Vid Card or RAM?

Hello people... I am going to be purchasing a MacBook Pro soon, and have a few questions if you could answer them. I have 3-4 different configurations I was thinking of, Ill list them starting with lowest cost. I appreciate your help in advanced! I am buying this for college/a little bit of gaming (I'm thinking starcraft, and starcraft 2 when it comes out, and possibly some CS):

#1
13" monitor
2.4 dual core, 3mb shared L2 Cache
250GB HD
4 GB RAM
No Vid card, 168 integrated on motherboard

#2
15" monitor
2.4 dual core, 3mb shared L2 Cache
250GB HD
2 GB RAM
256 mb GeForce Vid Card
about 100 less than #1 (but I wont have 4GB RAM, and currently am thinking #1 is even dumb to consider)

#3
Same as #2,
but with 4GB RAM
around 350 More than #2

#4
15" monitor
2.5 dual core, 6mb shared L2 Cache
250GB HD
2gb RAM
512 MB GeForce Vid Card
Around same price as #3

ogacon said:

...I am buying this for ....gaming (I'm thinking starcraft, and starcraft 2 when it comes out, and possibly some CS)

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I would go with Option #5

I know I said gaming... but just a minor amount. I don't consider myself an intense gamer. I get bored of games quickly, so I'll play it for a while then get bored. I like RTS, and my starcraft runs just fine on my POS computer... and I can't stand windows anymore. I am about to shoot someone. Thanks though for the suggestion... I have looked at alienware before. its on the back of my mind still >_< just the thought of windwos though makes me shiver.

Whatever you buy, get the lowest amount of RAM offered and then bbuy it from crucial or somewhere, anywhere except Apple. You're probably comparing costs with Apple priced RAM, which is insanely expensive.

ogacon said:

I know I said gaming... but just a minor amount. I don't consider myself an intense gamer.

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From my experience, everyone who says that will always and without fail, game a lot more than they admit to.
The very fact that you are concerned about things like graphics and RAM tells me that you care a little more about gaming than you are letting on. I'm not poking fun or talking down about you, that is just how I see it. It's not a bad thing.
That being said, you would be much better suited with a notebook designed for gaming that would also work fine for college schoolwork. That would not be a Mac.

Zoolook said:

Whatever you buy, get the lowest amount of RAM offered and then bbuy it from crucial or somewhere, anywhere except Apple. You're probably comparing costs with Apple priced RAM, which is insanely expensive.

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QFTT . Apple RAM upgrades to 4GB cost $400. Go to newegg, you can find 4GB of 200pin DDR2 SO-DIMM RAM for $80-90 ;D

Aww, don't listen to DB...
If you want to get a Mac, get the Macbook Pro with the better graphics card and add more RAM later.
It'll be fine for the games you mentioned AND you'll have the OS and machine of your choice.

Sure, the Alienware is better for gaming, but if you can live with that, the MBP is an awesome machine.

Thanks much for the suggestion, that is what I've been hearing too. Get the vid card and upgrade RAM later if I need to. One last question, would opening up my MBP void the warranty plan I'm buying? As I do need to open it up?

like Aptmunich said: get the better video card now (because it cannot be upgraded later). RAM can be purchased and installed later on. Apple has crazy prices for RAM, you can get 4gb of memory from other sources for ~$100.

ogacon said:

Thanks much for the suggestion, that is what I've been hearing too. Get the vid card and upgrade RAM later if I need to. One last question, would opening up my MBP void the warranty plan I'm buying? As I do need to open it up?

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You don't need to open the MBP to upgrade the RAM, but you need to open it if ever you want to upgrade the HDD (which will void your warranty). I upgraded both the RAM and the HDD on my MBP; RAM took me 10 minutes and HDD took me 45 minutes.

Alright thanks a4! And all y'all! Helped me a lot, I'll probably just end up purchasing 4GB at the same time as I purchase my MBP. What's another $100 when I'm already spending 2500?