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Let me start by saying I use Macs, which shortens my set of options. I write web server-side code. This means I run a web server, db and multiple browsers. I
by sanj 19y ago
Let me start by saying I use Macs, which shortens my set of options.
I write web server-side code. This means I run a web server, db and multiple browsers. I don't use an IDE. I need raw processing horsepower.
Paying for incremental processor speed is a waste of money. Get the slowest current generation processor you can. Paying for an extra 10-20 percent is a mistake.
RAM is king as modern OSs use it efficiently. Mysql can suck its datafiles into memory. Never forget RAM is 1000000x faster than disk.
Max it. 2G is a minimum. 4G is good. A soon as I can cram 16G into a machine, I'll try.
I could care less about the graphics subsystem. If I could buy a low power version of last years card, I would.
A fast drive is nice, but the money is better spent on more RAM. I don't think 5400 vs 7200 is enough. And you lose battery life.
Many of my criteria are designed to maximize my battery life. I love working untethered.
If I could, I would buy a machine that could use multiple batteries, like the old wallstreets and pismos. As is, a removeable battery is critical for long flights. Sorry Air.
The air travel point may be moot becauae the TSA does't want us carrying extra batteries.
Bus speed matters when it impacts RAM usage. I don't understand this well enough and so cargo cult myself into buying the Pro machines. If someone can convince me otherwise, I would love to save $1000 and get a consumer MacBook.
It had to be able to plug into a gigantic monitor when I am deskbound.
I used to want a PC card slot. I would jam in big memory card and use that as a external drive for DB files. Voila! Cheap SSD!
I with removeable media drives were themselves removeable. I use writeable DVDs for long term backups, but do not need the drive 95 percent of the time.
Finally, the most pixels I can carry and fit on my lap. I am a little guy. The 17" is too big to carry or fit. The weight of just over 5 lbs is what I have gotten used to and can tolerate.
- Zev 19y agoI dont have any problems when flying and carrying an extra battery for my Macbook Pro. I keep it in my bag, the TSA hasn't said anything yet. Though if i carried 12 extra batteries, they might say something. The 5400rpm vs 7200rpm makes a difference. Not as much as working in the ram instead of swapping, but there is a difference in performance. Whether you need it or not is another story. Though maxing your ram out is always a good thing to do regardless. There isn't much of a difference from 2.4 to 2.5 or 2.6GHz, though there is a huge one from 2.1GHz (Base Macbook) to 2.6GHz (BTO Macbook Pro). That makes a huge difference. Even 'only' 10% more is huge when it comes down to rendering or compiling things. The less time you have to sit around waiting for it to render/load/compile, the more time you can spend doing work or the quicker you can get your work done.
- sanj 19y agoIs it the jump from 2.1GHz to 2.6GHz that makes the difference? Or something else?
- Zev 19y agoKinda. They're both Santa Rosa platform with an 800MHz bus and take the same speed ram (667MHz DDR2 SODIMM). They've got different amounts of L2 cache though, 3MB on the Macbook vs 4MB on the Macbook Pro which helps a bit.
- dataangel 19y agoOne reason to not get the slowest current generation processor is that not all Core 2 Duo's support the new virtualization instructions. If you're a cross platform developer using virtual machines a lot, the extra 10-20% cost for a faster Core 2 might be worth it.
- ericb 19y agoI 90% agree, sanj, except I think the 5400 vs. 7200 is a big deal--that's a 33% improvement on most IO bound activities for cheap money. I generally plug the laptop in, so battery life isn't much of an issue. Also, my current memory usage on my MBP never exceeds 1.4 gigs, so I couldn't justify the extra ram--it would sit, idle. I mainly develop in rails at the moment and sometimes use netbeans. YMMV.