At least I can rest knowing I got the faster drive
That said, I am now looking to get a MBP in a few days' time. I need to get it to save me from getting in a bit of trouble
; only that I am not sure which one to go with, what specifications to get and what to do with my current MB :shrug:
Getting an Apple computer is like buying a BMW or Volkswagen a few years ago. You paid 20% more than you really should have done when you bought it but you paid the extra because the quality was so much better. Then when it came to selling it you find that the selling price makes up for the difference you originally paid.
If this was a Windows laptop you would get very little for it but you should get a reasonable amount for a Macbook pro, what is the spec now?
Looking at getting a new one.... It depends on what you need and how much money you have....
The new models run DDR3 ram, you can get this in 1,2 or 4Gb sticks (So you can have an 8Gb laptop although Apple only say 4Gb. Just ignore this, they under quote specs on Ram regularly they did it with the Pro too) - Unfortunately DDR3 SoDimms are thin on the ground and rather expensive so it might be best to upgrade via Apple!
The HD is easily upgradable now on the Macbook pro but as it is only £34 extra to go for the 7200 model over the 5400 model again you might as well let Apple do it for you so...
2.4GHz model with 4Gb Ram and 7200rpm 250Gb drive @ £1501
you could spend another £60 odd for the 320Gb 7200rpm drive but that is up to you.
The 2.53GHz model is £343 more but you get the 4Gb upgrade as standard saving you the £98 cost of this making the upgrade actually £245 and you get a rebate of £34.99 to go to the same drive (just for comparison) so £210 extra for the jump from 2.4 to 2.53 and an increase in your video ram from 256Mb to 512Mb.....
Well forget the video ram unless you are seriously into 3D video as you will not notice any real difference. Even with games there will be virtually no difference I would suggest maybe a frame or 2 a second.
Now 2.53/2.4 = 1.05 making the computer 5% quicker on the headline processor speed number, this will equate to a real speed boost of maybe 2-3%. I doubt you would ever notice the difference, really!
On that basis I would discount paying the extra and take the 2.4GHz model.
ADDED: If you go to
www.Kingston.com and select UK then go through the model specific ram finder you can find the 4Gb DDR3 kit for £94 inc delivery from PC Upgrader with Kingston part number (KTA-MB1066K2/4G). You could sell the original 2Gb but I doubt there will be many buyers as most machines fitted with DDR3 would have 2Gb as standard anyway so sticking with my original advice for the sake of £4.