Hardware Help for MBP

Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hey everyone. Long time Mac User, first time post.

Currently I have a 13 inch Macbook w/ 2.16GHz processor & 2G of RAM which is about 5 years old, and is starting to show it's age. I am in graduate school and I run lots of statistical programs along with running parallels to use some programs that are only available in Windows. When I am running all of my more "intensive" programs, my computer really starts to lag.

Now that I am looking to upgrade to a MBP, I am curious about what type of hardware I should be looking at getting. Obviously being a student, budget is a real concern, so I am trying to be as efficient as possible with my purchase. My first inclination is to get a 13 inch MBP with a 2.4 GHz processor and spec it out with 8G of RAM. However, my friend suggested that given what I want to do, it might be more prudent to get a 13 inch MBP with 2.66 GHz and 4G of RAM.

Basically, I am curious if anyone can help me figure out what would be optimal with regards to processing speed v. RAM given that I want to be running lots of programs at once. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!
 

cwa107


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 20, 2006
Messages
27,042
Reaction score
812
Points
113
Location
Lake Mary, Florida
Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Although the memory is an easy DIY, and the cost of going with aftermarket memory is significantly less than getting it through Apple, I really can't imagine you'll notice a difference in clockspeed of 260Mhz.
 
Joined
Oct 23, 2010
Messages
836
Reaction score
17
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
C2D 2.26 | 500GB Seagate Momentus | 2GB 1066 (soon to be 8)
Hey everyone. Long time Mac User, first time post.

Currently I have a 13 inch Macbook w/ 2.16GHz processor & 2G of RAM which is about 5 years old, and is starting to show it's age. I am in graduate school and I run lots of statistical programs along with running parallels to use some programs that are only available in Windows. When I am running all of my more "intensive" programs, my computer really starts to lag.

Now that I am looking to upgrade to a MBP, I am curious about what type of hardware I should be looking at getting. Obviously being a student, budget is a real concern, so I am trying to be as efficient as possible with my purchase. My first inclination is to get a 13 inch MBP with a 2.4 GHz processor and spec it out with 8G of RAM. However, my friend suggested that given what I want to do, it might be more prudent to get a 13 inch MBP with 2.66 GHz and 4G of RAM.

Basically, I am curious if anyone can help me figure out what would be optimal with regards to processing speed v. RAM given that I want to be running lots of programs at once. If anyone has any suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

Go with the cheaper of the two.

And you are not going to notice a difference between 4 and 8gb of RAM. But go with the stock 4gb from Apple, and monitor your RAM usage. If you notice it starting to lag, then pick up an 8gb kit. The 2.4 ghz with 4gb of RAM sounds perfect for you.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top