Hi all,
I am new to the forum and this is my first post. I am a grad student and I current use an early 2006 15" MBP (core duo). It performs well if I all I wanna do is to write stuff, compile Latex manuscripts and do some data analysis using Stata and small data files.
I have two problems:
1) I started to travel a lot for conferences and found that my current MBP is not very mobile. I is big, heavy and has short battery life.
2) I started to use large data files, things like census individual level data (about 1GB), and, since Stata keeps the whole file in the memory, my computer's performance went down a lot.
I want to buy a new model and am considering the new 13" MBP. I am in doubt whether I should get the 2.40 model or the 2.66, and on whether to upgrade memory to 8Gb. I am leaning towards upgrading the memory because of Stata, which is 64 bit and could use more than 2Gb memory, but I am not certain about the performance gains of getting the 2.66 model. I also plan to change the HD for a SSD, but will do it by myself since apple does not provide the intel X25-M as an option.
I would like some opinions about:
A)How a MBP 13" would perform if I wanted to:
1) Run Stata loading an 1-2GB file to the memory while opening Safari and Numbers/Excel.
2) Do 1) while listening to music or video chatting on Skype
3) Do 1) while compiling a manuscript using Latex.
B) Whether I should buy an intel X25-M now and install it when I buy the computer or wait for a few months until the SSD prices fall.
C) About the MBP 13" as a machine to be used on the run. Does the battery lasts that long as apple say? I have seen many tests but what about it 'on the wild'? Is the computer considerably lighter and easier to carry than the 15" model?
Thanks for your consideration
Kenji
I am new to the forum and this is my first post. I am a grad student and I current use an early 2006 15" MBP (core duo). It performs well if I all I wanna do is to write stuff, compile Latex manuscripts and do some data analysis using Stata and small data files.
I have two problems:
1) I started to travel a lot for conferences and found that my current MBP is not very mobile. I is big, heavy and has short battery life.
2) I started to use large data files, things like census individual level data (about 1GB), and, since Stata keeps the whole file in the memory, my computer's performance went down a lot.
I want to buy a new model and am considering the new 13" MBP. I am in doubt whether I should get the 2.40 model or the 2.66, and on whether to upgrade memory to 8Gb. I am leaning towards upgrading the memory because of Stata, which is 64 bit and could use more than 2Gb memory, but I am not certain about the performance gains of getting the 2.66 model. I also plan to change the HD for a SSD, but will do it by myself since apple does not provide the intel X25-M as an option.
I would like some opinions about:
A)How a MBP 13" would perform if I wanted to:
1) Run Stata loading an 1-2GB file to the memory while opening Safari and Numbers/Excel.
2) Do 1) while listening to music or video chatting on Skype
3) Do 1) while compiling a manuscript using Latex.
B) Whether I should buy an intel X25-M now and install it when I buy the computer or wait for a few months until the SSD prices fall.
C) About the MBP 13" as a machine to be used on the run. Does the battery lasts that long as apple say? I have seen many tests but what about it 'on the wild'? Is the computer considerably lighter and easier to carry than the 15" model?
Thanks for your consideration
Kenji