MBP noob with a couple of questions for Mac gurus

xgeek

xgeek

xgeek

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11 Feb 2007
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179
Hi Guys,

I have a few questions regarding the MBP that I hope you guys can help me with. First off I have to say I have never used a Mac and I know jack about them :D

Okay I am in the market for a new laptop and I am leaning towards a Mac Book Pro 17" model. The reason for going with the Mac rather than an IBM/Dell is due to the fact that I need to run some custom software that was written for some test equipment that I am buying and it only runs on a Mac.

To tie in with our company IT policy I also need to run XP Pro and I understand I can do this with no problems via Bootcamp? The thing is I also need to run Linux. On my current laptop I dual boot XP/Ubuntu. Can I still do this or is it best to run Linux as a VM?

Before I order I would like to wait for version 10.5 of the OS X which I think is due at the end of this month. What I am not sure about is how current the MBPs are. Are they due for a refresh anytime soon as I would hate to get one only to find out they have revamped the range a few weeks later.

Last but not least I need a large HDD so I have 2 choices the 160GB @ 7200rpm or the 250GB @ 4200rpm HDD. I like the idea of the 250GB drive but I am not sure if the HDD is too slow for the machine. I would hate to get a fast laptop only for the HDD to run like a dog. Can anyone with the 250GB drive let me know if it was a good choice.

Many thanks

Xgeek
 
xgeek said:
Hi Guys,

I have a few questions regarding the MBP that I hope you guys can help me with. First off I have to say I have never used a Mac and I know jack about them :D

Okay I am in the market for a new laptop and I am leaning towards a Mac Book Pro 17" model. The reason for going with the Mac rather than an IBM/Dell is due to the fact that I need to run some custom software that was written for some test equipment that I am buying and it only runs on a Mac.

To tie in with our company IT policy I also need to run XP Pro and I understand I can do this with no problems via Bootcamp? The thing is I also need to run Linux. On my current laptop I dual boot XP/Ubuntu. Can I still do this or is it best to run Linux as a VM?

Before I order I would like to wait for version 10.5 of the OS X which I think is due at the end of this month. What I am not sure about is how current the MBPs are. Are they due for a refresh anytime soon as I would hate to get one only to find out they have revamped the range a few weeks later.

Last but not least I need a large HDD so I have 2 choices the 160GB @ 7200rpm or the 250GB @ 4200rpm HDD. I like the idea of the 250GB drive but I am not sure if the HDD is too slow for the machine. I would hate to get a fast laptop only for the HDD to run like a dog. Can anyone with the 250GB drive let me know if it was a good choice.

Many thanks

Xgeek
Click to expand...

1- When you run bootcamp, you have the choice to boot into Windows or OS X when you hold down the option key. When you boot into Windows it boots like it would on a normal Windows machine, so you can install Linux to dual boot with XP. Just install it like you would on a Windows machine.

2 - Yep, Leopard will be here very shortly. The MacBook Pro was last updated on 5th June 07, so no new updates will be coming. The only thing that may happen is a bigger HDD option (200Gb 7,200 rpm) but I doubt it will. I doubt the new MBP will be updated again until the new year.

3 - If you need the space, go for the 250GB. You wont really notice much different between a 7,200rpm and a 4,200rpm HDD. Only thing to bare in mind is that the 7,200 rpm drive will consume more battery power. The laptop is lightening fast as it is, and you wont be let down by the HDD.

Hope this helps.
 
Leopard has BootCamp built in also. Bear in mind though, at the moment the XP install disc MUST be SP2.

Enjoy your MBP. And as above, you probably wont notice the slower HD. Just make sure you have plenty of RAM. :)
 
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Cheers guys that makes me feel much better :) I was only going for the standard 2gig of ram as an extra 2gigs is £450. Will I be okay with that? :confused:. I was also going to get the 1920x1200 screen but am not sure whether to get the glossy or matt screen?

XG
 
xgeek said:
Cheers guys that makes me feel much better :) I was only going for the standard 2gig of ram as an extra 2gigs is £450. Will I be okay with that? :confused:. I was also going to get the 1920x1200 screen but am not sure whether to get the glossy or matt screen?

XG
Click to expand...
2Gb will be fine, if you do need 4Gb, upgrade it yourself. OcUK sell the RAM for a fraction of the price.

Depends what your using the MacBook Pro for.

Glossy: good for photo work, more saturated colour, gives the whole MacBook Pro a sexier look.

Matt: some say better for photo work and video work (displays better colours), can be used in the sunlight without reflection.

No real advantages over each other. I personally use the glossy screen for poto editing, and works very well.
 
2GB should be fine unless you really go to town on the Virtual Machines.

I was skeptical about the glossy screens at first but it didnt take long to get used to. The smudges on the screen are a pain but the glare and reflections arent half as bad as I anticipated.
 
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Okay if I went for the faster 160gig drive how would you recommend I partitioned the drive for OS X, XP & Linux. Windows will be the primary OS so I was thinking 90GB for that. I only use Linux to run test software so don't need much space (on my current IBM T42 I have a 10GB partition for Ubuntu and I am fine with that. That will leave 60GB for mac OS X.

Is that enough? or would you split it up different?

Cheers
XG
 
That should be fine. But bare in mind the 160GB drive is actually 149GB formatted.

When installing Windows in Bootcamp, make the Windows partition 100GB, then install Linux from within Windows. If you see what I mean.
 
personally I would look at using vmware fusion for mac. You can use the bootcamp xp/vista installation as a virtual machine and thus run the windows apps alongside the mac os x apps

http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/

as is vmware then you could also run any linux apps alongside as well.

This way rather then having to worry about dual booting or even multi booting you just boot up as a standard mac and then run windows and linux in vmware fusion.

I am looking at getting a Mac Book Pro myself and definitely going with Fusion to get the Windows support in as well if I go the whole Apple route.
 
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