Prospective MBP owner in UK, need some help please..

D

Dan0903

macrumors member
Im looking for a laptop for Uni, im enrolling on an animation/modelling course.

At college i currently work on Macs and yes, they **** all over Pc's.

I'm dissapointed in the lack of an update for the MBP, btw.

but regardless, since im not very tech savy, i wanted to know, just how fast is an intel core duo 2.6ghz?

My Pc runs at 2.8ghz (not a 'duo' though), and thats pretty good for me (sometimes slow at video editing).

help/advice please
 
i dont get it though?

how can 2.4ghz be faster than my 2.8ghz PC?

is a core 'duo' like having two 2.4ghz processors :confused:




dont laugh at me :p
 
Dan0903 said:
i dont get it though?

how can 2.4ghz be faster than my 2.8ghz PC?

is a core 'duo' like having two 2.4ghz processors :confused:




dont laugh at me :p
Click to expand...

Intel Core2Duo implements plenty of new technologies that make it much faster than previous Pentiums. You must not judge a CPU performance only by its clock speed.

More information about the dual core, see Intel's website for comprehensive explanation

http://www.intel.com/personal/our-technology/core2duo/index.htm?iid=homepage+c2d_ipc
 
cheers for the help skyrider.


how big of a performance difference would i see from 2.2ghz to 2.4ghz?

or even 2.4ghz to 2.6ghz?
 
Dan0903 said:
cheers for the help skyrider.


how big of a performance difference would i see from 2.2ghz to 2.4ghz?

or even 2.4ghz to 2.6ghz?
Click to expand...

Very little. Specifically, an 8% increase in the former, and a 7% difference in the latter--and those differences would only become apparent when using the full 2.2/2.4/2.6ghz speeds on both cores. So your real-world difference would remain effectively zero (when doing normal stuff).
 
heatmiser said:
Very little. Specifically, an 8% increase in the former, and a 7% difference in the latter--and those differences would only become apparent when using the full 2.2/2.4/2.6ghz speeds on both cores. So your real-world difference would remain effectively zero (when doing normal stuff).
Click to expand...

That's why you shouldn't buy the unnecessarily expensive 2.6 model. I find my 2.4GHz model just right.
 
using my education discount, i can get the 2nd mbp for £1471 or the high end model for £1655

Thats $2885 and $3246


i was thinking about getting the 2nd MBP and upgrading the processor to 2.6ghz to bring the cost to £1617 ($3171)
 
Dan0903 said:
using my education discount, i can get the 2nd mbp for £1471 or the high end model for £1655

Thats $2885 and $3246


i was thinking about getting the 2nd MBP and upgrading the processor to 2.6ghz to bring the cost to £1617 ($3171)
Click to expand...

save some money for booze and perhaps AppleCare from eBay in the US
 
since im doing animation/modelling/video editing/photoshop, id thought an MBP was necessary.

However the black MB with all but the graphics card and resolution of the MBP is £976.

so where would i see the difference between the high end MB and the low end MBP?

cheers for the help everyone
 
Dan0903 said:
using my education discount, i can get the 2nd mbp for £1471 or the high end model for £1655

Thats $2885 and $3246


i was thinking about getting the 2nd MBP and upgrading the processor to 2.6ghz to bring the cost to £1617 ($3171)
Click to expand...

you would have a hard job upgrading the processor as there soldered onto
the logic board
 
Or i could just let apple do it for me :confused:

55446178lu1.jpg
 
also, id love to get 4gb of ram in it, but £413 is a lot of money for 2gb extra ram.

A. how much of a difference is it?

B. any way i can it cheaper?
 
The RAM is an easy answer - I've just bought a 4GB kit from Play in the UK for £56, delivered (inc VAT).

It's (literally) a two minute fit.

I've got the 2.2 MBP an am more than happy with it; I looked at the cost of the "higher" spec models but to be honest, you're spending a lot of money for not much gain (a few percentage points at best, and this - of course - is only apparent when you are running the processor flat out).

And in answer to your earlier question (don't think anybody answered) in simple terms, the Core 2 Duo is indeed like having two processors in one (hence its popularity).

Intel have gone away from raging clock-speeds nowadays an on to multi-core processors, which gives you in effect two chips in one.
 
is it easy to fit, i mean, i upgraded my PC from 256mb to 1256mb myself.


Do you have a link to said product? :)
 
Here you go - you would need two of these:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/34970...667/2G+2GB+DDR2+SODIMM+Upgrade&searchsource=0

you simply flip the MBP upside down, take out the battery (having shut it down, of course!) then there's a small metal plate held in by three tiny screws.

Remove the three screws, the plate comes away from the base of the MBP and exposes the two memory slots (one on top of the other).

The RAM is held in by a spring clip on each side, you pop out the top one, then the one underneath, then pop in the new RAM.

Refix the plate, replace the battery and power-on. MBP will boot up (no other configuration necessary) and you then have 4GB of RAM.

I fitted mine this morning (as they arrived from Play) took less than two minutes.
 
chriscl said:
Here you go - you would need two of these:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/34970...667/2G+2GB+DDR2+SODIMM+Upgrade&searchsource=0

you simply flip the MBP upside down, take out the battery (having shut it down, of course!) then there's a small metal plate held in by three tiny screws.

Remove the three screws, the plate comes away from the base of the MBP and exposes the two memory slots (one on top of the other).

The RAM is held in by a spring clip on each side, you pop out the top one, then the one underneath, then pop in the new RAM.

Refix the plate, replace the battery and power-on. MBP will boot up (no other configuration necessary) and you then have 4GB of RAM.

I fitted mine this morning (as they arrived from Play) took less than two minutes.
Click to expand...

Did the RAM come with a screw driver?
 
i have a cold mate, so from TV/360/internet my life hardly differs today :D.


in your honest opinion then should i plump for the 2nd MBP (for the processor hard drive, and added graphics card memory) and then add the memory upgrade from play.


obviously want a case too, but is their anything else i should get?
 
Dan0903 said:
i have a cold mate, so from TV/360/internet my life hardly differs today :D.


in your honest opinion then should i plump for the 2nd MBP (for the processor hard drive, and added graphics card memory) and then add the memory upgrade from play.


obviously want a case too, but is their anything else i should get?
Click to expand...

Poor you, seems like the bugs is all over! U in uni? Anyway, yes you should go for the 2.4GHz 15" MBP.

For protection I use a moshi palmguard and speck see-thru clear hard-case. You might also want to get a bluetooth mouse (I have the wireless mighty mouse). Consider getting the new Time Capsule (AirPort Express Base + Harddrive) for wireless and backup solution. Also get AppleCare from eBay if you're looking to keep your MBP for awhile.
 
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