shownotes_MCM20110302

Apple doesn't make it easy
  Apple has a lot of great choices with very subtle differences in the line
  Apple has a "Which Mac is Right for You" page in their "Why Mac" section
Assess your needs
  Do you need portability? How much? Are you willing to for go other features to get it?
  How much local storage? Do you need speed? Willing to spend more to get faster performance at the cost of GBs?
  What kinds of applications are you running and what systems do the place demands on?
    Games, Video, 3d, Image processing
      Better GPU, more memory, faster HD
  Expandability
    What ports, memory expansion, hard drive replacements.
Breaking down the new Macbook Pros
  Screen sizes and options
    Makes a difference in portability and working space.
    Will you connect to a second monitor and use a desktop?
    Resolution can effect readability of text, but give you more working space
      High-resolution 1680-by-1050 option on 15" models
    Glossy vs. Anti-glare
      Silver bezel, changes look.
  Graphics Processors
    13" only offers the integrated Intel 3000 HD GPU
      Shared memory
    15" lower end model is AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5 memory
    15" higher and 17" have the AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 1GB GDDR5 memory
      More memory will give better performance.
    The Radeon HD 6750 mobility dedicated GPU seems to provide significant performance boost in Open GL performance
    GPUs seem to be a significant differentiator
      Open CL and other OS X tech will take advantage of the GPU
  Processors
    Quad-Cores will offer noticeable performance increase in MP aware applications, even at lower clock speeds.
    Typical real world performance jump between "point" processor speed increases seems to be maybe 10-15%
    Bottom line, anything from the new line is going to provide significantly better performance over a Mac from 2-3 years ago.
    BareFeats: "The fastest 2011 13" MacBook Pro runs faster than the fastest 2010 17" MacBook Pro."
  Hard Drives
    Upgrading to 7,200 RPM or SSD drive will aid read/write performance
      Speedier app launching and wake from sleep
      Good for apps that use swap disk
      Virtual memory
    Standard SATA drives, so you can replace yourself.
    From BareFeats: It's been confirmed that the internal SATA port on the 2011 MacBook Pro is 6 gigabit. One reader installed a Crucial C300 and got 362MB/s average read speed for large sequential transfers. We're looking forward to testing the Intel 6Gb/s 510 SSD and OCZ 6Gb/s Vertex 3 which should be even faster.
  Memory
    4 GB is good, but more is always better
    HD and Memory is "user replaceable" need to remove 10 Phillips #00 screws and remove bottom plate
  Other ports
    SDXC card slot (not on 17")
    FW 800 on all
    SuperDrive on all.
    Thunderbolt - All models
    Extra USB on 17"
    Express-34 (only on 17")
The Questions
  From new Maccast Member Rick
  1.) When you, Adam, buy your MacBook Pro, do you upgrade them or buy as is?
  2.) Is the $250 upgrade to go from the 2.2GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 to the 2.3GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 worth it? On Apple's website it states: "You can upgrade the processor in your MacBook Pro to the 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, featuring 8MB L3 cache and Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.40GHz." Is that a Big Deal?
  3.) Is 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM enough or is it better to upgrade to 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM?
  4.) What is better, more space or a fast RPM, 750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 RPM vs. 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 RPM?
  5.) Is the MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Antiglare Widescreen Display better to look at because it is in HD?
  6.) I am thinking about waiting until Lion is on the machine, so I don't have to pay for another upgrade and is it bad to lay a newer OS on top of an older OS? What are you thoughts about awaiting for Lion this summer?
Other models?
  13" White Macbook, not worth it at all
    Spend extra $200 and get the 13" Macbook Pro or the same and the 11" Macbook Air
  13" Macbook Air
    If portability is your primary goal and your don't need all the extras then something to consider.