Given that the $2,499 MacBook Pro already has 4GB of RAM, however, you probably won't need to do anything RAM-related for the foreseeable future. If you opt for the $1,999 model, which comes with 2GB of RAM, you can upgrade to 4GB for $150, which isn't as out of line as Apple's RAM prices have been in the past.

Performance

With a faster front-side bus, better graphics, 6MB of shared Level 2 cache, an updated Core 2 Duo processor and other under-the-hood tweaks, Apple's new MacBook Pro should readily handle almost any task thrown at it. A quick benchmark test using returned an overall score of 123. By way of comparison, last year's top-end 17-in. MacBook Pro with a 2.4-GHz processor scored 118 on the same test, and a 2006 model with a 2.33-GHz Core 2 Duo checked in at 108. In other words, the speed gains are there, but they're not so dramatic that you're likely to see much difference if you're upgrading from a relatively recent MacBook Pro.

Of course, if speed is important to you, you'll want to upgrade the hard drive to one that spins at 7,200 rpm for an extra $50 and move to the optional 2.8-GHz processor, which together will add $300 to the price of the system, making for a total of $2,849. That's a lot of money for bragging rights. Unless you're doing high-end data crunching or video work that can really take advantage of that processor, save your money.

Incidentally, if, for some reason, you want to go with the solid-state drive option, you lose a lot of storage space -- the only SSD available holds 128GB of data -- and it'll add $500 to the system cost. Though solid-state drives have come a long way in the last year or so, you'd be spending more money for less space. That's not a good return on investment.