Need Some Advice Please

[happle]

ok so i have a unibody macbook 2.26ghz c2d, 4gb of ram, 500gb 7200rpm hd. it runs great but i am looking to upgrade. im looking to upgrade to a 15" mbp. i produce music so i need the bigger screen as well as the cpu power. my current macbook is working pretty hard to use reason 6 and ableton live at times. also i need a dedicated graphics card because i will be playing diablo 3 in a few months when it comes out.

but i have a few concerns. im looking at buying the new spec bumped 15" macbook pro. do you guys think the base model 15" pro will work for my needs? will the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB GDDR5 gfx card run diablo 3 nicely? or should i get the high end model with the 6750M 1GB VRAM?

also another concern is, when is the rumored redesign mbp supposed to come out? if its expected in January then i will wait for that, but if its going to be another year ill just buy the newest model to date. also i still use the optical drive and am quite happy with the looks of the mbp. also i feel like the redesign if designed more like the air will run hotter, in which case id rather have the current generation mbp. also i do usually like to wait until the second revised model of a new generation comes out just to make sure they've worked out all of the bugs.

also is the hi res screen worth it? i used my friends and everything seemed a tad small for my likings. could be good for using photoshop and ableton with all of the plug in windows but im not sure if id even like it, let alone need it.

if you guys could please give me some insight based on my concerns that would be greatly appreciated. especially some insight on whether or not the base 15" mbp gfx card will run diablo 3 nicely.

thanks

 

[thundersteele]

noone knows when the rumored redesign will be available. Spring seems to be a common estimate, I wouldn't expect them in january.

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=40446

Diablo III System Requirements


MINIMUM SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

PC
OS: Windows® XP/Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 (Latest Service Packs) with DirectX® 9.0c
Processor: Intel Pentium® D 2.8 GHz or AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 4400+
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 7800 GT or ATI Radeon™ X1950 Pro or better

Mac
OS: Mac® OS X 10.6.8 or newer | Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better
All Platforms
HD Space: 12 GB available HD space | Memory: 1 GB RAM (1.5 GB required for Windows Vista®/
Windows® 7 users, 2 GB for Mac® users) | Drive: DVD-ROM drive | Internet: Broadband Internet
connection | Display: 1024x768 minimum display resolution

(Note: Be advised that some wireless connections do not meet the minimums required to be a true Broadband Internet connection. Wireless results may vary.)



RECOMMENDED SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS

PC
OS: Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 (Latest Service Packs) | Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz
or AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz | Memory: 2 GB RAM | Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 or
ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better

Mac
OS: Mac® OS X 10.7 or newer | Processor: Intel® Core 2 Duo | Memory: 2 GB RAM
Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 330M or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better

so, it should be a piece of cake for the current macbook pros.

I love the hi-res screens, but if you feel uncomfortable with the small text size etc then maybe it's not for you. Apple stores usually have both, so you can compare.

Based on your current needs, I would buy now. There's a chance that the redesign is not actually what you are looking for, i.e. maybe no optical drive, maybe no dedicated graphics, etc.

 

[happle]

noone knows when the rumored redesign will be available. Spring seems to be a common estimate, I wouldn't expect them in january.

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=40446



so, it should be a piece of cake for the current macbook pros.

I love the hi-res screens, but if you feel uncomfortable with the small text size etc then maybe it's not for you. Apple stores usually have both, so you can compare.

Based on your current needs, I would buy now. There's a chance that the redesign is not actually what you are looking for, i.e. maybe no optical drive, maybe no dedicated graphics, etc.

thanks for the input man. so im thinking of buying the high end 15" mbp by christmas time. i figure the 1gb of vram will keep me good for a while 512 just seems eh idk not quite enough.

and yeah i do still like the optical drive for the occasional dvd, game, cd rip or burn, etc.

although, i do not believe they will remove a dedicated gfx card from the 15" and up pro line. if they did that would be asinine and they would lose A LOT of customers. unless of coarse intel comes out with some crazy new integrated gfx but i doubt it.

 

[Naimfan]

Either get a refurbished 2.2 GHz quad-core or a new base 15".

 

[happle]

Either get a refurbished 2.2 GHz quad-core or a new base 15".

you don't think the 1gb of vram is worth it in the high end 15"? 512mb just seems a tad low if im going to be spending near 2000 on a laptop i might as well get something thats not going to be obsolete for playing games etc.