[mxb2011]

Which Mac Notebook Is Right for Me?

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a new mac laptop- I'm fairly sure it's going to be a 15" MacBook Pro. However, as the price on this class of laptop ranges from roughly 1,600-4,200 I'm not sure which to purchase.

I want to get the cheapest one that suits my needs.

As a student, I will use my laptop both in school and at home, so it will see a lot of movement. It will be lugged around from class to class in a backpack along with binders and textbooks and used routinely throughout the day. It will also be used often at home and elsewhere. Durability is key. Tremendous battery life is a plus, but is not TOTALLY VITAL because I will usually be able to plug in and charge during classes and at home.

On my laptop I will store a few thousand songs, a few hundred photos, 5-10 full length movies (avg. 90 mins each), roughly 50-100 television episodes (avg. 45 mins each), many documents, and programs/applications.

I will use only basic applications such as those included in iLife '09 and iWork '09 as well as Safari, Mail, iTunes, QuickTime, Microsoft Office, and others. I will need to add some academic/recreational programs to the laptop as well. While I will only use relatively basic applications, I will be using them fairly heavily. I will not install games on the laptop. I will often be using multiple applications at once, so the ability to handle multiple applications running simultaneously is crucial.

I don't need BLAZING fast processing speeds, but something that can browse the web and operate applications at a reasonably fast speed is what I'm looking for.

Finally: lifespan. I would like my laptop, obviously, to last as long as possible, at least 4-5 years, without needing to be replaced.

Overall, I'm looking for the cheapest specs for a 15" MacBook Pro that can easily suit the needs of the average student, running smoothly and without difficulty.

OPTIONS: (view mac store for pricing)

Processor:

2.53 GHz,

2.66 GHz,

2.8 GHz, or

3.06 GHz

Memory:

4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB, or

8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB

Hard Drive:

250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm,

320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm,

500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm,

320GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm,

500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm,

128GB solid-state drive, or

256GB solid-state drive


Please feel free to ask additional questions. I'm looking for a final answer that defines which three specs (Processor, Memory, and Hard Drive) I should customize my 15" MacBook Pro with given my outlined needs and expectations. Again, feel free to voice questions or inquiries. (Please, don't try to persuade me from buying this particular laptop- I hate windows, not a huge Linux fan, and 15" is the size of laptop I want)

THANKS!