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My first MacBook Pro

Apps

Apps

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 13, 2010
26
0
Hi everyone,
I'm looking into buying my first mac and I'm looking at the macbook pro's.

I'm stuck on the following configurations

15"
i7 2.66Ghz
4GB ram
500gb hd 7200rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB
Hi-Res Screen

15"
i5 2.4Ghz
8GB ram
320gb hd 5400rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
Hi-Res Screen

15"
i5 2.4Ghz
4GB ram
128 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
Hi-Res Screen

17"
i5 2.53GHz
4GB ram
500gb hd 7200rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB

I want to get started with graphic design. I'll also want to use it for some gaming. Also storage isn't too important to me.

If you guys have anymore questions on what I'm looking for just let me know.

Thanks.
 
I like this config the best.

15"
i5 2.4Ghz
4GB ram
128 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
Hi-Res Screen

i5 and the Solid State drive. I think thats a nice combo

Even though the 17" is cool it is just way to big!!! It is like hauling around a PC! :)
 
That was quick, thanks!
Also should I be considering the anti-glare?
I like how to glossy screens look but I don't want to not be able to use my macbook in a car because of the sun.
 
Apps said:
That was quick, thanks!
Also should I be considering the anti-glare?
I like how to glossy screens look but I don't want to not be able to use my macbook in a car because of the sun.
Click to expand...

from my expeirence when the screen is at full brightness you dont really recognise it - but when down lower brightness its a bit troubling.

hope u dont get car sick ;)
 
if storage isnt a big deal go for a SSD. i would also spend the extra 100 bucks for the high res screen for design
 
Yeah I'm definitely going to get the Hi-Res screen on the 15",
another question I want to ask is if I can upgrade the hard drive in the future, in case SSDs get cheaper in the near future.
 
Apps said:
Yeah I'm definitely going to get the Hi-Res screen on the 15",
another question I want to ask is if I can upgrade the hard drive in the future, in case SSDs get cheaper in the near future.
Click to expand...

yes, you can upgrade the hard drive and ram by yourself. it will not void your warranty.
 
Apps said:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking into buying my first mac and I'm looking at the macbook pro's.

I'm stuck on the following configurations

15"
i7 2.66Ghz
4GB ram
500gb hd 7200rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB
Hi-Res Screen

15"
i5 2.4Ghz
8GB ram
320gb hd 5400rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
Hi-Res Screen

15"
i5 2.4Ghz
4GB ram
128 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
Hi-Res Screen

17"
i5 2.53GHz
4GB ram
500gb hd 7200rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB

I want to get started with graphic design. I'll also want to use it for some gaming. Also storage isn't too important to me.

If you guys have anymore questions on what I'm looking for just let me know.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

For Graphics Design get the 17" if you can afford it. You'll find that working with graphics by a power of 2 (like 1024x1024) textures perfect on 1080 or better vertical resolution. If you're doing photos, a 15" is fine. I prefer the "gloss", it's nowhere near bad as some claim (some are just fickle), I find the glossy screens "appear" to have better contrast, it may just be an illusion, but a good one for a Graphics Designer.
 
I would say go for the 2.4 i5 15", and possibly upgrade the HDD to and SSD later. You would get a better deal and extra storage out of it, depending on the SSD you got, although it appears that the price on the 128GB isn't actually too bad from apple. The screen on the 17 is definitely nice, but it is a ton of computer. I wouldn't want to carry around much more than my 13", so I don't think I would recommend the 17", although if you don't have to carry it around much, then it wouldn't be too bad. Personally, I like having my external monitor and a more portable computer, but the 15" Hi-res should serve you well.
 
Apps said:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking into buying my first mac and I'm looking at the macbook pro's.

I'm stuck on the following configurations

15"
i7 2.66Ghz
4GB ram
500gb hd 7200rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB
Hi-Res Screen

15"
i5 2.4Ghz
8GB ram
320gb hd 5400rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
Hi-Res Screen

15"
i5 2.4Ghz
4GB ram
128 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256MB
Hi-Res Screen

17"
i5 2.53GHz
4GB ram
500gb hd 7200rpm
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB

I want to get started with graphic design. I'll also want to use it for some gaming. Also storage isn't too important to me.

If you guys have anymore questions on what I'm looking for just let me know.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Please check out the MacBook Pros in person before you order one. I found the high res screen to be very nice (the colors are great) but, I found the smaller font to be much too small to even consider getting the high res.
 
tkingart said:
For Graphics Design get the 17" if you can afford it. You'll find that working with graphics by a power of 2 (like 1024x1024) textures perfect on 1080 or better vertical resolution. If you're doing photos, a 15" is fine. I prefer the "gloss", it's nowhere near bad as some claim (some are just fickle), I find the glossy screens "appear" to have better contrast, it may just be an illusion, but a good one for a Graphics Designer.
Click to expand...

I have a decent 1920x1080 monitor that I could use when I need it but the 17" is even better than that.

I'll look into how small the text looks on the high-res screen, but as long as its not anything rediculous I'll probably go for it.
 
I'm actually going to pick up your 1st configuration when the back to school promo starts, been waiting since they came out so hopefully I don't have to wait too much longer. I'm a person who prefers space over speed and I can fill a good few hundred Gigs in a short time. That being said it really depends on what you're going to be storing.
 
Link2999 said:
I'm actually going to pick up your 1st configuration when the back to school promo starts, been waiting since they came out so hopefully I don't have to wait too much longer. I'm a person who prefers space over speed and I can fill a good few hundred Gigs in a short time. That being said it really depends on what you're going to be storing.
Click to expand...

Cool, I'm going to read into that back to school promo.
I would like to get the bigger hard drive and just start using the macbook for everything like my itunes library and start moving away from my pc, but these SSDs seem to be worth cutting back on storage from what they seem to do.
 
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