New Macbook Pro, 13,3"

[Twaize]

Hello

I recently ordered a Macbook Pro, 13,3"; I haven't recieved it yet, as total delivery is 10 days.
I bought it with a 320 GB HDD as it was the most economical upgrade (the 500 GB is a ripoff), but just read that changing the HDD voids the warrenty.
Is that true? Is it visible, should it ever need servicing? I bought the Apple Care, so it makes a big difference.

If I buy an external HDD, boot from that, and use it for gaming, will it severely hamper performance? I know running an external drive isn't nearly as fast as an internal, but would that be a bottle neck with gaming?
I should also note, that gaming is a small pastime, not something I will be doing a lot.

Thank you very much.

 

[fehhkk]

Changing the hard drive doesn't void your warranty. What is not covered, is your third party drive in case it fails or if you screw anything up yourself in the process, or any fault caused by the new component.

It's very easy to perform. Link

 

[jb1280]

changing the hard drive does not void the warrantee. Why would Apple put instructions in the owner's manual on how to change something, if doing so would void your warrantee?

 

[dyrmaker83]

I believe it just means you can't return it, because it's a "custom" configuration.

 

[Twaize]

Thank you very much for your replies, what about the external hdd?

 

[zw-gator]

Why not just install the game(s) on you internal HD?

 

[Twaize]

Why not just install the game(s) on you internal HD?

Space issues, I won't put my photos on an external hdd, I prefer having them on my computer, and doing a backup of that, so they are always 2 places. Unfortunately, they took up a hell of a lot of space

 

[Dan73]

Game will load slower but once they are loaded they are in RAM and should run fine.

 

[dB.Mac]

Twaize,

I'd agree with Dan73, I run Windows XP Pro and Vista Business via Parallels on 500 gig externals and haven't had problems with either.

 

[Twaize]

dB.Mac, Dan73 and fehhkk;
Thank you very much for your help, it is much appreciated.