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alainmeyer1 · Jun 21, 2007, 09:27 AM

Hey,
Well tomorrow I'm going to the States and I'll be picking up a brand spanking new MacBook Pro.
Well I have a few questions I want answered before then so please reply ASAP:

Are the high resolution screens worth it? Don't tell me about if I use PS and stuff, I know I do. But I also use my computer for casual stuff. Is text a lot smaller? Can you give me comparrison shots?

Will an upgrade from 2 gigs of memory to 4 make a big difference? I play games and use PS and iMovie a lot. Is it significant?

Are HDs clocked out at 7200rpm much quicker than default? And will it use more battery?

Thanks already

gudrummer · Jun 21, 2007, 09:45 AM

-Well,resolution does makes a lot of diference for me,specially using two screens.Text is really small,taking some time to get used to it.
-2 gigs of ram is a respectable amount,but i haven't bought my FCP studio 2 yet,so i can say that it's more than enough for now.
-I got the 7200 RPM but,as i said,i don't have the software i'm used to work with,but aplications open really quick,access to disk is really fast.

alainmeyer1 · Jun 21, 2007, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by gudrummer

-Well,resolution does makes a lot of diference for me,specially using two screens.Text is really small,taking some time to get used to it.
-2 gigs of ram is a respectable amount,but i haven't bought my FCP studio 2 yet,so i can say that it's more than enough for now.
-I got the 7200 RPM but,as i said,i don't have the software i'm used to work with,but aplications open really quick,access to disk is really fast.

Okay, thanks. Think you could give me a full screenshot of your screen viewing this topic to see? Thanks

Anyone else have some opinions?

mduell · Jun 21, 2007, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by alainmeyer1

Are the high resolution screens worth it? Don't tell me about if I use PS and stuff, I know I do. But I also use my computer for casual stuff. Is text a lot smaller? Can you give me comparrison shots?

Yes. You can always make text bigger by changing the font size/zoom; they'll still look better.

Originally Posted by alainmeyer1

Will an upgrade from 2 gigs of memory to 4 make a big difference? I play games and use PS and iMovie a lot. Is it significant?

It doesn't sound like you use your machine enough to need/justify 4GB today.

Originally Posted by alainmeyer1

Are HDs clocked out at 7200rpm much quicker than default? And will it use more battery?

Yes. No, power consumption is nearly the same (perhaps a fifth of a watt more)

utw-Mephisto · Jun 21, 2007, 04:33 PM

But even if you don't have a use for 4 GB just yet .. upgrade is mostly most expensive than getting it out of the box ...So if you got the money, go for it

mduell · Jun 21, 2007, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by utw-Mephisto

But even if you don't have a use for 4 GB just yet .. upgrade is mostly most expensive than getting it out of the box ...So if you got the money, go for it

Not so! The 'out-of-the-box' upgrade to 2x2GB from Apple is $750; you can buy 2x2GB from a third party for $300 or less today.

Same deal with some of the hard drive options. $175 to upgrade (120->200) to a $141 drive.

Chazzer3 · Jun 22, 2007, 03:29 PM

It is very interesting how much Apple overcharge for RAM upgrades, even in the UK where everything seems overtly expensive, I was speccing up a dream MBP and the 2-4GB of RAM is £440 ish, (ie. about $850), and then I looked on Offtek, and they sell 2GB ram for the MBP at about £90 a pop... Crazy really.

One thing I will eventually consider if/when I get a MBP is the HDD, I question whether I would need the higher speed 160GB or the higher capacity 200GB, but that runs at 4200RPM which may be even too slow for my liking. Or maybe, I'll just stick with the stock 160GB?! I don't know.

Anyway, as to your questions, I don't have experience, but I'm sure that the higher resolution screen would be worth it, as the benefits in things such as aperture will be huge, and if fonts are too small, there is always zoom!

You can't expect to shave many minutes of battery life either by changing HDD speeds, they're all pretty darn similar really.

Hope you're well,

Charlie -

ghporter · Jun 22, 2007, 04:20 PM

All computer manufacturers charge a lot for RAM upgrades. Apple just happens to be a bit more proud of upgrades than Dell is-at this time anyway. (And Apple doesn't consider 512MB of RAM sufficient for a computer that would be running Windows Vista, like Dell does...) Anyway, RIGHT NOW there's no need for you to upgrade the RAM. Wait a while and get the feel for the computer; if your usage indicates that RAM is an issue after six to eight months of real world use, go ahead and buy more. The wait will mean that a 4GB RAM upgrade (you'll almost certainly have to replace two 1GB SO-DIMMS with two 2GB DIMMS to upgrade) that costs $350 or so today will cost a LOT less in six to eight months.

Tests seem to indicate that there are few benefits to current laptop drives that run at 7200RPM over those that run at 5400RPM. At this point in time it seems that the extra spindle speed is not that important-much like the recent "I'll get a drive with a 16MB cache and it'll hardly ever run!" stuff we dealt with a few months ago. (The cache on your drive is only a player if the cache manager guesses right about what you're going to access next and caches it-which is a heck of a gamble!)

Alain, you say you're "going to the States" to pick this computer up. DO make sure you get the right kind of power cord end for your local power!!! I can't tell if you're talking about a quick trip across Niagara or a trip across the Atlantic, so I felt I would just make a blanket statement about it here.

alainmeyer1 · Jun 23, 2007, 09:17 AM

Originally Posted by ghporter

All computer manufacturers charge a lot for RAM upgrades. Apple just happens to be a bit more proud of upgrades than Dell is-at this time anyway. (And Apple doesn't consider 512MB of RAM sufficient for a computer that would be running Windows Vista, like Dell does...) Anyway, RIGHT NOW there's no need for you to upgrade the RAM. Wait a while and get the feel for the computer; if your usage indicates that RAM is an issue after six to eight months of real world use, go ahead and buy more. The wait will mean that a 4GB RAM upgrade (you'll almost certainly have to replace two 1GB SO-DIMMS with two 2GB DIMMS to upgrade) that costs $350 or so today will cost a LOT less in six to eight months.

Tests seem to indicate that there are few benefits to current laptop drives that run at 7200RPM over those that run at 5400RPM. At this point in time it seems that the extra spindle speed is not that important-much like the recent "I'll get a drive with a 16MB cache and it'll hardly ever run!" stuff we dealt with a few months ago. (The cache on your drive is only a player if the cache manager guesses right about what you're going to access next and caches it-which is a heck of a gamble!)

Alain, you say you're "going to the States" to pick this computer up. DO make sure you get the right kind of power cord end for your local power!!! I can't tell if you're talking about a quick trip across Niagara or a trip across the Atlantic, so I felt I would just make a blanket statement about it here.

I'm no nub

I have an international adapter pack, and of course countless Swiss plugs from iPods.

ghporter · Jun 23, 2007, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by alainmeyer1

I'm no nub

I have an international adapter pack, and of course countless Swiss plugs from iPods.

No slight intended, but please note that not all posts are aimed at the original poster.

My first two paragraphs specifically were directed toward Chazzer3. Note that the last paragraph was specifically intended for you by name.

The plugs for iPods do NOT include a grounding/earthing contact-at least none of the (spends a moment counting) SIX I have here at home do. The iPod AC adapter doesn't have a contact for such a plug element, so it makes sense that Apple doesn't make such a plug. I also have found that the adapter end of the folding plug element of an iPod charger doesn't fit my MBP's charger; while the iPod plug element connects to the charger with a "figure 8" connector, my MBP's charger uses one that's more like a 'B'. In short, go with the international adapter pack and don't count on an iPod plug working.

mduell · Jun 23, 2007, 05:59 PM

Originally Posted by Chazzer3

One thing I will eventually consider if/when I get a MBP is the HDD, I question whether I would need the higher speed 160GB or the higher capacity 200GB, but that runs at 4200RPM which may be even too slow for my liking. Or maybe, I'll just stick with the stock 160GB?! I don't know.

The obvious rational solution is to go with the 250GB/5400RPM.