Build your own MacBook pro

I am planning to buy a 13" macbook pro to use during my PhD. I will be dealing with large amounts of data (several GB big files) and will have to process them quickly. I will also be programming and writing and testing code. Should I improve the configurations? If so how? Should I add RAM? Should I upgrade the processor?

If you are going to be processing large quantities of data and programming, you would be better served with an i7 processor unit from the 15" family of MBPs.  The non-baseline hard drives and non-glare screens are only available from the Apple on-line store...memory upgrades are available at the Apple retail stores but very expensive compared with sources such as Crucial and OWC, http://www.macsales.com who are Mac specialists.  Upgrading from the 5400 rpm drive to the 7200 rpm drive will give an appreciable boost in storage access time.
If you are going to program in languages such as FORTRAN, you will need to register as a developer (free to do that) so you can download xCode which is free to developers.  You have to have xCode to run most compilers.
Also get an external hard drive, prefereably one that is fast and has multiple interfaces such as eSata and Firewire 800.

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    kurstelle wrote:
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              http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4928

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    Bag n’ Tag It
    by: Digital Dude
    In today’s world of everything slim and integrated, more techno fanatics and Spartan travelers are embracing the minimalist approach. To that end, I was looking for an alternative to my bulky computer briefcase for travel. So, I ordered the “Buzz” by Tom Bihn.
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    ~DD
    References:
    http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/TBP/TB0151
    http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=114 576C9&nplm=TJ953VC/A
     MBP Core Duo: 15"/2.16/2GB DDR/7200HD   Mac OS X (10.4.10)   "New" AEBS w/n-draft

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    No, it is not traceable.
    Contact your insurance company and check to see if your credit card company offers coverage for this. Some do. You should also report it to law enforcement. You will need the serial number for this. If you don't have it, contact whoever sold it to you, they may be able to get the s/n.
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  • How do you format your hole Macbook Pro to brand new?

    Hi,
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    Boot to your recovery media or partition by holding Option on startup and selecting it, then when you come to the install screen, select Disk Utility fromt he Applications menu on the top bar and then Erase the disk you want wiped (Usually Macintosh HD). Then exit disk utility, and install!

  • Help me build the perfect Macbook Pro for web design!

    I am a beginning web design student, and I'm planning to purchase a new MacBook Pro in the coming weeks. I need to be able to effectively run a few of the CS6 programs, including Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Which configuration should I have---I really don't want to spend more than $2000.00. Should I beef up on RAM and skimp on the processor?
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    If it were up to me, I would choose the latter;
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    Simple really, for the program you'll be using, you'll benefit from the power of the quad core.  On a day to day usage however, you might feel that the 2.9GHz is faster.  That may very well be true for apps that don't call for quad processing.
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  • If you love your new Macbook Pro 110%, let me know?

    just a quick survey of people who are 110% satisfied with their new macbook pros
    please, please do not post here saying, "i love it, but i have X issue", or, "i hate it".
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    please no baby whining complaints, smart* remarks, or pretentious comments - as this specific forum seems to be full of them.
    thank u!

    I own two new MacBook Pros, and I have had no issues whatsoever.
    By far, these notebooks have proved to be the best notebooks that I have ever owned.
    Many satisfied customers have posted their reviews at the following link.
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1755451&start=0&tstart=0
    PS:
    Some people have experienced genuine issues after having paid top dollar for these machines. It is important not to discredit those who are looking for help.

  • What FireWire 800 drive (2.5") to build/buy for MacBook Pro?

    Hello community, this topic is to request a little help choosing a FireWire 800 storage solution. About once every two days, I need to run a virtual machine, either Windows XP or Ubuntu. The disk image is currently located on an external USB 2.0 Western Digital hard drive, which is also used for not-speed-sensitive storage. Performance is decent, as long as I quit all possible application before launching (I have 4GB RAM, planning on 8GB upgrade very soon) and don't launch too many apps in the virtual machine, however, I feel performance is lagging since I can see the virtual hard drive indicator turning red most of the time, and the 4 white LEDs on the WD going back and forth (although it doesn't necessarily indicate heavy activity). Especially, restoring to and from saved states routinely takes 45 seconds or more. The external drive is about 90% full most of the time, and may be a contributing factor to the slow feeling. Hence, I thought about putting this FireWire 800 port to good use, and plug a compatible drive in it. I had the following requirements:
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    2.5" form factor. Reason is I rarely happen to have enough room or steady power to lay and plug a full 3.5" drive, unless it uses a battery, which is extremely rare and would add bulk in my bag.
    Ability to saturate FW800 port. I think a more performant drive would be a waste of money since they constantly go down in price, and I may be able to get a better deal by the time I switch to Thunderbolt-based MacBook Pro. Admittedly, this is a "soft" requirement, given expected use.
    Under $150 (would come to $170 tax,S&H included)
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    Reply on a dead topic:
    After a word, Macally used the Oxford chipset. So Macally I went, and put a Scorpio Black 500GB inside. Ran fine, but I got it stolen in a coffee shop a few days after I started to use it. Had no time yet to do a backup, so data was lost. Surveillance cams weren't working at the time of the theft, nobody has seen anything, and, as usual, police won't do anything about it.
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