Hello everyone, this is my first post here and I'm starting with a new thread.
I'm an architecture student and will be starting grad. school on August. My old VAIO FZ340 died about a month ago and the obvious solution is getting a Mac. The quality and attention to detail of Apple products and my sister's MacBook Pro sold it. I will be ordering mid August so I guess the computer will be shipped with OS X Lion.
I intend on running the latest versions of AutoCad, Photoshop, and Revit simultaneously along with programs like Google Earth and the internet. Revit requires Windows so I will be running Parallels as well. I will also use Maya and Final Cut to a lesser extent. I want the computer to be as fast as possible when loading documents and transferring files, good rendering times would also be a plus. I don't plan on doing any gaming but might watch Netflix every now and then.
I would like the computer being future proof though I know that's almost impossible but want it to last 6+ years. I'm no computer geek and will not be doing surgical procedures on my Mac so whatever I get now stays put. I configured the computer on the apple website and with student discounts they go from $2500 - $3000.
Here is my best possible configuration:
MacBook Pro 15-Inch:
-Processor: 2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
-Memory: 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
-Hard Drive: 256GB Solid State Drive
-Display: MacBook Pro 15-Inch Hi-Res Glossy Widescreen Display
Here are my questions. Will I need a 2.3GHz processor or will the 2.2GHz do fine? Cache 8MB or 6MB? Remember I need speed.
Is the Solid State Drive proven? I'm trying to justify the extra cost, I will be installing my programs on this internal drive along with a semester's worth of work. I know Lion will have a feature called TRIM but will the drive lose performance over time? I intend on doing a clean OS install every semester or so. Would getting the 7200rpm 500GB Hard Drive be better? I like the SSD having no moving parts and that it generates less heat, my old computer's video card was fried due to the heat, I also live in a very hot place.
I would appreciate any help or info you guys can give me.
Thanks,
CF
I'm an architecture student and will be starting grad. school on August. My old VAIO FZ340 died about a month ago and the obvious solution is getting a Mac. The quality and attention to detail of Apple products and my sister's MacBook Pro sold it. I will be ordering mid August so I guess the computer will be shipped with OS X Lion.
I intend on running the latest versions of AutoCad, Photoshop, and Revit simultaneously along with programs like Google Earth and the internet. Revit requires Windows so I will be running Parallels as well. I will also use Maya and Final Cut to a lesser extent. I want the computer to be as fast as possible when loading documents and transferring files, good rendering times would also be a plus. I don't plan on doing any gaming but might watch Netflix every now and then.
I would like the computer being future proof though I know that's almost impossible but want it to last 6+ years. I'm no computer geek and will not be doing surgical procedures on my Mac so whatever I get now stays put. I configured the computer on the apple website and with student discounts they go from $2500 - $3000.
Here is my best possible configuration:
MacBook Pro 15-Inch:
-Processor: 2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7
-Memory: 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
-Hard Drive: 256GB Solid State Drive
-Display: MacBook Pro 15-Inch Hi-Res Glossy Widescreen Display
Here are my questions. Will I need a 2.3GHz processor or will the 2.2GHz do fine? Cache 8MB or 6MB? Remember I need speed.
Is the Solid State Drive proven? I'm trying to justify the extra cost, I will be installing my programs on this internal drive along with a semester's worth of work. I know Lion will have a feature called TRIM but will the drive lose performance over time? I intend on doing a clean OS install every semester or so. Would getting the 7200rpm 500GB Hard Drive be better? I like the SSD having no moving parts and that it generates less heat, my old computer's video card was fried due to the heat, I also live in a very hot place.
I would appreciate any help or info you guys can give me.
Thanks,
CF