Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Qs involving configure MacBook Pro 17''

R

rw1029

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 17, 2010
5
0
[FONT=arial,sans-serif]Dear Friends,

I intend to buy a MacBook Pro 17-inch. The basic specifications from Apple are:
[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif] 2.53GHz Intel Core i5[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X2GB[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Glossy Widescreen Display[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide[/FONT]
[FONT=arial,sans-serif]
Apple provides options to configure and up-scale some specifications (http://store.apple.com/us_edu_188440/configure/MC024LL/A), and I have some questions in that regard:

1) Adding to the normal uses such as browsing, emailing, word processing, watching movies, etc. I expect to do some video editing work on my laptop. Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 is the program I used to use. For my school work, I usually only produce short videos with a final cut of less than 10 minutes, although my original footage sometimes occupy two 60-minutes mini DV tapes. I wonder if the basic set-up of the laptop (as specified above) would qualify/satisfy the video editing work I'll be doing. Or would it worth to add $180 for an upgrade from i5 to i7, $360 for 4GB of RAM to 8GB, or the upgrades for the hard drive:
[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm[/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm [Add $45.00][/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]128GB Solid State Drive [Add $180.00][/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]256GB Solid State Drive [Add $585.00][/FONT]
  • [FONT=arial,sans-serif]512GB Solid State Drive [Add $1,170.00][/FONT]
[FONT=arial,sans-serif] 2) Apple says on their web that the glossy display would be better for watching movies than an anti-glare. I do watch movies a lot. However, I am also sensitive to reflections and do not like them. Therefore I'm not sure if I should just stay with the glossy screen or add $45 for an anti-glare one.

3) Would it be cost efficient to add $239 to extend the complimentary 90 days telephone technical support and one-year limited warranty to 3 years?


I would highly appreciate any advise. Thanks a lot.
[/FONT]
 
I would just do the processor upgrade. Leave the ram and harddisk as they are, and buy like the OWC 8gb ram kit for 250 bucks, Mercury extreme SSD at 320 bucks

Ram is wayyyyy cheaper outside of the apple store, and Apple uses pretty lousy SSDs compared to the really good ones you can get outside, like the Intel x-25s, OWC Mercury extremes, Corsair Force, just to name a few.

Always buy Apple care for your mac. It's definitely worth the extra money.

Choice of screen is entirely up to you. I'd get the glossy display if I were always in a room where reflections wouldn't be a big issue to me. I do my work in dimly lit rooms anyway
 
Greetings!

I personally would not want to get upgrades from Apple. Do it yourself... you'll have much more choices available to you and it'll also be cheaper.
 
thank u so much for the advise, guys!

so a third party upgrade of RAM and/or HDD would work perfectly well with MBP? :apple: :rolleyes:
 
i say go with the model you mentioned, and just upgrade the processor to i7 and possibly the matte screen. Other than that, it is a GREAT machine for video editing. Actually, most of those HDD "upgrades" you see from apple are actually worse off for ya, due to actually lower HDD space. However though, even getting the i7 upgrade is optional, as the i5 would suite your needs just fine. Matter of fact, for the price of upgrading to an i7, you could possibly purchase Final Cut Express. But yea, that laptop even with apple's spec will be perfectly fine. Doubt you will need to for a while, but you could possibly upgrade the RAM later on, so don't worry about that.
 
rw1029 said:
Good question! I asked around and was told that we could put the originals BACK when we go for the repair.
Click to expand...

its only recommended so they don't wipe your data. Otherwise, ram and hdd upgrades will not void the warranty.
 
thanQ!

Thank you guys for all your comments/advises! I got my MBP 17'' yesterday!

Happy Maccing!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back