Three Options: Base vs. The High End

[Totty1987]

I'll be placing an order for a 15-inch Macbook Pro a week from now, but I'm just trying to decide whether to go for the base model or the high end.
I'm well aware that the processor as well as graphics card cannot be upgraded, so I need to consider this carefully.

I don't envisage I'll be doing any cpu-intensive tasks right away, but I'm pretty keen to get into video/music editing sometime down the road and I would like to have a system which is able to execute any tasks thrown at it.

I actually did consider getting the Air, due to the SSD as well as form factor but the 4gb RAM cap turned me off as well as the 256gb capacity.

Also, are there any cons opting for the high end/ultimate model e.g. overheating etc.

Anyway here we go:

OPTION 1:

15-inch: 2.2 GHz

2.2GHz quad-core
Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz
500GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB GDDR5
Built-in battery (7 hours)2

Additional Purchases
RAM Upgrade: By April/May
Acquire Applecare: 3-5 months after purchase
Booq protective case: In January
Western Digital/Seagate External 1tb/2tb hard drive: By March
Upgrade internal hard drive to (750gb 5400-rpm/7200-rpm) by 2013

=============

OPTION 2:

15-inch: 2.4 GHz

2.4GHz quad-core
Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz
750GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1GB GDDR5
Built-in battery (7 hours)2

Additional Purchases
RAM Upgrade: By Fall/Autumn
Acquire Applecare: A Month before limited warranty expires
Booq protective case: By March
Western Digital/Seagate External 1tb/2tb hard drive: July/August

=============

OPTION 3:

15-inch: 2.5 GHz

2.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz
750GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
AMD Radeon HD 6770M with 1GB GDDR5
Built-in battery (7 hours)2

Additional Purchases
RAM Upgrade: By Fall/Autumn
Acquire Applecare: A Month before limited warranty expires
Booq protective case: By May/June
Western Digital/Seagate External 1tb/2tb hard drive: July/August

All comments are welcome.

Please could you also add your vote to the poll.

Thanx a bunch

 

[mobilehaathi]

The marginal bump from 2 to 3 doesn't seem worth it. You'd do fine with 1, but I'd personally go 2.

 

[Sasha-1]

Just go with Option 1, and take the saved money and make the upgrades yourself. You can buy 8 GBs of RAM from Apple for $200 or you can add it yourself for $50. With the money you save you can buy a faster hard drive and pop it in yourself in all of 2 minutes time. I doubt you see huge difference in the chip speeds from 2.2 to 2.4 to 2.5 GHz.

 

[thundersteele]

All wrong. The base model (2.2 GHz) is fine for almost everyone. However the crucial upgrades for me are the high-res anti-glare screen and a SSD instead of the internal HDD.

Since that's not an option in your poll, I just chose "1".

 

[Totty1987]

All wrong. The base model (2.2 GHz) is fine for almost everyone. However the crucial upgrades for me are the high-res anti-glare screen and a SSD instead of the internal HDD.

Since that's not an option in your poll, I just chose "1".

I'm short-sighted and wear glasses, so I'm not sure the high-res AG will suit my needs?

 

[NutsNGum]

I'm short-sighted and wear glasses, so I'm not sure the high-res AG will suit my needs?

If it doesn't, you've got 14 days to return it. Even with build-to-order machines, such as the HRAG option.

 

[thundersteele]

I'm short-sighted and wear glasses, so I'm not sure the high-res AG will suit my needs?

If you want to use it while not wearing glasses, then no. If you have good glasses that give you proper vision, it should be fine. I'm wearing glasses, about -1.5 each eye, and I'm perfectly fine with the high-res AG.

 

[Totty1987]

If you want to use it while not wearing glasses, then no. If you have good glasses that give you proper vision, it should be fine. I'm wearing glasses, about -1.5 each eye, and I'm perfectly fine with the high-res AG.

Which screen-type is easier to clean/maintain - glossy or matte and is the high resolution screen worth the price???

 

[dusk007]

I would like to have a system which is able to execute any tasks thrown at it.

The thing many people such as yourself don't seem to understand is that 10-20% is nothing. 100% more speed is something like Quad vs. Dual Core.
Any tasks that you throw at the low end model such that it cannot handle them anymore, will not run on the ultra highend either in any decent way. Really absolutely nothing.
It is just a bit faster, finishes a bit sooner. If somebody has the money it doesn't hurt but it will never change what you can run and what you cannot. Such will only change if you go from 13" air to 15" MBP because that is a huge difference.

I think the low end 15" + HR AG Panel is the only configuration worth buying regardless of just about any use. And I am short sighted too but if you got an optometrician that knows his work that really doesn't change anything.

 

[dlimes13]

Which screen-type is easier to clean/maintain - glossy or matte and is the high resolution screen worth the price???

The Matte is MUCH easier to clean and maintain. Just wipe it gently with a dry microfiber cloth once a week to get the dust off and it keeps itself clean. Just don't touch the screen with fingers . The glossy smudges easier and never can really get that factory cleanliness back after you accidentally touch it. But glossy is nice color (for non-photo editors).

And yes, for the extra screen real estate you get, it is worth the price.

 

[harcosparky]

When I bought my MBP I went top end ....
Processor Upgrade
Anti-Glare Screen
Memory Bumped to 8GB
HDD bumped to 1 TB

Then I tried to sell it.

Hard to believe but I would have been able to sell a mid-grade MBP and on a percentage of purchase price not loose as much of the initial price.

I could not get $2,000 for an almost $3,000 MBP that was less than 3 months old. Everyone who tried to steal it would reference selling prices of other, much lesser equipped MBP's.

I guess one might see that as a CON

In the end, I did not sell the MBP ..... instead I went out and bought a 27" display, BT keyboard, BT trackpad to go with it.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Which screen-type is easier to clean/maintain - glossy or matte and is the high resolution screen worth the price???

HR matte is IMO absolutely worth the price.

 

[thundersteele]

The Matte is MUCH easier to clean and maintain. Just wipe it gently with a dry microfiber cloth once a week to get the dust off and it keeps itself clean. Just don't touch the screen with fingers .

How do you clean up the fingers... unfortunately sometimes other people like to point at my screen...

 

[Steve's Barber]

I don't envisage I'll be doing any cpu-intensive tasks right away, but I'm pretty keen to get into video/music editing sometime down the road...

Well, when you start editing video "down the road" the CPU you get now won't magically get any faster so I don't see what this has to do with anything.

And your add-on options are all over the place. Exactly what is it you need? The only clue in your post is the video editing aspect. For this, you would want the fastest CPU - that's the biggest hindrance to encoding.

Nobody can rationalize what you can afford to spend. Only you can decide that.

 

[inket]

Gaming ? Option 2.

Else just pick Option 1.

 

[Zwhaler]

With no mention of a budget why not go for the best ?