12-16-2007, 10:35 PM

I'm thinking of making the switch as I dont trust PCs anymore TBH. (having looked at people having problems tho I'm not 100% convinced... I tohught mac's didn't crash !!)

anyway this is my analysis of the situation and I would appreciate feedback and advice;

* 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 80GB hard drive1
* Combo drive
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* 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* Double-layer SuperDrive
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the 2.2 seems better +200 yoyo for the DVD drive, the +.2/+.2 on the cpu and +40 gigs of space.

The black one seems over priced its +200 extra for +40 more gigs and blackness....I could buy a purple cover somewhere on ebay or whatever...

Next question;

is it worth getting the 2x1Gb Ram ?
how vital is RAM to a mac ?
is its OS really ram intensive or does it just depend on what programs? Is the difference noticable? I will be using it to edit photos as that is primarily what my old pc was pre-system death
I know that the difference on XPSP2 for example betwen 512 and 1gig is a lot but 1 gig to 2gig is not as noticable except when working with really large pics in photoshop

apply themselves say :

* Select the standard 1GB of memory (two 512MB modules) to support day-to-day tasks such as email, word processing, and web browsing as well as more complex tasks such as editing photos, creating illustrations, and building complex presentations.
* Upgrade to the 2GB option (two 1GB modules) if you plan to use your system regularly for more intensive tasks, such as video editing and DVD authoring.
* Max out your memory with the 4GB option to enjoy the greatest possible performance for all your computing tasks.

so that's why I'm thinking 2 gigs RAM

it is cheaper to buy the RAM seperatly myself and put it in .. eg:

its +E140 for the 2 gig upgrade on the apple site
but only E54 on www.komplett.ie ....

but is this a good/bad idea?

Also sorry for all the questions but I really need to research this I dont want to have swapped a wad of cash for a laptop computer that is not as compatable as a windows machine (tho windows is actually run-abble on a mac I think!) but is dead slow in actually doing anything useful. Ie I'll take buggyness over slowness.

so; is the extra ram worth it ? (
and if so it best getting it from apple or getting it myself? (i can put ram in pcs and laptops.. not a big job & done it before)

I've seen other threads here asking about RAM aswell so I'm inclined to go for the 2.2 with the dvd burner and get 2x1gb ram elsewhere...
bottom line ; is this a wise decision?

12-17-2007, 03:37 AM

The 2.2Ghz would be better since i would always get the highest spec you can afford when getting a new computer. Yup the Black-book is over priced IMO however if you really wanted black i guess there's no choice but to spend the premium.
Live with your system for a while and see if 1GB of RAM is enough, i have 1GB and my primary use for my Macbook is working with large batches of RAW files in CS3 (also running Leopard) and mine runs at a good speed so i can live without having to upgrade my RAM for now. I'm sure that there would be a noticeable difference with the extra RAM however without doing it myself i can't say.
Don't get it from Apple they charge extremely high prices look around and you might even be able to find 4GB for a good price. If you were thinking of upgrading your Mac's RAM again in the future i would just buy 2 x 2GB matched sticks right from the offset instead of getting 2GB now and another 2GB in the future.
Windows runs flawlessly on Mac in Bootcamp, it's requires more power to run it as a virtual machine in parallels etc, for this i would recommend the 4GB of RAM.
End line is buy the best you can to begin and i'm sure you will benefit from it in the long run.

12-17-2007, 06:00 AM

Something else to think about, especially if you have access to buying with a student discount, would be to get the MacBook Pro. It comes standard with 2 GB RAM, a 120GB HDD, and also has the dedicated video card with at least 128MB RAM. For $1799 at the student price, it quite beats the MacBook's value if you're looking at doing that much upgrading.

12-17-2007, 06:31 AM

(having looked at people having problems tho I'm not 100% convinced... I tohught mac's didn't crash !!)

No operating system is crash proof. OS X does crash a lot less than Windows however.

12-17-2007, 09:41 AM

All operating systems have some issues but OSX is much much more stabler than Windows.

12-17-2007, 10:23 AM

Originally Posted by nirvana

Don't get it from Apple they charge extremely high prices look around and you might even be able to find 4GB for a good price.

Agreed! Buy your extra RAM from another vendor. I just upgraded my MBP to 4GB from OWC and paid less than $175 USD.

As to the OP, I would get the one with the DVD burner (2.2GHz) and upgrade to at least 2GB. The extra RAM is worth it in my opinion, but then again I just upgraded to 4GB so I'm a bit of a RAM hog I guess.

If you're going to run XP (or heaven forbid Vista) you'll definitely want 2GB of RAM. I switched to the Mac less than a year ago and it's been a great decision! Switching is not for everyone, but it does make sense for a good number of folks.

12-17-2007, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by Spyral

I'm thinking of making the switch as I dont trust PCs anymore TBH.

I wouldn't "trust" any computer. That's why backing up your data is so important.

12-17-2007, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by Cherokee

I wouldn't "trust" any computer. That's why backing up your data is so important.

Exactly. I wouldn't trust a computer either. More importantly, I wouldn't trust myself.
We can all make mistakes and delete that file "by accident" and then need it later on. It makes no difference what computer or OS you use. Backing up your data just makes sense.