[X4U] MacBook Pro decision

[Neil Laubenthal]

I've always found that the middle model (i.e., the better 15 incher)  
is usually the best bang for the buck; and gives the longest  
effective lifetime before I_wanna_new_one_itis starts to rear it's head.

I typically only replace my primary machine (laptop) every 3-4 years;  
so going low end makes me behind the power curve more quickly.

Drive space can go pretty quickly . . . especially if you get either  
Parallels or Fusion (I have both for work purposes) and have more  
than one virtual machine (I do). My 160 GB drive only has about 30 GB  
free at this point.

The video card difference is only important if you're really a big  
gamer; for normal use you won't see much difference.

The processor speed won't be all that relevant unless you're doing  
big Photoshop files with lots of filters or lots of video compression  
or other stuff that's just number crunching. In normal use, a 10%  
faster processor will hardly be noticeable.


On Aug 4, 2007, at 03:15, Jens Selvig wrote:

> I have a G4 17'' powerbook and am thinking about upgrading to a  
> MacBook Pro 15". I am weighing the cost difference between the two  
> 15" models vs. performance. $500 price difference is significant to  
> my budget.
>
> The differences seem to me to be in three areas:
>
>    Processor speed: about 10 percent
>
>    Hard drive capacity: 40 gigs
>
>    Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics with 128MB SDRAM  
> vs. NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 256MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
>
> Processor and Hard drive issues seem minor but I don't know if the  
> video card is a significant item or not.
>
> Any thoughts or experiences will be greatly appreciated.
>
> I don't really overwork my powerbook now, so I am sure the MacBook  
> Pro will be over kill for my purposes.
>
> Jens
>
> Jens Selvig
> ....lost in Montana...
>
> lstnmt(at)bresnan.net
>
>
>
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