3 MacBook Questions...

[jabooth]

Unfortunately, I am unable to get to an Apple Store in a hurry, yet I'm almost ready to order a Macbook - the qestion is which one?

So I need people with first hand experiance to help me out!

Right three easy questions (for those that have played with both bottom model and second one up)

1. In real world application, do you notice the diference between 1.83ghz and 2.0ghz?

I don't mean benchmarks, I mean the 'feel' of the OS.

2. Logic would tell me that the 1.83ghz would be less likely to suffer from heat issues with it been clocked lower. Is that the case?

3. What about battery life? Any more from the lower clock speed, or would it be to little to be noticed?

Thanks a lot guys!

 

[MRU]

1. In real world application, do you notice the diference between 1.83ghz and 2.0ghz?

Is it going to make you type a word doc faster, is it going to make you surf the web faster? Not really... It's just usually better to go for the fastest option you can afford when buying new hardware, as it cant be changed later on.

2. Logic would tell me that the 1.83ghz would be less likely to suffer from heat issues with it been clocked lower. Is that the case?

Don't know. But at the end of the day, if your mac has heat issues, then Apple will have to repair/replace. My iBook G4 800mhz get's very hot, so I'm not sure clock speed is necesserily a major factor.

3. What about battery life? Any more from the lower clock speed, or would it be to little to be noticed?

NO. Remember on Battery all these CPU's step down, other words run slower at reduced performance to conserve battery. Battery life will be exactly the same...

 

[macenforcer]

Every single split second of speed helps. If you have the $$ go for top speed.

 

[faintember]

1) I doubt it will be noticeable in daily tasks. But remember, the 1.8 does not have a superdrive. This said, i would go with the white 2.0.

2) The heat is not a problem for me, but to others it is. Some people say also complain that a 13.3" laptop is not "portable enough" or that 5.2lbs for a laptop is too heavy. YMMV

3) Battery life should be the same.

 

[jabooth]

Wow, thanks for the quick replies!

I understand what everyone is saying about getting the highest speed poss. - and I can afford the 2.0ghz.

The thing is I could have got the bottom end one with 2gig of RAM!

Still, lack of Superdrive would suck... Looks like I'll get 2.0ghz and 1 gig stick of RAM (so 1.25 gig total) and then get another when I've got some more pennies...

Think that would be the best move?

O and anyone know where you can get cheap RAM in the UK?

Cheapest I've found is Crucial at £110 ish for 1gig... any better than that?

Cheers

EDIT: Fixed Typo's.

 

[faintember]

NP.

I was originally going to add one 1GB stick to come to 1.25GB total but i decided to go for 2GB. Hell, it is just debt, right? If money is an issue your solution seems logical.

Check out this thread for Macbook RAM in the UK. The search function can be your friend, and save you time in waiting for a response!

 

[pianoman181]

For optimal performance, you should definitely pair your memory--have two chips of the same exact size. By doing this, the computer will operate in dual-channel memory mode which can sometimes yield a fairly significant performance increase. That is why Apple is only selling memory in pairs.

 

[Vaphoron]

That is why Apple is only selling memory in pairs.

Um, all the MacBook Pro models have a single SODIMM.

 

[faintember]

Um, all the MacBook Pro models have a single SODIMM.

I think the poster was referring to the MB, and the reason is probably to cut costs.

 

[firsttube]

For optimal performance, you should definitely pair your memory--have two chips of the same exact size. By doing this, the computer will operate in dual-channel memory mode which can sometimes yield a fairly significant performance increase. That is why Apple is only selling memory in pairs.

that, and it's cheaper for apple to send off 2x256's vs a single 512.

 

[netdog]

Put 2GB in. Get it as a 2.0 if you can afford it, but don't shortchange yourself on RAM. Just don't buy it from Apple.