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Owners of the 13" MBP... streaming question

P

p1ngputts

macrumors member
Original poster
Building my 13" as we speak, but my main concern besides word/itunes is that I want to be able to stream tv. I live in MI and never get any of my PA sports teams on the television. My current laptop, the Samsung qx410 is such a power house but for some reason sucks when streaming anything, including Youtube stuff.

Does anyone with a 13" want to direct me where to go or what to add to the build? Low end/high end? I will be getting the 128 SSD no matter what, but i know that doesn't effect the streaming.
 
Last edited:
p1ngputts said:
figured it was a good title since it's meant for owners of the 13". Anyway...thanks i guess. edited.
Click to expand...
The issue is streaming requirements, which would apply to any Mac, regardless of the model. Anyway, the more focused and descriptive the title, the more likely those who are familiar with streaming will respond. Hope it helps!
 
GGJstudios said:
The issue is streaming requirements, which would apply to any Mac, regardless of the model. Anyway, the more focused and descriptive the title, the more likely those who are familiar with streaming will respond. Hope it helps!
Click to expand...

yes and no...I'm looking for owners of the 13" because they will most likely have experience with streaming on the 13" models. I'm also building a 13". I don't think taking advice from someone with a macbook or air would really help me out as much. I'm tryin to keep this on topic. Thanks.
 
Not really anything you can do to help the streaming on the 13" other than get a better internet connection??

Graphics card isn't upgradable, and really that's the only thing that could help if the sites you are streaming off of support hardware acceleration... still the 13" should have no problem streaming youtube, or other video content so long as you are on a decent internet connection.
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
Not really anything you can do to help the streaming on the 13" other than get a better internet connection??

Graphics card isn't upgradable, and really that's the only thing that could help if the sites you are streaming off of support hardware acceleration... still the 13" should have no problem streaming youtube, or other video content so long as you are on a decent internet connection.
Click to expand...

Any major difference between the 2 13" models? Should I buy base and upgrade ram and SSD? Or just got top 13" and upgrade SSD? I'm not going to game on this mac.
 
p1ngputts said:
Any major difference between the 2 13" models? Should I buy base and upgrade ram and SSD? Or just got top 13" and upgrade SSD? I'm not going to game on this mac.
Click to expand...

what are you going to be using the computer for?

Really the only difference between the two is the size of the hard drive and the speed of the processor. The hard drive, as well as RAM can always be upgraded later, and for much cheaper than what apple will charge you to upgrade so it's advised that you buy those components and install them on your own rather than adding the options from apple.

If you do a lot of processor intensive things (encoding movies, 3d renders, etc.) the better processor would help you, but otherwise I'd save my money and get the low end 13" and upgrade to 8gb RAM for about $90 on newegg and get an SSD or HDD that you want, maybe even look into an optibay.

If you were going to get the high end 13" my personal recommendation would be to just get the low end 15" Whole lot more computer for $200, and imo the high end 13 is kind of a waste... just a way for apple to make more money off "spec whores" who think they have to have the best in every category.
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
what are you going to be using the computer for?

Really the only difference between the two is the size of the hard drive and the speed of the processor. The hard drive, as well as RAM can always be upgraded later, and for much cheaper than what apple will charge you to upgrade so it's advised that you buy those components and install them on your own rather than adding the options from apple.

If you do a lot of processor intensive things (encoding movies, 3d renders, etc.) the better processor would help you, but otherwise I'd save my money and get the low end 13" and upgrade to 8gb RAM for about $90 on newegg and get an SSD or HDD that you want, maybe even look into an optibay.

If you were going to get the high end 13" my personal recommendation would be to just get the low end 15" Whole lot more computer for $200, and imo the high end 13 is kind of a waste... just a way for apple to make more money off "spec whores" who think they have to have the best in every category.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I will literally be using the laptop for watching movies, streaming television, and a ton of Word documents (including multiple tabs opened for Lexis and Westlaw). I'm a 3L so this laptop will be the laptop I use for work next year after I take the bar and get a job.
 
p1ngputts said:
Thanks for the response. I will literally be using the laptop for watching movies, streaming television, and a ton of Word documents (including multiple tabs opened for Lexis and Westlaw). I'm a 3L so this laptop will be the laptop I use for work next year after I take the bar and get a job.
Click to expand...

The base model would be just fine for your needs. Save your money and invest it in a Vertex 3 SSD, 8gb of Ram, and a mDP > HDMI cable so you can hook it up to the big screen. Maybe even grab an external HDD for time machine backups.

Don't forget to look into the optibay conversion if you have no need for a dvd drive in your computer.
 
I have the base the 13" and it streams 1080p perfectly fine. I watch ESPN3 and MLB.tv regularly as well as Youtube and Netflix. The graphics card is the same in both so getting the i7 is negligible.
 
acedickson said:
I have the base the 13" and it streams 1080p perfectly fine. I watch ESPN3 and MLB.tv regularly as well as Youtube and Netflix. The graphics card is the same in both so getting the i7 is negligible.
Click to expand...

does the 13" have a built in microphone for chatting ?
 
p1ngputts said:
Building my 13" as we speak, but my main concern besides word/itunes is that I want to be able to stream tv. I live in MI and never get any of my PA sports teams on the television. My current laptop, the Samsung qx410 is such a power house but for some reason sucks when streaming anything, including Youtube stuff.

Does anyone with a 13" want to direct me where to go or what to add to the build? Low end/high end? I will be getting the 128 SSD no matter what, but i know that doesn't effect the streaming.
Click to expand...
I love my 13". It streams Netflix and Youtube perfectly. If I we're you though, I'd pass on the Apple SSD and order it with a 320 or 500GB HD. Order a bigger Intel 320 or Kingston V+100 and throw the HD into a USB enclosure for backup.
 
p1ngputts said:
Thanks for the response. I will literally be using the laptop for watching movies, streaming television, and a ton of Word documents (including multiple tabs opened for Lexis and Westlaw). I'm a 3L so this laptop will be the laptop I use for work next year after I take the bar and get a job.
Click to expand...

I've got the base 13"

As is said above, streaming video's depends on your internet connection and your graphics card. I can stream HD videos on youtube and such easily. I can also play portal 2 on quite a high setting so, the graphics card is more than adequate.

As for everything else, the i5 is more than enough. I can't see any reason you'd need 8GB of ram, or an SSD (unless you want one). Just having word open as well as lexis and westlaw would use barely any of it's computing muscle. It'll do you fine. great machine.

also, good look in your last year and with the bar course.
 
p1ngputts said:
does the 13" have a built in microphone for chatting ?
Click to expand...
yes, even has a built in camera for facetime video chat

rossmadden said:
As for everything else, the i5 is more than enough. I can't see any reason you'd need 8GB of ram, or an SSD (unless you want one). Just having word open as well as lexis and westlaw would use barely any of it's computing muscle.
Click to expand...

8gb of ram just allows you to have more programs open and allows your programs to use up more memory... it's not necessarily manditory, but at a <$90 upgrade, it's well worth it and will extend the life of your computer.

An SSD is probably the biggest upgrade an "average" user can do to speed up their computer. It will help boot times, and app load times drastically.
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
8gb of ram just allows you to have more programs open and allows your programs to use up more memory... it's not necessarily manditory, but at a <$90 upgrade, it's well worth it and will extend the life of your computer.

An SSD is probably the biggest upgrade an "average" user can do to speed up their computer. It will help boot times, and app load times drastically.
Click to expand...

If he needs Microsoft Word to open 2 seconds quicker then yeah and SSD would be better. until the £/$ per Gb comes down, it's a bit steep.
And agreed, 8GB of ram is beneficial, i'm planning to buy it soon, but for Word and an Internet Explorer? IF the OT wants to run parallels or something, then yeah. What I'm saying is, why pay for more that he doesn't need?
 
Thank you everyone so far for the great and helpful responses.

Configuration
2.3GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Country Kit

I also picked up the mini DP to HDMI.

Can anyone send me a link to NewEgg or somewhere where I can get a SSD and maybe a 4gb stick of ram (that would put me at 6gig) that will fit with this laptop? How is installation of both of these as well?
 
rossmadden said:
If he needs Microsoft Word to open 2 seconds quicker then yeah and SSD would be better. until the £/$ per Gb comes down, it's a bit steep.
And agreed, 8GB of ram is beneficial, i'm planning to buy it soon, but for Word and an Internet Explorer? IF the OT wants to run parallels or something, then yeah. What I'm saying is, why pay for more that he doesn't need?
Click to expand...
ever used an ssd? it makes everything you do on your computer a lot quicker than your conventional hard drive. It may not be worth the cost to some people, but if he was planning on getting the high end he has enough money to get a nice ssd instead and when everything you do happens 2-3 seconds quicker and your machine can boot in 15 seconds from sleep it starts to add up. During some tasks (ironically the most basic of tasks) the macbook airs feel faster than the new macbook pros and that's because of the ssd... when you are not doing processor intensive tasks an SSD is the best upgrade you can make to ensure your computer feels snappy! 😀
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
yes, even has a built in camera for facetime video chat



8gb of ram just allows you to have more programs open and allows your programs to use up more memory... it's not necessarily manditory, but at a <$90 upgrade, it's well worth it and will extend the life of your computer.

An SSD is probably the biggest upgrade an "average" user can do to speed up their computer. It will help boot times, and app load times drastically.
Click to expand...

Don't forget Skype, Webex, AIM, iChat, etc. for uses of the built-in camera. HD now even!

Out of curiosity, Burton, when you say upgrading the RAM will help the computer last longer, do you mean that it will take longer for it to become "obsolete" as computing power/RAM demands incrase over time?
I've never heard that more RAM would actually make the hardware itself live longer, so I don't know if that's what you meant, or the software viability issue.

Overall, given what the OP indicated he needs for the computer, I don't see any reason to upgrade anything. I run a Win 7 VM w/ 1 GB of RAM almost all the time and I'm still struggling if it's worth the ~$85 to go to 8 GB of RAM.
Now, I'm not saying that more RAM or an SSD isn't nice, but unless the dude's got lots of extra cash laying around with nothing to do, it just doesn't seem like a worthwhile use of the money.

What I could recommend might be a 500 GB 7200 RPM laptop drive to replace the original and use the original drive in an enclosure for a Time Machine backup drive.

But whatever the OP does, I think an external Time Machine drive is a must.

Cheers, all, and to the OP: enjoy that MBP!
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
ever used an ssd? it makes everything you do on your computer a lot quicker than your conventional hard drive. It may not be worth the cost to some people, but if he was planning on getting the high end he has enough money to get a nice ssd instead and when everything you do happens 2-3 seconds quicker and your machine can boot in 15 seconds from sleep it starts to add up. During some tasks (ironically the most basic of tasks) the macbook airs feel faster than the new macbook pros and that's because of the ssd... when you are not doing processor intensive tasks an SSD is the best upgrade you can make to ensure your computer feels snappy! 😀
Click to expand...

I know that they are good, and I'm not saying this to argue with you, I agree that they are brilliant, I'm thinking about the guys bank balance, and whether HE needs it.
My base loads in 40 seconds, I never restart it because it snaps from sleep in an instant. But I don't miss those 40 seconds.
You can't tell me SSDs aren't expensive and that for the OP's needs, he should get one?
 
p1ngputts said:
Can anyone send me a link to NewEgg or somewhere where I can get a SSD and maybe a 4gb stick of ram (that would put me at 6gig) that will fit with this laptop? How is installation of both of these as well?
Click to expand...

It is not recommended that you run two different ram sticks in your computer....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226167

here is a link to 2 - 4gb sticks (8gb total) for $83

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=vertex+3&x=0&y=0

there is a link to the vertex 3 ssd's... imo the best out right now and they will take advantage of the new 6mbps SATA ports for even more speed. 120gb is $300
 
p1ngputts said:
Thank you everyone so far for the great and helpful responses.

Configuration
2.3GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
Country Kit

I also picked up the mini DP to HDMI.

Can anyone send me a link to NewEgg or somewhere where I can get a SSD and maybe a 4gb stick of ram (that would put me at 6gig) that will fit with this laptop? How is installation of both of these as well?
Click to expand...

Has anybody kept an eye on the MBPs and if they still use dual channel memory (increasing the speed of using matched RAM sticks)?

Is that even a relevant question anymore?
 
xxBURT0Nxx said:
It is not recommended that you run two different ram sticks in your computer....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226167

here is a link to 2 - 4gb sticks (8gb total) for $83

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=vertex+3&x=0&y=0

there is a link to the vertex 3 ssd's... imo the best out right now and they will take advantage of the new 6mbps SATA ports for even more speed. 120gb is $300
Click to expand...

how is installation of the SSD? That is my main concern. Never having an apple computer makes me a little worried.

Also, I'm looking at some type of protective case/sleeve. Thoughts?
 
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