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Some Questions...

G

Garrett998

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 25, 2011
43
9
I am currently looking at buying the new high end 15" MacBook Pro:

:apple: 2.4GHz quad-core :apple:
Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz
750GB 5400-rpm
Intel HD Graphics 3000
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1GB GDDR5

I would mostly use it for broswing the web, creating and editing documents, light photo editing (photoshop elements), publishing (programs like In-Design and Studioworks), and moderately intense gaming (SCII, the upcoming GW2). I'd imagine this setup should adequately fit my needs - but I don't want to have to replace my computer for several (5ish) years.

Would it be necessary for me to upgrade to 8GB of ram (via a third party)? Also I think I would upgrade to the high-res glossy screen, but I heard that doing so will lower your framerate while playing a game. Can you manually set your resolution to be lower while playing a game to increase its efficiency? How much of a drop in performance would there be between the standard and high res?

Also, I don't really need a laptop at the moment - I'd just like to have one. Perhaps I should wait until Ivy Bridge for longevity? I imagine the high end 15" after the redesign will be quite impressive. What's your input?
 
High end + 3rd party (cheap) 8GB RAM + Hi-res Glossy/Antiglare = Awesome.

Most, if not all, Macs last at least 5 years under good condition. When you buy a Mac, you don't worry about longevity as much as you would buying a PC, because everything will still run just as well as it would on the latest and greatest PC.
 
You have to make the decision on when to pull the trigger. Honestly, the current MBPs are fantastic machines. No one knows for sure that there will be a complete redesign. It's heavily rumored, but no one can say when it will be, what it will look like or what the internals will be.

Do what will make you happiest. Are you comfortable waiting a year for the unknown? If it is a redesign next year, will you be completely pissed off that you didn't wait? Those are the questions you have to answer. Everyone is different. I just recently purchased a refurb early 2011 15". I didn't absolutely NEED a new computer, but I wanted one. I happen to love the current form factor, and I know the machine will meet my needs easily for 3-5 years. Plus I saved some cash, so it's all good.
 
dusk007 said:
IMO reducing details and staying native res usually means better gaming experience.
Click to expand...

I agree. When I played MW on my PC I'd turn off shadows, "glow," depth of field, etc for a higher framerate. It looked less baller but there are actually advantages. Shadows actually hid enemies better, so turning them off helped.
 
You turned of a lot.
I shut off depth of field, smooth smoke edges (never saw the difference) but shadows and most other stuff was on.
No AA/AF naturally but 1680x1050 ran with decent 30-50 fps on the 330M.

Shadows imo reduce image quality too much. It might hide enemies better but it is a bit unrealistic and you loose the ability to see an enemy around the corner because of a shadow.
 
Do you guys think that the new generation will have a SSD standard? With current prices I can't really see how they would do that... With the current gen MacBook Pro I can't really see an affordable option of getting a SSD without having to remove the optical drive to put in more storage (128 SSD for applications and OSX) + HDD for storage). I don't want to have to store documents, photos, or music permanently on my 1TB external drive (other than for back-up).

Then again, maybe I don't need a SSD...
 
I don't see a large SSD (128+GB) becoming standard, though I suppose it's possible. I could see some small flash memory being used as a cache like the Momentus XT uses
 
I say low end, go third party RAM, use the stock HD till you fill it up, and after get a third party OEM SSD.
 
They won't make SSD standard in the Pros just yet. People need more than 128 or 256GB of storage, and even the 256 models are pretty expensive still. Personally, I can't see the need for an SSD. Sure, it's cool and pretty convenient, but I rarely reboot, so boot time is irrelevant, and even at that, I have an extra 30 seconds whenever I do have to do it. Then, when I open my apps, it maybe takes an extra second or two to open the bigger ones. Not a big deal, especially not for $4-500. At most, I'd pay 2-3x the price of a standard HDD for a SSD, but not nearly 10x.
 
You have one statement that sticks out like a sore thumb...

"Also, I don't really need a laptop at the moment - I'd just like to have one." -Garrett998

If you don't need a laptop, then why buy one? Can't you think of anything else in the world that you NEED that you SHOULD buy? Buy one for a friend that NEEDS one and then buy one for yourself later when you NEED a laptop!!!
 
Guardsix said:
You have one statement that sticks out like a sore thumb...

"Also, I don't really need a laptop at the moment - I'd just like to have one." -Garrett998

If you don't need a laptop, then why buy one? Can't you think of anything else in the world that you NEED that you SHOULD buy? Buy one for a friend that NEEDS one and then buy one for yourself later when you NEED a laptop!!!
Click to expand...

Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think there is anything that I NEED anymore... Nor do I think that any of my friends (or anyone really) truly needs a laptop. I think most middle-class people of today's society focus more on want than need, because for the majority of the time need is always fulfilled.

I've just saved money for sometime now and figured a laptop would be a smart buy before heading to college.
 
Would anyone be able to shed some insight on to what settings/what FPS I could expect for SC2 with the specs in the OP with the upgraded 1680 resolution? Thanks.
 
Would it be worth paying $45 (education discount) to upgrade to a 7200RPM HDD since I won't be getting a SSD? How much will it cut my battery life? However, my main concern is that a 7200 in addition to moderately intense gaming could create a heating issue?

Though I've also heard a 7200 is great for gaming since you are constantly pulling from your HDD... looking for some enlightenment.

----------

Is Apple's 7200 any good? I'd rather not have to buy from a third party, since it would probably be a good ~100 more... But if Apple's is ****, I'd consider it.

Also is the 7200 a lot nosier than the 5400? I'd imagine the fans while gaming would drown them out though... :rolleyes:
 
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