Macbook Pro recommendation :)

Hi Guys!

First apologize for my english as it is my second language. I would the help in this forum recommend me the spec of a mackbook Pro. I am used to be a windows user however, i am thinking of switching to mac.Reason of choosing mbp is because I need a reliability laptop which good run long under battery life and doing light task. Question as follow:

1) 15" or 17" screen? Most likely doing presentation and photoshop as a photographer and slight gaming (Not a hardcore gamer!). 17" inch benefit from full HD resolution. Which sreen size do you recommend and is full HD screen worth for the 17" ?

2) 2.2 ghz or 2.3 ghz processor? which will be more beneficial for my task mention above. Does 2.3 run battery consumption more?

3) 4gb or 8gb ram? will run parallel, photoshop, game, music, internet exploring is 4gb anough to hog the system?

4) HD6750 vs GT330 performance? which has better performance?

5) should i get ssd now because it is so expensive for 512 gb or just wait? Can i upgrade hhd to ssd later on?

6) Is mac osx easy to learn as I am totally noob with the system!

7) what the different of end note or Iwork 09? or microsoft office 2011 is much better?

8) Aperture 3 vs lightroom? (any advise from photographer)?

Thanks for your advise

 

Hi dude, which platform to use is your own choice, but still, windows based systems vary so great, meaning u will have thousands to choose from.
1.Well having big screen is always better, if u don't mind the weight and size.
2. 2.2GHz or 2.3GHz?? can u specify the kind? because nowadays, GHz matters little. core i7's with lower clock speeds are incomparable to those of lower series with higher clock speed.
3. 4GB does perfectly fine with me.And RAM upgrade is very easy task!
4.HD6750 CRUSHES!
5. it is highly unlikely that SSD's price will fall....
6. Mac is VERY USER FRIENDLY
7. dunno my friend uses office on his MAC.....
8.<should really ask from a photographer>
CHEERS! GOOD LUCK WITH UR NEW LAPTOP!

 

Thank Temka-0622. There only two processor able to customize in apple store so I am not too sure 2.2Ghz or 2.3 Ghz quad core i7 would work well for me.

The reason is most PC laptop are built by different companies hence there quality I dont trust that much. As far as I know macbookpro quality are far more better than any manufacturer there is:

Sony: poor after sales service.
Acer: Experience to much problem with hardware issue.

 

Eh, you aren't really going to see that many performance improvements in the 2.3GHz processor over the 2.2GHz one. The main difference is that the 2.3GHz Core i7 has 8MB of L3 cache instead of 6MB but again, you may or may not notice this in terms of real world performance. Personally, I would be more worried about upgrading the hard drive and RAM aftermarket instead of the processor. It will cost you $85 to upgrade to 8GB of RAM yourself and that includes the $4 to buy the Phillips head #00 screwdriver to remove the bottom panel. Pop in a 7200 RPM hard drive or SSD (the later can be expensive) and I think you will see overall better performance than if you just looked at the processor alone. You can also take the money you would have spent on the 2.3GHz processor and roll it over into those aftermarket upgrades.

SSD prices may or may not fall but manufacturers are coming out with new models that operate at faster speeds. Not only that but buying an SSD drive later and installing it yourself is going to be less than buying it from Apple and having them install it (same with the RAM). So I suggest waiting before you buy an SSD drive and just install it yourself. Performance will be better than what Apple offers and it will cost less. Instead, focus on the other features such as display resolution, display size, bundled software, etc.

I currently have OpenOffice on my MBP. It is free and will hold me over until I buy Microsoft Office. Right now, iWork is about 3 or 4 years old and an update should be coming out soon so I wouldn't buy iWork '09. I have heard that Microsoft Office is pretty good under Mac OS X anyway but it is almost twice as expensive as iWork. You would need to go with Office if you are running features specific to it. For example, my timesheet at work uses marcos that are only compatible with Excel 2007 and 2010. OpenOffice won't read them, Numbers (the iWork equivalent of Excel) won't read them, nothing else will read them other than Excel 2007 and Excel 2010.

 

Thanks Korns for your input! so do you mean SSD is availble for self upgrade later on i i currently on the hdd?

 

Yes. You can always buy an SSD drive later down the line and install it yourself. The process is fairly straightforward and should take you all of 4 minutes to actually install the SSD drive (though you will have to re-install Mac OS X, that shouldn't take long). There are even HD videos detailing how to do this on YouTube. They might show the 2009 or 2010 MBP models but the installation procedures haven't changed.

So you don't have to buy RAM or a larger/faster hard drive/SSD from Apple as you can upgrade that yourself after the fact for a lower price and it is all relatively painless.

 

1. You can always use an external monitor to do your work on when at home so there is really no need to buy a larger laptop because of screen real-estate. In addition to this, there are supposed to be some video out options using Thunderbolt I/O pretty soon so you might even be able to dual external screen with your new MBP.

2. The difference between 2.2Ghz and 2.3Ghz is so minuscule, it really isn't worth paying extra for the faster processor unless one is an i5 and the other is an i7 as those architecture differences may yield different results for performance @ the same clock. In this case, both the 15" and 17" models use the i7 so the point is moot.

3. I would not pay for the extra RAM through Apple. If you want 8GB of RAM buy it from a vendor like newegg after you purchase your laptop and install it yourself (not hard at all). see this link to iFixit.com

4. The HD6750 is the better card
HD 6750
GT 330

5. Don't get an SSD yet although the performance would be great. In my opinion, prices are too high and you can get good performance vs price from a hybrid HDD like the Seagate Momentus XT. The decision is yours though but I wouldn't pay that much for a SSD.

6. OS X is very straightforward and you shouldn't have too many issues learning how to use it. Just Google the stuff you don't know...not a big deal.

7. I think the Office suite you pick is mostly personal preference and I'd say, if you are comfortable using MS Office, stick with that one.

8. I have used Aperture and Lightroom and I have to say that my personal preference is Lightroom. There are more options available for tweaking and enhancing photos in my opinion.

For most of the points above, there is really no right answer as it truly depends on your personal tastes and preferences, and budget. Good luck with your purchase, I am sure you will love whichever new MBP you end up getting.

Here is a link to all the iFixit Step-by-Step Guides to upgrade your MBP on your own.

 

dual external screens is pretty easy, I have used a Matrox Triple Head 2 Go for years booting from windows, OSX is now supported ( lil buggy though ) but to the OP that wil be a personal preference, I prefer my 17" with a non TN screen.

2: agreed, too small of a jump to notice

3: Always upgrade RAM and HDD on your own, Mfgr's heavily mark up these items

4: 6750 by a LARGE Margin.

5: see #3

6: not too bad, it has its quirks like all OS's. if your a huge fan of customiing your OS its not as easy and needs more third party apps.

7: depends on what you are doing and what you are used to.

8: no idea I have never worked with either

 

1) I have the 17" and it was COMPLETELY worth it. Not to mention that the 17" verisons of the MBP score higher in benchmarks

2) If you get the 2.2 and 2.3 doesn't matter to much. That being said the 2720 and 2820 that your looking at are definitely worth it. The lowend 2640... has major disadvantages compared to the others. Hopefully mac will support wireless streaming tech, and the 2720 and 2820 will support 4GB of 1600mhz rather then 1333.

3) 8GB RAM that you install. With large Photoshop files and multiple programs running you may need it. However, that being said the only time I went above my 4gb of ram was a 7000 item Illustrator piece.

4) HD6750 is the only one you can now order.

5) Wait. The Vertex 3.0 SSD is coming out, and the new MBP has SATA III 6.0gbs

6) Yes and if you buy it from an apple store you can get 1 to 1 for $100!

7) I think iWork is a great program that is easy to use. That being said you get some bad formatting errors with some imports from older office files. (You can also export office files for your friends)

8) Aperture 3 has great color. Lightroom 3 has great lighting... I usually use Aperture in conjunction of Photoshop.

 

I know Matrox has had a solution out there for dual- and triple- external monitors, but I was told by a couple of people that used it, that it was buggy and that they had refresh/screen paint issues. Since I have not had firsthand experience, I'm inclined to believe those that used it. The reason for the Thunderbolt I/O suggestion is that it would be a native solution and hence one that is fully supported by Apple hardware. You could run 1 display through mini-DisplayPort and the other through the new Thunderbolt I/O. That's probably the route I would take if I had one of the new MBP's.

 

Thunderbolt runs threw the mini-displayport

 

Well that throws a wrench in the works. So multiple external monitors isn't a possibility?

 

TBH... not really sure. Since you got the amount of I/O you need... It would be based on what the computer is allowed to hook up to. As far as I know every computer except the Mac Pro does only 2.

 

nope I run a 5 way eyefinity setup on an 8740W with the m7820. I am TRYING to see if I can get it to work with windows and a MBP with the 6750.

just wish Apple would make a dock for MBP's

 

Haha nice. Its a good thought to be using Windows on the 6750, let me know if you get that to work

 

Apple doesn't make a dock but Henge does.

Henge Docks

 

LOL, not a crappy external docks through USB and ports , but one that clips onto the motherboard bus like I run on latitudes, Elitebooks and thinkpads.

the USB docks are a dime a dozen and it is so much easier to scope extra pathways with a proper one.

 

LOL...
...but that would make the MBP less "pretty" says the fanboy...

Seriously though, I agree, I used to have a latitude for work with the docking station and it worked very well!

 

Thunderbolt is still in its infancy right now but I imagine one possibility is to actually daisy chain multiple monitors together. That is how Intel was able to show off their RAID configuration using both the MBP's display along with a high resolution external Apple monitor. That way you could hook multiple monitors up to a MBP through a single connection. The limitation would be with the actual software (ie Mac OS X) and the GPU (if it could support that many monitors). Based on what ol' Walt has said, it appears that even the 2011 MacBook Pros can't output to one (or maybe two) other external monitor.

 

not sure which thread I posted it into before , but you have been able to for quite awhile. I used a Matrox Triple head 2 Go unit to display to 3 external screens under windows and 2 under OSX ( OSX was still a bit buggy though ). That is where we hit USB 2.0 speed barriers and GPU limits as well if you need to push alot of pixels. the USB 3 version is fantastic but Alas we have thunderbolt and no USB 3.0 to compliment it

 

Thanks guys for input help me to decide lots Cheers~~

 

A question guys what does SATA III 6.0gbs mean?

WHat will it do? and how does it benefit for user?

 

SATA 3 is capable of theoretically moving data at 6Gps as where SATA 2 is 3.0 GPS theotetical.. some of the new SSD's can actually move data faster than the sata 2 interface. do note that on the MBP the hdd has SATA3 and the optical drive is limited by SATA 2

 

A short question guy, is the processor able to change near future if im choosing i7 2720 to i7 2820?

 

What do you mean? Do you want to change the processor out in the future (by going with an Ivy Bridge CPU when they are released next year) if you go with one of those now or are you looking at starting with the i7 2720 and then upgrading to the 2820 later down the line?

 

im upgrading from i7 2720 to 2820? is it possible?

As I believe if you wanted to change an Ivy Bridge, the whole motherboard should be change according to apple design right? since each chipset has different size

 

Macs have the CPU hard soldered to the board... they are not in a socket that can be changed.... order it how you want it, you'll only be upgrading ram and disk drives.

 

Thanks doh123