Although it's a little pricey, I will probably get the wireless Apple keyboard. For the mouse, the Magic Mouse looks good but it lacks functionality and I've heard it's uncomfortable for long usage. I can't really use a USB mouse because that would take up the 2 ports that are in the MBP (I will be using them for an external drive and perhaps a printer). I would prefer a wireless Mighty Mouse, but they aren't sold anymore so I'll have to wait and see what Apple do next in the form of a mouse.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What do I need with a Macbook Pro 13"?
- Thread starter Ash9414
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Although it's a little pricey, I will probably get the wireless Apple keyboard. For the mouse, the Magic Mouse looks good but it lacks functionality and I've heard it's uncomfortable for long usage. I can't really use a USB mouse because that would take up the 2 ports that are in the MBP (I will be using them for an external drive and perhaps a printer). I would prefer a wireless Mighty Mouse, but they aren't sold anymore so I'll have to wait and see what Apple do next in the form of a mouse.
You can still get a wireless mighty mouse (depends on stock)
http://store.apple.com/us/search?find=mighty+mouse&mco=MTA4Mzc3NTg
http://www.google.com/products/cata...ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB8Q8wIwAw#ps-sellers
Hmmm, ok. But those are refurbished. I don't really feel good about buying products like that with the worry that they may break again. I'll just see what Apple come up with in the mouse line, as I say I won't be buying the display for about a year or more.
Don't buy the 2.66 model. You won't notice any real improvement in speed and you can just upgrade to a 320gb hard drive for 45 dollars more with your education discount. A .26 gHZ difference in speed does not justify 255 dollar hike in price.
You may want to think about getting an HDMI to minidisplay port adapter so you can hook it up to a flat screen to rent movies or watch hulu, perhaps an external hardrive for back up. Other than that it's really just preferences you want.
Oh, I was thinking about nabbing iWork 10 and office 11, but I've been reading that Apple may just jump to iWork 11 and office 11 won't come out until "the holidays." If Apple doesn't announce iWork 10 at WWDC in June, they probably won't until October or January.
You may want to think about getting an HDMI to minidisplay port adapter so you can hook it up to a flat screen to rent movies or watch hulu, perhaps an external hardrive for back up. Other than that it's really just preferences you want.
Oh, I was thinking about nabbing iWork 10 and office 11, but I've been reading that Apple may just jump to iWork 11 and office 11 won't come out until "the holidays." If Apple doesn't announce iWork 10 at WWDC in June, they probably won't until October or January.
Refurbs are great, those are basically new as Mighty Mouse is not sold as new anymore.
You can use any mouse though, but I'd get KB as it has some keys that can't be found in PCs
Do they both eat batteries though? Will it use rechargeable ones because I know someone who has a station thingy to recharge drained batteries. That would save me quite a bit of money because apparently the KB needs new batteries every month. (I'm guessing about the same for the Magic Mouse).
Yea, you can use rechargeable batteries. I changed my Magic Mouse's batteries for the first time yesterday, I've had it for 3 months now. I've heard the wireless KB eats them like a hungry dog but if you buy a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger, you'll be fine.
Ok, I guess I've got that sorted. Back to the issue about the 2.4GHz or 2.66GHz...
Will the faster processor speeds give the MBP a longer life? As I want it to last about 5-6 years, without that much of a notable difference in overall speed due to school work etc. Also, will you be able to see a difference when playing low to mid range games and video editing/ripping DVDs, because I may do this from time to time and the speed may really help me.
Another thing, how long would you expect a 250GB HD to last (as in remaining space) if I use it to store school work, pictures, music and maybe the occasional movie? I want to see whether 250GB will be enough for my needs, or upgrading to a 320GB, or even 500GB HD is necessary.
No, it won't. School things, such as word processing don't benefit of faster CPU. In games it may give you couple frames more. The biggest improvement you'll see when encoding so if you're exporting a movie from iMovie, it'll be faster but only ~10%. Ripping DVDs is slow anyway DVD drives are so slow.
It'll be fine. You can later on upgrade it yourself if needed or use the ext HD as storage. Apple overcharges so you're better off doing it yourself.
So, just get the base 13" MBP, and upgrade it if needed
Hmm, I'm now debating whether to get the 320GB upgrade off the online store for only £40 more which will give me a little extra space. It will also save me unscrewing the case if I do eventually fill up my HD, but is this too expensive? I'm new to the whole "build-your-own" thing, so I can't really make any comparisons between products.
Another thing I'm worried about is that the 2.66GHz will not become as outdated as quickly as the 2.4Ghz because it is a faster processor. I was originally going to get the 2.53Ghz before they were updated, so to me it seems as if I'm downgrading from what I originally wanted. Something just doesn't seem right with buying the 2.4Ghz. :/
As I've now said it 1000 times, you won't notice ANY difference. Few extra MHz don't matter. Trust me, you are paying for completely nothing if you get the 2.66GHz
I know, I completely understand all that you're saying. You've pretty much persuaded me to get the 2.4GHz so I have about £200 more to spend. But I'm sure there's something psychological that makes me feel as if I have something less. Argh lol.
Of course you always want more
Usually this is vice versa, I have to make someone confident about getting the more expensive model, not the cheaper
I know your feeling, but just ignore it. You have better use for that 200£
Of course you always want more
Usually this is vice versa, I have to make someone confident about getting the more expensive model, not the cheaper
I know your feeling, but just ignore it. You have better use for that 200£
How much would a decent 500GB HD running at 5400RPM (I've heard 7200RPM can damage your computer and can become noisy) cost? I think it's about £120 for an upgrade from 250GB to 500GB on the 2.4GHz model, is it worth it? Then again, if I'm only going to get a 500GB external HD, it may be best to have the smaller internal hard drive?
500GB is ~60£
500GB external is fine if your HD isn't bigger than that. I have 640GB internal and use 500GB for backups
Would that be a good drive to go for? I'm not sure whether to do it myself or just pay the £120 to get Apple to have it fitted when I buy it. Does the default HD in the MBP have 8MB cache, this WesternDigital HD seems better than the Apple one! :O
That's the best 5400rpm drive, WD's Scorpio Blue series is great! Most 250GB HDs have 8MB, some have even 16MB.
It's definitely better to do it yourself as you cam get two of those HDs for the price of Apple's which is crappy Toshiba/Samsung anyway, plus you have a spare 250GB HD which you can use as external if you want.
Just look at this tutorial
Ok, I have decided to get the 2.4GHz with the increased 320GB HD for £40 extra, a refurb Bluetooth Might Mouse, a WD My Passport 500GB for Mac, the Incase Plus Sleeve for Macbook Pro 13". Anything else? I will wait for 2011 Office and iWork 10 before I buy them. I'm not saving much by getting iWork preinstalled, plus I've already saved over £200 from the base model anyway.
That's what I was thinking. If I had the money I would get an ACD, but as you said they aren't worth the price, so I might decide to pick up another monitor later on when I get some money back. The only reason I prefer the ACD is for the built in USB hub, speakers and iSight camera, but that isn't worth £500 tbh. That would mean I would have to get a keyboard to go with my display, but I can't think of anything else atm.
Does anyone know if Apple will released iLife 10 along with iWork 10, and if they do will there be an upgrade pack or will you have to buy the full version? I don't really want to pay another £70 to buy software a few months after I get my MBP that is almost the same as what I will already have.
There are other monitors with exact same features for less than 200£. ACD is great but for the price I pay for it, I can get 4 other displays
It's likely that there will be no iLife or iWork '10. Apple is focusing in iPhone OS 4.0 and iPad. You don't want a crappy update in 2010, you want extremely nice update in 2011!
Anyway, IF they come up with '10 versions, you're likely eligible for upgrade disk which is ~10£
Oh ok, I'll hold off on the iWork purchase until they release the new one because I only really need Office for school. That should be released around September hopefully.