Which MBP?

zman2408 · Jun 3, 2008

I am a Windows User that has been wanting to Switch to Mac for ever a year now and Apple is finally running a sale again....
I am a beginning photographer (hobby not career) so I want to be able to do any and all photo editing, I don't want anything to hold me back.
I also want to edit videos same as with photo editing I don't want the computer to hold me back.
I may do some gaming on it but I will probably always have a Windows Based PC for serious gaming.
But mainly I am buying the MBP for fun. I don't actually neeeed one for school, I have been in College for almost 4 years now and haven't ever really needed a lap top.

So I am looking at the different MBP's on the apple site & I am not sure what exact features I want and I am looking for Input.

15" VS 17"
A Difference of $300 bucks Base Price...
I will be using it mainly at my house, occasionaly at a Starbucks or in a library/book store, vacation... The main thing I like about the 17" is the option for the High Res Display, I think that may make me get the 17... what do ya'll think?

Ram 2 vs 4.... Seriously 180 bucks to add 2 gigs of ram? Would upgrading the ram aftermarket be just as easy as doing it in a PC? How much is aftermarket ram?

HDD I want the 7200 RPM for faster access, I have a 500gb external so 200GB onboard will be fine for me.

If I get the 17" I will be getting the hi res version for 90 bucks.

iWork... for 70 bucks... I don't know if I'll ever have a reason to use it... does it come with anything standard for creating documents?

As for Final cut & Aperture 2 ... I think sticking with the included editing software until I master it is a good idea.

I want a .mac membership so thats 70 bucks.

Apple Care.... 3 years of full coverage on my mac? Good idea? I cannot imagine buying this... theres not much inside of this computer that can break and 1 year from now I cannot replace myself for 240 bucks imo.

$2,400, 15", 2.5G, 200GB, 7200RPM, 2G ram, 1 year .Mac
vs
$2,800, 17"HD, 2.5G, 200BG, 7200RPM, 2G ram, 1 year .MAC
Seriously... when you are financing 2400 bucks what is an extra 400 dollars... a couple more months of payments...

It's way more than I want to spend, but since I am wanting this for pictures and videos, it seems like I should spend the extra 400 to get a better screen...
OR
Save 400 bucks and put that towards camera lenses, software, ect....???

Michael415 · Jun 3, 2008

zman2408 said:
I am a Windows User that has been wanting to Switch to Mac for ever a year now and Apple is finally running a sale again....
I am a beginning photographer (hobby not career) so I want to be able to do any and all photo editing, I don't want anything to hold me back.
I also want to edit videos same as with photo editing I don't want the computer to hold me back.
I may do some gaming on it but I will probably always have a Windows Based PC for serious gaming.
But mainly I am buying the MBP for fun. I don't actually neeeed one for school, I have been in College for almost 4 years now and haven't ever really needed a lap top.

So I am looking at the different MBP's on the apple site & I am not sure what exact features I want and I am looking for Input.

15" VS 17"
A Difference of $300 bucks Base Price...
I will be using it mainly at my house, occasionaly at a Starbucks or in a library/book store, vacation... The main thing I like about the 17" is the option for the High Res Display, I think that may make me get the 17... what do ya'll think?

Ram 2 vs 4.... Seriously 180 bucks to add 2 gigs of ram? Would upgrading the ram aftermarket be just as easy as doing it in a PC? How much is aftermarket ram?

HDD I want the 7200 RPM for faster access, I have a 500gb external so 200GB onboard will be fine for me.

If I get the 17" I will be getting the hi res version for 90 bucks.

iWork... for 70 bucks... I don't know if I'll ever have a reason to use it... does it come with anything standard for creating documents?

As for Final cut & Aperture 2 ... I think sticking with the included editing software until I master it is a good idea.

I want a .mac membership so thats 70 bucks.

Apple Care.... 3 years of full coverage on my mac? Good idea? I cannot imagine buying this... theres not much inside of this computer that can break and 1 year from now I cannot replace myself for 240 bucks imo.

$2,400, 15", 2.5G, 200GB, 7200RPM, 2G ram, 1 year .Mac
vs
$2,800, 17"HD, 2.5G, 200BG, 7200RPM, 2G ram, 1 year .MAC
Seriously... when you are financing 2400 bucks what is an extra 400 dollars... a couple more months of payments...

It's way more than I want to spend, but since I am wanting this for pictures and videos, it seems like I should spend the extra 400 to get a better screen...
OR
Save 400 bucks and put that towards camera lenses, software, ect....???

Lots of information there, which is good and it sounds like your sold on the 17 inch, which is a good choice. Since it sounds like your not going to really be moving this around why not think about gettin an iMac instead and then a Macbook for carting around? You can get the 24 inch with a faster processor and much larger screen for your video/photo work for around 1800, and a base macbook for 1k. Or get the 15inch MBP and an ACD monitor like the 20. This is what I personally have done. I use the 23 and 20 ACD all the time, and don't get me wrong the screen is great on the MBP but still not as nice as the ACD's IMHO.

zman2408 · Jun 3, 2008

Thats an idea I have considered. But I have a small house and don't have a ton of space. Since I have a dedicated Windows Gamer, I need to save space and just have only 1 other computer... In an ideal the iMac would run every windows based game under to son then i could do that haha...

But yah space has limited me to only 1 desktop in my house....

Michael415 · Jun 3, 2008

zman2408 said:
Thats an idea I have considered. But I have a small house and don't have a ton of space. Since I have a dedicated Windows Gamer, I need to save space and just have only 1 other computer... In an ideal the iMac would run every windows based game under to son then i could do that haha...

But yah space has limited me to only 1 desktop in my house....

So your saying you have a good monitor for your pc. If it accepts DVI ur set already

Assuming thats accurate (a good desktop monitor) it really boils down to if you want to be working on the laptop screen or not and what size works best for your needs.

SchneiderStudio · Jun 3, 2008

money, are you sure you will get credit for that amount or even any?
i have good credit and did not get nothing..

zman2408 · Jun 3, 2008

If for some odd reason apple didn't want to finance it for me I would pay cash. I have a ton of money in the bank, but I have limited income right now and I have a year left of school before I get my radiology license... I was given a primo loan when I bought my truck and a primo loan when I bought my boat...

But this thread is more about the computer specs not my financial status...

I have a 22" Wide Screen Acer 1680x1050 Res... It's nice... except that the verticle viewing angle sucks! When my eyes are even with the center of the screen the bottom half's color isn't as crisp and sharp as the top halfs... don't know if its defective or just how Acer likes to make monitors... I hate the desk that its on though... I have no work space, thats another reason why I want a laptop... so I can kick back on the couch and do minor stuff, or spread out on the dining room table if I have real work to do.

So I am still kind of at a tossup between the 15 & 17... Either way I'm getting the same HD, same CPU, same Ram.

The ram 180 bucks for 2 gigs seems crazy considering I just added a gig to my pc for 30 bucks... though the mac's ram is way better...
Is it going to cost about the same if I buy it from Newegg or somewhere?

mac57 · Jun 3, 2008

zman2408 said:
15" VS 17"
A Difference of $300 bucks Base Price...
I will be using it mainly at my house, occasionaly at a Starbucks or in a library/book store, vacation... The main thing I like about the 17" is the option for the High Res Display, I think that may make me get the 17... what do ya'll think?

Be careful here. That high res display is the same physical size as the normal res. That means that all fonts are going to be proportionately smaller. Any programs you may run into with fixed font sizes, particularly for menus, may be a bit of an issue for you.

zman2408 said:
Ram 2 vs 4.... Seriously 180 bucks to add 2 gigs of ram? Would upgrading the ram aftermarket be just as easy as doing it in a PC? How much is aftermarket ram?

Go with aftermarket RAM. It is oodles cheaper, just as good, and very easy to install. The booklet that comes with your Mac has complete instructions.

zman2408 said:
HDD I want the 7200 RPM for faster access, I have a 500gb external so 200GB onboard will be fine for me.

7200 RPM is a good idea. I would go for it.

zman2408 said:
iWork... for 70 bucks... I don't know if I'll ever have a reason to use it... does it come with anything standard for creating documents?

If you are just getting the machine for fun, you won't be doing a lot of "office" type work on it. Save yourself the money and install the free NeoOffice, the Mac port of OpenOffice. It is excellent, MS Office compatible and free.

zman2408 said:
As for Final cut & Aperture 2 ... I think sticking with the included editing software until I master it is a good idea.

...and once you have mastered that, go out and get the free GIMP. It is the open source equivalent to Photoshop - a very, very capable image editor. Alternately, get Photoshop Elements 6.0 for Mac. Also excellent, although about $80 I believe.

zman2408 said:
Apple Care.... 3 years of full coverage on my mac? Good idea? I cannot imagine buying this... theres not much inside of this computer that can break and 1 year from now I cannot replace myself for 240 bucks imo.

I agree. I recently bought a 15" MBP. I did not get AppleCare. So far, I don't regret it!

One last comment. I have to agree with the poster who suggested an iMac for the same money. For the same money, you would get a faster processor, more hard disk, and a much, much larger screen. You could help yourself to the 24" iMac, a real beauty when it comes to working on pictures. Frankly, I would be leaning that way myself.

SchneiderStudio · Jun 4, 2008

zman2408 said:
If for some odd reason apple didn't want to finance it for me I would pay cash. I have a ton of money in the bank, I was given a primo loan when I bought my truck and a primo loan when I bought my boat...

big whoop

getuptogetdown · Jun 4, 2008

zman2408 said:
15" VS 17"
A Difference of $300 bucks Base Price...
I will be using it mainly at my house, occasionaly at a Starbucks or in a library/book store, vacation... The main thing I like about the 17" is the option for the High Res Display, I think that may make me get the 17... what do ya'll think?

Well, I'm on a 15.4" matte (I HIGHLY suggest getting a matte screen if you are involved in photography since the colors are a lot truer) and I love it. I think the 17" is way too big to be carrying around and even buying a bag for it is more expensive! 15.4 is prefect and not too small. High res is probably nice but I can only imagine that working with photographs on the 15.4" is prefectly fine.

Ram 2 vs 4.... Seriously 180 bucks to add 2 gigs of ram? Would upgrading the ram aftermarket be just as easy as doing it in a PC? How much is aftermarket ram?

Agreed that you should look other places than through apple. It doesn't break warranty either and I'm told is easy to install.

iWork... for 70 bucks... I don't know if I'll ever have a reason to use it... does it come with anything standard for creating documents?

I also agree that you should get neooffice. It's free and compatible with office.

As for Final cut & Aperture 2 ... I think sticking with the included editing software until I master it is a good idea.

The included editing software (iphoto) is not very good for actual photo editing. I would just go ahead and get gimp or elements right away...maybe play with gimp for awhile but it is more confusing than elements.

Apple Care.... 3 years of full coverage on my mac? Good idea? I cannot imagine buying this... theres not much inside of this computer that can break and 1 year from now I cannot replace myself for 240 bucks imo.

Anything I have ever read and learned from my own experience is that buying insurance for a laptop is the one electronic to buy it for. You never know what could go wrong and it is VERY expensive to fix something if you don't purchase apple care. Anything from the screen to the hard drive could go at anytime for any reason and it is nice to know you are covered. Just my two cents.

$2,400, 15", 2.5G, 200GB, 7200RPM, 2G ram, 1 year .Mac
vs
$2,800, 17"HD, 2.5G, 200BG, 7200RPM, 2G ram, 1 year .MAC
Seriously... when you are financing 2400 bucks what is an extra 400 dollars... a couple more months of payments...

It's way more than I want to spend, but since I am wanting this for pictures and videos, it seems like I should spend the extra 400 to get a better screen...
OR
Save 400 bucks and put that towards camera lenses, software, ect....???

I think you should save the 400 and put it towards lenses and software....just my opinion.

zman2408 · Jun 4, 2008

Wow thanks for all the responses ya'll!
Ok So I probably will get the 15" matte... save a few hundred bucks and have a more portable computer.
On the Ram... does this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220208
look like the right stuff? Patriot is what I used in my PC when I upgraded and I haven't had any problems with it.