would like to make the change over to Macs

I am currentlly a frustrated and fed up PC user who would like to make the change over to Macs. I am looking at the new macbook pro's and I just can not seem to understand the difference (besides size) on the 13inch, 15inch, and 17inch.

I am a fresh graduate of highschool and therefore will be using this computer for college, music, and the sims3 as well as internet acess of course. If you all could help me figure out which mac would be the best for me I would greatly appreciate it.

I understand that I will need a good graphic procesor for my game, and a good hardrive for my music. So please keep the comments flowing...I need the help.

I guess I should lastly mention size doesnt matter, I just need a good computer seeing as this will be my first major purchase and it will be lasting awhile.

Thank you for the help.

Shekinahbabby

One main difference is the Video GPU (Video Card). The 13" has a NVidia 9400M which is integrated graphics which uses System RAM for the Video. It's quite good for integrated but still is no match for a discrete GPU (Video Card) with it's on Video RAM. The entry level 15" is the same way but the better 15" and the 17" have Two separate GPU's (Video Card's). One is the Integrated 9400m but the other is a NVidia 9600M GT which is a separate GPU with it's own dedicated Video Ram. That option will be much better for demanding 3d and Gaming.

Also the CPU is a bit faster in the larger MBP's also.

Get the tier 2 MBP 15". It's in between the power of the 17" and has the portability of the 13" without really losing out any of the features.

HDD doesn't mater really. You can always buy an external or buy a bigger, faster HDD for less than what apple charges. Same thing applies to the RAM. Just get the MBP as is and upgrade yourself.

HDD here.
RAM here.

Okay, I appreciate your trying to help but I dont understand what either of your are saying. Are you saying to get the 15inch and then upgrade it elsewhere? If so how do I upgrade it?

This site might help you with that, pictures and step by step instructions

Shekinahbabby said:

Okay, I appreciate your trying to help but I dont understand what either of your are saying. Are you saying to get the 15inch and then upgrade it elsewhere? If so how do I upgrade it?

Click to expand...

Go to the apple store and buy the one that cost 1,999.00. Then follow this after you bought the RAM, and this after you got your new HDD.

Or no? Dtravis your saying get the 17inch...and Crimson your saying get the 15inch then upgrade it?...which I dont know how or where to do.
Righ?

Thank you gag.

For what you are describing, I don't think you need a MacBook Pro. I would think the White MacBook would do fine.

No I said the more expensive 15" had the dual video cards like the 17". CR was saying to go with the 2nd 15" as it has the better video of the 17" but is smaller and lighter to carry around.

Gagnerants linked you to a site that shows how to upgrade RAM or Hard Drive.

Okay, thank you.

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see you switching!

Please Help, round two.

I do not understand computer language all that well.
I need a computer that will work very well in the following areas, and that is a laptop and that is a mac.

1. The sims3 (It is really the only game I play)
2. Music
3. School (I am fresh out of highschcool)
4. Battery Life (This is a must)

So far the general attitude seems to be get a 15inch.

Thank you for your help in advance.

Shekinahbabby

CrimsonRequiem said:

Go to the apple store and buy the one that cost 1,999.00. Then follow this after you bought the RAM, and this after you got your new HDD.

Click to expand...

According to this url the new MBP's no longer have the bottom cover since they have no user replaceable battery! So you have to take off the whole bottom.

MacBook Pro 13" Unibody Teardown

OK. The White MacBook (like I said before) should do fine for that. Anybody know if WhiteBooks are OK for sims3?

I just did a quick google search...

You would need to add ram and make it 2 GB for the game, but other then that, the White MacBook is fine for what you want to do.

Shekinahbabby said:

I do not understand computer language all that well.
I need a computer that will work very well in the following areas, and that is a laptop and that is a mac.

1. The sims3 (It is really the only game I play)
2. Music
3. School (I am fresh out of highschcool)
4. Battery Life (This is a must)

So far the general attitude seems to be get a 15inch.

Thank you for your help in advance.

Shekinahbabby

Click to expand...

Honesty any of the Mac will do what you want. I'm just saying get the 15" because that way you are future proof your purchase, if you choose to play or use your MBP for other applications besides gaming. IE Photography, music production, film etc.

You don't have to do the stuff that we listed. We are just trying to save you money, especially since those upgrades you can do yourself pretty easily.

It's a good idea to get to know how things work since we do practically use these things almost everyday of our lives. Some more than others, and we can't live without them practically.

Shekinahbabby said:

I do not understand computer language all that well.
I need a computer that will work very well in the following areas, and that is a laptop and that is a mac.

1. The sims3 (It is really the only game I play)
2. Music
3. School (I am fresh out of highschcool)
4. Battery Life (This is a must)

So far the general attitude seems to be get a 15inch.

Thank you for your help in advance.

Shekinahbabby

Click to expand...

1) yep
2) yep
3)yep
4) awesome battery

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, just finished high school and am looking for a solid notebook for college.

I have decided I'm getting either the 13" or 15" Macbook Pro, the 17" just seems like overkill for college considering it's less portable, heavier, and costs a good bit more.

Basically their are three differences: 1. CPU speed 2. screen size 3. cost.

You and I will be ok with either the 2.26 or 2.53 cpu. There is really no need to shell out an extra $300-700 for the 2.66.

Screen size is pretty important too. Some people can handle a 13" screen, but some need 15" or even larger. If your going to game I would lean more towards the 15".

I think either the $1500 13" or the $1700 15" is the way to go. They both have 2.53 ghz, 4GB RAM, 250 hard drive, and the same graphics card. It basically comes down to if you want to spend $200 for 2" of screen.

If those a little too expensive the $1200 13" is also a fine choice. The main differences are a 2.26 cpu and 2GB of RAM.

As I'm sure your aware of you also get a free iPod touch and a free printer. You could sell both and make a few hundred dollars to offset some of the cost too.

Having used a few iMacs as my personal system over the years, I got an HP laptop and after 6 months, I couldn't stand it, so I just purchased a MacBook Pro.

My model is the 2.8 GHz 15" model. I chose it over the mid level MBP for the 500 GB HD and the 512 MD 9600 really, though the speed bump was also nice, though probably not that noticeable.

I like the 15" size as it's a good compromise between portability and yet is still plenty big for daily use. The MBP will be my sole machine as I am selling the iMac, and I needed the extra real estate.

Don't forget, as a college student you can take advantage of the free iPod Touch deal (which I did), plus you get a discount on the machine. I think it is $150 in the mid model, $200 for the higher model I bought. Pretty good deals right now.

Just to be clear, the main differences in the 15" models are:

Low End -
2.53 GHz Processor
Nvidia 9400m integrated video ONLY
250 GB hard drive

Mid Range -
2.66 GHz Processor
Nvidia 9400m integrated PLUS Nvidia 9600m GT w/ 256 MB vram
320 GB hard drive

Top Model -
2.8 GHz Processor
Nvidia 9400m integrated PLUS Nvidia 9600m GT w/ 512 MB vram
500 GB hard drive

The difference in processors, in all honesty, will most likely not be readily apparent in every day usage. The hard drive issue is entirely up to you, how much space will you need is something no one can really answer for you.

The biggest difference is between the low end version that has only the Nvidia 9400m integrated graphics card. This means that the graphics system shares RAM with the main system, and is not as good as a discrete card. They are by no means "bad" but for graphically intense tasks, such as gaming, you will see a LOT of difference between the two. The discrete option has it's own separate processor (separate from the CPU) as well as its own separate video memory.

The 2 higher end models come with both the integrated graphics and a discrete card. That means you can turn on the integrated chip when on battery power and save battery life, or you can turn on the discrete card for maximum power (like when gaming) but at the expense of less time running on battery power.

Battery is also the reason I'd say go with the MacBook Pro over the MacBook. The MacBook has a normal, removable battery. The MacBook Pros now feature a non removable battery. The biggest difference is that the non removable battery will power your Mac for much longer. As i sit typing this post on battery power, I still show over 7 hours of life remaining after already using it for over 30 minutes. Of course running a DVD or watching a fullscreen video or encoding MP3's would significantly reduce that time, it is still very impressive. In comparison, my HP would be lucky to surpass 2 hours doing the same tasks I am now.

So total time you can work while on battery power may be a big factor if you will be using your MacBook Pro on the go around campus. I still can't believe this battery, I still have the keyboard backlight on, my screen is at one tap under 50% (which is what I use even when plugged in, this baby is BRIGHT!), I'm on wifi and my bluetooth is still on, though I am running the 9400m over the 9600m GT right now, so that should help a little.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I hope that helps you. Love this notebook!