Mac book pro, or mac book, now or later?

[ziomatrixacs]

Hey guys, I am thinking about getting a new computer soon, within the next 2 months. I cant decide between a 15" mac book pro or the black book. Should I get it now, or later?

My buddy got one of the black books, then a week later they upgraded everything dramatically. Like higher GHZ, twice the ram, ect. And she was unable to return it. I nearly bought a $300 ipod touch, now they are $229. It seems Apple changes their prices unpredictably (to me atleast) The college apple store also has a sale for students, buy a mac laptop and you get a FREE ipod of your choice (even 32gig ipod touchs!) I just dont go to that college!

Im afraid of dropping $2000 on a MB pro and the next week they have 4 gigs of ram, 3ghz processor..ect..

I cant decide on which laptop either. I dont care for white computers, they get dirty and are too hard to clean. I also like a CD/DVD drive too much for a mac book air. My friend with the black book, I cant stand the way the edge of the computer feels, too sharp and the plastic feels like super high grit sandpaper. Plus it scratches like crazy. It is priced reasonably though. I like the mac book pro because it is aluminum and has better performance, the edges are also nice too. Just compared to a PC of equal price, Id get better hardware with a PC. (But vista is so slow that it wouldnt matter)


Im just not sure which one to get or when to buy it!

[DeltaMac]

There's lots of rumors floating right now, so you might want to wait for a couple of weeks, and check to see what Apple has then. Rumor has it that the MacBooks may be changed to an aluminum case.
Just rumors, though...the released product could be completely different. Apple sometimes like to surprise the rumor-mongers.

[VirtualTracy]

Originally Posted by ziomatrixacs

My buddy got one of the black books, then a week later they upgraded everything dramatically. Like higher GHZ, twice the ram, ect. And she was unable to return it.

I have an white Sept '06 iMac C2D, 2.16 MHz 20" and feel fortunate as the only real changes (one's I'd notice) between my model and the current equivalent, is the outer shell. I prefer my white model anyway and don't care for a .xx processor increase.

I nearly bought a $300 ipod touch, now they are $229. It seems Apple changes their prices unpredictably (to me atleast)

Apple products go down in price. Buy a new product and you expect to be stung for it. Wait a while and the outcome will be good. My original G5 retailed for AUS$2,800 when I was drooling over it but within 6 or so months it had dropped to $2,300, so I saved $500 there and if I go into the Apple Store I see 20" iMacs selling for AUS$1,599! This is great for consumers IMHO.

Im afraid of dropping $2000 on a MB pro and the next week they have 4 gigs of ram, 3ghz processor..ect..

This may be the case for MB Pro line but for my iMac C2D, the only upgrade I see is a rise of processor speed from my 2.16 GHz to 2.4 MHz. In all honesty, with they type of user I am I really doubt it if I'd notice the speed bump. But if you are a Pro user then a speed increase like this probably counts.

I cant decide on which laptop either. I dont care for white computers, they get dirty and are too hard to clean. I also like a CD/DVD drive too much for a mac book air. My friend with the black book, I cant stand the way the edge of the computer feels, too sharp and the plastic feels like super high grit sandpaper. Plus it scratches like crazy. It is priced reasonably though. I like the mac book pro because it is aluminum and has better performance, the edges are also nice too. Just compared to a PC of equal price, Id get better hardware with a PC. (But vista is so slow that it wouldnt matter)

I enjoyed reading your pros/cons of the different Notebook Macs, ziomatrixacs you seem like you are 99% there with your purchase ... it's just dealing with the anticipation that is hard, I guess.

Re: the MacBook Air, I would love to own one, one day ... I put it up there with the collectable macs ... like the Clamshell etc ...

Good luck with it and I hope to see you here shortly, telling us all about it

[ziomatrixacs]

Well, im going to be gone for about 2 months at basic training. I was going to spend some of my sign on bonus on a computer, fix a car and a tank of gas.. not sure which one is more expensive though!

Ill admit, my Ibook g4 (1.2ghz 256mb) is good nuff' for me. I usually just browse the net and watch movies. I was playing a game over an ad hoc network with my friend who has a newer mac book. Each time we play he gets a 5 second head start and the game thinks I disconnected. Its because my computer is significantly slower than his.. mine takes much longer to load everything in the game compared to him. So, I just got bit by the gaming and C++ bug, and all of my games/C++ compilers are for PC.

Honestly, I like the hardware PC's come with. They are loaded with ram and speed but are limited by their operating system. The mac has less (but not "little") and has a much better OS, so they appear to be the same. The mac just crashes less and is easier to work with. Its easy to work on an IBM as far as replacing parts, but a pure PITA to take apart a mac. Id rather get the best of both worlds, get a mac then run Fusion or Parallels with XP. (heck no to vista!) But I still dont need a "super" computer like those water cooled double graphic card monsters. I play simple games like Sim city and Command and conquer. Since I wont be home for a long time, a laptop is the way to go.

Thought about getting the 17" mac book pro till I saw one in real life. Those things are monsters! They are too big to be portable. Id like a mac book air, but I dont really want to pay that much for that little. (No pun intended) I think Ill get the $1999 15" mac book pro. Small enough to be portable without sacrificing my CD/DVD drive, powerful enough to keep me going for another few years. I dont feel like paying another $500 or so for .1ghz and 50gb more.. Ill get the $200 4gig ram upgrade and a 250gig external hard drive for less than $500.


Of course, apple hasnt upgraded their mac book pro's in a while (I think) so Ill buy one soon as they upgrade or drop the prices. You guys know what that means. That should mean it will be another 6-7 months before they change the prices. That would be the best bet for me.

[VirtualTracy]

Originally Posted by ziomatrixacs

Ill get the $200 4gig ram upgrade and a 250gig external hard drive for less than $500.

Are you going to get the RAM from Apple when you place your order? You can pick up RAM cheaper at places like Crucial.com, OWC, Newegg etc.

Check out OWCs & Crucial's RAM price for the MBP:

Other World Computing

Crucial.com

You just need to ensure you pick up the correct RAM for your Mac, someone here will only be too happy to help you there if you're not sure, but you seem to be pretty clued up with it all ...

[ziomatrixacs]

I checked it out. At ifixit.com, it is about $40 for one 1gb. I would need to buy 2 more of them at $40 plus $10 in s&h. $90 vs $200. (Mac book pro already has 2 installed) Hmm...I enjoy tinkering, but not on new stuff, a bit nerve racking. I could see it now, dropping a $0.0001 cent screw on something and shorting it out, doing $1000 in damage to the logic board. I dont plan on buying the apple care either. I havent had any serious problems yet with my ibook, so I think I could go a year with out dropping it!


I have a hard time differentiating macs. My bud has an odd ball one. I cant remember the specs but I cant find any parts for it on ifixit.com
The current 15" mac book pro is 2.4ghz, and I looked it up on ifixit. Those links appear to be for 2.5 and 2.6ghz ones (I didnt know they made a 2.6ghz 15") But all of the ram appears to be the same.

http://www.ifixit.com/Products/MacBo...ryn-RAM/11/130

I try to learn as much as i can about something before I buy it, such as, where to get parts and what it is labeled as, problems I should watch out for, ect. I was also thinking about getting a cheap PC desk top barebones kit for $150 at tigerdirect.com and putting it together just to test the waters.

[VirtualTracy]

The current 15" mac book pro is 2.4ghz, and I looked it up on ifixit. Those links appear to be for 2.5 and 2.6ghz ones (I didnt know they made a 2.6ghz 15") But all of the ram appears to be the same.

AFAIK all the MacBook Pro's take the same RAM type it's just the amount of Max RAM changes from 2.0 GB in the earlier models, to 3.0 GB to 4 GB in the latter models. The models that stipulate that the max amount of RAM you can install is 3.0 GB, will actually take 2 X 2 GB modules, but only 3 GB will be *seen* by the MBP.

I enjoy tinkering, but not on new stuff, a bit nerve racking. I could see it now, dropping a $0.0001 cent screw on something and shorting it out, doing $1000 in damage to the logic board.

I don't know if you are referring to installing the RAM but it's not too difficult a job and you're already onto iFixit.com so all is sweet there.

I dont plan on buying the apple care either. I havent had any serious problems yet with my ibook, so I think I could go a year with out dropping it!

Well, you already have the standard 12 month warranty with the first 3 months including phone support, so if anything is gonna go wrong it should happen by the time this warranty expires. My first big buck mac, an iMac G5, broke down 4 times in the first 8 mths and I was lucky enough to put enough pressure on Apple Aust to replace it and I got a free upgrade to the Core 2 Duo with iSight + Remote out of it, so I am happy

I have a hard time differentiating macs. My bud has an odd ball one. I cant remember the specs but I cant find any parts for it on ifixit.com

I'd be interested to look into this if you can post your friends Mac specs ... keep in touch

[bbloke]

A quick thought. If wanting an easy way to compare hardware specs, you might want to have a look at Mactracker. It's a free app that's been going for some years now and it's quite handy to have around in case of need!