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ubertuber · 07-05-2008, 07:58 PM

These guys have good points.

Go with the 15" and a separate display. Then you get the portability and the real estate.

The only upgrade worth worrying about is to get to the 512MB of video RAM, and possibly the 7200 RPM HDD. The video RAM is helpful when you are in dual display mode, as it gets split between the displays. The HDD will add some speed. External drives and a little discipline will make the 200 GB stretch. MBP hard drive upgrades are NOT user friendly (voids the warranty), and the labor will eat up any savings you get from 3rd party upgrades. Don't pay Apple's prices for RAM -- go to owc.com and buy your own. 2 minutes, and 3 philips screws later you'll have saved yourself money and gotten the performance boost. In the same way, I don't think the processor upgrade they offer is worth the money.

And I can't stress this part enough -- budget for the AppleCare. There's only about 2 repairs that can be done on this machine that cost less than the extended warranty. And they won't be the ones you need.

The only other thing I can think of right now is that if you are a guy that needs the latest/greatest, there are traditionally updates after the college promotions end, which would be September/October.

Check your PM box.

07-05-2008, 07:58 PM	#5 (permalink)
ubertuber spudly Location: Ellay	These guys have good points. Go with the 15" and a separate display. Then you get the portability and the real estate. The only upgrade worth worrying about is to get to the 512MB of video RAM, and possibly the 7200 RPM HDD. The video RAM is helpful when you are in dual display mode, as it gets split between the displays. The HDD will add some speed. External drives and a little discipline will make the 200 GB stretch. MBP hard drive upgrades are NOT user friendly (voids the warranty), and the labor will eat up any savings you get from 3rd party upgrades. Don't pay Apple's prices for RAM -- go to owc.com and buy your own. 2 minutes, and 3 philips screws later you'll have saved yourself money and gotten the performance boost. In the same way, I don't think the processor upgrade they offer is worth the money. And I can't stress this part enough -- budget for the AppleCare. There's only about 2 repairs that can be done on this machine that cost less than the extended warranty. And they won't be the ones you need. The only other thing I can think of right now is that if you are a guy that needs the latest/greatest, there are traditionally updates after the college promotions end, which would be September/October. Check your PM box. __________________ Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam Last edited by ubertuber; 07-05-2008 at 09:24 PM..