2011 13" Macbook pro, low end or high end

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I manage to sell my 2 year old dell studio xps 13, and I am ready for a macbook pro, my first. After reading all the thread about 13" vs 15" vs iMac, I've decided that 13" is the one for me. Now, I am at my final decision, I hope I can get some advice here...I will be using it for web design (using artisteer, gimp, flash), learning apps development (objective c...etc), watching movies, casual gaming, day trading (running thinkorswim), vmware.

the questions in my mind are like this, will i regret later for not getting the dual core i7? is the integrated graphic processor good enough for the above ussage? if not, what if I max out the ram to 8GB, will it help?

well, upgrading to 8gb and SSD drive is what I plan to do later, or should I just get the apple 128SSD? is it true that the SSD comes with Apple configuration is of lower quality compare to other brands (btw, what brand does apple uses for SSD).
 
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If your mind is thinking of the possibility of regretting, and you have the means of going with an i7, don't bother with anything less because you are going to regret it...not that the i5 is bad, because it's a fine processor.

With ram, see how 4gb's does you first, then upgrade as needed. Paying $200 is a bit much.

As for the SSD, the new 128gb ssd that Apple is offering is actually on par with the prices from other providers. I would simply chose it for simplicities sake. However, it is possible to get something better for slightly more money. As for the company who makes the 128 ssd, it seems to be unknown. They speculate that it is an Apple branded OEM version of a Toshiba drive, but real proof proof hasn't shown up yet. Lower quality?? Not really, especially when ssd's vary so greatly in specs. Benchmarks actually paint a pretty decent picture for the 128's specs for the price.

What I would do, is keep the drive as it is. That way, if you upgrade to an ssd later, you will have a drive to use as a backup.
 
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Thank you for yoru reply, I just came back from a mac store, and play with the 13" macbook pro, for some reason, the disply unit only has 2GB of ram installed. i7 would cost 900 more here in malaysia. I guess I will just stick to i5.
As for SSD, yes you are right, the price is on par, I checked out similar capacity in other computer shops, and they cost more. I will go for the apple 128GB SSD. Thank you for your help. I will be ordering online now... ;D

can't wait for it to arrive ...

** update: just place an order for the lower end 13" with 128 SSD...
 
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I think you will be happy when it comes! Good luck, and come back if you have further questions!
 

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