[misleadingcolours]

I'm going to be buying my first nice laptop, ever. My current machine is a Toshiba Tecra 9000 from 2003, with a whopping 30 gigabyte hard drive. And this beast is definitely on her way out. I lived with someone who had an iMac and I loved the Macintosh OS X and the reliability and smoothness of everything "software" about Mac. The little widgets and gidgets help too. :P

Here is where I need techie advice. I've read countless reviews on the new Aluminum MacBook and the good seems to outweigh the bad but I'm no expert. Here are the specs for the model I'm looking at:

2.0GHz MacBook

* 160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive4
* Optional 250GB or 320GB 5400-rpm hard drive or 128GB solid-state drive4
* 2.0GHz or 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
* 1066MHz frontside bus
* 2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB
Graphics and video support
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3
* Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
* iSight Built-in iSight camera
* Mini DisplayPort


From the research I've done I see I can get a PC of almost double the memory and double the hard drive space for the same cost, but I know bigger numbers dont always mean a more sound machine. What do you think is the better decision? I wont be do anything to intensive, playing with pictures, videos, maybe playing some video games, lots of music and web browsing, and using it for school. How much would it cost me to buy 4gigs of memory later? Is it easy enough to install?

I'm still on the fence, but my plan was to purchase the base model MacBook at $1299 (plus a student discount) and later invest in an Apple Time Capsule with the 500gig wireless hard drive and WiFi connector for $299. (Bringing it to the same cost as the upgraded MacBook which only offers an additional 90 gigs of space and 1 gig of memory)

Should I get the base model MacBook? Is it worth upgrading to the $1599.00 model? Should I steer clear of MacBooks altogether and go with a ________ PC? Is Apple going to release a superior machine right after I purchase this? Any information you can provide me with so that I make the right decision would be greatly appreciated. I've never spent this much on a computer, and I wanna make sure its the right one!

Thanks!

Peace,
mc

[The Urban Spaceman]

you don't need as much RAM in a Mac as you do in a PC because OSX is not a resource hog like Windows is.

my last Mac ran and ran and ran for 7 years when finally the hard drive failed. i coulda replaced the HD and kept using it for another 7 years but i figured it was time to upgrade.

you can't go wrong with the Mac... it is worth every penny. just think of the money you will save not having to buy Anti-virus software and subscriptions every year!

just think of the TIME you will save not having your computer crash all the time (I never had a crash in 7 years!), not having to reinstall your OS annually, not having to defrag your HD every couple weeks...

there are so many reasons why you SHOULD get the mac that I can't even list em all.

buy the Mac book - you will not regret it.

I am running an iMac with 2 gigs of RAM and a 320GB HDD, it is a 2.6GHz Dual Core Intel Mac. it freaking ROCKS baby! and 2GB of RAM in a Mac is like 4GB in a PC....

good luck with whatever you end up getting and if ya need to talk Mac before ya buy - I'm right here for ya!

Originally Posted by misleadingcolours

I'm going to be buying my first nice laptop, ever. My current machine is a Toshiba Tecra 9000 from 2003, with a whopping 30 gigabyte hard drive. And this beast is definitely on her way out. I lived with someone who had an iMac and I loved the Macintosh OS X and the reliability and smoothness of everything "software" about Mac. The little widgets and gidgets help too. :P

Here is where I need techie advice. I've read countless reviews on the new Aluminum MacBook and the good seems to outweigh the bad but I'm no expert. Here are the specs for the model I'm looking at:

2.0GHz MacBook

* 160GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive4
* Optional 250GB or 320GB 5400-rpm hard drive or 128GB solid-state drive4
* 2.0GHz or 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
* 1066MHz frontside bus
* 2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB
Graphics and video support
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3
* Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
* iSight Built-in iSight camera
* Mini DisplayPort


From the research I've done I see I can get a PC of almost double the memory and double the hard drive space for the same cost, but I know bigger numbers dont always mean a more sound machine. What do you think is the better decision? I wont be do anything to intensive, playing with pictures, videos, maybe playing some video games, lots of music and web browsing, and using it for school. How much would it cost me to buy 4gigs of memory later? Is it easy enough to install?

I'm still on the fence, but my plan was to purchase the base model MacBook at $1299 (plus a student discount) and later invest in an Apple Time Capsule with the 500gig wireless hard drive and WiFi connector for $299. (Bringing it to the same cost as the upgraded MacBook which only offers an additional 90 gigs of space and 1 gig of memory)

Should I get the base model MacBook? Is it worth upgrading to the $1599.00 model? Should I steer clear of MacBooks altogether and go with a ________ PC? Is Apple going to release a superior machine right after I purchase this? Any information you can provide me with so that I make the right decision would be greatly appreciated. I've never spent this much on a computer, and I wanna make sure its the right one!

Thanks!

Peace,
mc

[OGUNIT]

go with mac . im going with mac next , if u wanna do cool stuff . video/pics music , surf the net . the mac blows pc away .always go with the better model u can afford .

[The Urban Spaceman]

Originally Posted by OGUNIT

go with mac . im going with mac next , if u wanna do cool stuff . video/pics music , surf the net . the mac blows pc away .always go with the better model u can afford .

this is good advice no matter WHAT kinda computer you are buying. get the biggest Hard Drive and the most RAM you can afford.... that way you fend off obsolescence much longer. but my 7 year old mac was running the latest version of OSX with no problem. so Macs don't get all that obsolete really!

[sb420fan]

Originally Posted by The Urban Spaceman

you don't need as much RAM in a Mac as you do in a PC because OSX is not a resource hog like Windows is.

Oh Spacey, must you rub it in?

A friend of mine was telling me how "Vista Sucks up resources" and I told him he could have just stopped talking after he said "Vista sucks". Nothing more needs to be said! My next computer will fo sho be a MAC!

[The Urban Spaceman]

Originally Posted by sb420fan

Oh Spacey, must you rub it in?

A friend of mine was telling me how "Vista Sucks up resources" and I told him he could have just stopped talking after he said "Vista sucks". Nothing more needs to be said! My next computer will fo sho be a MAC!

sorry sb420fan, wasn't really trying to rub it in - just trying to explain why 2gigs of RAM on a Mac is plenty whereas on a Vista PC (or even an XP PC) it isn't gonna run so well with only 2GB.

i hear you need 2GB just to run Vista! WOW!
I have heard that Windows 7 is not supposed to be as demanding Hardware wise... but i think i'll stick to my Mac!

[ironchefblue]

I think the Macbook is overpriced for what you get, there's no way in hell I'd buy one. Check out Maximum PC's comparisons in their August 2008 issue here that coveres 3 or 4 different categories from the Air to Pro.

Are you planning on dual booting Vista? What kind of games do you think you'll play? The Macbook will have shitty gaming performance for higher-end games. On the memory issue yes, you can upgrade later but I'd highly suggest biting the bullet and getting 4gb when you buy it. 1gb is just not enough these days.

I like HP/Compaq laptops personally. Configured as close as I can get them, the cheapest Macbook is almost $400 more than an HP dv4t w/ 2.1ghz processor, 4gb ram and 250gb disk.

[sb420fan]

Originally Posted by The Urban Spaceman

sorry sb420fan, wasn't really trying to rub it in

JK Sacey! Just practicing my Vista Victim persona!

[The Urban Spaceman]

Originally Posted by sb420fan

JK Spacey! Just practicing my Vista Victim persona!

I figured as much... and I love the term..."Vista Victim"!

[sb420fan]

Originally Posted by The Urban Spaceman

I figured as much... and I love the term..."Vista Victim"!

I watched "V for Vendetta" the other day & was inspired to illiterate with the letter V!:slaugh:

[The Urban Spaceman]

Originally Posted by ironchefblue

I think the Macbook is overpriced for what you get, there's no way in hell I'd buy one. Check out Maximum PC's comparisons in their August 2008 issue here that coveres 3 or 4 different categories from the Air to Pro.

Are you planning on dual booting Vista? What kind of games do you think you'll play? The Macbook will have shitty gaming performance for higher-end games. On the memory issue yes, you can upgrade later but I'd highly suggest biting the bullet and getting 4gb when you buy it. 1gb is just not enough these days.

I like HP/Compaq laptops personally. Configured as close as I can get them, the cheapest Macbook is almost $400 more than an HP dv4t w/ 2.1ghz processor, 4gb ram and 250gb disk.

Dual booting Vista is a waste of time. XP would be the better choice. also, it is configured with 2GB of RAM not 1. he really won't need much more RAM than that unless he IS going to edit video in Final Cut Pro or do something similar.

Also - while I agree that the Mac is not the best choice for gamers but most people who buy Macs use them for things other than gaming. Video editing, music, etc. nobody really buys a Mac to play games.

they buy it cuz they want a dependable machine!

so do ya think that HP/Compaq will still be running 7 years from now? My iMac will be...

[ironchefblue]

Yes, why wouldn't it be running 7 years from now? A better question is why would you be using the same laptop for 7 years? Nothing is future-proof, not even overpriced shiny Apple crap.

I have a toshiba laptop that's over 10 years old and it runs (linux). I have desktops that old that I built that run fine. There's nothing special in an Apple computer that has some magical infinite meantime to failure. Check out this CNET article. Now they're just shiny PCs running OSX, it's using the same cpus, gpus, memory and disks that other computers do.

He said he wants to play some games, so I asked what kind of games. If they're not uber-resource intensive they'll run fine on on a Macbook. If you're trying to play Crysis it'll cry, box itself and try to run home to Jobs.

Don't take this personally but your notions of PC reliability are a little outdated. If you're advocating XP, then why reinstall every year? Defrag is a myth nowadays and there's more than enough free spyware/malware programs available that anyone who pays for a program is wasting their money. No one writes malicious programs for OSX because of it's pitiful market share, not because it's actually a secure platform. Think of all the money you'll save not paying $500 more for the same hardware!

Go read the Maximum PC article. It's not a slam dunk "Apple sucks" slanted view. Depending on what you're going to do, they recommend a Mac or a PC. Personally I have no use for a Mac. Time to go listen to my Zune , Apple hater out!

[The Urban Spaceman]

ya see, that's the beauty of having choices - there's something for everyone.

and i agree - depending on what you have to do should decide ya on whether to get a Mac or a PC...

now I am gonna go listen to my iPod Touch and laugh at everyone who bought a Zune.

i guess i shoulda asked if that PC will be running MODERN SOFTWARE in 7 years not if it'll still be running!

and i'm not really advocating XP - I'm just saying it's more stable than Vista (can you say DRIVERS ARE LACKING???)

Originally Posted by ironchefblue

Yes, why wouldn't it be running 7 years from now? A better question is why would you be using the same laptop for 7 years? Nothing is future-proof, not even overpriced shiny Apple crap.

I have a toshiba laptop that's over 10 years old and it runs (linux). I have desktops that old that I built that run fine. There's nothing special in an Apple computer that has some magical infinite meantime to failure. Check out this CNET article. Now they're just shiny PCs running OSX, it's using the same cpus, gpus, memory and disks that other computers do.

He said he wants to play some games, so I asked what kind of games. If they're not uber-resource intensive they'll run fine on on a Macbook. If you're trying to play Crysis it'll cry, box itself and try to run home to Jobs.

Don't take this personally but your notions of PC reliability are a little outdated. If you're advocating XP, then why reinstall every year? Defrag is a myth nowadays and there's more than enough free spyware/malware programs available that anyone who pays for a program is wasting their money. No one writes malicious programs for OSX because of it's pitiful market share, not because it's actually a secure platform. Think of all the money you'll save not paying $500 more for the same hardware!

Go read the Maximum PC article. It's not a slam dunk "Apple sucks" slanted view. Depending on what you're going to do, they recommend a Mac or a PC. Personally I have no use for a Mac. Time to go listen to my Zune , Apple hater out!

[craka]

i wish i had a mac.,,i have a gateway....it works...like a 89 honda works. its not the shit.
im a dj i use the computer for a program called serato scratch live...it makes it so i can play digital Adio files from my computer through my turntables with records.

point is id rather have a mac. my friends have mac's and they are the shit.

[ironchefblue]

No, I wouldn't say drivers are lacking, at all. Maybe for 10 year old peripherals from companies that don't exist, sure. When Vista first released, yes. Now, no, I just really disagree and I think there's good driver support even for 64bit. Vista is stable, don't believe the anti-hype. Of my 3 desktops running Vista I haven't had to reboot due to a failure basically ever. I lose power at my house more often, and at work occasionally reboot for security updates but never due to a system failure. I had to reboot one occasionally when Vista was first release due to crappy 64bit wireless NIC drivers but haven't had a problem in almost 2 years (yes I was running pre-release code) and that's the fault of the device manufacturer.

As far as modern software, I'd love to see a 7 year old Mac choke on a modern version of Photoshop and some multi-gigabyte file manipulation. Any machine PC or Crapple that old will fail, it just can't crunch the numbers fast enough to be useable. On the flip side, any machine that old will run a browser and email client just fine.

I hate touch only interfaces, maybe I'm just old fashioned. I'd much rather have a 160gb ipod classic than a measly 16gb touch. If I want to watch video on the go I'll use my PSP which is way better looking. I'll take my Samsung Saga over an iPhone any day. I buy functionality and value over looks, but that's just me.

To each their own, vive la difference!

[The Urban Spaceman]

Originally Posted by ironchefblue

To each their own, vive la difference!

that's what I'M talking about!

[misleadingcolours]

Thanks for all the input guys! I really appreciate it. Spacey you've definitely been the fiftieth helping hand in my decision to go Mac. I cant wait to purchase one after I get my tax refund back! (Only a matter of days now!)

I don't plan on playing anything too crazy, or very any games at all. That is a lowest priority I would say. It'd be nice if I could get Diablo3 to run in lower settings, but it really isn't a dealbreaker if I cant. I appreciate all the input! ironchef I wish that article was more recent and on the new Mac Book as the old "White" was much less powerful than the new aluminum chassis one which I've heard referred to as basically the old Pro. Any input?

Peace,
mc

[weedtracker]

i have a black 13" macbook and a 17" powerbook.

the macbook is my "work" computer, i do most weedtracker stuff on it. its a nice computer, works good, its light to carry but its got a few draw backs that sometimes bother me. make sure you max out the ram, its only 2gb but youll need it if you want to perform at its best.

i wish it had the lighted keyboard, its hard to use it in the dark. i wish it had more than 2 usb ports and i wish all the ports went jammed so close together. its hard to get all the things connected if something has a wider than normal plug. and the 13" screen is kind of small if you plan on using it for long peroids of time.

overall i wouldnt trade it in for anything. but i think i wish i had gone with the 15" macbook pro instead.

the 17" powerbook is my workhorse machine, i do all the graphics and other stuff of that one because of its nice big bight screen. but its too large to carry around and its kind of heavy because its a little older (its not a pro intel but the g4 powerpc).

i really want a desktop mac with dual monitors :)

[yoricksdeath]

Without a doubt a macbook is worth the price tag. Especially if like me you do a lot of web design/video editing. Plus it was easy enough for my wife to jump on the wagon, and now she says its easier then a windows machine.

[shecky7]

I bought my quad g5 in 2000-something on craigslist for 2k.So long ago I can't even remember. Paid itself back so many times over she is my special lady who slurps the gravy and allllways comes back for more. I like the workflow on a mac, its easier for me.
I have to flip my brain when using pc's but it ain't thaaat bad. That being said, for just browsing the interweb i just bought a toshiba dual core something or another for 400 bux. Throwaway money. I'd never buy a mac laptop. Too metro for me. I lost the turtleneck after that lame school photo session back in 72.

[omik]

Definitely pickup a macbook

[OGUNIT]

Originally Posted by weedtracker

i have a black 13" macbook and a 17" powerbook.

the macbook is my "work" computer, i do most weedtracker stuff on it. its a nice computer, works good, its light to carry but its got a few draw backs that sometimes bother me. make sure you max out the ram, its only 2gb but youll need it if you want to perform at its best.

i wish it had the lighted keyboard, its hard to use it in the dark. i wish it had more than 2 usb ports and i wish all the ports went jammed so close together. its hard to get all the things connected if something has a wider than normal plug. and the 13" screen is kind of small if you plan on using it for long peroids of time.

overall i wouldnt trade it in for anything. but i think i wish i had gone with the 15" macbook pro instead.

the 17" powerbook is my workhorse machine, i do all the graphics and other stuff of that one because of its nice big bight screen. but its too large to carry around and its kind of heavy because its a little older (its not a pro intel but the g4 powerpc).

i really want a desktop mac with dual monitors :)

yup . desktops are my preference , I can work on them myself and change out simple plug and play . and way more room for plugs .btw shecky that g5 is great , i got one for free that needs some work , if wonder its worth it ?

[stealthviper]

This whole thing is really simple, and really does not have much to do with the amount of ram, etc...

The real question is: What are you going to do with it?

1) PCs are superior to Macs for business and word-processing apps

2) For anything to do with music and/or graphics, Mac takes it hands down. There is a reason that in the world of digital recording, Mac owns over 90% of the market (part of the reason for this is that the two primary recording systems-ProTools and Logic-are OS based systems.)

3) If you plan to do any multitrack recording, don't use a laptop, unless you have a LARGE external drive. Also, don't use the same computer for normal apps (for both Mac and PC), since multitracking and heavy graphics work creates more frags than you can believe. I know this from personal experience, having crashed a couple of computers so thoroughly that the hard drives could not even be reformatted. Partitioning the drive does not work, but isolating the music app to its own external drive (Glyph hot-swap, for example) does. When you use removable drives (hot-swap), you also have your backup in your hands.....

I myself am not a fan of Vista. I much prefer XP pro, to the point that when I bought this laptop (Fujitsu) last year, I tried Vista on one of the store's laptops, and opted to have XP Pro installed. I realize there has been some improvement over the past year, but I'm still Vista-shy.

So for myself, I use Apple stuff when I am working in the studio, and my pc/laptop for everything else. If I had a lot of money, I would have the largest desktop that Apple makes. They even make a system that uses a rackmount G4(XServer/Raid system, up to 16 terrabytes of memory) as an ethernet router. It's in use by a number of film and tv composers, as well as many larger recording studios.

In conclusion, it comes down to the right tool for the job at hand. Like many of us, both systems have their strengths and weaknesses, and it's like, whatever floats your boat.

[captkirk1a]

StealthViper is exactly right! You will hear an awful lot of opinions, but most would agree with S.Viper. A good friend of mine does a ton of commercial work- uses a Mac for all his photo and video productions and at home he prefers his PC based computers. You get more horsepower for your dollar when you buy PC components. In my household, there are 5 PC based computers and one Mac PowerBook.

P.S. Microsoft just released Service Pack #1 for Vista, that addresses many issues- and according to current issue of Maximum PC makes huge strides in user satisfaction. I have used both Win XP Pro and Vista, and also prefer XP.

[stanley]

Dont get too caught up in the hardware question... until you know exactly what you NEED the computer to do...

Mac vs PC is a debate you dont care about, you want a tool that works, so make that your first focus

Make sure you buy a system that does the tasks you need to get done. All the bells and whistles in the world dont mean a thing if you dont use them. Be sure to focus on what you really NEED to use the computer for... its a lot of money...

Look at the software/file type interface with school/work/friends to insure you dont run into an unforseen issue there....

In general, you cannot go wrong by upgrading hardware, although I am pretty certain that right now I would avoid the solid state hard drives unless you have a specific need for one.... I think the idea of a external hard drive for backup/archival storage is a very good one....

Once you know for sure what you need it to do, THEN you can factor in things like ease of use and reliability....

If you have a clue what kind of work you are going to end up doing after school, you might think about what they are most likely to use, some industries are PC "based", some are Mac "based" some dont care a bit....

I have used both types of laptops... I am a home PC user, but I liked the Mac laptop a lot.