[X4U] Macbook Pro

[Robert MacLeay]

On Fri, 11 May 2007 12:13:41 +0200, Roy van der Westhuizen <roy at ion.co.za>
wrote:

> My work is becoming more image heavy and I also need to have the
> Intel processor to use some astronomy programs which are windose
> only. I therefore need to upgrade my 1GB 17" P.B. with 1 GB ram. Am
> thinking of a 15" Macbook Pro. The 2.16 ghz is equal to US$2,422.48
> in local (Rand) currency and the 2.33 ghz is US$3,035.23. A 17" costs
> US$3,484.10 These prices are for standard configs. Three questions.
> Is it worth getting the 2.33 or stick to the 2.16 and load extra RAM.
> Finally is it maybe better to wait until year end for new config
> notebooks? I know it is often said that if you need a new machine,
> now is the time, but I can hang on for a few months.

As the owner/user of a 24" iMac -- 2.16 GHz & 2 GB RAM -- using the same
chips, I can tell you that I am totally satisfied with the 2.16 speed, with
a single exception: digitizing video.  The 8% speed bump to 2.33 is
meaningless for most applications and remains inadequate for digitizing.
That said, the bundled MacBook Pro upgrades -- the extra 1 GB of RAM and the
more-capable video card -- are worth paying for.  In the Intel world, 1 GB
is simply not enough for more than surfing the web and writing letters.

The two biggest things coming up in portable computing are LED screens and
faster CPU chips.  Intel's next speed bump is due to appear in product
starting in July, but if I read the reports correctly, the speed increase
will be limited to 20% faster bus speed, but only nominal (2.2 vs. 2.16)
clock speed.  The new chips may not be faster, but they will be over $100
cheaper.  The LED screens are "real soon now" but may be too expensive for
mainstream Macs during 2007.  Will Apple ship a MacBook Pro with one but not
the other?  Ask Steve Jobs.

My greatest criticism of Apple is that, with the exception of the Mac Pro,
nothing now shipping has the RAM capacity to handle the needs of whatever
operating system I expect we will be running 3+ years in the future.  When
one considers not only how the minimum RAM requirements for the Mac OS have
increased over the last 20 years, but how the expandability (ratio of
minimum requirement to maximum installable) has shrunk...