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dmurray14 · Jun 11, 2006, 05:30 PM

Hey guys,

Going to be purchasing a MacBook Pro in the next day or two, just wandering what would be best. I'm a CS major, so I'll be using it a lot. I'm inclined to do the 17" and get all the bells and whistles, my reasoning being it's not going to be outdated. Does that make sense, or should I stick with the 15? Is the 17 going to be really big to carry around to class and such?

Also, what would you guys reccommend screen-wise - are there any benefits to the glossier one, which should I get?

Finally, is it worth it to get the 7200 RM 100gb instead of the 5400RPM 120gb? I would be willing to give up 20gb if the speed increase is noticible.

Thanks guys!

Dan

mduell · Jun 11, 2006, 05:41 PM

I'd stay with the 15". For me the 17" is beyond my personal limit for everyday portability. Stop by an Apple store and look at (and pick up) both before you decide.

Glossy vs matte is a personal choice... the glossy gives "better" looks in most cases, but isn't good if you're doing proof work or in a high-glare situation (like an Apple Store... again, go look at one). I'm not sure which I would get if I was in the market; I like the matte screen on my current laptop, but Apple's matte screens don't seem to look as good.

I'd take the 7200RPM disk; space on external drives is cheap, and 100GB is plenty for me to have always available.

jhonizzle · Jun 11, 2006, 06:16 PM

Any laptop is going to be out dated, you can get a 15" with everything that the 17" has, execept the DVD DL, realy what it looks like you need to see is if you want an extra 2" of viewing space, i would love a 17" if i were using it as a replacement desktop, , but i'm not i'm using my MBP for a lot of travel graphics work, which means i need to have all the space i can get. Another thing to remember if you are going to be using a lot of Rosetta apps, it does take about 30min away from your battery life which can range from 3:20, to 2:30. As for the HDD 7200 vs 5400 isn't that noticeable even in Gaming or Heavy Graphcis load. (my friend has the 7200) he got about an extra 2-3 FPS playing Quake 4...so not that great, and saving large files from Photoshop (15MB) took me an extra Second (1sec) so not too big of a difference i take space over speed honestly.

ender78 · Jun 11, 2006, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by dmurray14

Hey guys,

Going to be purchasing a MacBook Pro in the next day or two, just wandering what would be best. I'm a CS major, so I'll be using it a lot. I'm inclined to do the 17" and get all the bells and whistles, my reasoning being it's not going to be outdated. Does that make sense, or should I stick with the 15? Is the 17 going to be really big to carry around to class and such?

Also, what would you guys reccommend screen-wise - are there any benefits to the glossier one, which should I get?

Finally, is it worth it to get the 7200 RM 100gb instead of the 5400RPM 120gb? I would be willing to give up 20gb if the speed increase is noticible.

Thanks guys!

Dan

I use my 15" MBP as a desktop 99% of the time. My primary monitor is a 24" Dell [attached to the MBP]. I did opt for the 7200RPM drive. Extra storage is great on your desk via a USB/FireWire enclosure. Why pay through the roof for portability. I also find the 17" as just too big.

imitchellg5 · Jun 18, 2006, 08:59 PM

I think that a 2.16 Ghz 15 inch would be ideal. 17 inches is just to big to lug around.

shiff · Jun 18, 2006, 11:22 PM

More ram and a faster hard drive are 2 of the best things you can do to upgrade the powerbook. My 12 inch powerbook felt like a new machine after I maxed out the ram and bought a faster hard drive. It is well worth the money for those 2 things.

The 17 inch is an amazing machine, but when you have to carry it around campus or try to use it in small spaces it can be a hassle. I would go with the 15 inch and add the upgrades I mentioned above. Whichever you choose; both machines are great.

Zyphere · Jun 18, 2006, 11:36 PM

Other than the speed and price-capacity ratio, are there any other notable differences between the 5400 and 7200 RPM HDs? Does the 7200 eat up more battery life or produce more heat or anything like that?

Thraxes · Jun 19, 2006, 04:36 PM

No discernable difference between a 5400 and a 7200 RPM drive in terms of power consumption and heat.

I ordered a 2.16 15", have an extra 1GB of RAM already here waiting but I really really need the storage space so I opted for the larger, slower 120GB drive and got an external 100GB drive for the FW port.

The external drive is going to be for media, downloads and other junk in a HFS partition and all the Windows games in an NTFS partition. I need the large internal drive for my music collection (I DJ for an internet radio station), photos, a BootCamped TinyXP (hacked minimalist windows for gaming - installed it just needs 1,5GB for the system and swapfile) and most importantly the Parallels VM images of Windows and linux which I really need for some dev work I will be doing soon. That was the main reason for buying the MBP: All three major OS's on one machine and being almost finished at uni, the last chance to get my ADC student discount

Burn · Jun 19, 2006, 08:33 PM

I had a G4PB for years and the 15" monitor was ALWAYS too small for me. The book was a good size though. To actually get any work done (creative field) I needed an external display, for sure. For web browsing, email and just foolin around, the 15" is more than ideal. This time though, I picked up the 17" MBP.. 2.16ghz, glossy screen and 7200rpm drive.. I work in a field that definitely notices the diff between slow drives and fast drives.. a cpl seconds per file adds up to a few dollars here and there and the extra screen real estate is glorious. Plus, I agree with getting an extrernal drive if you want a lot of storage anyway. Laptop drives are a premum because of their portability, get a normal desktop drive in an enclosure for a heckuvalot less $.

I'm 6'2" and with a good bag (waiting for my Waterfield Des. Cargo to arrive anyday from SFbags) I have been toting this 17"er around with ease (currently using an unattractive, but larger laptop bag).

Bill.

f1000 · Jun 19, 2006, 09:30 PM

Originally Posted by dmurray14

Hey guys,

Going to be purchasing a MacBook Pro in the next day or two, just wandering what would be best.

I suggest that you get a MacBook white and a nice 23" Cinema HD display. An undergrad like you doesn't need a MacBook Pro. Trust me, it's better to buy the MacBook and upgrade every 1.5 years than to buy a 17" MacBook Pro and hold onto it for four years. In just two years, that MacBook Pro is going to feel pretty obsolete.

I also suggest that you stick with a larger capacity 5400 HD. Unless you're a professional, the modest extra speed of a 7200 drive just isn't worth the extra cost and, according to some posters, extra noise. I like my computers to be silent. I'd think that would be twice as true in a cramped dorm room.

jeebus · Jun 19, 2006, 10:30 PM

I have a MBP with the 7200 RPM drive and I have never been able to hear it. I could, however hear the drive on my old PBG4 with a 5400 RPM one and constantly got the spinning beach ball while I waited for it to (loudly) search for data.

Coming from someone who has had both, I would say that the faster HD is the best upgrade for the MBP besides more RAM.

In regards to the remarks that an undergrad student doesn't need the MacBook "Pro", I think the Pro moniker is really more of a marketing thing than an actual label. What it really comes down to between the MBP and the MB is the larger screen and faster graphics card. If a 13 inch screen is not big enough for you, or you want something faster than integrated graphics, then the MBP is a better fit, whether you are a "Pro" or not. If the 13 inch screen and the portability that goes with it are important to you, and the graphics processor is not very important to you, then the MB would be a better choice, even for "Pros".