Upgrade 2.4 or Purchase 2.53 MBP

[JayEllo]

With my first post, I'd like to mention that I'm entirely impressed by the wealth of knowledge users have here and it's been an extremely great resource for me as I plan my next purchase... so thank you.

I have the last generation 15" MBP and looking to upgrade to the unibody MBP's. I was originally waiting for the 17" version to be released, but I realize I like the portability of the 15" and it's definitely more conducive to my travel habits. So, I'm looking at the two latest models offered. The breath of activities on my laptop include heavy web browsing, music, photo and video editing. I'm not in the industry, and my editing is done at a pure hobby level, so I don't exactly have hardcore spec needs like some folks here.

So, I'm thinking about purchasing the 2.4 and upgrading it OR purchase the 2.53 and avoid the hassles of upgrades. Would love to know your thoughts. It seems like the overall cost would end up around the same price (2.4 w/upgrades vs. base 2.53).

I've heard on this forum about the Seagate 500GB @7200 HDD which sounds like a promising HD to wait for. What would be recommendations for upgradable RAM and how much would that typically cost? Also, it seems there is some confusion on how much RAM the 15" can hold, what is the max?

Thanks so much in advance. I'm looking forward to contributing to this forum in the future. Cheers.

 

[Quagmire1088]

With my first post, I'd like to mention that I'm entirely impressed by the wealth of knowledge users have here and it's been an extremely great resource for me as I plan my next purchase... so thank you.

I have the last generation 15" MBP and looking to upgrade to the unibody MBP's. I was originally waiting for the 17" version to be released, but I realize I like the portability of the 15" and it's definitely more conducive to my travel habits. So, I'm looking at the two latest models offered. The breath of activities on my laptop include heavy web browsing, music, photo and video editing. I'm not in the industry, and my editing is done at a pure hobby level, so I don't exactly have hardcore spec needs like some folks here.

So, I'm thinking about purchasing the 2.4 and upgrading it OR purchase the 2.53 and avoid the hassles of upgrades. Would love to know your thoughts. It seems like the overall cost would end up around the same price (2.4 w/upgrades vs. base 2.53).

I've heard on this forum about the Seagate 500GB @7200 HDD which sounds like a promising HD to wait for. What would be recommendations for upgradable RAM and how much would that typically cost? Also, it seems there is some confusion on how much RAM the 15" can hold, what is the max?

Thanks so much in advance. I'm looking forward to contributing to this forum in the future. Cheers.

i am in much the same situation as you and are going for the 2.53 purely to avoid the hassle of upgrading and the possible regret of not getting the 2.53,

the max amount of ram is 6gb although it is not generally advised to go that high most people go for 4gb which if you get the 2.53 it comes with anyway

 

[AR15MBP]

The only 2 things that are truly non-upgradeable are the processor and the video ram on the 9600M GT (256MB vs. 512MB). Therefore the ram and hard drive can be improved on the 2.4, and going this route would save you a lot of money. Upgrading to 4GB of ram would run about $90 http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Apple_MacBook_MacBook_Pro/Upgrade/DDR3, and a new hard drive will probably run about $120 http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western Digital/WD5000BEVT/. So one has to decide if the $300 ($500 w/o upgrades) difference is worth the upgrade to the 2.53 model, or if its worth to keep in the pocket.

I bought the 2.4 with the idea of upgrading to at least 4GB of ram, if not 6GB. For use outside of video editing, RAM will give a much better performance boost vs. .13GHz, IMO.

 

[JayEllo]

Thanks for the links, its very helpful. Are there any issues running non-Apple supported RAM or HDD? I know this doesn't void your warranty, but any performance related issues that may occur (mixing and matching parts)?

To be honest, I'm leaning towards the 2.53 for the sheer simplicity of getting all i need right out of the box.

 

[joeylang]

Honestly i would go with the 2.53. I bought the 2.4 the first day they were available in the store because i was so eager to get it and i didnt have the extra money for the 2.53, but i REALLY wish i would have just waited an extra couple weeks and bought the better one. I have upgraded the RAM to 4 gigs and plan on buying a 256GB SSD, however i wish i would have the extra VRAM. I may eventually upgrade my RAM to 6GB, which has been said before to work, but i still wish i had that little extra boost that you cannot get buy merely upgrading the laptop. But anyways, you should make the best decision for you, if cheaper now with the intent to upgrade sounds better to you and you dont need the extra VRAM (because the processor boost is basically redundant), then go with the 2.4. If simplicity sounds better and you have the difference, then i would definitely recommend the 2.53