some advice before buying a MbP

[nuvem]

HI
I´m right about to by my first mac. I want a 2.4 17"MacbookPro and as I don´t have experience using this machine I have some doubts about the components to chose to make a better machine that the standard MbP.

I´ve already chosen the mate Hi res screen and the 2.4 processor cause from what I´ve read here at the forums the performance level of the 2.6 won´t be significant.

My major doubts are 2 or 4 Gbs RAM and mainly the 7200Rpm HD. Some folks told me this HD would make a serious level of heat ( apart from the battery issues which in my case is no big deal) . Now, can you guys elucidate me about the real benefits and consequences of having a faster HD and the heat issue? it gets much hot than the 5400 HD? . I surely don´t want to melt my money

I want it for massive work with adobe apps and need a balanced machine for my needs

thanks for the help
sorry my crappy english

 

[paul.b.davis]

well, the faster hard drive will help out with photo, video, audio work, but if you are concerned about internal heat, you could get an external using firewire or eSata (with an eSata expresscard)

As for the Ram, you can never have enough, it depends on how much you are willing to spend

do you need this computer to be very mobile? what is your budget?

p.s. welcome to the forums and to the world of

 

[anirban]

My major doubts are 2 or 4 Gbs RAM and mainly the 7200Rpm HD. Some folks told me this HD would make a serious level of heat ( apart from the battery issues which in my case is no big deal) . Now, can you guys elucidate me about the real benefits and consequences of having a faster HD and the heat issue? it gets much hot than the 5400 HD? . I surely don´t want to melt my money

Theoretically, a 7200RPM drive will generate more heat than a 5400RPM drive. But personally, I can barely notice a difference in the heat from a 5400 drive to a 7200 drive.

The temperature difference, if any, should be very insignificant, and I would not consider heat to be a deciding factor on choosing a particular RPM drive.

As Paul.B.Davis mentioned, you should get as much RAM as you can afford. I would suggest that you take the minimum amount of RAM that is provided by Apple, and then purchase more from inexpensive third party vendors.

 

[nuvem]

do you need this computer to be very mobile? what is your budget?

thanks Paul

I don´t need much mobility, so the battery issues don´t bother me. My limit is about 3.000 European euros.

heoretically, a 7200RPM drive will generate more heat than a 5400RPM drive. But personally, I can barely notice a difference in the heat from a 5400 drive to a 7200 drive.

The temperature difference, if any, should be very insignificant, and I would not consider heat to be a deciding factor on choosing a particular RPM drive.

As Paul.B.Davis mentioned, you should get as much RAM as you can afford. I would suggest that you take the minimum amount of RAM that is provided by Apple, and then purchase more from inexpensive third party vendors.

just what I needed to ear

I´m going to get the 7200rpm and Hi screen res. and 2 Gbs of Ram and will do the upgrade to 4 Gbs later. seams a simple procedure.

I already saw some RAM vendors listed here at the forum........but if some have a better one..shout!

thank you guys.

 

[aviddk]

I already saw some RAM vendors listed here at the forum........but if some have a better one..shout!

Watch the forum for the best deals on RAM. People regularly post extra special deals at various vendors. Here is the current deal.

 

[paul.b.davis]

well since you do not need mobility, have you considered a Mac Pro?

if you are doing really heavy stuff in Adobe, and you do not need to take it with you everywhere, it may be a good idea

 

[xpovos]

A little off topic, but:

sorry my crappy english

...by which I infer that you are not a native speaker of English. I wouldn't have known that if you hadn't mentioned it. Why on earth are you apologizing? Your English is nearly perfect---and a far cry better than that of many on this forum whose native language IS English!

On topic:

I've owned MacBook Pro 17" models with 5400rpm and 7200rpm drives, and I never noticed any difference in heat. I also never really noticed any significant difference in performance, though. I guess it depends on how disk-intensive your wok is going to be, but if I were buying a new MBP right now, I would personally opt for the larger-capacity, lower-speed drive (250GB 5400rpm). If you're doing video work, you're probably going to want a FW800 external as a scratch disk, anyway.

 

[schreck]

Get the machine with the 2gb that comes stock, and if you find that this won't suffice for what you do, you can always upgrade later for a much, much cheaper price.

Check out www.macsales.com (OWC).

 

[Dobiewonkanobie]

are there any long term durability issues associated with the higher RPM or the potentially extra heat?

 

[nuvem]

well since you do not need mobility, have you considered a Mac Pro?

Paul, I don´t need much mobility, but I need some
I have my desktop, that fits my needs and now need a mobile to work when I´m not at home, however on the places I can work out of home I almost always have a power font.

by which I infer that you are not a native speaker of English. I wouldn't have known that if you hadn't mentioned it. Why on earth are you apologizing? Your English is nearly perfect---and a far cry better than that of many on this forum whose native language IS English!

you´re right, english isn´t my native language, so I´ll never know.....I must be improving....was lousy a couple months ago

but if I were buying a new MBP right now, I would personally opt for the larger-capacity, lower-speed drive (250GB 5400rpm)

if you didn´t noticed any difference, why opt for the 5400rpm? same performance, cheaper price?

I´ve already ordered the 7200rpm, hope it was a good move.