08-31-2009, 05:44 AM

I have seen so many posts on which Macbook or Macbook Pro. So here is my mini guide to help the total newbie.


The Basic Specs
Macbook Pro

13" LED
2.26Ghz, 2Gb Ram, 160Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
2.53Ghz, 4Gb Ram, 250Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

15" LED
2.53Ghz, 4Gb Ram, 250Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M
2.66Ghz, 4Gb Ram, 320Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 256MB
2.8Ghz, 4Gb Ram, 500Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB

17" LED
2.8Ghz, 4Gb Ram, 500Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB


Macbook

13" TFT
2.13Ghz, 2Gb Ram, 160Gb HDD, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M


The Screen
So what size screen should you get? Well this really boils down to what you prefer. All Macbook Pro's are using LED which has better colours, The biggest factor for people getting a 15" over a 17" is money.

If you can afford any size screen just think of the general use, don't forget all machines can be plugged into a TV (Not all TV's supported, and require an adaptor).

Glossy or Anti-glare, personal preference yet again, some people say you see more colours in Glossy, others say you don't. Which ever Macbook Pro you go for it will be a delight compared to standard TFT screens on other laptops & Macbook.
The Macbook (not Pro) has TFT not LED.

Also remember on the size of screen will affect how portable your laptop will be, but the obvious 13" may be smaller, but is this screen to small for your needs? While the 17" has a huge screen and could be to bulky to drag around everywhere. (See tips below from other members)



The Graphics GPU
This is a big question and I would like to answer this the best I can.
The 9400m graphics will run Photoshop, Movies, Final Cut Express & Pro (Will not run Color 1.5 or Motion 4). Yes the 9600m GT would be ideal for these as it can render faster in video editing. You may also be aware of OpenCL which will use both 9400m & 9600m GT graphics as another cpu (processor) and of course if you had the 9600m GT, you would see a better increase in speed over the 9400m.

Most games will run on the 9400m in low or medium settings and the 9600m GT can play just about anything on OS X, both will run games in low or medium settings in BootCamp (Microsoft License Required!) with no problems and the 9600m GT may be capable of high settings in games.

Now both 9600m GT 256Mb or 512Mb cards have dedicated vram, the more the better performance but don't forget the 9600m GT 256Mb is still a beast of a GPU for a portable machine.


Hard Drive
Again this depends on how much you store on your machine, I wont go into this to much and stay brief.

SSD over HDD will perform better and use less battery, but is pricey even in todays standards.

5400RPM & 7200RPM are the speeds of which is spins the disk. Most 7.2 HDD will not use any more power to run faster, but will have a faster read speed and this can make a performance difference for almost any application.


(Note: if you use Time Machine and use a 500Gb drive you will need to make sure you have 500Gb Portable HDD to future proof your data integrity)


CPU (Processor)
All processors on the Apple laptop range are Core 2 Duo processors and are capable of running 64 Bit, Snow Leopard is 64 Bit!


Upgrades
You are able to upgrade the Hard Drive and Memory (RAM) on Macbook Pro's & Macbook which are user serviceable (without voiding warranty!)
If you don't know what you are doing just order it from Apple. If you are tech savvy then you could save yourself money with upgrading hardware yourself.


Battery
The Macbook is excluded from this, the Macbook Pro range features a non-user replaceable battery and this makes most people worried.
Don't be! it has a full 1000 charges before it starts to drop, compare this to a standard laptop of 300 full charges. After the 1000 charges you can either replace the battery for a small fee (Est $100) at an Apple store or authorized service reseller, you may not even need to replace the battery as it may function fine. It is not limited to a 1000 charges, it just means it will not hold its full charge after a rough estimate of 1000 charges.
This compared to other laptops is still hugh increase in life. And most users replace their laptops after 3 years. with an estimate of 1000 charges you should get around 5 years life!


Discounts
If you are enrolled in college or university, or you are a university or college staff member you are entitled to a discount but must purchase through the education store which will need to be accessed on campus. Proof may be required of status.


Any more help required please post on Mac-Forums!

08-31-2009, 07:16 AM

Thanks for the guide!

I'm thinking about switching from PC laptop to MBP. My friend recommended buying off eBay, which is much cheaper.

Do you have any recommendations for buying off eBay? (Other than general 100% rating of seller, use PayPal, etc.) What common problems exist that I should check for before I order or after I receive it? I've read about the hard drive noise for 7200rpm drives fixable by firmware update... what other (potential) problems are there? Dead pixels?

Thanks again!

08-31-2009, 07:21 AM

Of course everything you mentioned is to look out for. the firmware update for the drives should stop clicking.

Personally I prefer official sellers like Apple, Amazon etc.. as you have peace of mind in returning the unit should it be defect.
I recommend that you don't get it shipped and try and view it in person first.

Paypal offer some sort of protection and may be worth reading the small print

Best of luck.

08-31-2009, 07:35 AM

I would also like to give some advise on screen size.

If you need your laptop to be portable for example when you travel a lot or need it for college or university, go for the 13" or 15", as the 17" would probably be to big for that. The macbook pro 15" is of course bigger than the 13'', yet it is more easy to carry around than other non-apple 15" laptops, in my experience. So you shouldn't rule out buying a 15" immediately.

08-31-2009, 09:28 AM

Nice post Andy! Since you just purchased a new laptop...and did all of the research...I'm sure all of those details were still fresh in your mind!

- Nick

08-31-2009, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Nice post Andy! Since you just purchased a new laptop...and did all of the research...I'm sure all of those details were still fresh in your mind!

- Nick

Bingo!

08-31-2009, 10:37 AM

Nice guide Andy. I am sure that you could have written a lot more but this is easy for a new person about to switch to read and comprehend. Short and to the point. It makes me glad on my purchase. Going to college so portability was #1 so that is why I got 13''...WELL that and I'm on a college budget. However I know from a lot of people that Macs last for a long time so this was more of an investment that I will have for a long time!

08-31-2009, 05:08 PM

Cudo's on your post her Andy M... although I cannot give you anymore...
Maybe next time.
Meanwhile... keep it up

09-01-2009, 04:57 PM

Waits for reps from Sur3Mac~!

09-09-2009, 04:16 AM

For whoever gave me bad rep because of this guide.

the guide is NOT useless, it answers one of the threads I replied to perfectly. ignorant it is not, its points out obvious information regarding final cut pro, and some important information regarding motion and color!

09-10-2009, 11:59 AM

Hi Andy,

I am a new joiner to macforums and just wanted to say a massive thank you to you for your helpful guide, which I found to be extremely useful.

I had been agonising for a while between the 13" and 15.4" MBPs and your succinct synopsis helped me to clear my thoughts and reach a decision more quickly.

I finally succumbed to the 15.4"... this is my first foray into the world of mac, and I think I have fallen in love.

Thanks for helping all us novices out there.... it was much appreciated.