MBP 13" high end or low end

[hades1223]

im planning to get a MBP 13 inch, but im wondering which should i get. the 2.4 or the 2.6. i also plan to upgrade to the 500GB.

the things i would be doing with this computer is mostly school work and web surfing. but i may get the thing where u run mac and windows at the same time. any thoughts?

 

[js81]

im planning to get a MBP 13 inch, but im wondering which should i get. the 2.4 or the 2.6. i also plan to upgrade to the 500GB.

the things i would be doing with this computer is mostly school work and web surfing. but i may get the thing where u run mac and windows at the same time. any thoughts?

Not worth it for $300, IMHO. Also, if you're gonna upgrade the hard drive anyway, who cares what drive is standard. Sure it may cost a bit more to go from 250 -> 500, but not enough to matter. IMO, get the 2.4 - I'm waiting on mine right now...

 

[hades1223]

Not worth it for $300, IMHO. Also, if you're gonna upgrade the hard drive anyway, who cares what drive is standard. Sure it may cost a bit more to go from 250 -> 500, but not enough to matter. IMO, get the 2.4 - I'm waiting on mine right now...

is it better to get the 500gb when i buy it from apple or is it better to buy my own and install it?

 

[angemon89]

Install your own. For what Apple charges for the upgrade to a 500GB drive, you can almost buy a 1TB laptop drive.

I also agree, get the low end. The "high end" this revision is failure on Apples part. They didn't do a good job of distinguishing the two models.

 

[tuna]

is it better to get the 500gb when i buy it from apple or is it better to buy my own and install it?

Apple charges $150 to upgrade to 500GB 5400rpm

Right now you can buy a 500GB 5400rpm hard drive at Newegg.com for $76 shipped.

You could add a portable USB hard drive enclosure and still spend less than what Apple charges. And then you would have the 500GB hdd in the computer plus a 250GB external for backups/ whatever.

**** I should buy that for my laptop.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

My thoughts on processor upgrades for those that can't take advantage of the extra power immediately can be found here.

 

[elpmas]

-__-

 

[hades1223]

Apple charges $150 to upgrade to 500GB 5400rpm

Right now you can buy a 500GB 5400rpm hard drive at Newegg.com for $76 shipped.

You could add a portable USB hard drive enclosure and still spend less than what Apple charges. And then you would have the 500GB hdd in the computer plus a 250GB external for backups/ whatever.

**** I should buy that for my laptop.

any recommendations on which hard drive i should use? cause ive been reading about the seagate 500gb 7200 rpm and , people are saying that it doesnt last long

 

[roxygal9]

My thoughts on processor upgrades for those that can't take advantage of the extra power immediately can be found here.

Good thread. I am convinced that the 2.4 will be fine, and then I can use the extra money for the 256 SSD. Is this a smart move or should I go with 128? I could certainly use the extra space, and was thinking it may be a better resell feature down the road? Thoughts anyone?

 

[roxygal9]

However the benchmarks posted here http://www.macnn.com/articles/10/04/15/core.i5.more.than.sufficient/ show quite an increase between the 2 processors, anyone have any comments on this?

 

[alust2013]

Good thread. I am convinced that the 2.4 will be fine, and then I can use the extra money for the 256 SSD. Is this a smart move or should I go with 128? I could certainly use the extra space, and was thinking it may be a better resell feature down the road? Thoughts anyone?

I would go for a 128 and stick your current drive in an enclosure personally. 256 have some pretty steep prices. Or you could go with a 160 GB Intel, which is kind of in between.

And for the OP, go with the lower end. You really won't see anything out of your extra $300, especially since you already get 4GB ram with the low end. Mine's got the same processor as the low end, and even though people whine about it being a C2D, it's still pretty darn fast, and definitely more than you need with web surfing and word processing, etc.

 

[mackiwilad]

any recommendations on which hard drive i should use? cause ive been reading about the seagate 500gb 7200 rpm and , people are saying that it doesnt last long

Personally I HATE Seagate drives. Yeah you hear all about the warranty but you will use it and have all the hassle of HD failure, data loss and replacement etc. Sure, regular backups should mitigate this, but why bother?

Of course everyone has a different opinion about HD manufacturers, so go with whatever floats your boat really...

 

[hades1223]

Personally I HATE Seagate drives. Yeah you hear all about the warranty but you will use it and have all the hassle of HD failure, data loss and replacement etc. Sure, regular backups should mitigate this, but why bother?

Of course everyone has a different opinion about HD manufacturers, so go with whatever floats your boat really...

okay thank, i also heard for the extra speed, a bit of battery is sacrificed. is there an average of how much? or is it just minimal that i wont even need to worry about it.

 

[breathesrain]

I bought a Hitachi 7k500 500 Gb drive and the top rated USB enclosure on amazon for 110$, total. That's what, 40 dollars less than from Apple for the slower version, and I'll have an extra drive. I knew the hard drive upgrade prices were ridiculous, but I'm seriously impressed

As for SSDs, they sound awesome, but after reading a couple long articles on Anandtech, I'm still a bit wary of buying one for a while...

 

[hades1223]

I bought a Hitachi 7k500 500 Gb drive and the top rated USB enclosure on amazon for 110$, total. That's what, 40 dollars less than from Apple for the slower version, and I'll have an extra drive. I knew the hard drive upgrade prices were ridiculous, but I'm seriously impressed

As for SSDs, they sound awesome, but after reading a couple long articles on Anandtech, I'm still a bit wary of buying one for a while...

what do you mean by a top rated enclosure?

 

[breathesrain]

what do you mean by a top rated enclosure?

the one with the best customer reviews on Amazon I was planning on getting the cheapest one I could find, but I played it safe. It was still only 20 dollars.

 

[hades1223]

the one with the best customer reviews on Amazon I was planning on getting the cheapest one I could find, but I played it safe. It was still only 20 dollars.

may i ask which one would that be, cause ur plans are kinda same as mine.

 

[newmacboyoutube]

Low end

The extra price for the 0.26GHz of power does not justify at all. You would not see much improvement at all in the basic tasks, one second or two less in video editing may be...

 

[breathesrain]

may i ask which one would that be, cause ur plans are kinda same as mine.

Enclosure: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001XHELB8/ref=oss_product
Drive: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FYJQB8/ref=oss_product

I also signed up for the Amazon Prime trial, which actually seems to be a pretty good deal- for a month, I get free 2 day shipping on almost everything and it doesn't automatically renew. But those are both sold by amazon anyway, so if you get them together you get free shipping anyway (just slower).

 

[hades1223]

Enclosure: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001XHELB8/ref=oss_product
Drive: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FYJQB8/ref=oss_product

I also signed up for the Amazon Prime trial, which actually seems to be a pretty good deal- for a month, I get free 2 day shipping on almost everything and it doesn't automatically renew. But those are both sold by amazon anyway, so if you get them together you get free shipping anyway (just slower).

thanks, i think i will get the same thing. hopefully the exchange will come out okay.