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Is This Laptop Good For A Speed Freak?

I

itzjohnny

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 12, 2009
6
0
Just as the title states, I am a speed freak when it comes to computers. I cannot stand slow and/or laggy computers. I am planning on buying a Macbook Pro 17" for when the school year starts (university). I have already given lots of thoughts into choosing which specs to have for the laptop. They are as follow:

-3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
-4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X2GB
-500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
-SuperDrive 8x
-Antiglare Display
-iWorks '09 Preinstalled
-AppleCare
-Mac OS X Snow Leopard [When it gets released later this year]

This comes to a total of approximately $2,900 without any accessories and tax.

I have also planned on getting an Intel X-25M SSD 160GB for approximately $650~700. Probably will aim for a 320GB one when it gets released later this year. I do not know the price for the 320GB one, but I know for sure it will not be a pretty sight.

Okay, I know what you are all thinking.

Why spend so much? You can get something equivalent for a cheaper price.
-My budget is about $4,000 on this laptop PLUS the SSD. The reasons for the specs is because like I said, I am a speed freak. I will not likely be pushing this laptop to its near limits. I will be using this for college(paper work, presentations, etc.) and everyday home use(web browsing, chatting, watching shows, etc.) Maybe some gaming once in a while too. I am planning on ditching my desktop so I will be using this laptop daily, hopefully for many years to come. And concerning the SSD, I do not plan on getting an external hard drive for the extra GB. I would prefer to stick to an internal SSD with more GB, even though it's pricey.

I know this is probably overkill for many of you.

So, my question to you guys is:
Do you think I should stick with these specs?
If not, what specs do you suggest I change them to in order to fit the description I provided above?

Like I stated above, I plan on using this laptop for a LONG LONG time. So I would like to make the most of it. I do not want to buy another laptop anytime soon after I've purchased this one and I do not want to encounter any speed issues.

Thank you for your time! ^^;
 
I think those specs are fine because you plan on keeping it for a long time. The SSD and Snow Leopard will definitely make your Macbook Pro feel faster.
 
Only Alienware if he is a big gamer. If not, damn that is a nice macbook pro. It will be anything but slow..
 
I will not be into gaming all that much. Maybe just light gaming here and there. No more intense gaming. I have quit that kind of gaming recently and do not have any intentions of going back. I think it'd be a bit awkward carrying an high performance alienware to classes everyday too. Thanks for all your replies so far. Much appreciated.
 
itzjohnny said:
I will not be into gaming all that much. Maybe just light gaming here and there.
Click to expand...

Get the MacBook Pro and don't look back.

DAMNiatx said:
hahaha,

just see this spec
http://yit.me/wkybc3

with standar configuration it will easily beat macbookpro
Click to expand...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

You expect me to agree with you... when your only evidence is the Alienware page itself where it "looks really fast" and all that you have to say is "with that configuration it could easily beat the MacBook Pro" with ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE to back you up?

Keep dreaming, kid.
 
Maybe you could just go with a 7,200 rpm hard drive instead of an SSD? It's a little costly still for an SSD that doesn't have as much capacity as a traditional hard drive. I guess it's just a matter if you want to trade off capacity and cost for better performance or what not. Just my opinions though.
 
jkimbro0316 said:
Maybe you could just go with a 7,200 rpm hard drive instead of an SSD? It's a little costly still for an SSD that doesn't have as much capacity as a traditional hard drive. I guess it's just a matter if you want to trade off capacity and cost for better performance or what not. Just my opinions though.
Click to expand...

Why? So this sp33d fr3@k can sit around and twittle his thumbs while the world passes him by? I don't think so :D

OP, since you have cash to burn (a good thing when considering Apple anything) , ditch the x25-m. Take out the superdrive and put it in an external enclosure. Replace that with the 500 gb 5200 rpm drive (or any other 7200 rpm drive) for media, then get the x25-E 64Gb.

If you want extreme extreme outrageousness, take out the superdrive as stated earlier, but get two x25-m's or x25-e's in a raid 0 config with a decent backup schema.
 
Tallest Skil said:
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

You expect me to agree with you... when your only evidence is the Alienware page itself where it "looks really fast" and all that you have to say is "with that configuration it could easily beat the MacBook Pro" with ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE to back you up?

Keep dreaming, kid.
Click to expand...

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...

YOU REALLY PROUD ABOUT YOUR MACBOOK PRO.
 
DAMNiatx said:
hahaha,

just see this spec
http://yit.me/wkybc3

with standar configuration it will easily beat macbookpro
Click to expand...

The standard config is:

Windows Vista Home Premium (64 bit) + Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Coupon
Intel® Core™2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz (3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Single NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M, 1GB
17-inch WideXGA+ 1440x900 (900p)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz
250GB 7,200RPM w/ Free Fall Protection

==

The only way it beats the MB Pro is the GPU. The processor is slower, the monitor lower-resolution, ram should be the same, and the MB Pro HD can easily be upgraded to the same 250GB 7,200RPM one, or a larger 500GB one.

Not to mention that Windows in general is much slower. (Not counting XP, just Vista, and to a lesser degree Win7)
 
I have no interest in getting an Alienware laptop. That is why I posted in the Macbook Pro section.

Tallest Skil said:
Get the MacBook Pro and don't look back.
Click to expand...

Get the MBP with the specs & SSD I mentioned? Or with weaker/better specs?

And I will not be running 2 SSD's in RAID 0 in the near future. That might come later on when I decide to push the MBP to its limit.
 
itzjohnny said:
I have no interest in getting an Alienware laptop. That is why I posted in the Macbook Pro section.



Get the MBP with the specs & SSD I mentioned? Or with weaker/better specs?

And I will not be running 2 SSD's in RAID 0 in the near future. That might come later on when I decide to push the MBP to its limit.
Click to expand...

Get the MBP with a SSD.
 
Mate,

For what you provided, (browsing, school work, chatting, movies) even a Macbook Pro 13'' 2.53ghz model would be just nearly as fast as that configuration you pointed out. Your not doing much processor intensive (according to the description you provided) so the performance would be similar. If you were doing some more professional work like hard core movie editing, 3D graphic intensive programs, or processor intensive programs, then it makes sense to go with those specs. But for what your doing, I would say the 15'' macbook pro would be as fast as those specs as you pointed out.

You might be better off saving the money, if all your going to do is
I will be using this for college(paper work, presentations, etc.) and everyday home use(web browsing, chatting, watching shows, etc.
Click to expand...

But its your money, you spend how you wish.
 
Spend half the $4k and upgrade more frequently.

The 17" MBP is going to be slow next to anything in 3 years.
 
That monster is 2" thick! It's starting weight is 11+ pounds. About 2 times the weight of the 17" mbp. What is it like to type on that thing. I took a look at the specs... not impressed. I would go for a 17" mbp over that thing any day. If high end games are the primary usage... get a desktop machine instead. How hot would that alienware laptop get with it's maxed out graphic cards in an sli configuration?
 
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