Looking to buy a MacBook Pro (MBP), help needed.

Wail

Wail

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Following on the few posts in cowasaki's thread, and taking off from the last post on this matter there (this post) ....

I was looking for the MBP, and not sure on the following issues ...

- 2.4GHz, 2.5GHz, or upgrade the 2.5GHz to 2.8GHz
- Is the extra graphics memory on the 2.5GHz of any use to my needs?
- What's the maximum RAM I can install in these new MPB
- Are there any issues with any of the 15" MBP?

I don't do any video editing etc. The most I'd do is, may be watch the odd video clip. However, I do run many applications simultaneously, I do all my photo PP and library archiving, and my day-to-day work (Excel, Word, Power Point etc.) from my laptop.

As the 320GB 7200 rpm drive is only a few Pounds more expensive, I will go with this drive; but my main concern is how to get more RAM, if I can? The Apple site states 4GB RAM as the maximum, but seeing that I can get up to 8GB, how and where do I get that kind of memory (link would be very much appreciated). Would so much memory affect the stability of the machine?

Thanks for any feedback and help.
 
Hi Wail,

I've read that people have upgraded the RAM to 6gb and 8gb.
However, here's a quote from the macrumours forum:
"8 gigs works, but things slow down once you breach 4 gb of RAM. 6 gb of RAM does not have this problem"

This site may also be of help about the RAM question:
http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp11.html

With the new mbp's, if you want to use both graphics processors then you actually have to logout, and log back in using the "higher performance" mode. By default you'll only be using one of the graphics processors.

Sorry I can't be of much help, I'm still learning/
I'm new to Mac, I bought my first MBP 2 months ago (late 08 model)
 
djs,

Thank you for the feedback, and interesting point there about the 6GB RAM vs. 8GB RAM. I will need to do some research into this :)

About the 2 graphics processors; why can't you just log-in using both all the time? And what advantages do the two offer, if any?

Again, thank you for the feedback :thumbs:
 
Hi,

Yeh you can set it to "high performance" mode all the time. I suppose its just a bit of a bind having to switch modes for the times when you just want to browse the web, as I can't imagine the battery lasting long in performance mode.

There's an interesting page here. It shows the differences when using battery life mode, and high performance mode.
http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp07.html
http://www.barefeats.com/mbpp12.html

Those tests were using the 2.8ghz model though.

In fact, after seeing those tests, I may just have to enable performance mode lol. I didn't think there would be too much of a difference between the modes, but wow

hope this helps

djs
 
Problem you will have with the 8Gb upgrade RAM wise is the shear expense. Following on from the Mac Tips thread we found 4Gb of RAM (2x2Gb) at £94 but 8Gb is likely to cost you SILLY money.

Here is a link to Ramjet in the US who are currently quoting $649 EACH for 4Gb SODIMMs. Including delivery this is $1335 plus 15% VAT equals $1535.75 converted into UK = £1059 + £18 charge from post office for dealing with the VAT = £1077 OOOOOOOUUCH!

ADDED: Woops forgot the link ! It is here .... http://www.ramjet.com/ItemDescription.asp?Item=MBALX4G

I have never actually seen 4Gb DDR3 SODIMMS for sale in the UK !
 
As for the processor well 2.5GHz is 5% faster internally which equates to a computer probably 2-3% quicker (YOU WILL NOT NOTICE THIS!)

2.8GHz is 16.7% quicker internally so maybe 8-10% quicker - This you MIGHT notice but not really. I have a Quad Xeon macpro and a core 2 duo macbook pro - both appear the same speed under MacOS and using Photoshop. The only time I can see any real difference is when you start the liquify filter in Photoshop where it just appears on the mac pro and you see it draw the screen in about a second or so on the macbook pro. I would save the difference in money towards software, backup, printing or lenses!

I would only really look at upgrading to 4Gb and changing to a 250 or 320Gb 7200 HD.

Just me being the voice of reason but it is a lot of money to spend when you will not really get a benefit!

You can always stick 2x4Gb SODIMMs in it in a years time when they cost £150 :)
 
Thank you for the feedback.

Oh yes, that kind of money is silly to spend on RAM; especially when at my age and so many other obligations at hand. I figure I will stick to the standard configuration with only the hard drive upgraded to 320GB (7200 rpm).

In one of my other threads, it was mentioned to me that there are some "issues" with the new MBP. Is this something I should be worried about?

Also, is there any difference, in terms of product quality between the two 15" MBP? I ask this as I've read that a few people have had problems with the 2.4GHz version, and when they changed to the 2.5GHz version the problems went away.

Again, thank you for the feedback; and while 8GB RAM would have been superb, it's just utterly impractical for me.
 
Wail said:
Also, is there any difference, in terms of product quality between the two 15" MBP? I ask this as I've read that a few people have had problems with the 2.4GHz version, and when they changed to the 2.5GHz version the problems went away.
Click to expand...

I think that that may well just be coincidence as more 2.4s get sold than 2.5s due to the above. Pretty much all the problems are sorted out and if they were not Apple would replace them. You know how good their customer service is!
 
Very true, Apple's customer service is one of the prime reasons as to why I am this happy with their products.

I figure I may still go with the 2.5GHz instead of the 2.4GHz as the former comes with 4GB RAM and the extra graphic RAM for the extra £150 (when equally configured). The extra £150 I figure is a security for the extra graphics RAM & L2 cache.
 
Fantastic timing.....

Apple have just announced a NEW 17" Macbook pro ... drooooooolllll

Alright it's £1949 but that is including the 2.66GHz processor, 4Gb of RAM and the 320Gb HD. lovely :clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

If is also available with 2.93GHz processor at £210 more.....

and 8Gb of RAM for JUST £839.99

you can get a 256Gb solid state drive for JUST £630

so that is just £3629........ Mrs Cowasaki said I can't have one

Oo oo £34.99 extra for an anti glare screen....... yes i'll have that too!!
 
Yes, I just saw that .. the best part is that I can get it for a lot less with the student discount .... the downside is that delivery is 3 ~ 4 weeks.

Still, it seems that this is the one I will go for, 17" is what I've wanted but I didn't want to get the "older" model that's why I was looking at the 15" .. but not anymore :)
 
Mind you, I am going to skip the 8GB RAM for the time being, and wait a while (may be a few months) until it becomes cheaper and then do the upgrade.
 
Yes my daughter is at art college the student discount is rather nice. Still imagine having bought the just released 17" you would not be happy would you?

The price isn't that bad either when you consider the ram and HD.

The processor upgrade is what I was talking about though. 2.66 to 2.93 is a reasonable jump for £220 minus student disc!

Shame its just after christmas or I might have been after your old macbook pro. I have a number of things (a couple of guitars and possibly an amp) that I planned to get rid of first but I was after something like that for my youngest son. His iBook is getting a little long in the tooth :)
 
:)

My current laptop is not a MBP, it's a 2.16GHz MB with 2GB RAM DDR2 667.. which I will be putting up for sale once I get the 17" :)

I've just checked Apple's site, and I can get the 17", with 7200rpm 320GB drive and the 2.93GHz for £1,865. That's a really good price I think.

If only the 8GB RAM was a bit cheaper, and I wish they'd offer a 500GB 7200rpm drive. That would have been ideal for me right now .. but, it's always the case of wanting more than what I need :p
 
Wail said:
:)

My current laptop is not a MBP, it's a 2.16GHz MB with 2GB RAM DDR2 667.. which I will be putting up for sale once I get the 17" :)

I've just checked Apple's site, and I can get the 17", with 7200rpm 320GB drive and the 2.93GHz for £1,865. That's a really good price I think.

If only the 8GB RAM was a bit cheaper, and I wish they'd offer a 500GB 7200rpm drive. That would have been ideal for me right now .. but, it's always the case of wanting more than what I need :p
Click to expand...

Every time I have been on their site and found a price they have given me a better one when I rang them up and placed the order that way instead!
 
Are you saying that if I call Apple, I may get an even better price?

Is that for the MBP, or the RAM, or both?
 
Wail said:
Are you saying that if I call Apple, I may get an even better price?

Is that for the MBP, or the RAM, or both?
Click to expand...

I worked out the price for my macbook pro with upgrades which was basically the equivalent of what you are buying ie highest spec 17" but mine was 5 months ago. Anyway when I rung up and the chap at Apple calculated it it was £65 cheaper. The same thing happened with my Mac pro about 18 months ago. Not sure if he ended up giving me university level discount instead of college level discount but both times I saved a little cash.

If you are buying a standard machine you would be able to just collect it from the Apple shop so getting it a couple of days earlier but if there are any upgrades they do not stock them anyway (other than I think ram) - Although if you are getting the standard 2.66 model then you will not be getting any upgrades!

Oh I would look at the matte screen for £34.99 it is the same screen I am using now....
 
Thank you. I was going to ask you about the screen, should I go for the antiglare screen or the regular one? I guess you've answered that for me :thumbs:

I will be in London on 31st Jan. to see about the underwater camera stuff that I want to get. I am hope to be able to drop by Apple too and see if I can pick-it up while I am there. If so, then that would be perfect, just perfect.

Ideally, I want the faster processor and hard drive along with the antiglare screen; but if I can't get that, I am not too worried.
 
Wail said:
Thank you. I was going to ask you about the screen, should I go for the antiglare screen or the regular one? I guess you've answered that for me :thumbs:

I will be in London on 31st Jan. to see about the underwater camera stuff that I want to get. I am hope to be able to drop by Apple too and see if I can pick-it up while I am there. If so, then that would be perfect, just perfect.

Ideally, I want the faster processor and hard drive along with the antiglare screen; but if I can't get that, I am not too worried.
Click to expand...

Underwater photography, I tried that a few years ago with film. I had a Nikonos camera but could not afford the flash to go with it. Took great photos at under 6 metres but as I preferred being on an undisturbed u boat at 50-55 the lack of flash was rather a problem :) I was a BSAC advanced diver which is a CMAS 3 star diver but have not been diving for a good few years now.
 
Now that's interesting. Nikonos were great. I've always wanted to get one, only I never got to it and before I knew digital took over.

I've been with PADI for close to 25 years now and I do dive a lot, though not here in UK.

I've started a thread asking about underwater casing for dSLR, as I want to get into this big time when I am back home, where the sun shines 24/7, temperate today over there is close to 35C ... makes it ideal for diving.
 
Wail said:
Now that's interesting. Nikonos were great. I've always wanted to get one, only I never got to it and before I knew digital took over.

I've been with PADI for close to 25 years now and I do dive a lot, though not here in UK.

I've started a thread asking about underwater casing for dSLR, as I want to get into this big time when I am back home, where the sun shines 24/7, temperate today over there is close to 35C ... makes it ideal for diving.
Click to expand...

Now I am jealous... New macbook pro and diving too :)
 
:p

Come to Saudi, I plan to start my own gallery business and spend my free time diving the Red Sea. Sort of an early retirement :)
 
Wail said:
:p

Come to Saudi, I plan to start my own gallery business and spend my free time diving the Red Sea. Sort of an early retirement :)
Click to expand...

Oh if only! I only have about 18 years 3 months 21 days 10 hours and 3 mins to go before I can do that but I'm not counting :)
 
cowasaki said:
Oh if only! I only have about 18 years 3 months 21 days 10 hours and 3 mins to go before I can do that but I'm not counting :)
Click to expand...


Who's counting


Time to go is: 5985 days, 22:54:31 hours.

As I work 5 days a week I have 4275 workdays left to manage.

This means I have about 34200 hours of roboting left
if working 8 hours per workday.


Not me :lol::lol::lol:




PS I've just used a different on-line retirement calculator and it says 5991 days to go. I think I'll use the first one.
 
whiteflyer said:
Who's counting


Time to go is: 5985 days, 22:54:31 hours.

As I work 5 days a week I have 4275 workdays left to manage.

This means I have about 34200 hours of roboting left
if working 8 hours per workday.


Not me :lol::lol::lol:




PS I've just used a different on-line retirement calculator and it says 5991 days to go. I think I'll use the first one.
Click to expand...

Have you knocked off your holidays from that figure of 34200 :)
 
To what age are you counting, if you don't mind me asking?
 
If it's any help guys I got a 15" mac Book Pro from the apple shop just over 3 weeks ago. They upgraded to 4Gb for me whilst I had a cup of coffee. Upgrade was easy. They charged me for a 4Gb module but credited me for a 2Gb module . The meomory in these new machine runs at 1066MHz so fairly fast. can't remember what it cost exactly but it was around £100.

Very happy with the machine. When at home I run it with my 24" monitor, with the laptop acting as a second screen. Great with Lightroom.

Not found any problems with the shiney screen, but then my 2 year old compaq had one as well so no big problem.
 
The better graphics cards and more graphic card memory is likely to become very useful when the next Mac OS arrives. Snow leopard (the next OS) will feature tech called openCL. This allows the computer to use the Graphics chip as a general purpose processor (think of it as like having another core in your computer) when it's not being used for actual graphics work.
 
Chappers said:
Very happy with the machine. When at home I run it with my 24" monitor, with the laptop acting as a second screen. Great with Lightroom.
Click to expand...

Hi,

A very interesting thread here. Sorry to be a spanner in the rejoicing but my recent experiences are quite the contrary. :'(

Can I ask what 24" monitor are you using Chappers mate and have you encountered any problems such as failure to detect the display, Not waking from sleep, and static interference? Also can you confirm that it's the late 2008 alu uni body? and what method of connection are you using with the mini display port? VGA or D-SUB or HDMI?

The reason I ask is there are several known and recognised issues with the late 2008 MBP's, external displays and 9600 GPU's.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1792940&tstart=15

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1826859&tstart=15

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1767221&tstart=0

The are no known fixes or cures for any of these issues at this time.

This thread at TP is the first I've stumbled across that hasn't mentioned any of the issues at all, I'm just trying to get a little more understanding of what is actually going on as Apple haven't even released a statement regarding the issues with the new macbooks despite the fact that they are global.

The bugs started showing around 24 hours after I bought my 15" MBP in late November, which is basically an intermittent failure to detect my Samsung 2493 display, it doesn't matter how many attempts are made, it works when it works kinda thing. Today it works, yesterday it didn't etc.

There are no malfunctions with the display.

Also I was experiencing a flashing folder with a question mark upon boot up sometimes.
This happened rarely and after reading up was an error with location of the start up drive. Hmmm?

I called the Apple care hotline and the rep told me that there are indeed known bugs with external displays. They had a bunch of temp fixes that included:

Unplug mini display port and re-connect

Unchecking the Adjust auto brightness in ambient lighting in the energy saver preferences.

Use only the 9600 GPU (the most problematic graphic processor)

Re-install OSX (complete and not archive)

As the rep said all of these 'fixes' worked temporarily. They no longer work anymore. I re-installed OSX three times in total and the rep also recommended making a back up drive with all my apps via the migration assistant.
The re-install of OSX did get rid of the start up drive error however.
Meanwhile I was told to wait for the upgrade to 10.5.6 as that would address the bugs. The update came on December 10th along with firmware updates. All were ineffective and did not solve the issues.

Apple are not accepting these issues as viable issues for replacements either.

There are many rumours regarding the causes but despite them I contacted Apple at the contactus@euro.apple.com address and asked whether the issues are software related or hardware related.

My concern is that if hardware is the problem I want to dispute the refusal for a replacement before a very important assignment later this month.

If it's software related then when is the fix arriving?

The reply was very unhelpful.
Apple apologised for the problems and gave me a list of the service centres and apple stores in Europe. That's it.

It's been a very frustrating journey. It may be that only first revision units are effected, if this is the case then where is the statement from Apple?

There are hundreds maybe even thousands of users all with similar issues.
By far the worst are the reports of gamers who are experiencing extreme temperatures and then screen blackouts as little as ten minutes into a game.
Now I don't game, I use my unit for work but I do experience temps of up to 82°C when running photoshop and lightroom simultaneously. A program called smc fan control is a vital addition to the new macbook range as the default fan speeds stick at a minimum.

It's been four months since the release of the uni body macbooks, no fix, no info and no statement?

Apart from having a large 24" display sitting there, unused, for the majority of the time since I bought it last year, my MBP works, it's a lovely machine but I expected more from Apple in all honesty and the secrecy and absence of resolution is down right disgraceful. :thumbsdown:
 
Thomas

The monitor is a Gateway FPD2485W. It's connected via the HDMI socket via the Apple display adaptor.

It's detected no problem and is running at it's native resolution of 1920 x 1200.

Both the Mac Book Pro display and the Gateway have been profiled to the same aims, although the Apple display runs a little warm, but that's down to the lack of colour controls on the Mac. The Gateway looks spot on according to the i-one diagnostics.

I have the Auto Brightness control turned off . It's better I think to control the brightness manually when your are editing rather than the Mac do it for you.

One thing I have notices is that if you connect the monitor without logging off it can screw up the Mac Books resolution, and you have to reset it.

Apart from that no problems at all
 
Chappers said:
Thomas

The monitor is a Gateway FPD2485W. It's connected via the HDMI socket via the Apple display adaptor.

It's detected no problem and is running at it's native resolution of 1920 x 1200.

Both the Mac Book Pro display and the Gateway have been profiled to the same aims, although the Apple display runs a little warm, but that's down to the lack of colour controls on the Mac. The Gateway looks spot on according to the i-one diagnostics.

I have the Auto Brightness control turned off . It's better I think to control the brightness manually when your are editing rather than the Mac do it for you.

One thing I have notices is that if you connect the monitor without logging off it can screw up the Mac Books resolution, and you have to reset it.

Apart from that no problems at all
Click to expand...

Thanks mate. Hmmm curiouser and curiouser.
I may try changing cables, It's one of the only things I haven't tried.
I have a D-SUB that is connected to the display port adapter, which cable are you using? Make and model?

Also which GPU do you run mostly? The 9400 or the 9600?

Cheers

T.
 
Thomas

The Adapter I have is the standard unit Apple sell to connect the Mac Book to an external DVI cable. Cost about £20 from the Apple shop I think

Apple Mini-DP to DVI Adpater
Part Number: MB570Z/A

Talking to the guy at the Apple shop he did tend to recommend the DVI adapter rather than the D-Sub. Maybe he knew something.

As far as the GPU I think I normally run with the 9400 as I usually forget to select the 9600 .

However I've just switched back and forth and not seen any problem. Although I did think the laptop screen got a bit brighter, but that may be a red herring!

Hope this helps a bit

John C
 
Chappers said:
Thomas

The Adapter I have is the standard unit Apple sell to connect the Mac Book to an external DVI cable. Cost about £20 from the Apple shop I think

Apple Mini-DP to DVI Adpater
Part Number: MB570Z/A

Talking to the guy at the Apple shop he did tend to recommend the DVI adapter rather than the D-Sub. Maybe he knew something.

As far as the GPU I think I normally run with the 9400 as I usually forget to select the 9600 .

However I've just switched back and forth and not seen any problem. Although I did think the laptop screen got a bit brighter, but that may be a red herring!

Hope this helps a bit

John C
Click to expand...

Thanks alot John,

I know the apple adapter details, it's the same as I have here. If you could let me know which HDMI cable your using I may try one of those. At the moment I'm using the D-SUB that came with my Samsung display. Is your HDMI a Belkin cable?

Maybe you could try using the 9600 GPU for a while, the unit will run alot hotter, I reckon if you downloaded the smc fan control software you be clocking temps of over 80°C when running a few apps. If you get the chance have a try and let me know what happens.

Chappers said:
Thomas

Have you installed the latest updates from Apple.

I believe that if the EFI update has not been installed correctly that may give display problems.

http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20081230075219806
Click to expand...


I've been watching the updates like a hawk since November 28th, after I began to experience the trouble.

The most recent EFI Firmware is now 1.5.6

Every single 'fix' or update has been installed successfully on immediate release. All the updates have been ineffective with these issues.
There's a lot of angry folk out there.
This is why I'm so interested, there aren't many reports of successful display detection and certainly no info or statements regarding the first revision units being faulty or defective, yet.

I was reading one post on the apple discussions board, a chap from Brighton with the same issues had his MBP's logic board replaced at his local apple store, this was also ineffective, it seems that apple are trying things but are being very secretive and non committed to reports. This is what really concerns me, the possibilty that first revision units have defective components, maybe the 9600 GPU's :shrug:

Cheers for the feedback mate :thumbs:
 
Thomas

Can't help with the cable. like you I'm using the one that came with the monitor.

I'll download the SMC fan control and keep an eye on the temp.

As they say " Keep the faith"
 
Chappers said:
Thomas

Can't help with the cable. like you I'm using the one that came with the monitor.

I'll download the SMC fan control and keep an eye on the temp.

As they say " Keep the faith"
Click to expand...

Cheers anyway John, I really appreciate the chat :thumbs:

I always keep my faith, So far I have had excellent performance from Apple gear, my imac is still going strong at three years old!
If it wasn't for such an important job coming later this month I wouldn't be so concerned.

Thanks again mate.
 
Thomas

OK a bit of an update

Loaded 125 1Dslll files into Lightroom. These are about 30Mb each. My aging Dell will kick the fan in whilst doing this anyway. Checked temp ran upto about 78 degrees. fan speed set to default, ran at 2000 rpm. OK gave it nice job to do, convert that lot to DNG's. Temp got upto a max of 86 Degrees, but only for a second or two. rpm rose to a staggering 2006, temp dropped to 74. Temp seemed to fluctuate at about 76-80 during this process with the occasional foray into 84 -86 , but again only for a couple of seconds. No problems with display or any other component that I could find.

Increased fan speed to about 3000 rpm with a small drop in temp, but needed to increase to 3500-4000 to see the temp drop to below 70 degrees.

Running the MBP on mains power during these tests

MPB is only a month old. OS 10.5.6

John C
 
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