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Which is more important when customising?
- Thread starter tzread
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well, since this is a MBP forum, I assume we are discussing the available options
processor: Available upgrades are small. Only worth it if you need every last percent of power/performance
RAM: Going from 4GB to 8GB is useful in the long term. However apple's upgrade option is horribly overpriced.
Graphics/video: can't be upgraded, unless you count going from 13'' to 15'' an "upgrade." Valuable if you want to game, also for some graphics intensive applications
Hard disc: Upgrading to a SSD is awesome!
processor: Available upgrades are small. Only worth it if you need every last percent of power/performance
RAM: Going from 4GB to 8GB is useful in the long term. However apple's upgrade option is horribly overpriced.
Graphics/video: can't be upgraded, unless you count going from 13'' to 15'' an "upgrade." Valuable if you want to game, also for some graphics intensive applications
Hard disc: Upgrading to a SSD is awesome!
What applications are you planning on running simultaneously? What would constitute your daily work?
well i would be running photoshop a lot probably simultaneously with word, internet or some of the other usual programs. Other than that a bit of gaming but that would be on its own and not running anything else. Also the design i would rarely use just every now and again for my uni work. Daily work would be internet, watching a few videos using Microsoft office and sometimes editing photos.
As thundersteele mentioned, the 8 GB upgrade for $50 is a no-brainer. Don't do it via Apple and get your memory from something like NewEgg or Crucial. (I am assuming you're in the US. If you're in the UK, then www.crucial.com/uk)
For playing games a discrete graphics card is a must. I've tried playing games on my 2011 13" MBA and it's a pain. So that means you should be looking at a 15" MBP or bigger. Any of the processors will be fine for your needs and the difference between the graphics cards (6750m vs 6770m) is also not something that you would notice.
Frankly I think the base 15" MBP would suit your needs perfectly and would be great if you upgraded the RAM yourself. If you're feeling flush, I would spend the extra on a SSD and, again, install it yourself. Upgrading RAM or the hard drive in the MBP is very easy in case you're not comfortable with that sort of thing.
For playing games a discrete graphics card is a must. I've tried playing games on my 2011 13" MBA and it's a pain. So that means you should be looking at a 15" MBP or bigger. Any of the processors will be fine for your needs and the difference between the graphics cards (6750m vs 6770m) is also not something that you would notice.
Frankly I think the base 15" MBP would suit your needs perfectly and would be great if you upgraded the RAM yourself. If you're feeling flush, I would spend the extra on a SSD and, again, install it yourself. Upgrading RAM or the hard drive in the MBP is very easy in case you're not comfortable with that sort of thing.
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