Not sure ram/hard drive for my macbook

[JoshOohAh]

Hey guys, I am converting to Mac after being on windows all my life and have had enough.

That's besides the point I plan on getting the 2.4ghz macbook and not just for the light up keyboard, it was before that, that I decided i needed it that fast

I just want some opinions if I should stay with the standard 2gb or upgrade to the 4gb. I use my computer for so many different things. I will ALWAYS be running iTunes, Skype, MSN, and my browser. Apart from that I will do things like basic Movie/Picture editing, I think I'm going to get Photoshop and Final Cut express. I also think I am going to use garage band A LOT. I will use my word processing and presentation software here and there for school. Also my games, which most will be in VMware Fusion and Mac has a very small variety of games I may consider. Also I might watch some movies as well. Would doing most of these things REQUIRE 4GB of ram. I don't plan on doing all these things at once. Is it more of a luxury or necessity?

Next, based on those programs do I need 320gb hard drive or should I settle for the 250gb hard drive. I will list some of the more heavy duty stuff:
8GB of music
Skype
Msn
Microsoft Office
Photoshop
Final cut express
Windows xp
10gb of games
Vmware fusion
Firefox
Limewire Pro
and plenty of useless garbage

one more question since I'm still new to macs,
do I need an anti virus program. I know most people say they don't get viruses but they can't be 100% immune there has to be viruses out there


thanks for your help it means a lot

 

[Tallest Skil]

do I need an anti virus program. I know most people say they don't get viruses but they can't be 100% immune there has to be viruses out there

Nope. Not a single one. Don't stop being an intelligent end-user, though.

 

[ImYourVillain]

I don't know much about macs yet but you could do what everyone told me to do, buy everything standard then use websites to upgrade your RAM and HD as needed. Someone gave me this site: http://www.macsales.com for the RAM.

 

[JoshOohAh]

I don't know much about macs yet but you could do what everyone told me to do, buy everything standard then use websites to upgrade your RAM and HD as needed. Someone gave me this site: http://www.macsales.com for the RAM.

I heard about that too and was considering it but in order for them to ship it to where I live I only save like 10$ and that's before the currency exchange

 

[Boxer757]

Personally I would upgrade to the 4GB RAM. I doubt you will regret it. As far as the HD goes Photoshop, Final Cut, music, and your "useless garbage" can fill up a HD suprisingly fast. If you have an external drive then you could skimp and go for the 250. But if your only drive is going to be the laptop drive go 320. One more option available to you would be to order the standard i.e. least espensive HD and then swap in a 3rd party high capacity drive upon receipt or when needed.

I'm not expert by any means, and I didn't answer all your questions, but that's my two cents...

 

[Vanilla]

I bought the 2.4ghz with stock ram, purchased 2 * 2gb ram sticks and then installed it myself. It all works but if you are at all nervous about opening up the innards of your shiny new macbook and/or don't have a precision kit of micro screwdrivers I'd let Apple pre-install the sticks for you. I have an iMac as well and the process of upgrading the RAM on that machine is brain-dead easy in comparison.

I found the whole process of carefully looking after the 8 screws I had to extract, carefully lifting off the back panel and delicately levering out the installed RAM chips (in one case with the bottom one (they are stacked one on top of each other) having to use a piece of plastic to help as my fingers were too fat!) etc. all rather stressfull.

Totally doable but if I'd had to do it again I'd go for the easy option and get Apple to do it.

Vanilla

 

[JoshOohAh]

One more option available to you would be to order the standard i.e. least espensive HD and then swap in a 3rd party high capacity drive upon receipt or when needed.

Thanks, I think I will do that it seems most logical to me since I'm so unsure

I bought the 2.4ghz with stock ram, purchased 2 * 2gb ram sticks and then installed it myself. It all works but if you are at all nervous about opening up the innards of your shiny new macbook and/or don't have a precision kit of micro screwdrivers I'd let Apple pre-install the sticks for you. I have an iMac as well and the process of upgrading the RAM on that machine is brain-dead easy in comparison.

I found the whole process of carefully looking after the 8 screws I had to extract, carefully lifting off the back panel and delicately levering out the installed RAM chips (in one case with the bottom one (they are stacked one on top of each other) having to use a piece of plastic to help as my fingers were too fat!) etc. all rather stressfull.

Totally doable but if I'd had to do it again I'd go for the easy option and get Apple to do it.

Vanilla

I was considering to do that it looked EXTREMELY easy when I first saw it on youtube but in order for those 3rd parties to ship it to where I live I'm saving around 10$ which to me isn't worth it in case I screw up when opening the case

 

[Consultant]

YOu can upgrade the ram yourself to save some money.

everymac.com for the max ram your machine can hold, some are more than listed specs.

 

[JoshOohAh]

YOu can upgrade the ram yourself to save some money.

everymac.com for the max ram your machine can hold, some are more than listed specs.

lol my 3rd time mentioning I've been to all those sites and I only save around 10$ because of shipping to where I live

 

[techound1]

lol my 3rd time mentioning I've been to all those sites and I only save around 10$ because of shipping to where I live

$10 is still $10. Heck, think of it in terms of your favorite vice - cups of coffee, cans of coke, pints of guiness...

 

[JoshOohAh]

$10 is still $10. Heck, think of it in terms of your favorite vice - cups of coffee, cans of coke, pints of guiness...

10$ plus 3-5 business days I think I will take the 24 hour mac shipping over that for 10$ plus if i screw up when trying to install it the apple warranty wont cover it