June 6, 2012 at 4:26 am
All,
Does anyone else do the majority of there SQL work from an Apple?
I am currently using a 2011 MBP 13" i5 2.4 Ghz with a crappy 5,400rpm HDD and 4GB RAM.
I use VirtualBox to host both an Windows 2008 Server R2 with SQL 2012 and a Win 7 machine with SQL 2008 R2.
However, the performance isn't the best so i've been looking at upgrading to the following
OCZ Agility 3 240GB SSD (520mb/s read and 500mb/s write)
16 GB corsair memory
Would this make much difference given I am doing everything from a VM or should I be looking at a new laptop? I quite fancy a DELL Precision.
Cheers.
June 6, 2012 at 6:09 am
I have a HP ProLiant N40L MicroServer at home. It's not exactly top of the range, but for work I want to look at when I'm at home it's pretty much perfect. It cost £269, but at the time HP were doing a £100 cash back so really it was £169. Problem was that it only came with 2GB RAM, so I brought two 4GB sticks to knock it up to 8GB (which is the max for the mobo).
June 6, 2012 at 6:21 am
I thought about a server for at home too, however I tend to do a lot of work/studying whilst out on the road. Don't get much chance at home.
June 6, 2012 at 6:33 am
Microsoft indirectly butters my bread, so to speak, as I'm doing dev/web/sql stuff all in SQL Server and .NET technologies. All my coding efforts at work are on that platform.
As a result, everything i have is Windows OS's; Laptop, home servers, and even my shared hosting space for web sites are all MS operating systems.
Articles and newletters I read are all circling those technologies; that's my happy zone of interests.
I've thrown some time at Linux and Apple OS's before, but there's only so many hours in a day!
Spending time on other systems draws away from effort that makes me a better programmer or SQL clown,
so I knowingly pulled back from anything not MS, not because i'm a linux-hater or apple-hater, but because the learning curve will detract from my efforts to make me a better programmer.
Lowell
June 6, 2012 at 7:03 am
Lowell (6/6/2012)
Microsoft indirectly butters my bread, so to speak, as I'm doing dev/web/sql stuff all in SQL Server and .NET technologies. All my coding efforts at work are on that platform.As a result, everything i have is Windows OS's; Laptop, home servers, and even my shared hosting space for web sites are all MS operating systems.
Articles and newletters I read are all circling those technologies; that's my happy zone of interests.
I've thrown some time at Linux and Apple OS's before, but there's only so many hours in a day!
Spending time on other systems draws away from effort that makes me a better programmer or SQL clown,
so I knowingly pulled back from anything not MS, not because i'm a linux-hater or apple-hater, but because the learning curve will detract from my efforts to make me a better programmer.
Fair enough. I can understand that.
The only reason I went down the Apple route was I wanted a change for at home. The kids use Mac's at school so I thought it would be good for them too. However, I am now hooked. For Office, Photo Editing, Music and General Home use - I can't fault it and dare say I prefer it over Windows.
However, SQL Server is my 'thing' and is what I really enjoy.
June 7, 2012 at 6:08 am
My boss is constantly at me to switch over to Mac. Resisted so far. That's all I can tell you.
As to the rest, get lots of memory & fast disks (SSD, the more expensive, uh, I mean faster, the better, & I realize, you have no choices on that with Mac's, one of the reasons I've resisted) to make VMs hum. That's always the answer.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 7, 2012 at 6:47 am
I would like to get a Mac Air, but I don't have the money for it. I haven't really touched a Mac in a long time, so there would be a steep learning curve for me on how to use that OS before I could even think about installing SQL Server.
June 8, 2012 at 1:03 am
Stupeo (6/6/2012)
However, the performance isn't the best so i've been looking at upgrading to the followingOCZ Agility 3 240GB SSD (520mb/s read and 500mb/s write)
16 GB corsair memory
Would this make much difference given I am doing everything from a VM or should I be looking at a new laptop? I quite fancy a DELL Precision.
I have used a Mac before. MBP with boot camp: it allows you to boot directly into windows, which has much better performance than a VM.
Upgrading your Mac? 😀
With all the money that's going to cost you can probably buy the Dell Precision 😀
Which OS version are you on? Starting from Leopard or Snow Leopard, Boot Camp is included and it's really easy to set up. Give it a try before you spent too much money.
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
June 8, 2012 at 2:01 am
Well, I finally took the plunge and upgraded my RAM from 4GB to 16GB (even though Apple says they only support 8GB :crazy:) and then installed a OCZ Agility 240GB SSD. All I can say is, WOW!
It took me literally 15 minutes to install Windows 7 in a virtual box vm!
Hopefully this laptop should be a keeper and last me until the warranty runs out (2015!).
Matt
June 8, 2012 at 2:03 am
Stupeo (6/8/2012)
Well, I finally took the plunge and upgraded my RAM from 4GB to 16GB (even though Apple says they only support 8GB :crazy:) and then installed a OCZ Agility 240GB SSD. All I can say is, WOW!It took me literally 15 minutes to install Windows 7 in a virtual box vm!
Hopefully this laptop should be a keeper and last me until the warranty runs out (2015!).
Matt
Whoops, maybe I should've replied sooner 🙂
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
June 8, 2012 at 2:04 am
Stupeo (6/8/2012)
Hopefully this laptop should be a keeper and last me until the warranty runs out (2015!).
Be prepared to change your battery after a while 😀
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
June 8, 2012 at 3:03 am
Why's that? Do they have known issues :unsure:?
June 8, 2012 at 3:07 am
Stupeo (6/8/2012)
Why's that? Do they have known issues :unsure:?
I'm not sure about the current generation, but I had issues with mine as did a coworker.
My MBP was about 3.5 years old (so after warranty of course) when the glue holding the two parts of the battery together started to loosen. Result: my laptop became like a wobbly table. Really annoying.
Luckily, you can find relatively cheap mac batteries on Amazon.
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
MCSE Business Intelligence - Microsoft Data Platform MVP
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