an external monitor for Logic :D
Click to expand...

The amount Logic needs kind varies depending on what's going on and how many tracks and stuff.. But to be safe I'd say 2-3gb alone.
 
aeboi said:
2.4 with 8GB

I'm running on 4GB and it's not enough for when I edit in Lightroom for example, the processor is not the problem for my 13", the ram is.
Click to expand...

I'm really not that compute savvy but isn't it the processor that handles the actual task while the RAM is more for multitasking? Or do I have this totally screwed up?
 
wordoflife said:
Most people are gonna tell you to get the 2.4Ghz since (as they mentioned) the day to day use is quite minimal. I would recommend get the 2.66Ghz (and eventually, 8GB of RAM) because I personally feel the difference between both of them. I wish I had gotten a 2.66ghz, but I also wish the price was lower :eek:
Click to expand...

So you have 2.4 with 4gb I'd assume. What are you using it for that you feel the lack of both?
 
kndawg07 said:
Hey you guys!

I'm a college student looking to purchase his first Mac! Other than the typically college use, I plan to use it to record music (I'm a hip hopper, so mostly creating beats with a midi keyboard and capturing vocals all with Logic Pro) and creating flyers and such with Photoshop. I may also use Bootcamp and install Windows 7.


I have the budget to either purchase the MBP 13 with 2.4 with 8gb RAM or the 2.66 with 4gb RAM.

Based on my needs, which would you guys suggests and why?

Thanks a bunch!
Click to expand...

Go with MBP 2.4...you will not see a big difference between 2.4 and 2.66...save your $$$ and get your self a SSD. Good luck
 
kndawg07 said:
So you have 2.4 with 4gb I'd assume. What are you using it for that you feel the lack of both?
Click to expand...

Nothing really. I can even feel the difference when Im using it for basic things, and opening programs. My cousins computer (Macbook Pro 13" 2.66ghz, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD) feels noticeably faster when opening things. I doubt the 8GB ram or 500gb hdd is making it faster.
 
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wordoflife said:
kndawg07 said:
So you have 2.4 with 4gb I'd assume. What are you using it for that you feel the lack of both?
Click to expand...

Nothing really. I can even feel the difference when Im using it for basic things, and opening programs. My cousins computer (Macbook Pro 13" 2.66ghz, 8GB RAM, 500GB HDD) feels noticeably faster when opening things. I doubt the 8GB ram or 500gb hdd is making it faster.
Click to expand...

Maybe your cousin's hard drive has a higher rpm than yours? It's difficult to say what's making it faster really as there a 3 variables changing between the 2 computers.
 
capoeirista said:
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Maybe your cousin's hard drive has a higher rpm than yours? It's difficult to say what's making it faster really as there a 3 variables changing between the 2 computers.
Click to expand...

Nope, its 5400RPM. They got it from Apple - they wouldn't know how to upgrade the hard drive.

Even at the Apple Store, when I'm just using it, the 2.66Ghz Macbook Pro 13" feels faster. Nothing bad though, at all.
 
kndawg07 said:
I'm really not that compute savvy but isn't it the processor that handles the actual task while the RAM is more for multitasking? Or do I have this totally screwed up?
Click to expand...

depends on what you're doing, when I render in final cut, the processor usage spikes up but when I'm in lightroom, I'm frequently left with like 100 mb of free memory
 
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