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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
Conflicted Switcher
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<blockquote data-quote="simplysae" data-source="post: 720885" data-attributes="member: 65480"><p>Tvith, thanks for that personal advice. I had just visited the local Apple store (spent a good hour there), just feeling, playing and asking questions about the MBP. I've decided to go for the 15" (no use spending the extra $$ on the 30% of space that I <em>could</em> use). I'm still sad though b/c the resolution wouldn't be <em>that</em> cool. But then again, the maxed out resolution on the 17" makes everything tooooo tiny.</p><p></p><p>...After all of that, you'd think I've made up my mind now, right? Well, now I'm conflicted again. Granted that I'll get $200 off the price tag for being a student, a Mac genius recommended that I start off on the low end of the MBP and customize it to my needs. Since I can upgrade my own RAM, I didn't need to buy it from Apple -- save some $$ there. But I'll need a bigger HDD, so I'll just have to spend the extra $50 for an additional 50GB of storage (from 200GB standard to upgraded 250GB @ 5400rpm). Also the Mac genius told me that if I upgrade the HDD myself, it would void the warranty. Is this true?</p><p></p><p>I don't mind sticking with the 2.4GH processor. Doesn't seem to make much of a difference from 2.4 to 2.5GH anyways...My biggest concern now is the graphics card. The low-end MBP only has a 256MB graphics card, but I may end up needing 512MB for my heavy graphics usage. Belunos mentioned that graphics cards can't be upgraded, which is a drag. The low-end MBP, even after customizations and the addition of the 8GB Ipod Touch, would come up to about $2300 (with taxes). And then buying the RAM upgrade will make it just perfect in regards to budget.</p><p></p><p>Should I just stop complaining and get the compromise -- the <a href="http://store.apple.com/us-hed/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro" target="_blank">middle MBP</a>, which allows me to have 2.5GH processor, 250GB HDD (standard), and 512MB graphics card. Well this is just dandy, but the base price (even with the student discount) already sits at $2300. That plus the $299 for Ipod Touch + tax = $2800 upfront. Then afterwards, I'll get $299 back in rebates for the Ipod.</p><p></p><p>All in all, the low-end MBP will cost me $2000 even, and the middle MBP will cost me $2500, a $500 difference. This doesn't include the money that will be spent for RAM upgrades. The only thing is that the low-end MBP needs to be customized and can only support 256MB graphics card...looking at budget, the low-end is the better choice. However, it's lacking on the graphics card. Meanwhile the middle MBP has all that I'm looking for as standards, but at a $500 steeper price tag.</p><p></p><p>So which one should I choose? OMG, and I haven't even started talking about software costs and protection plans. Do I even need the AppleCare Protection plan?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="simplysae, post: 720885, member: 65480"] Tvith, thanks for that personal advice. I had just visited the local Apple store (spent a good hour there), just feeling, playing and asking questions about the MBP. I've decided to go for the 15" (no use spending the extra $$ on the 30% of space that I [I]could[/I] use). I'm still sad though b/c the resolution wouldn't be [I]that[/I] cool. But then again, the maxed out resolution on the 17" makes everything tooooo tiny. ...After all of that, you'd think I've made up my mind now, right? Well, now I'm conflicted again. Granted that I'll get $200 off the price tag for being a student, a Mac genius recommended that I start off on the low end of the MBP and customize it to my needs. Since I can upgrade my own RAM, I didn't need to buy it from Apple -- save some $$ there. But I'll need a bigger HDD, so I'll just have to spend the extra $50 for an additional 50GB of storage (from 200GB standard to upgraded 250GB @ 5400rpm). Also the Mac genius told me that if I upgrade the HDD myself, it would void the warranty. Is this true? I don't mind sticking with the 2.4GH processor. Doesn't seem to make much of a difference from 2.4 to 2.5GH anyways...My biggest concern now is the graphics card. The low-end MBP only has a 256MB graphics card, but I may end up needing 512MB for my heavy graphics usage. Belunos mentioned that graphics cards can't be upgraded, which is a drag. The low-end MBP, even after customizations and the addition of the 8GB Ipod Touch, would come up to about $2300 (with taxes). And then buying the RAM upgrade will make it just perfect in regards to budget. Should I just stop complaining and get the compromise -- the [URL="http://store.apple.com/us-hed/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro"]middle MBP[/URL], which allows me to have 2.5GH processor, 250GB HDD (standard), and 512MB graphics card. Well this is just dandy, but the base price (even with the student discount) already sits at $2300. That plus the $299 for Ipod Touch + tax = $2800 upfront. Then afterwards, I'll get $299 back in rebates for the Ipod. All in all, the low-end MBP will cost me $2000 even, and the middle MBP will cost me $2500, a $500 difference. This doesn't include the money that will be spent for RAM upgrades. The only thing is that the low-end MBP needs to be customized and can only support 256MB graphics card...looking at budget, the low-end is the better choice. However, it's lacking on the graphics card. Meanwhile the middle MBP has all that I'm looking for as standards, but at a $500 steeper price tag. So which one should I choose? OMG, and I haven't even started talking about software costs and protection plans. Do I even need the AppleCare Protection plan? [/QUOTE]
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