OK, I'm getting close to deciding on a purchase but I'm still confused about which drive I'll need. What's more important for power and speed, memory or the drive? I'm serious, I don't know anything.
You will need to provide a lot more information if anyone is going to be able to help you. I will do my best though.
First of all, the optical drive has absolutely no effect on how fast the computer is. If you get a Superdrive, or a Combo drive, or even just a plain CD-ROM drive, there will be no difference in performance during general use. The only difference is that Superdrives will burn CDs more slowly than Combo drives. However, Superdrives have DVD burning capability.
If you want good performance in OS X, you MUST have AT LEAST 512 MB of memory. Spending $200 to upgrade to a Superdrive will not help one bit as far as performance is concerned. If you don't know what a Superdrive is, you don't need it.
It would be good if you could give some background on your situation though. Right now I have no idea what you are referring to, except that you're purchasing a Mac that has the option of getting a Combo drive or a Superdrive.
Come on... he doesn't even know what a Superdrive is, why say he should spend $200 extra for one? I'd say get the Combo drive, it'll burn CDs and play DVDs, which is fine for most people.
Yes, it eliminates the need to get more internal or external drive storage.
I don't know if Mave needs any more storage than what is included with the PowerBook. However, the Superdrive might be helpful in some cases. When you compare it to an external hard drive, though, it's not a great value. It's $200 for the drive, plus $2 or so for each blank DVD-R, whereas an external hard drive for backups might only cost about $150 total (for a 120 GB one). The hard drive is faster, all available at once (no swapping discs), and more cost effective. On the other hand, you can burn as many DVD-Rs as you want, so the sky is the limit for how much you can store using a Superdrive. Also, DVDs are more portable than a hard drive in case you want to move files around, but you still have the option of CD-Rs if you need to move files that are under 700MB. But I think those minor advantages are negated by the fact that an external hard drive is significantly less expensive, faster, and in many cases, more convenient.
And we haven't even given Mave the chance to respond. Do you have any need to burn DVDs? Would you ever be interested in it? It would be cool to get a DVD-R drive, but at this point I don't think it's worth the $200 he'd spend on it, especially if he has to choose between a Superdrive and extra RAM. If you have to choose between those two, you should absolutely go with the RAM.
Thanks Luca, you're absolutely right, I had no idea what a SuperDrive was and now I know that I don't need one. I'll be using my PB strictly for audio recording, like Logic or something along those lines. I'll definitely be loading up on memory but I'm still trying to figure that out too, as far as the need to buy Apple memory or if I can save money somewhere else. So, I'm hoping that the 1GHz 15" with max memory will satisfy my recording needs. I don't personally know anyone that's using it for this. If I go for a G5 I'll be chained to my desk. Thanks again.
If you want memory, Apple's is usually a bit too expensive. Recently, RAM prices have been so high that Apple's RAM isn't that much more expensive, but I'd definitely recommend going to Crucial.com and buying RAM from there. They make excellent quality RAM and their prices are usually just a little more than the bargain places. They are still less expensive than Apple's RAM.
Thanks Luca, you're absolutely right, I had no idea what a SuperDrive was and now I know that I don't need one. I'll be using my PB strictly for audio recording, like Logic or something along those lines.
Still, you may should consider the Super Drive. With audio recording, you're going to have a huge bank of raw audio samples, no? Seeing as you would be able to copy/back-up a LOT more samples on a DVD-R than a CD-R, I think there would be a great benefit to you.
Imagine backing up a big project on just 2 DVDs instead of 13 CDs...
Good point about the DVD-Rs. I'm graduating from my old digital 8 track so I'm trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can. My friends are almost no help, of course they tell me the exact opposite things.
Considering how much I'm spending on all of this, the SuperDrive just isn't that much more so I'll probably get it just be safe.
I did some memory pricing at Crucial.com and I they seem to have a pretty good system for guys like me that really don't know what they're looking for. Still, I couldn't figure out how to maximize the 2G of the Powerbook. I did learn a lot about how Apple sells it to you though, as in 1 512 or two for 1G. I'm starting understand that better. The bearded 18 year old at the Apple store here in LA told me that the 17" 1.33 GHz had a more convenient system as far as upgrading memory?
I was just at Crucial.com again and it looks like I can only buy in 512MB increments. How would I get to 2 Gig with only two slots then? Does this make sense?
By the way, thanks a lot guys. This is helping more than you know.
I was just at Crucial.com again and it looks like I can only buy in 512MB increments. How would I get to 2 Gig with only two slots then? Does this make sense?
By the way, thanks a lot guys. This is helping more than you know.
You're right: I can't find 1 gig sticks either. Perhaps if you called or e-mailed Crucial (all of the contact details are on their site) they can tell you if they make these sticks.
If you do want 2 gigs though, you will need to buy 2x1 gig sticks. Then you'll have to take out the Apple RAM and replace it with one of the 1 gig sticks, then stick the other in empty slot. Thus, if you know for sure you're getting this extra RAM, its cheaper to get the least amount of RAM Apple offers then buy the extra from a 3rd party.
The only thing more convenient about the 17" PowerBook is that the standard configuration has one slot with a 512 MB chip, and the other slot is empty. The 15" PowerBook also has 512 MB, but it is in the form of two 256 MB chips. That is less expensive but also less convenient, because if you want to add RAM later you have to remove one of the 256 MB chips.
As far as getting a full 2 GB, you'll have to find some 1 GB modules and buy two of them. Crucial might not have them, so I guess you'll have to look elsewhere. Perhaps Dealram.com (price tracker) or Newegg.com (retailer).
I opted to not get a SD in my 15" alubook, I don't need one now, and should I need one in the future, both my roommates have 'em, additionally, I could always get an external firewire(800 ) dvd-r burner.
OK, this is starting to make sense. So, it's looking like it's cheapest to order the 15" Combo Drive which will come with the single 256MB, add all 3rd party memory, add on the SuperDrive if I want and there I go.
Persomally, aside from making your own DVDs of little Joey's first steps, I dont see a need for a SuperDrive. If u want to back-up use an external HD or an iPod (40GB) since u the musical type.
The SuperDrives would be a lot harder to pass by if they could back-up your commercial DVDs easily.
Comments
First of all, the optical drive has absolutely no effect on how fast the computer is. If you get a Superdrive, or a Combo drive, or even just a plain CD-ROM drive, there will be no difference in performance during general use. The only difference is that Superdrives will burn CDs more slowly than Combo drives. However, Superdrives have DVD burning capability.
If you want good performance in OS X, you MUST have AT LEAST 512 MB of memory. Spending $200 to upgrade to a Superdrive will not help one bit as far as performance is concerned. If you don't know what a Superdrive is, you don't need it.
It would be good if you could give some background on your situation though. Right now I have no idea what you are referring to, except that you're purchasing a Mac that has the option of getting a Combo drive or a Superdrive.
Originally posted by mattjohndrow
i would get the SD if i were you
Come on... he doesn't even know what a Superdrive is, why say he should spend $200 extra for one? I'd say get the Combo drive, it'll burn CDs and play DVDs, which is fine for most people.
Originally posted by mattjohndrow
i would get the SD if i were you
Yes, it eliminates the need to get more internal or external drive storage.
Originally posted by Messiahtosh
Yes, it eliminates the need to get more internal or external drive storage.
I don't know if Mave needs any more storage than what is included with the PowerBook. However, the Superdrive might be helpful in some cases. When you compare it to an external hard drive, though, it's not a great value. It's $200 for the drive, plus $2 or so for each blank DVD-R, whereas an external hard drive for backups might only cost about $150 total (for a 120 GB one). The hard drive is faster, all available at once (no swapping discs), and more cost effective. On the other hand, you can burn as many DVD-Rs as you want, so the sky is the limit for how much you can store using a Superdrive. Also, DVDs are more portable than a hard drive in case you want to move files around, but you still have the option of CD-Rs if you need to move files that are under 700MB. But I think those minor advantages are negated by the fact that an external hard drive is significantly less expensive, faster, and in many cases, more convenient.
And we haven't even given Mave the chance to respond. Do you have any need to burn DVDs? Would you ever be interested in it? It would be cool to get a DVD-R drive, but at this point I don't think it's worth the $200 he'd spend on it, especially if he has to choose between a Superdrive and extra RAM. If you have to choose between those two, you should absolutely go with the RAM.
Combo Drives burn CD-Rs (write only once) and CD-RWs (write many times).
CDs can typically hold 650 MB or 700 MB of data.
CD-Rs cost about 40 cents per disc in bulk.
CD-RWs cost about 80 cents per disc in bulk.
Super Drives burn CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVD-Rs.
DVD-Rs can hold 4.7 GB (4812 MB) of data.
DVD-R media costs about $1 per disc in bulk.
Cost per GB comparison?
CDs: $0.63 per GB.
DVDs: $0.22 per GB.
In the long run, DVDs are far more economical for backing up data. You can fit a LOT more on them in one session and the price isn't so bad any more.
My take? Given the option in getting a new computer I would definitely get the Super Drive.
Originally posted by Mave
Thanks Luca, you're absolutely right, I had no idea what a SuperDrive was and now I know that I don't need one. I'll be using my PB strictly for audio recording, like Logic or something along those lines.
Still, you may should consider the Super Drive. With audio recording, you're going to have a huge bank of raw audio samples, no? Seeing as you would be able to copy/back-up a LOT more samples on a DVD-R than a CD-R, I think there would be a great benefit to you.
Imagine backing up a big project on just 2 DVDs instead of 13 CDs...
Considering how much I'm spending on all of this, the SuperDrive just isn't that much more so I'll probably get it just be safe.
I did some memory pricing at Crucial.com and I they seem to have a pretty good system for guys like me that really don't know what they're looking for. Still, I couldn't figure out how to maximize the 2G of the Powerbook. I did learn a lot about how Apple sells it to you though, as in 1 512 or two for 1G. I'm starting understand that better. The bearded 18 year old at the Apple store here in LA told me that the 17" 1.33 GHz had a more convenient system as far as upgrading memory?
By the way, thanks a lot guys. This is helping more than you know.
Originally posted by Mave
I was just at Crucial.com again and it looks like I can only buy in 512MB increments. How would I get to 2 Gig with only two slots then? Does this make sense?
By the way, thanks a lot guys. This is helping more than you know.
You're right: I can't find 1 gig sticks either. Perhaps if you called or e-mailed Crucial (all of the contact details are on their site) they can tell you if they make these sticks.
If you do want 2 gigs though, you will need to buy 2x1 gig sticks. Then you'll have to take out the Apple RAM and replace it with one of the 1 gig sticks, then stick the other in empty slot. Thus, if you know for sure you're getting this extra RAM, its cheaper to get the least amount of RAM Apple offers then buy the extra from a 3rd party.
As far as getting a full 2 GB, you'll have to find some 1 GB modules and buy two of them. Crucial might not have them, so I guess you'll have to look elsewhere. Perhaps Dealram.com (price tracker) or Newegg.com (retailer).
The SuperDrives would be a lot harder to pass by if they could back-up your commercial DVDs easily.
Originally posted by KeilwerthReborn
By the way, if you ever ask this forum for advice, they'll tell you that you NEED a SuperDrive and at least 8 gigs of RAM.
Nah, everyone DOES need a SuperDrive, but 1 gig of RAM is sufficient.