Mac Pro and capability to play internet based games

Hi,
I intend buying a Mac Pro for my son.
The 13" Mac Pro both available versions has the Intel's [i5 & i7] HD graphics Where as the 15" has the the dedicated GPU AMD Radeon 512MB DDR5 & 1GB DDR5.

Now any 13 /14 year olds would though say the need of a computer for their school work, incline to play internet based games and watch you-tube ect

Which is the better option in choosing a Mac Book Pro? for games and You-Tube is concerened?

Should I opt to
Increase the RAM to 8GB on a Mac Book Pro 13" that has has the Intel i5
or
Go for the 13" with the i7 and stay with the 4GB RAM
or
Or to go for the 15" that has the i7 & AMD Radeon 512MB with 4GB RAM?

I will appreciate those of you who know about the Mac Pro's capability and knowledge?

Worth the upgrade the RAM or the Intel i5 to i7 or having dedicated GPU AMD Radeon 512MB?

Regards

Just to clear something up before going into this: There is a "Mac Pro" which is a high-end desktop computer that comes in a tower. Lot's of horsepower and room to upgrade in the future. They come with a pretty big price tag.

Now, you are writing something about "13 Mac Pro" - Are you actually talking about the Macbook Pro (MBP for short) which is actually a laptop?

For what it's worth...and to simplify things...forget about the ram component of the questions...and just focus on which MacBook Pro has the best cpu & gpu for your son's needs.

Apple is well known for charging too much for ram upgrades. For example...here in the US...Apple charges $200 for a ram upgrade from 4 gig to 8 gig...and the same upgrade could be performed by the user (easily in most cases) for only around $50-$60 bucks.

Also. For what you mentioned your son will be doing with the computer...4 gig of ram is probably fine (and even if it isn't in the long term)...it can be upgraded much less expensively in the future (versus Apple).

HTH,

- Nick

dekan said:

Just to clear something up before going into this: There is a "Mac Pro" which is a high-end desktop computer that comes in a tower. Lot's of horsepower and room to upgrade in the future. They come with a pretty big price tag.

Now, you are writing something about "13 Mac Pro" - Are you actually talking about the Macbook Pro (MBP for short) which is actually a laptop?

Click to expand...

Hi,
i am referring to the Laptops only the 13 inch and the 15 inch.
Sorry for the confusion.
I am new to Apple.
Regards

pigoo3 said:

For what it's worth...and to simplify things...forget about the ram component of the questions...and just focus on which MacBook Pro has the best cpu & gpu for your son's needs.

Apple is well known for charging too much for ram upgrades. For example...here in the US...Apple charges $200 for a ram upgrade from 4 gig to 8 gig...and the same upgrade could be performed by the user (easily in most cases) for only around $50-$60 bucks.

Also. For what you mentioned your son will be doing with the computer...4 gig of ram is probably fine (and even if it isn't in the long term)...it can be upgraded much less expensively in the future (versus Apple).

HTH,

- Nick

Click to expand...

Thank you,
I am leaning towards the 15 inch with the i7 quad and the AMD Radeon 512MB- and it should be more than adequate especially I could upgrade the RAM myself!!
From where could I buy the compatible RAM for the laptop? Will a RAM stick from Crucial work?
[I have upgraded RAM and GPU in a desktop computer in the past]
I am not computer savvy though.

Truthfinder said:

From where could I buy the compatible RAM for the laptop? Will a RAM stick from Crucial work?
[I have upgraded RAM and GPU in a desktop computer in the past]
I am not computer savvy though.

Click to expand...

Crucial is definitely one of the suppliers we frequently suggest here on Mac-Forums. They have their "ram finder/ram identification tool"...which helps identify what exact ram is needed for an exact computer model. Which of course minimizes or eliminates errors of ordering the incorrect ram.

So yes Crucial ram will be fine. The newest Apple laptops are more difficult to upgrade the ram than a desktop computer...but it certainly can be done by a confident & mechanically inclined user. Especially when there are many DIY videos on the internet (You-Tube)...and websites (such as ifixit.com) that have detailed written step by step instructions with photos.

HTH,

- Nick

Hi pigoo3,
You have been very helpful and thank you very much indeed.

Regards

Truthfinder said:

Hi pigoo3,
You have been very helpful and thank you very much indeed.

Regards

Click to expand...

You're welcome. Here's one more website that you may find helpful as well:

Mac Benchmarks

Find the computer models you're interested in...and compare their performance scores. Of course in most cases the more expensive the computer...the better the performance.

Two things to think about:

1. These scores are only for the cpu (not gpu).
2. Many software titles don't take full advantage of multiple cores.

So sometimes a computer with two cores (faster Ghz cores)...can be better/faster than a quad-core with slower Ghz cores. Yes I know...so complicated!

- Nick

Hi pigoo3,
Thanks for that link.
The link does not seem to have the latest updated CPU in a Mac Book Pros'

I am also intrigued to see that your OS in your MBP as 10.6.4 where as the latest snow-leopard is 10.6.8. Is there any particular reason for you to stay without an updated OS?
I know it is not relevant to my original post but if you do not ask you do not know!!

Thank you for your time for answering my initial question.

Regards