Macbook [Pro] options worth it?

[JF060392]

I am considering getting a macbook pro 15" at the moment and I am a physics major. this will be my first mac and i am debating whether or not to get the high resolution screen and 7200 rpm 500 gb hdd. Is this worth the $2000 it will cost?

 

[Patranus]

Things that cannot be upgraded later.

IE: screen and CPU

My current MacBook Pro is the best laptop I have ever owned.
(I say that about every new Apple laptop I buy)

 

[TheStu]

Like Patranus said, if you want to upgrade the drive, you can do it later, for cheaper, and keep the old one as additional storage.

The screen you cannot upgrade yourself, so why not get the higher res?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I would upgrade the screen when you buy it.

 

[Kadarin]

Definitely get the higher resolution.

 

[randomlinh]

higher res? hell yeah

 

[secretanchitman]

get the higher resolution screen! you can upgrade the hd to whatever you want (the new seagate momentus XT looks amazing).

 

[silverpig]

Go with the screen, skip the HD. If you want to upgrade the HD, I'd suggest getting an aftermarket SSD. Super speedy, and it's not like you really carry around 1 TB of movies on your laptop anyways. Then use the current HD in a small USB enclosure for storage/time machine.

 

[MovingTarget]

Don't skimp on the screen if you have the disposable income to afford it. You can upgrade the drive and RAM later.

 

[mmntech]

Things that cannot be upgraded later.

IE: screen and CPU

My current MacBook Pro is the best laptop I have ever owned.
(I say that about every new Apple laptop I buy)

This. If you can afford it, sink your cash here. Apple wants too much for memory and HDD upgrades. It's vary easy to DIY.

 

[JF060392]

is it easy to upgrade the internal hdd?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2363244,00.asp

Pretty easy. Just take off the bottom plate and you'll the hard drive.

 

[silverpig]

is it easy to upgrade the internal hdd?

It's easier than doing it in a tower PC IMO...

 

[randomlinh]

It's easier than doing it in a tower PC IMO...

that all depends on the case you have. even my brother's dell was simple.. remove side, unplug two cables, swap. toolless.

 

[TheStu]

that all depends on the case you have. even my brother's dell was simple.. remove side, unplug two cables, swap. toolless.

Certainly easier than my tower.... remove side, unplug existing drives, remove front of tower, unscrew cage on both sides, slide cage out, slide drive into cage, screw drive into cage

But I don't have to do drive swaps all that often.