I WANT to make the switch!!!

B

Bio-Gene

Registered
Hi everyone,

I am new here and I have been using Widows based PC's for the past 10 years or so, from windows 98 to 2000 to XP and when I saw Vista well I thought to myself hmm hold on a second! I am going to university, Vista by then will have about 100 viruses and worms maybe and also it is starting to use different features that I have seen somewhere else! Then I remembered the MAC OS!

So I went to an apple retail shop to see for myself how they work and I was taken away by the speed and power of mac pros. I really want to buy one for university next year hopefully if I get enough scholarship money!

My question though is should I wait until like spring of next year or summer to get it or now? Also since I will be carrying it around a lot I think, should I get the huge 17" wide screen or 15.4" wide screen. I was thinking of the 15.4 since it is still pretty big and I do not need something huge! Just something to do my essays on, use the internet, use some apps like adobe photoshop CS2 and movie viewing!

As for the specs I was thinking of getting the 2.33GHz processor Core 2 Duo, so that would mean choosing between 2 GB or 3GB of RAM! Should I upgrade to 3 GB or save the extra $690 and install an extra 1 GB myself, or just keep the 2 GB as is?As for Hard Drive I wanted to upgrade to the 200GB version!

So all I need help on is which screen size since I want something very portable and easy to carry and for university but from the intel pro line! Also information on the RAM upgrade: yes or no?

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: Is the Apple protection care plan worth my 330 bucks, the reason I ask is that I will need some money fro university as in pocket money and books!
 
Aside from the screen size, there are no major differences between the two models, so I'd go with the smaller one if you can do with less space.

I think 2GB is plenty, personally. However, keep in mind that the machine only has TWO RAM slots, and the standard 2GB config uses both of them. So if you wanted to upgrade to 3GB later, you'd need to buy a 2GB stick and replace one of the 1GB sticks. That might still be cheaper than Apple's RAM, though; I haven't checked the prices lately. Again, 2GB should be more than enough.

There are a few advantages to waiting until next year. First of all, you'll probably get Leopard (the next version of OS X, due early next year) pre-installed, whereas if you bought now you'd need to pay $129 if you want to upgrade. And of course there might be faster machines by then.

You might also want to hold off on buying Photoshop until next year, since CS2 is not yet Intel-native. That means it'll run, but not fast as you'd expect. CS3 will be native.
 
Wow that is pretty big stuff! So by next year do you expect Apple to use AMD based MacBook Pro's or that probably will not happen until a couple years from now? Also if they do release a MacBook Pro with an AMD chip would you recommend it or an Intel Core 2 Duo based one! So far I know that Intel chips are cheaper than AMD and Core Duo has shown to be even faster!

Also when CS3 comes out, what price range are you expecting for it? Will it be any where between 500 to 600 or more?

Oh and before I forget this was one of the reasons why I wanted to wait next year,for the OS Leopard since I can get it pre-installed! Now I do not mind 15.4" screens, and the laptop might even run faster as the graphics card does not have to run a bigger area but aside from that! You recommend waiting until next year! So by then I expect Apple will have better specs, as in cheaper as well! Is that a good assumption to make or?

One major question that I want to ask is regarding school work! I will use my laptop a lot for writing up essays and so I wanted to try out the Microsoft Word on the Mac, do you recommend I get it or go with some other word editor?

Thanks again!

EDIT: Sorry to bother again but I wanted to know if there was any big substantial difference between the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16GHZ processor and the 2.33GHZ processor? Mostly because I like to run multiple apps together, like browser, CS2, and maybe even word!
 
2.16 to 2.33 GHz of the same processor family? Easy to calculate the performance difference. However comparing AMD's mobile processors to intel's is a little more difficult. But the main thing here is that intel currently quite _clearly_ has the lead in mobile CPUs. I'm sure Apple will reconsider using AMD should they come up with something that can clearly beat intel. I don't see anything like that on the horizon, though.

Using multiple applications (web browser, e-mail, Word, CS2) at the same time is not a problem of the processor, rather that's about RAM. MS Word and Adobe's CS2 apps will run in Rosetta emulation for now, which means they need a little more RAM. I'm using those apps, at the same time, with my 2 GB MacBook, and they basically run just fine.

Of course you can _always_ bring a computer to its knees by giving Photoshop a 800 MB file to choke on while applying a vast filterset on a giant EPS in Illustrator all the while reformatting a 500 pages document in Word. ;)
 
and rendering video in After effects. i swear, yesterday, it was taking 2 minutes for each second of render. an hour and a half to render 45 seconds....
 
I haven't followed Adobe's history of upgrade prices, so I really can't say. I assume CS3 will cost around the same as the current version.

Fryke is exactly right about the processors. I don't think Apple would use AMD's chips unless they were very clearly superior to Intel's. And at that point, they'd probably ditch Intel entirely (at least for certain product lines). So I don't think you'll ever really need to choose, because Apple keeps their lineup simple.

Personally, I think the 2.16GHz model is just fine. When you configure it to have 2GB of RAM, it's still over $300 cheaper than the 2.33GHz model. The biggest difference, IMO, is not the processor speed, but the video card. The low-end model only has 128MB of VRAM, whereas the others have 256. Whether this matters to you, I have no idea. You certainly don't need 256MB for everyday tasks.

There's a recent discussion on word processors at http://macosx.com/forums/mac-os-x-system-mac-software/285307-macbook-wheres-word-processor.html . Personally, I use only free programs. My Mac is Microsoft-free!
 
As a Switcher... I would tell you to go for what you need. The Dual Core 2, processor is extrememly fast and 64 bit... In English this means that when Leopard comes out and say Photoshop CS3... Comes out... If they write the code for 64 bit like most programs will be... because Windows Vista is a transition operating system... (32/64bit capable...) You will see speed improvements on those programs.

Maxing out the memory on any Mac computer is recommend because it enchanes the speed and quality of the product...

If your going to do alot of graphics design, Web design, Movie Making, I recommend Maxing out the Video memory...

Just have fun and enjoy it... Also remember you can Use BootCamp, to install Windows XP... So its the best of Both Worlds... Thats Why I got an IMAC... :)
 
I went for the 2.33 as i wanted the better graphics card, and i went for 2gb of ram as its 2x1gb boards and the premium for 2gb boards is huge. I remember i could have got a 1gb board for my old g4 but its price was the same as the whole machine. Prices for the max ram size are always high, so I'd get 2gb then p[grade to 3gb when the prices drop.

Also, the 15.4" s fine, the 17" isn't really portable, its a desktop you can move if you have to :) With the wide format you can fit a lot on the 15.4" screen.

In terms of text editors, I actually don't use word on Mac any more, its ok but slow somehow. I use a very simple editor on the mac then I also run windows on the Machine via parallels and have Office 2003 on that. That said I do this as I really need Outlook in order to interact with my company's email/calendar system.
 
ITs the easiest thing ever. After using PC's since the early 90's with a 286 28mhz Packard bell with DOS and first edition of PREFACE....to now with WIN XP... switch last year to the basic MAC MINI...GREATEST THING I EVER DID! Id never touch another PC except for at work...military still doenst know the good in APPLE.

Goto a store and try one out...they are fun and soo easy to use. Plus now they run windows too for those few...VERY few programs that are just PC.

JUST DO IT!! hehe
 
Ok so what I really want to do mostly on my mac when i get one is intense cs2 web design graphics and internet along with school work. I will probably wait until next year to get the leopard os as well and anything else i need like cs3. As for a text editor i will see what to use.

So since i will be using it a lot for graphics i am guessing I should get the 2.33 GHz chip since it comes with the 256MB video card. Unless the 128MB video card can handle than I would get it. So which graphics card is better for web design and cs2 or cs3 graphics and animations.
 
256 is faster, but you could probably get by with the (still very powerful) 128MB one. It depends on how much you want to budget.

You could play around with the demos at the Apple store to see what works best, but those will be running Adobe apps under Rosetta, if installed.
 
eric2006 said:
256 is faster, but you could probably get by with the (still very powerful) 128MB one. It depends on how much you want to budget.

You could play around with the demos at the Apple store to see what works best, but those will be running Adobe apps under Rosetta, if installed.
Click to expand...

They would allow me to do something like that! If so then I might just do that! Well the type of graphics that I want to do is sort of like avatars, signatures, and web designing; as in templates or themes for websites. Also I might use adobe image ready to give some animation from time to time! So based on this info do you recommend 256 or 128?
 
AFAIK, most graphics programs do all their work on the CPU anyway, so a more powerful video card won't make any difference. The exceptions are programs that make use of OS X's Core Image and Core Video APIs, such as Final Cut Pro and iMovie.

Of course, this might change with CS3. It'd seem like a waste of Adobe DIDN'T tap into the power of available graphics cards.

In any case, a 128MB card will certainly not cripple you. I do a fair amount of Photoshop work on my G4 Mac Mini, with a 32 MB ATI card. It's a bit painful doing a radial blur on a megapixel image, but again, I think that's all the CPU anyway.
 
Yes, the graphics card difference doesn't matter to Adobe CS 2 (or CS 3 quite probably) at all. 8 MB VRAM would probably be enough to drive the display and to work with CS 2. ;) ... All you need 256 MB VRAM for is _games_, really. This _really_ is money you should throw at the RAM part of the equation. Or towards a good external FireWire harddrive as a backup solution. You _want_ a backup.
 
Ok thanks a lot guys, I guess then I will go with the lower or base end MacBook Pro, and just upgrade RAM to 2GB; seeing as 3GB is way too expensive for me and maybe upgrade HDD to 200GB! The base is 120GB! Personally from your views do you think that the 120GB HDD is enough or should I upgrade to a 160 or 200GB HDD? I believe I will store mostly school work and graphics on it, and maybe from time to time videos but not that many!

EDIT:
Fryke, you mentioned investing money into a good external FireWire harddrive as a backup solution? What would you say is a good solution or size and brand and should I then in this case keep the standard 120GB HDD and just get an upgrade to RAM and also invest a bit into this backup?
 
It really depends on how you use it, but if I'm not careful, I can easily fill up a 160 GB drive (though I currently use a 60 GB drive with few problems..). Eventually, you'll probably use whatever space you put in there. Of course, all that space is useless without backup. More RAM will make your system faster, and if that's you chief priority, go for it.
 
You'll use whatever space you're given. Honestly, you could work with a 20 gigabyte hard drive just as well as a 500 gigabyte one. It's not going to kill you not having 40 or 80 extra gigs, especially if you have a backup -which is in reality inexorably worth having-.

I currently use a 40GB internal and an 80GB external for backup and large files like my iTunes library. It's making me a tad anxious, but I've still got 15GB left on my internal and 30 on the external.

I have about 24 movies on iTunes, all DVD quality, plus all my graphics and images from the past 4 months. 120GB plus an external will be fine.
 
Ok so I will go with the 120GB HDD, and yes I do agree that what ever space you have you can work with it. Currently I am working on a 60GB HDD on my PC and when ever it is full I try to delete files or clean up as much as I can!

But I guess Mac is better at the back-up stuff! Anyways what I wanted to know was which external Hard Drives are really good to buy with a new MBP? I have never bought one so any help or tips would be nice. I was thinking maybe something that I can carry with me, such as one of those 2.5" that are thin! But then not sure, if you could give me your opinion and expertise please. Thanks!

EDIT:
I have heard people use their ipod's (if it big enough space) as an external hard drive or backup sometimes. Is this true and is it recommended or not?
 
I wouldn't use an ipod for this, its not such a durable drive as the full size ones. I like the Lacie d2 triple interface drives, they have USB2, Firewire and Firewire800 (for crazy transfer speeds). Just don't get the Lacie Porche drives. I have an 80, 250 and 300gb lacie d2 and they've been great.
 
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