deciding between a 2.2Ghz or a 2.4Ghz macbook pro

[TheStu]

Honestly, getting 4GB of RAM may not even be necessary, the added HDD maybe.

I usually advise people to try and figure out how much space they think they will need, and then buy the next largest size. So if you think you will need 160, get a 200.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I am planning on dual booting XP and maybe even Vista as well. I think the 4GB is necessary and the added HDD is definitely something I have to consider getting. If I don't need the extra RAM even if I am dual booting I think I'll just splurge and go for the mid range MBP.

 

[secretanchitman]

almost ready to buy...just looking into the ADC student discount, as well as seeing if you are still eligible for getting the free 4GB nano and printer.

as for the hard drive, i dont mind the 120GB or 160GB. i will be streaming all of my music, movies, installs, what have you from my htpc and my current computer (rig in sig), so that isnt a big deal. ram isnt a huge issue either since 2GB is plenty for me and that 4GB right now doesnt make sense for me to get because of price.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I'm thinking I'll splurge because yeah I probably won't need the 4GB that quickly and I don't need the big hard drive with 7200RPM because I'm streaming anyways. This is such a hard decision, especially when I'm using my own money.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
I'm thinking I'll splurge because yeah I probably won't need the 4GB that quickly and I don't need the big hard drive with 7200RPM because I'm streaming anyways. This is such a hard decision, especially when I'm using my own money.

just get 4GB when you need it. its not like 2GB will be excruciatingly slow and the hdd will seriously bog down the computer. these mbps use quality/fast 5400rpm drives which are comparable to 7200rpm drives. i dont think you'd notice the difference. i never did on my bros mbp 2.33Ghz...and he has a 160GB 5400rpm drive in his.

 

[Tegeril]

Those benchmarks are sort of misleading because the tests in many of the games were not run with aa or af which is one place where the added ram will definitely help. That said, it is still a pricey upgrade for $500. I will be choosing it for game performance in windows when I pick one up with the student developer deal which nets you 400 off immediately. You can still do the free iPod too, I believe.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Can anyone confirm if you can get the free iPod with the Student Developer deal?

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Those benchmarks are sort of misleading because the tests in many of the games were not run with aa or af which is one place where the added ram will definitely help. That said, it is still a pricey upgrade for $500. I will be choosing it for game performance in windows when I pick one up with the student developer deal which nets you 400 off immediately. You can still do the free iPod too, I believe.

alrighty guys, i decided on the 2.2Ghz because i dont think i want my purchase to go over 2k. i think i can live without the extra vram and considering the rig in my sig is much more powerful (gpu wise and resolution wise at 1920x1200), gaming will be kept to the older gen of games like ut2k4, halo, and nfsu2.

i will purchase the ADC student developer discount later today and hopefully i can order my mbp soon after that. i will not be getting applecare with it, as anyone can use their regular education discount to get $110 off for applecare.

all in all, the regular price without any options (and the no cost matte screen of course) is 1999. with the ADC discount, it comes out to 1599 without tax. i will see if i can get in on the ipod nano/printer deal as well.

thanks to everyone!!

 

[secretanchitman]

got the discount. the macbook pro models discount were 1599, 1999, and 2239 for the 17" respectively. went for the 1599 with the matte screen (hate glossy). no applecare purchased as im going to buy it later with my regular education discount. the $100 MIR for the printer works for the adc discount, but im not too sure about the ipod, but i put the ipod (4gb blue) in my cart so we'll see. if i dont get the money back, ill probably just give it to my gf or my family. apparently, you had to cut out the upc from the printer box to be eligible for the rebate so i decided to skip the printer. also got an oakley vertical computer bag 2.0 for 89...total came out to around 1984 shipped + tax.

oh, and my ADC membership gives me an extra copy of tiger, a tshirt, some more adc goodies and best of all, leopard beta and retail when it offically comes out! not a bad deal at all for $99!

 

[MrTransistorm]

secretanchitman,

Out of curiosity, since you signed up for ADC, are you going to attempt any software development? I'm looking to buy a MBP later this year, and I might go the ADC route too.

 

[Tegeril]

Are we all positive that Leopard comes for free later? I emailed ADC support and they gave me a nebulous "we haven't made any announcements" response.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: MrTransistorm
secretanchitman,

Out of curiosity, since you signed up for ADC, are you going to attempt any software development? I'm looking to buy a MBP later this year, and I might go the ADC route too.

i will actually see if i can write something, as this'll be my chance to FINALLY get into programming. also, the 20% discount was a major part of getting the ADC, as well as getting a free copy of leopard when it comes out in two months.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Are we all positive that Leopard comes for free later? I emailed ADC support and they gave me a nebulous "we haven't made any announcements" response.

well ive read places that you get the leopard betas sent out to you and that they send you monthly discs of the current os...still, if i dont get a free copy of leopard, ill just sell tiger and use that money to buy it.

 

[keeleysam]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Are we all positive that Leopard comes for free later? I emailed ADC support and they gave me a nebulous "we haven't made any announcements" response.

well ive read places that you get the leopard betas sent out to you and that they send you monthly discs of the current os...still, if i dont get a free copy of leopard, ill just sell tiger and use that money to buy it.

Nobody will buy your copy of Tiger. All Intel Macs are licensed for it, and it won't run on PowerPC.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: keeleysam

Originally posted by: secretanchitman

Originally posted by: Tegeril
Are we all positive that Leopard comes for free later? I emailed ADC support and they gave me a nebulous "we haven't made any announcements" response.

well ive read places that you get the leopard betas sent out to you and that they send you monthly discs of the current os...still, if i dont get a free copy of leopard, ill just sell tiger and use that money to buy it.

Nobody will buy your copy of Tiger. All Intel Macs are licensed for it, and it won't run on PowerPC.

oh...okay.

 

[secretanchitman]

yuck...the worst thing about getting something new online is waiting. my mbp will be shipped from sept 4th - 7th, while delivery is from sept 6th - 13th.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
yuck...the worst thing about getting something new online is waiting. my mbp will be shipped from sept 4th - 7th, while delivery is from sept 6th - 13th.

I agree. I hate waiting for stuff; when I make the decision that I want something, I want it now.

Congratulations on your purchase.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: Kadarin

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
yuck...the worst thing about getting something new online is waiting. my mbp will be shipped from sept 4th - 7th, while delivery is from sept 6th - 13th.

I agree. I hate waiting for stuff; when I make the decision that I want something, I want it now.

Congratulations on your purchase.

haha why thank you. hopefully it comes in this week! and without the yellow hue problem like some people have been having on their macbook pros...

 

[secretanchitman]

well, shipping is quite quick since it comes from shanghai china. it was in alaska yesterday morning and in indiana in the night. as of 3AM this morning, its in chicago! i want to ask them if i can pick it up instead of waiting until monday...i mean, chicago is like less than 30 minutes away (driving).

cant wait!

 

[bigrash]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
well, shipping is quite quick since it comes from shanghai china. it was in alaska yesterday morning and in indiana in the night. as of 3AM this morning, its in chicago! i want to ask them if i can pick it up instead of waiting until monday...i mean, chicago is like less than 30 minutes away (driving).

cant wait!

Have fun with the mbp. I see you've already updated your sig

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman

Originally posted by: Kadarin

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
yuck...the worst thing about getting something new online is waiting. my mbp will be shipped from sept 4th - 7th, while delivery is from sept 6th - 13th.

I agree. I hate waiting for stuff; when I make the decision that I want something, I want it now.

Congratulations on your purchase.

haha why thank you. hopefully it comes in this week! and without the yellow hue problem like some people have been having on their macbook pros...

I have no "yellow hue" problem on my 17" MPB... My guess is that you'll be fine.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: bigrash

Originally posted by: secretanchitman
well, shipping is quite quick since it comes from shanghai china. it was in alaska yesterday morning and in indiana in the night. as of 3AM this morning, its in chicago! i want to ask them if i can pick it up instead of waiting until monday...i mean, chicago is like less than 30 minutes away (driving).

cant wait!

Have fun with the mbp. I see you've already updated your sig

haha i will. already got all the osx app installs on my current computer, just waiting to transfer them over to the mbp so no need to download them (yes im very excited lol).

unfortunately, fedex said that its still in the chicago airport so theres no way i can pick it up. oh well, ill just wait for it on monday, even though the fedex tracking site says it'll deliver before 10:30AM on tuesday. apple stuff usually comes in a day earlier than expected.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: secretanchitman

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
I'm thinking I'll splurge because yeah I probably won't need the 4GB that quickly and I don't need the big hard drive with 7200RPM because I'm streaming anyways. This is such a hard decision, especially when I'm using my own money.

just get 4GB when you need it. its not like 2GB will be excruciatingly slow and the hdd will seriously bog down the computer. these mbps use quality/fast 5400rpm drives which are comparable to 7200rpm drives. i dont think you'd notice the difference. i never did on my bros mbp 2.33Ghz...and he has a 160GB 5400rpm drive in his.

not exactly, they are comparable to old 7200rpm drives. drives of the same generation, the 7200 is undoubtedly faster. that being said, all new drives are pretty decent unlike how it was in the past where some were horrible.

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

How about the difference between 128mb and 256mb in the video card?

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: secretanchitman

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
I'm thinking I'll splurge because yeah I probably won't need the 4GB that quickly and I don't need the big hard drive with 7200RPM because I'm streaming anyways. This is such a hard decision, especially when I'm using my own money.

just get 4GB when you need it. its not like 2GB will be excruciatingly slow and the hdd will seriously bog down the computer. these mbps use quality/fast 5400rpm drives which are comparable to 7200rpm drives. i dont think you'd notice the difference. i never did on my bros mbp 2.33Ghz...and he has a 160GB 5400rpm drive in his.

not exactly, they are comparable to old 7200rpm drives. drives of the same generation, the 7200 is undoubtedly faster. that being said, all new drives are pretty decent unlike how it was in the past where some were horrible.

anyone remember 4200 rpm laptop drives! hell.. 4200 bigfoots in mini towers... oh the pain.

Originally posted by: ChAoTiCpInOy
How about the difference between 128mb and 256mb in the video card?

That depends on what you're going to do. If you plan on gaming, I would say every bit helps. Unfortunately for me, even w/ 256MB of video ram, the x1600 in the iMac is just lacking.

BUT, I use aperture, and it seems to love the video memory. I'm not sure if this will be a trend or not in the future for programs to actually make use of the video memory (at least, in the short term for how long a laptop bought today would last)