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10.6 is treating me fine, but my hardware is not doing well. :( The wireless card is getting worse, it now shuts off even when its not hot. Forgive some overuse of emoticons, but ... :( :( :( ;_;
So, I spent this morning looking at my options. I could get a wireless usb adapter for about $40, that would allow me to limp along for awhile longer.
If I went with a new laptop, I'd want to stay with a 17" screen. Expensive, but extremely useful. I'm always irritated when I have to switch to use the 15" screen on my work laptop. ( I usually have it hooked up to an external lcd, so this is not a day-to-day problem. )
Given the choice between the Intel Core i5 and i7, definitely the i5. Sounds like i7 has all the problem my current Core Duo has. :( :( :( If I went refurb I could get a Core 2 Duo for slightly less, but I think the i5 is worth it.
I'd want to go ahead and max out the mem to 8GB. It looks like Apple's prices for their mem is, for once, reasonable.
For harddrives, while I would like a solid-state drive, Apple's offerings don't have a good rep for performance. I would want an IBM X25-M. Looks like a 160GB drive is available for ~$400, 80GB for ~$200. For installation, I could:
- install it in place of the standard disk, keep that as a spare
- install is as the system disk, and install the standard disk in the optical bay, like Eric Cheng has done
- get two, and do a striped array, as Eric Cheng has also done. haha, ok, that's way too expensive. But how awesome!
I've had this laptop for five years, I think. What do you think folks, repair or replace?
So, I spent this morning looking at my options. I could get a wireless usb adapter for about $40, that would allow me to limp along for awhile longer.
If I went with a new laptop, I'd want to stay with a 17" screen. Expensive, but extremely useful. I'm always irritated when I have to switch to use the 15" screen on my work laptop. ( I usually have it hooked up to an external lcd, so this is not a day-to-day problem. )
Given the choice between the Intel Core i5 and i7, definitely the i5. Sounds like i7 has all the problem my current Core Duo has. :( :( :( If I went refurb I could get a Core 2 Duo for slightly less, but I think the i5 is worth it.
I'd want to go ahead and max out the mem to 8GB. It looks like Apple's prices for their mem is, for once, reasonable.
For harddrives, while I would like a solid-state drive, Apple's offerings don't have a good rep for performance. I would want an IBM X25-M. Looks like a 160GB drive is available for ~$400, 80GB for ~$200. For installation, I could:
- install it in place of the standard disk, keep that as a spare
- install is as the system disk, and install the standard disk in the optical bay, like Eric Cheng has done
- get two, and do a striped array, as Eric Cheng has also done. haha, ok, that's way too expensive. But how awesome!
I've had this laptop for five years, I think. What do you think folks, repair or replace?
