Going to Get my First Mac - MBP

Hey guys, Ive been lurking around here for a while doing some reading on different stuff. Ive decided on getting my first Mac, I was thinking about the m15x from Alienware but it has too many issues, and I'm not a huge gamer (I was planning on getting more into it with that computer but, oh well, now I can actually focus on schoolwork). I'm going to go to the Apple Store this afternoon to get it.

My specs:
15" Matte Screen (the colors on the glossy are awesome but I don't want to worry about fingerprints and glare)
2.6GHz Core 2 Duo
2 GB memory (I'm probably going to upgrade it 4 GB myself instead of paying the extra $400)
250 GB hard drive (I like more space more than a little bit faster load speed)

I was planning on ordering online, but I figure they'll have my setup in the store right now so that way I don't have to wait a few days to get it.

This forum's been a great help. The review threads and comments have been great and I love the freeware programs thread, that one is definitely going to come in handy. I had a couple questions though:

1. I'm thinking about getting a Neoprene case for it to help protect from scratches while its in my backpack and at home, is there one in particular that anyone recommends? I've seen the ones at the Apple Store and I've heard the the MBP doesn't fit into them that well. I want a snug fit that I don't have to worry about.

2. Has anyone used the Mogo x54 mouse with their MBP? Seems pretty cool, heard some good things but never actually spoke to someone that used it, so I was wondering if it was any good (plus it saves me from getting a remote for my Mac).

Thanks.

 

Awesome man! I love my MBP. Not just the laptop, but the operating system is really really good. Let us know what you think.

1.) As far as a neoprene sleeve or case goes, the shinza Zeroshock sleeves rock. I had one for my Asus W3J and it worked wonderfully.

2.) Never heard of the Mogo Mouse, although it looks pretty cool. I actually use a Logitech G5 at home. For gaming, it does a great job.

 

I use the Marware sportfolio sleeve for my MBP, fits great, lined zipper too.

I also was considering the m15x until I saw everyones complaints about it on here. Ive been happy with the choice to go MBP, no regrets.

 

Rosemarycane- They were all sold out of the case you recommended, thank you for your help though.

Magimagus- The reviews on here definitely swayed my from the m15x, along with the issues with my current Alienware have swayed me to get a Mac.

Another question, I just wanted to make sure that changing my RAM didn't void my warranty, I would hate to try and change it and mess it up and then not be able to get it fixed.

 

I purchased my MBP 2 weeks ago and spent few days researching cases. Finally decided on the following:

1. Moshi Codex 15
2. Tom Bihn ID with Brain Cell.

The Moshi is similar to the Shinza Zeroshock but has a much better finish on the outside, it also comes with a handle so you dont have to tuck the laptop under your arm.

 

So, after getting back from the Apple Store, it turns out that they don't have the setup that I wanted to get available in the store (You can't buy a 2.6 chip with a 250 GB hard drive, and they were out of the 250 GB hard drive with the 2.5). So unfortunately now I do have to wait for it to get shipped out.

 

Just a thought... you may want to look into getting the 200gb 7200 rpm drive rather than the 250gb 5400rpm. I have the 7200 and its zippy i barely notice any hd activity. They may have that in the store.

 

Ya they do have that one in the store. I'm willing to sacrifice a little speed for a higher capacity. I have a lot of media and files so I'd prefer to have more room.

I also had a question about this memory that I found on Newegg. Is there a difference besides the price?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16820134373,N82E16820134560

 

I can't answer your second question but I can weigh in on your first.

I tried three neoprene cases for my MBP including the inCase one. I liked them all but I preferred the one in my signature - Tucano Second Skin. It's made of high quality material, the stitching is perfect and has an inside lip that keeps the MBP from touching the zipper. It also comes with a matching pouch for cables, magsafe adapter etc... Even though it's slightly more expensive than the others, it's highly recommended.

 

Congratulations! Sounds like you've done a fair bit of poking around, and you know what the strengths/weaknesses of Macs are. The one thing I might mention, though, is that there isn't much of a performance difference between the 2.6 and 2.5 models, so if you were looking to save a bit of money, the 2.5 will serve you just fine. The extra 100 MHz is very small in the processor (which is very overpowered for most tasks as is), and the doubled VRAM is actually a gimmick, really, on a 128-MB membus video card, like the 8600M GT.

Anyways, again, congratulations on your purchase!

 

Just to play the Devil's Advocate here, while I also suggest getting the base model, it's worth noting that the 2.6 models come with twice the L2 Cache of the 2.5 models. Just throwing that out there, in case it influences your decision at all.

 

Not sure where you got that information, I was under the impression both had 6 MB L2 caches:

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/12/05/intel_to_launch_penryn_mobile_chips_ahead_of_macworld.html

 

That's correct. The T9xx all have 6MB cache while the T8xx have 3MB cache; that could be the source of the confusion. And as such, the 2.5Ghz chip is by far the better value out of the two.

 

I really hope the original poster got the 2.5Ghz rather than the 2.6Ghz. A waste of money if you ask me, otherwise....

 

i bought a base config MBP, with no changes, using my ADC membership online. its taken a week to ship out the 2.4 base model, not real happy about that. Its also shipping from china.

2 weeks to get a laptop seems awful long.

 

Mine shipped from china but i had it under a week...2.5ghz / 7200rpm

 

I also brought 2.5Ghz model with 200GB 7.2K rpm HDD. Now it's third week ,but couldn't arrive......... .

 

Mine was purchased thru my company thru a reseller (Tek something in Ny)

 

There were times when the MacBook Pro had high demand and took a while...I'm not too surprised, although, it must suck to wait like that .

 

heh... 2 weeks isn't that bad. Be glad you didn't order an Alienware. They can take over a month.

 

I ordered my MBP but with the 7200rpm drive last friday. I recived it 2 days ago! So, 6 days for a CTO notebook, shipped from China to Denmark - That's quite fast i think!

Btw - Also my first mac! Damn it's nice, and FAST!

 

Coming straight off of Apple's site:

 

The comparison that was originally made which was between the T9300 (2.5GHz) and T9500 (2.6GHz) highlighted the cache difference as one having double the other but that is incorrect. Both the T9300 and T9500 have 6MB cache. The confusion may have come about when factoring in a third chip option, the T8300 (2.4GHz), which indeed does have 3MB cache.

Hope this clears up the confusion.

 

Yea, that's for the 2.4 GHz processor, which isn't one of the options for the MBP. Both models of the current MBP have a 6 MB L2 cache, and both of the Santa Rosa models (2.4 and 2.2) had 4 MB L2 caches.

 

Wait, now I'm confused.

I'm on the Apple site right now, and the baseline MBP I'm looking at has a 2.4Ghz processor. Then when I click the "Compare Specs" tab, it's showing the baseline MBP with a 2.4, with 3MB of L2 Cache. Then the high-end 15" and 17" show as having 2.5Ghz, with 6MB of L2 Cache (and the 2.6 as a BTO).

 

The lowest model MBP with the 2.4 ghz has only 3 mb cache. the processor is a T8300 (I'm looking at the device manager right now )

 

Yea, I think I screwed up. For some reason I thought the new MBPs had 2.5 and 2.6 GHz processors, not 2.4/2.5. Since it does seem those lower numbers are accurate, then yes, the 2.5 should have a bit more of an edge over the 2.4 due to the doubled L2 cache of memory. Sorry for the confusion.

For the record, though, for the majority of tasks, the CPU will not be the limiting factor for performance.

 

My MBP just came in today, and I love it. I've never really used mac before and in the first hour or so of using it, I can't believe that I didn't switch sooner.

It came in and didn't have any issues with it. The screen is awesome and everything else is working well.

One question though, is there any way to get my lighted keyboard to always stay lit and not just in low light situations? I use it on my lap most of the time and it's kind of hard to see the back keys (I have to get used to the dashboard and expose hot keys on the back as well as the iTunes controls).

Thanks for everyone's help on here. I'm really happy with my decision to go Mac.

 

Congrats nscd!

As for your backlit keyboard, I think if you turn off the Ambient Light Sensor you can control when the keyboard lights up. Search for Ambient Light Sensor in System Preferences.

And make sure to check out these!

http://www.apple.com/support/switch101
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101

 

Thanks for the links. I read through those a little bit before I purchased my computer to see how hard making the switch would actually be (and it's definitely not hard at all).

As for the Ambient Light Sensor, that was one of the first things that I turned off when I got my computer. The keyboard still does not stay lit all of the time. It actually just turned off before I came to post this. Ill do some searches to see if I can find anything else.