Newb questions

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hey i am sure you guys get a lot of these types of questions and get tired of answering them but I am looking at buying a new mac laptop (i used to own an old 12 inch ibook) and i have a couple of questions. I have been away from the U.S. in africa for the last two and half years so a lot has changed and this is why I have so many questions.



I plan on using my laptop mainly for searching the internet and office type work, nothing too high end. In addition to this I plan on use it to download TV shows and do a little gaming (world of warcraft). So i have very little high end use for it.



The money for this laptop isn't really a major factor but I want it to last as long as possible and I am willing to pay more now to extend the lifetime of the laptop.



I am debating getting SSD vs a regular hard drive because from the few reviews I have read one of the benefits of have an SSD drive is they are less likely to fail than regular hard drives.

I also figure if i need more space that i can buy time capsule to add hard drive space.



In addition i am debating buying a macbook vs macbook pro. The higher powered processor for the pro is probably something I don't need but i am worried that if the laptop I buy is able to stay around for a while that I will want the higher end processor in the future.



When deciding the amount of ram should i just go with the 4gb because i'll probably just end up upgrading my ram in the future?



When it comes to size I think that i am going to probably wait till I return to the US to actually see the different size computers before i make a judgment on that.



Finally does anyone know what the battery life is supposed to be on both of these products and how difficult is it to change hard drives for example if I get a SSD drive now and get a larger regular hard drive later on.



Sorry this post is kind of long and i am not really expecting people to tell me what I should buy just wanting to know to know some of the pro's and cons of some of the different options. If some one could direct me to an updated buying guide that would be helpful also (i know all this stuff just came out so these might not yet be available)



Thank you

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by trey851 View Post


    Finally does anyone know what the battery life is supposed to be on both of these products and how difficult is it to change hard drives for example if I get a SSD drive now and get a larger regular hard drive later on.



    From a hard drive perspective, the unibody generation is ideal. Replacing the drive appears to be as simple as opening up he battery cover and popping out the drive.
  • Reply 2 of 2
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Phlake View Post


    From a hard drive perspective, the unibody generation is ideal. Replacing the drive appears to be as simple as opening up he battery cover and popping out the drive.



    Yep. I'd get a hard drive now and see what SSD prices are like in ~12 months. Replacing the drive is even easier than replacing the RAM.
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