my first mac... upgrades?

[RuggerDoc]

Hello mac people. I've finally decided to make the move to a mac after lurking for quite some time. I have a couple questions about upgrades... Right now i'm thinking of a 2.2GHz MacBook, 120GB hd. Is it worth it to bump up the RAM to 2GB from 1GB?

I'm a med student and use my computer mostly for powerpoint lectures, email, internet, music and pictures. I know this doesn't require a ton of computing power, but I also have *gasp* Vista and a few programs i'd like to also run on my new macbook with the apparently awful Parallels.

Oh yeah... i'd prefer not to blow tons of money on this, since i'll be paying this computer off 20 years from now.

 

[I'm a Mac]

Yeah, upgrading to 2GB is probably a good idea. you can never have too much RAM. But why don't you try VMware. It's supposed to be better than parallels.

 

[CalBoy]

2GB of RAM will really be nice, but if you're looking to buy RAM only once, I suggest you buy RAM after Thanksgiving and go for a full 4GB. You might get a 4GB kit for only $150 on Black Friday. If you do see such a deal, go for it. If not, then just go for 2GB now.

Whatever you do, do not buy RAM from Apple. It's way overpriced and the upgrade is insanely easy.

 

[RuggerDoc]

Whatever you do, do not buy RAM from Apple. It's way overpriced and the upgrade is insanely easy.

how "insanely easy" are we talking about for someone who's never done work on a laptop? I would be worried about cutting open my new beauty.

 

[CalBoy]

how "insanely easy" are we talking about for someone who's never done work on a laptop? I would be worried about cutting open my new beauty.

It seriously involves two screws, unplugging the old RAM, and then plugging in the new RAM. I believe Apple even has a guide on this on their page. Also, if you're still unsure, you can check out MR's guides as well. Trust me, if you are in medical school, you can change the RAM

 

[basesloaded190]

how "insanely easy" are we talking about for someone who's never done work on a laptop? I would be worried about cutting open my new beauty.

there are two screw like things by the battery on the back. unscrew those and take a little screw driver to remove a metal plate thing, and then you can see the memory and take them out to put new ones in. screw everything back in and your good to go. they have a video of how to do it on macsales.com under their macbook memory section

 

[amac4me]

Congrats on your decision to purchase a Mac. I agree with the others, you'll save some money by upgrading the RAM after your purchase.

Why not see how your Mac performs with the standard 1GB based on your use case and then upgrade if you need to.

Good luck with your decision.