Questions about buying a Mac

Hi,

I am windows user. I have decided to get my first apple. I have been looking to get the MBP 17 Inch. Glossy (went the the story & couldnt handle antiglare). Here are my questions:

1) Is there any difference between 2.8 & 3.06? I am a general user - im not a gamer - the most intense thing I can imagine doing is working in Photoshop to edit my Digital SLR files. Macmall is obviously the cheaper way to go for the 2.8 - but if the 3.06 is worth it - id have to go to apple.

2) HD? is there a real diff in 5400 vs. 7200? I have read forums saying the 7200 is louder - i mean i know i can upgrade this later - unlike the CPU.

3) Windows????? Is there any reason i should run this? I feel like a child unwilling to give up my blanket! I am so used to Office - but id rather save speed & money if i dont need this.

4) any other software i should buy with it through macmall? Or can i get it cheaper through newegg and others.

im not a computer geek - and really need a geek! Money isnt an issue -

is the MBP the best way to go? I need help! trying to get my macmall purchase finalized....

You won't notice a difference in the CPU speed if all you are doing is editing photos.

I have a 7200 RPM HDD and it's dead silent. It really depends on the manufacturer and make of the HDD.

Open Office if you need an office suite that is compatible with MS Office.

Three years ago, I was in the same boat as you. I was a PC guy dating back to the mid-80's. When my Dells and IBM died, I did the research and bought the 15" MBP. I also got a 20" iMac for my wife.

Suffice it to say, there has never been an issue with the MBP. They run perfectly right out of the box. I had no reason to want to revert back to a Windows environment. If you absolutely must run a Windows program, then Bootcamp will help you. But frankly, why would you?

Based upon my experience of getting smaller rather than bigger and then being sorry a month or so down the line, I would recommend that you buy the fastest available with the most hard drive space. You will see that with today's software needing a lot of disk space, that the smaller and slower internal hard drives won't satisfy your needs.

I am in the process of an upgrade of my resident 120 GB hard drive to a larger and faster (7200 rpm) one. I also added memory to 4GB.

By giving yourself room to grow as your interests expand, the bigger and faster model will fit in. Get the 15" and you will never be sorry.

the basic 17in MBP has:
2.8 GHz
4GBram
500GB HD
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 512 MB

the basics on this one are why i want the 17 inch. its faster - i dont want to have to upgrade in a year from the 2.8 - but can decide if the 3.06 will make a difference. so there is no reason for a faster CPU huh. i guess im not a big gamer at this point - but ive never had a decent computer. im a dork with like a 1992 500 pound machine. so anything is better than what i have

just dont want to make a mistake with what i can upgrade down the line....HDD i know i can later....but not CPU....

My usual comment is to buy as much processor as you can afford. But, unless you're doing a lot of audio or video encoding, it's unlikely that you'll notice much (if any) difference between those two processors.

You will notice the difference beween a 5400 & 7200 RPM drive. Like Crimson, the WD drive I've put into mine is silent. For the $50 difference Apple is charging extra for the 7200 instead of the 5400, I'd probably go ahead and just get it from them unless you have a real preference on the brand of drive you want.

I'd take that $300 you'll not spend on the processor and put it towards a good back up drive and maybe a new router or network printer.

I want a mac now $ no object (ok under 3k)

Hello -

im posting again....confused.......money is not so much an issue - but i dont want to spend over 3k. I will be taking classes in the fall. I was considering getting the 17 inch for home & then a 13 in netbook that was cheap that i wouldnt mind carrying around (and easier to carry).

im not a mac person - no NOTHING about them. But i want to order one this week!

1 - should i get a 13 in macbook pro & then a larger monitor (say 24 inches) to connect to at home?

2 - get the 17in loaded with 3.06 and 7200 rpm? and get a cheap netbook down the line to take to classes.

i think both of these options are similar in cost........ but i worry the 13 inch isnt as fast as the 17 inch. I want speed. im no gamer - BUT i dont want to limit myself. i am a multitasker - like to do 5 things at once, and want to edit in photoshop & maybe do web work. i cant foresee upgrading for a few years.

i have saved up my money for this - its not an option - i want the best option!

if you had 2800-3k to spend - what would you mac geeks do?????? i cant trust my own gut - cause this is all new to me! and talking to the people at the apple store was a blah experience.

i need details.....like what exact configure would you do in either option.

please help! im desperate! Thanks!

what would u do??????

15" MBP with plenty of RAM will do it. Buy the RAM and faster HDD somewhere other than Apple. With the money saved, get a nice large display and you will be set. Most of the MBP's are fast enough to handle whatever you throw at them. RAM, not CPU is their only bottleneck IMHO.

Why not just buy the 17" and bring it with you to class? Or, if you think it might be too big, get a 15". If you want the best you can get, a top of the line 15" will more than do what you need.

If you're really concerned about speed, don't get a netbook. You will be greatly disappointed.

I use pretty much firefox open with 40+ tabs at a time plus having Photoshop, Illustrator, and inDesign open most of the time. This is on a White MB 2.4Ghz with 4GB of RAM and it runs smoothly.

I seriously doubt you will need 3.06Ghz to do work in Photoshop and some other web based application. Unless you are working with RAW photos that are 10 gigs in size or something you...are better off packing as much RAM as you can into your MBP. That's really the only way your system won't lag.

I'd say just get a 15" that way it's still a desktop replacement and at the same time can be portable instead of buying two machines.

if i get the 15 and decide on a large display - is the quality on the displays worth the large price tag?

XJ-linux said:

15" MBP with plenty of RAM will do it. Buy the RAM and faster HDD somewhere other than Apple. With the money saved, get a nice large display and you will be set. Most of the MBP's are fast enough to handle whatever you throw at them. RAM, not CPU is their only bottleneck IMHO.

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which 15" MBP - which configuration - im on mac mall and the top of the line 15" w/ 2.8Ghz, 4gb, 500 GB hardrive is only 200 less than the 17 inch....

im sorry....i dont know what MBP with plenty of ram means lol.

what should i buy through macmall/mac? i see i can add HDD later.

mystiquejewels said:

im sorry....i dont know what MBP with plenty of ram means lol.

Click to expand...

RAM = memory . It's cheap and it's great for increasing performance.

Ram is NOT cheap from Apple. DON'T buy it from them. You'll regret it

Welcome to the mac world. You'll have fun!

vansmith said:

RAM = memory . It's cheap and it's great for increasing performance.

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That's only if it's 4GB of RAM or under. When you venture into the realm of 8GB it cost 700-800 dollars.

iPod Nano said:

Ram is NOT cheap from Apple. DON'T buy it from them. You'll regret it

Click to expand...

Agreed. Apple charges an unnecessarily high premium on RAM. Buy it yourself and install it independent of Apple.

CrimsonRequiem said:

That's only if it's 4GB of RAM or under. When you venture into the realm of 8GB it cost 700-800 dollars.

Click to expand...

Very true. I forgot to mention that earlier but to be fair, not many people go for more than 4GB unless they absolutely need it.

Thanks for all of your help !!!!!!!! I am ordering today on macmall and will get back to you!!!!!!!!