Questions about switching to Mac

Hi, I'm seriously considering switching over to a 15" MBP 2.4 GHz for my next laptop. I've already done a ton of research during the past month, but I still have some questions and would love any feedback.

1) I plan on installing Windows and using bootcamp/VMware Fusion, because there are some Window specific apps I need. (Like spider solitare and minesweeper. Kidding...kinda. ) Does anyone have a suggestion of which version of Windows I should use? Which is faster XP or Vista? Or is there no real difference? Cause I keep reading different things. I thought I should stick with XP since it seems to be the more stable version, but I also don't want to be stuck with an old OS later on, and the SP 1 Vista seems a bit less buggy.

2) I think I want to up my memory to 4 GB, but I'm a little confused as to what's compatible with the MBP, and I don't want to pay Apple $400 for it. Could someone please suggest the type of memory I should buy?

3) I'm also confused about how Time Machine works. Can I use it as my sole backup, or do I need something else with it? Do I need a separate external hard drive for it, or can I use my existing WD 500 GB one without it wiping out everything that's already on there? Also how much space does Time Machine need?

4) Can someone suggest a decent USB hub? I don't want to keep plugging things in and out when I'm at home. Thank you!

Sorry for the long post, and for repeating questions that I know has already been asked before, but I just needed a little more info. Thanks!

 

1) I prefer XP for the cleaner UI + stability (tried and true...)
2) Don't buy Apple ram, waste of money. Check out newegg or OWC or another reputable vendor. http://www.owcomputing.com/ should help you find the corect ram.
3) I'm pretty sure once you plug in the hard drive for the first time it will ask you to format it. Once it's formatted properly, time machine will begin taking up space, but you can always add your own files onto the external HD. I'm pretty sure time machine won't touch it until it gets full or something (confirm, someone?). You can tell it what NOT to back up. I.e. I don't tell it to backup my music since it's a waste of space - it's all on my iPod anyway. It only backs up the changes. A good rule of thumb is to get an external HD that's double the size of the machine's internal HD.
4) Sorry, can't help you there.

5) Don't worry...that's what the forum is for.

 

you can specify how much space is dedicated to time machine. the harddrive needs to be formatted to HFS+ for it (time machine feature) to work. once you ran out of space, time machine will warn you, and if ignored, it will start clearing the data that is the oldest. (deleting the data from earliest date forward)

 

As for hubs, I use a Belkin 7 port on my son's Imac and a Targus 7 post on my HP. Both work equally well.

 

queshy and wobble987 thanks for the quick reply!

Thank you! This is the nicest board ever, everywhere else where I asked questions people just lectured me on how I don't need windows.

Still a little curious about Time Machine though.

So if I'm using Windows on the MBP, does that mean I can't use a single external drive for both Windows and Mac OS? Or do I just format part of it for Time Machine, and use the rest of the space as storage?

ETA:

Thank you! I'll look into those two.

 

Yep, just setup 2 partitions, one FAT32 for both windows/mac usage, the other partition HFS for timemachine.
I also suggest XP over vista. To me vista is the new windowsME, skip it and wait for v7.
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On question 1, stick with XP but bear in mind: every time somebody puts Windows on a Mac a soldier in Iraq throws a kitten over a cliff.

On question 2, go to http://crucial.com and download and run their memory configurator.

On question 3, I had to wipe my WD 500 gig drive to get time machine to be happy with it. There was nothing on it but that freeware that comes with the drive and I don't want to clutter up my Macbook with 300+ Meg of free backup software specific to WD when I've got time machine, backup 3 (comes with dot mac) and countless freeware backup solutions that take up an average of a few hundred k each(yes, thats K).

On question 4, I use the Targus chillpad hub that I once used with my overheating Dell. It turns out that even the Penryn chipset can get a little warm so I figured since it's sitting here, why not plug my usb mouse, sd card reader and wd 500 gig drive into the thing and still have a port left over for a scanner or Palm Treo 650 sync cable (I've only sync'd via bluetooth but I might use the cable).

 

Yay, I got one thing right. And just thinking about windowsME gives me a headache.

Thanks for all the advice, the crucial.com site looks excellent! Aww, poor little kittens, I firmly place the blame on the head of my teachers who can't use anything other then Windows. (Also Quicken...and minesweeper.)

And I think I need to just buy a new external hard drive, it looks like Time Machine is gonna take a huge amount of space. The Targus chillpad sounds interesting, especially if the MBP gets really warm.

Thanks to everyone for all the help!

 

Seems like you've got all the answers you need, but I'll just throw in my two cents (mirroring what most of the advice has been):

1) I use XP, I like the stability and speed, and generally it seems to run faster for games as well. I haven't heard great things about Vista, even with SP1, so I'm still wary of it, but I'm sure it'll run just fine.

2) Any PC-5300 notebook RAM will do. I ordered two Transcend modules off of newegg a few months ago for about $80 (for 4 total gigs) - do NOT buy the Apple RAM, it's a ripoff.

3) I use a 500 GB Cavalry drive, with a 250 GB partition in HFS+ for Time Machine and the rest in NTFS for Windows, just as a drag-and-drop storage bin (since my Windows partition is only 55 GB). Works just fine, though I've had a few issues of the drive just restarting on me for no reason, but I'm pretty sure that's the drive, not the fact that it's dual-formatted.

4) I just bought some $12 powered 4-port USB hub off of newegg, works just fine. It's from i-rocks, whatever that is. I also use the Griffin Elevator stand to aid in air flow and to keep my notebook at a good height when using it on my desk (attached to a new aluminum Apple keyboard, of course. I love that thing...)

 

Thanks for answering my questions. I like having a lot of feedback and choices. And yes, I was really surprised when I saw the price tag on the Apple RAM. It totally made me think twice about switching, cause I thought it was the only option available to upgrade the memory.

And it looks the vote's pretty much unanimous for XP.

 

The one thing to remember is that, if you get a 32-bit OS (XP does come in 64-bit, if you want), you'll only get use out of about 3 gigabytes of your RAM, not the full 4. But honestly, that's more than you'll need for almost any situation, I never feel that my RAM is ever holding me back. And, of course, when using VMWare or Parallels, having 4 total really helps out.

 

Just another vote for Windows XP SP2 . Vista, last time I tried it out, frustrated me like crazy.

 

Might change my mind, go vista instead, as it will make you really, really, really glad you switched to mac ! lol
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Thank you to everyone who helped me! I just ordered my MBP today. Yay! Now I just have to wait for it to arrive.

 

Vista! It is the way of the future!

 

Congrats, Dana B! Keep us posted on how everything goes!

 

lol. Not with Corp. America refusing to adopt it (most CIO's aren't picking it up, even after SP1)... It'll be Windows 7 that will be the wave :-D

 

EEEE! My mac just shipped! Sorry to clutter up the forum, but I just needed to get out my: EEEEEEE!!! I can't wait till it gets here!

And I might be getting Vista instead of XP. Because I have a friend who works at Microsoft and he can get me a really, really nice deal on the Vista right now. It's way too nice of a price for a cheapskate like me to turn down. I figure if I really hate it, I can uninstall it and put in XP. And thus I'll put in my contribution to Microsoft's ever expanding Redmond base. (I live about 3 miles away, but I'm seriously expecting to wake up one morning and see Microsoft expand into my front yard.)

 

hey it used to be nearly $1000 for 4gb of RAM from Apple, atleast now they are only charging about 4-5 times what it is worth, like all the other manufacturers.


I have to say that for most users Vista is the way to go, it has much more functionality out of the box than XP does, and is a very easy system to use alongside OS X, mainly because it has switched to a folder structure that is somewhat similar to the way OS X is setup. I still use XP everyday on my Fujitsu machine at home, but quite honestly, unless you have a specific reason to need XP, I would use Vista.