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    Apple student - MBP Purchase

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by ihavenofate, Jul 5, 2007.

  1. ihavenofate

    ihavenofate Notebook Evangelist

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    Hey, I'm about to purchase the Macbook Pro, and I was just wondering if the 0.2GHz processor upgrade and additional 40gb HDD is worth the +$500? I plan to do some gaming and perhaps a lil bit of photoshop and movie editting. Also, the 4 yr. AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro is also about $550, is that worth the extra money? thanks for the help =)
     
    ihavenofate, Jul 5, 2007
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  2. cycloneguy2618

    cycloneguy2618 Notebook Deity

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    Don't forget the extra vram as well. If you have the cash and plan on gaming, I say it's worth it.
     
    cycloneguy2618, Jul 5, 2007
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  3. ihavenofate

    ihavenofate Notebook Evangelist

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    how do i upgrade vram? there doesnt seem to be a GPU option in the customization page =(
     
    ihavenofate, Jul 5, 2007
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  4. KelchM

    KelchM Notebook Evangelist

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    The other difference you missed is the additional 128mb vram. Thats something you cannot change latter on down the road, and it will have a significant impact on the playability of [future] games. If you want to play games, then you really should plan ahead and go with the 256mb 8600m GT.
    I would advise against getting 4 year coverage [where did you find this? I've never seen it.] $550 is something like 20% of the cost of the notebook itself and is just waaay to much to pay. Instead, you can get the standard 3 year applecare coverage for 239.00 with a student discount. Thats a decent deal. Keep in mind you can add applecare at any point before the 1 year standard warranty expires. No need to decide what to do now.

    Personally, I'm going to buy it on an american express card [which will add an additional year to the warranty for free.]
    The only way is to buy the 2.4 MBP.
     
    KelchM, Jul 5, 2007
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  5. cashmonee

    cashmonee Notebook Virtuoso NBR Reviewer

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    Get the higher version if you can afford it. The extra power of the GPU will come in handy for gaming.
     
    cashmonee, Jul 5, 2007
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  6. powz

    powz Notebook Consultant

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    IMO, it's not worth it. The performance boost will probably be negligible -- if you can notice it at all, and definitely NOT worth $500 extra. If you need HD space, you can always upgrade it in the base 2.2 ghz model online at apple.com OR just buy an external one. $100 can get you a lot of space.

    If you want to get into details, here's a breakdown of the 128 versus 256 vram models for gaming. You can decide for yourself if the $500 is worth it for a few extra frames in high end games (normally 30 fps is good enough for gaming):

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=130879

    Also, I agree that 3 years of Applecare is plenty -- and make sure you get the student discount.
     
    powz, Jul 5, 2007
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