Monday, July 30, 2007

*This* close to buying my Macbook Pro

I've been waiting to buy my new laptop for a couple of months now as lately I've been wondering if I wanted the 17" or the 15".

The decision was hard as I wanted the 17" for the high resolution (1920x1200) but the backlit LED display of the 15" was also very tempting. My wait was mostly due to waiting, "ok, I'll just wait for the 17" to get updated with LED display".

So I found myself at the mall yesterday and I went to the Apple store to really compare the 17" vs 15" in size and see if the 17" was too big or not. Yeah it was a monster and heavier to boot.....but but...that sweet resolution. After alot of deliberation, I figured that I didn't need the high res when I was using it on my lap (in a mobile situation) and that if I was going to be in power use mode, I would probably be sitting at my desk and I would just attach it to my Dell 2407. Ok, done!! Decision made, 15"...flag down an Apple dude and ring up the order.

"So, how long does it take for you to build my machine if I want it with custom options?"
"Oh, only 10mins sir."
"WOW!!! Are you kidding? TEN MINUTES?!?! Great, let's do this *whipping out my debit card*"

After getting my name and email addr, he says, "ok, take this card to the tech and he'll get your new MBP"

"Wait, I didn't even pick my options yet. I want a faster hdd"

"Oh you can't do that here, we only upgrade ram"

"Doh!! Nooooooooooo....so I can't have my MBP today?"

"Sorry, if you want to upgrade the hdd, you'll have to order it online and they'll have it sent to you within 2 weeks".

So from ecstatic to despair, I walked out of the store with my head bowed down like my 3yr old son walking out of Toys R Us after I refused to buy him another Thomas the Train engine.


For you MBP owners. Is ram from Apple still overpriced? I did a quick look on Crucial and it seems alot cheaper but the sales associate said that Apple was competitive now. I'm looking to get 2x2gb

Secondly, is it possible for me to buy a 2.5" 7200rpm hdd myself and perform the upgrade? If so, then I'd probably be ahead as I'd have the orig hdd as spare which I can throw in an ext hdd enclosure. I'd also be able to head back to the store this week to pick the laptop up.

Oh and is it true that for people who will look at the screen for long periods of time, get the matte display and avoid the high gloss option?