VS Developer

Hello all

I'd like some general advice on choosing a mac. I've fancied switching over to Mac for a few years but because of University and now my job role I've always been ushered into using a PC. However now because of the Intel chips dual O/S's seem very possible and manageable.

Breif background is I'm a software developer using VS2005 / VS2008, SQL Management Studio and a few other seemingly Windows specific apps both at work and I want access to them at home too. From what I've read so far VS is not Mac compatible and not sure about SQL MS so I have the choice of either bootcamp or emulation (Parralells or VMware). Also from reading Bootcamp seems to be the more stable option as the work I'll be doing will be CPU & RAM intensive.

I'd guess OS X would take over general surfing / music / research etc but I do need access to a Windows platform because of work and playing around with new stuff thats related to VS / SQL.

So far I'm thinking along the lines of a MacBook Pro with upgraded RAM, then setup XP SP2 through bootcamp for all my developemnt orientated work where OS X takes over general use. I suppose I've answered many of my inital questions I had when I started this thread, however, further opinons and comments would also be welcome.

Regards,
Mike

My only comment is that both Parallels and VMWare Fusion are not emulation, because the underlying hardware is of the same platform (x86). Instead, they provide an additional layer of hardware abstraction, known as "virtualization". From a performance standpoint, you will not see a huge difference running in a virtual machine, unless your work involves the need to interface with 3D APIs like DirectX (i.e. programming games or 3D intensive software). Although both Parallels and Fusion provide a degree of DX8/9 support, it is still under development and so it's preferable to relegate those tasks to Boot Camp at the moment.

Although it's become somewhat of a buzzword in the IT industry, virtualization is becoming quite popular, both on the workstation and the server as a means of running Windows. As such, using a virtualized environment as a development environment is absolutely ideal in many cases. In fact, one of VMWare's biggest customer bases is the development community since it works so well as a sandbox.

Yes, virtualisation is a big buzz word around our network department at the moment. They are monitoring any and all servers looking for possible homes for new VM's.

Thanks for your advice on using a VM over bootcamp. I don't really deal with 3D API's so a VM for purely for development does make sense instead of the forced restasrt to hop between platforms, allowing me to use OS X to do all other duties.

I've noticed that the cost of upgrading the RAM of the MacBook Pro from 2GB to 4GB is £240 on the Apple website at the point of ordering. This seems pretty steep compared to www.crucual.com/uk weho offer 4GB (2x2GB sticks) for £61.09. Is there a big quality/performance difference between manufacturer RAM and 3rd party RAM such as Crucual?

RAM is the only issue that I'm considering upgrading for the MacBook Pro 2.4GHz model I'm looking at.

MikeGoldsmith said:

I've noticed that the cost of upgrading the RAM of the MacBook Pro from 2GB to 4GB is £240 on the Apple website at the point of ordering. This seems pretty steep compared to www.crucual.com/uk weho offer 4GB (2x2GB sticks) for £61.09. Is there a big quality/performance difference between manufacturer RAM and 3rd party RAM such as Crucual?

RAM is the only issue that I'm considering upgrading for the MacBook Pro 2.4GHz model I'm looking at.

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None whatsoever. Virtually everyon on this board who has upgraded their RAM has done so via a 3rd party. I have 2GB of Crucial RAM in both MacBooks and would recommend them.

Zoolook said:

None whatsoever. Virtually everyon on this board who has upgraded their RAM has done so via a 3rd party. I have 2GB of Crucial RAM in both MacBooks and would recommend them.

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Agreed. Apple's prices on memory are... to put it nicely, incomprehensible. I also like and recommend Crucial memory. In fact, I've been contemplating removing the two 1GB modules in my 2 week old MBP and replacing them with two 2GB modules from Crucial. I think the going price in US Dollars is something like $85.

The description of the MacBook Pro says the standard memory is 2GB (two SO-DIMMs) so am I right in thinking I'd need to buy x2 2GB sticks as there are only 2 slots?

MikeGoldsmith said:

The description of the MacBook Pro says the standard memory is 2GB (two SO-DIMMs) so am I right in thinking I'd need to buy x2 2GB sticks as there are only 2 slots?

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You are correct on both counts.

Thank you for all your advice. You have been very helpful.

One last question if I may - Am I able to replace the RAM in the MacBook Pro without voiding the warranty or would I have to take it to an approved store for the upgrade?

MikeGoldsmith said:

Thank you for all your advice. You have been very helpful.

One last question if I may - Am I able to replace the RAM in the MacBook Pro without voiding the warranty or would I have to take it to an approved store for the upgrade?

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You're quite welcome - that's what we're here for

Memory is user-upgradeable and will not void the warranty.