New laptop!, Squee! Options

[mipadi]

So as some of you may know, I work as a systems programmer/IT manager for an engineering lab at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I came into work today and lamented to one of the other programmers that I had to do all my development work on my aging iBook, and how I was thinking about getting a new MacBook. So she asked the director of the lab if he'd buy me a laptop, and he said sure, I just had to pick what I wanted and have the purchasing agent sign off on it.

I asked how much money I had to spend, and the other programmer told me I had to spend at least $3000. "Wait, at least? Don't you mean, up to $3000?" I asked. She said no; because of the way purchasing works, I had to spend at least $3000 on my order in order to have it qualify as an "equipment purchase", which avoids some sort of fee imposed by RPI on its labs' purchases.

So I bought a new 13-inch MacBook Pro. It's a pretty decent machine:

• 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 8GB of RAM (Yes, EIGHT f*ckING GIGABYTES. Anything less would've made my order drop below $3000, so I sprang for the $900 RAM upgrade.)
• 256MB nVidia 9400M gfx card
• 500GB hard drive
• dual-layer DVD burner
• iWork '09
• Final Cut Express (since I do some video work in the lab)
• VGA adapter
• DVI adapter
• Accessories:
  • Apple Remote
  • 1TB external hard drive (for Time Machine backups)
  • VMWare Fusion (since I write some software targeting Windows, unfortunately)

Needless to say, I'm pleased as punch.

[Uronacid]

I'm happy for you. It sounds like a complete waste of money, but I have a feeling that was the point. LOL

[mipadi]

I'm happy for you. It sounds like a complete waste of money, but I have a feeling that was the point. LOL

Well, it is true that I need it for work, and my aging iBook isn't quite cutting the cake anymore. Most of the stuff can be justified. Final Cut Express is a bit of a stretch, but I do edit videos for the lab (they take videos of all the experiments they run). The 500GB hard drive (and 1TB backup drive) isn't necessary, either, but storage space (and a good backup solution) is never an "unnecessary" thing.

The only item that's really gratuitous is the 8GB of RAM. I definitely could've gotten by just fine with 4GB.

[Uronacid]

Well, it is true that I need it for work, and my aging iBook isn't quite cutting the cake anymore. Most of the stuff can be justified. Final Cut Express is a bit of a stretch, but I do edit videos for the lab (they take videos of all the experiments they run). The 500GB hard drive (and 1TB backup drive) isn't necessary, either, but storage space (and a good backup solution) is never an "unnecessary" thing.

The only item that's really gratuitous is the 8GB of RAM. I definitely could've gotten by just fine with 4GB.

Well yeah, the 8GB is the only thing I can see as well. was there an upgrade for a GeForce 9600?

My god, you got this for free!!! Awesome! :D

[mipadi]

Well yeah, the 8GB is the only thing I can see as well. was there an upgrade for a GeForce 9600?

The higher-end 15-inch MacBook Pros, and the 17-inch models, feature a 9600M for high-end graphics (and the 9400M for lower-powered graphics), but it's not an option on the 13-inch models.

My god, you got this for free!!! Awesome! :D

Haha, yeah. I wouln't've dropped nearly that much of my own cash on a laptop.

[Uronacid]

The higher-end 15-inch MacBook Pros, and the 17-inch models, feature a 9600M for high-end graphics (and the 9400M for lower-powered graphics), but it's not an option on the 13-inch models.
Haha, yeah. I wouln't've dropped nearly that much of my own cash on a laptop.

Cool you got a free laptop. Bummer you couldn't get a 9600, but weh... the free cancels the bumber out!!! :D