mbp questions

david1701

david1701

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Hi guys, I've kind of just got the go ahead to spend 1700 ish on a new laptop. Maybe. I also get the apple discount for students (15% ish).

I don't know where to go with it screen size wise. 17" great for editing big old lump for everything else. 15" what i have now a bit of a pain tbh as its neither big nor portable. 13" little portable bloody handy but would need an external panel really for major edits (cheaper so I could buy one though)

Is the coated or uncoated screen better? 35 quid aint much so I want to get it right as this is a buy properly buy once kinda thing (dumb with computers I know)

again stuck on 4 vs 8gb of ram and picking a processor speed, I know the os is more efficient but should I be pushing for the 3ghz to give performance in photoshop

What accessories will I 'need' from you users? I already have down a screen cable as a neccesity and long term the wireless kboard/mouse as a nicety.
 
smooth I'll go fix that, I know one screen was good and one was pants, but I couldn't remember which for the life of me and I wanted confirmation from a real person :p
 
I'd look at what you really need and put money into that.

If you want the 17", with or without matte screen it's amazing. Do the RAM yourself (I did this via Crucial.) RAM would be money better spent than the processor (in my opinion.)

If you go for the 15", go for the 2.66 model (assuming you're buying new) and the matte screen option (again, do the RAM yourself.)

Accessories-wise... get yourself:

- The Mini DisplayPort Adaptor that matches your external display
- A good sleeve or bag (I have a Tucano Workout bag and a Haglofs laptop dry bag depending on the situation.)

I've also got a Seagate FreeAgent Go (Mac edition, so it has the FireWire 800 port on it - well worth it), a BookArc from TwelveSouth, the Magic Mouse and Apple bluetooth aluminium keyboard.

I hook the MBP up to a 20" Samsung TV/monitor (2032MW) but would like to get the 24" LED screen if I could justify it (I have a 24" iMac that I'd love to replace with a new 27" model.)
 
k doing ram myself

dam 13" with a good 24" panel is cheaper than a 17" but is limited to 2.66
 
tempted quite a lot by 13" and a big panel on the desk

means I am limited to 2.53 Ghz and no matt screen. Need a little help translating that into terms I understand. I currently run a T8300 with 2gb ram and it isn't enough to cope with 5dII raw files
 
According to a quick search the T8300 is a 2.4 Ghz processor, but given that you'd be giving it more RAM and you'd be running Snow Leopard as the OS, I'd say you'd be OK.
 
I shoulda said that :bang: yeah its the snow leopard vs win 7 efficiencies I was wondering about
 
Can't speak for Windows 7, but I know Snow Leopard is pretty bloody good on any recent Mac.
 
I ran some numbers before I posted on TU, this is the middle bit of that post

I'm considering a 13" mbp with a bigger hdd and some accs that hits 1200 then a 24" monitor a ram upgrade to 8gn (from not apple as its £400 from them) and if I can jiggle it a wacom intuous 4 and the apple wireless mouse and keyboard as they're lovely. (probs won't happen but I can pick up keyboard / mouse at later dates)
This offers great portability AND a decent screen for editing whenever I am in my room. BUT I can't have the matt screen and I'm limited to a 2.53Ghz processor.

A 15" model which has a 2.66GHz processor and hits my 1500 pounds in the shop with no tablet or panel or keyboard or mouse. This offers reasonable portability, reasonable power and comes in on budget.

A 17" model @ 3Ghz which rapes my budget at 2k, the 2.8Ghz comes in at 1800 and is kinda doable ish at a push but involves borrowing some and NEEDING to make at an event coming up
 
whats the general announcement to release timeline on apple kit, and do prices fall post release like camera stuff, macrumours recommends not to buy atm
 
I've got the 13" 2.53Ghz.

Main performance bottleneck is the hard drive which is crap. I'll be upgrading mine shortly, about £75 for a good spinny one or £500 for a SSD..
 
mid_gen said:
I've got the 13" 2.53Ghz.

Main performance bottleneck is the hard drive which is crap. I'll be upgrading mine shortly, about £75 for a good spinny one or £500 for a SSD..
Click to expand...

whats the drive? I was looking at the apple 500gb (they seem to offer only 5400 rpm in 13") going ssd means no external screen which kinda ruins the 13" dream tbh
 
that's a lot of dosh to spend, especially mac rumours has it that a macbook pro updates are soon

i've just joined the world of mac, and love it
 
I don't think I can bring myself to spend £500 on a 256GB SSD at the moment, so I'll probably just stick in a 500GB 7200RPM drive myself, for about £75.

No point waiting for new computer technology, there is and always will be something better just round the corner.

The 13" MBP is a fabulous piece of hardware, the build quality and balance of performance and portability simply can't be beaten. Don't like OSX myself so running Win7, either runs sweet on it.......decent HDD will improve it though.
 
Personally I'd go for the 13" and the decent external monitor, that way you have the best of both worlds. I' waiting for the SSD capacity to go up before I make the plunge though.

I was looking at the matte screen MacBook Pros at the Apple shop the other day, but don't think they look right, the panel is good, but it spoils the aesthetics, which lets face it is one of the main things about Macs.
 
I reeeaaaaalllllyyy want the apple panel but it pushes my budget to the limit and I don't think its necessary tis pretty though
 
The latest MBP have 100% better screens than before. (pre unibodies)

So much brighter, clearer etc.

Used to have matte, but now quite like gloss as long as you can use it without light source behind you.
 
robinb said:
The latest MBP have 100% better screens than before. (pre unibodies)

So much brighter, clearer etc.

Used to have matte, but now quite like gloss as long as you can use it without light source behind you.
Click to expand...

you guys are massively selling me toward 13"
 
There are probably equally as good panels out there as the Apple ones a lot cheaper...
 
yeah, its just soooooo logical to have a power supply built in
1730 with warranty so no tablet or ram bump :S

or 1193 and buy a normal display and a tablet, think I might have to be sensible here :(
 
neil_g said:
we've got a new glossy apple display upstairs and its useless in any sort of bright room. seriously its worse than the imac we had..
Click to expand...

phewwww killed the oooh I want it its shiny thing with the display, will hit ebuyer up for one :D
 
Ok here goes,
My mac is:-
13" MBP standard spec 2.53ghz processor, 4gb RAM
Upgrade to 8gb through Crucial is £390.
If you are at University, any Apple store will give you 15% Student discount.
You will also get the Applecare 3yr cover for £47 instead of £199 as a student!!!!
I have a separate LG display that i bought from PC World, and it is stunning.

Mac should cost you as a student, incl 3yr applecare
£ 1044.90

Guess who I work for! LOL!!!

J
 
justinmoir said:
Also, you can pick up a 500gb replacement 7200rpm hard drive for around the £70 mark online!!

J
Click to expand...

but then I have to reinstall and I'm a lazy ******* :p the money is very similar for a nice prebuilt one, ditto for that ram act apple want 20 more quid and tbh for 20quid you can do it
 
I bought the 2.26Ghz 13" MBP just a few weeks ago, upgraded the RAM to 4GB of Crucial and dropped in a 500GB Seagate 7200rpm HDD.

Runs really quick, think I get better battery life out of it now and cost me £1050. If you get the student discount, go for the 2.53Ghz Processor.

I wouldn't worry about the updates - you'll be waiting your whole life for the most recent spec as once they do release the updates, the prices will go up, and the rumors about the next update will start.

I went for the 13" because it's portable for work, cheap (comparably) and can connect it up to an external monitor when I am at home. Have got a wireless mouse and keyboard also from my old Mac Mini.

DB
 
If you want a faster HDD, you'll have to do it yourself (unless you go Solid State) as the Apple 500GB are still 5,400rpm.

DB
 
Impspeed said:
If you want a faster HDD, you'll have to do it yourself (unless you go Solid State) as the Apple 500GB are still 5,400rpm.

DB
Click to expand...

and that means I can get a stock one which saves a lot of turnaround time (someone told me 6 weeks for a modded imac)

whoot whoot
 
neil_g said:
mac pro book? :thinking:

matte screen option is a must for me personally.
Click to expand...

Thats tehe only downside to the one I have, the gloss finish on the screen, I can see reflections all of the time in it, not so bad with mot programs opening but I can see the odd car pass now and again from behind me :lol:
 
whitey said:
Thats tehe only downside to the one I have, the gloss finish on the screen, I can see reflections all of the time in it, not so bad with mot programs opening but I can see the odd car pass now and again from behind me :lol:
Click to expand...

serves ya right for being on tp while driving :p
 
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