I switched over to a 17" MacBook Pro last year from many Windows computers and I'm never going back. I do a lot of PhotoShop, movie editing, creating and listening to music, etc. sure I could do all that on a PC but I can do all that at once on my Mac. However, you don't want the same computer as me, it cost way too much. I think the regular MacBooks are somewhere around $1000.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ZAE @ Aug 14 2008, 05:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I switched over to a 17" MacBook Pro last year from many Windows computers and I'm never going back. I do a lot of PhotoShop, movie editing, creating and listening to music, etc. sure I could do all that on a PC but I can do all that at once on my Mac. However, you don't want the same computer as me, it cost way too much. I think the regular MacBooks are somewhere around $1000.</div> How much did yours cost? Edit: if you don't mind me asking. I'm just curious.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Lavalamp @ Aug 14 2008, 08:54 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ZAE @ Aug 14 2008, 05:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I switched over to a 17" MacBook Pro last year from many Windows computers and I'm never going back. I do a lot of PhotoShop, movie editing, creating and listening to music, etc. sure I could do all that on a PC but I can do all that at once on my Mac. However, you don't want the same computer as me, it cost way too much. I think the regular MacBooks are somewhere around $1000.</div> How much did yours cost? Edit: if you don't mind me asking. I'm just curious. </div> The computer it self was about $4,500 but I bought a whole bunch of other stuff with it (surround sound, BT mouse, external HD) and that was after 2 different discounts. Apple is ridiculously priced but is well worth it.
What's great about Mac book? Can it be bought at $1,000? I cant really break away too far from $1,000.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1211587728253 4 GB RAM, Core 2 Duo Processor at 2.0 GHz, but no n wireless. 250 Harddrive, and a small screensize at 14.1 inches, which is nice. Only 600 bucks. I also recommend googling for coupons. You can save a ton just by doing that.
http://shopper.cnet.com/notebooks/hp-pavil...3128039.html#p5 A little more expensive, but bigger hard drive and much bigger screen. 14" screen is going to be tiny to use a lot.
Small screens are usually preferred for college. Portability and the such. I've used a 14 incher before, and it's fine, even ideal. I doubt he'll even get close to using all 250 GB of his harddrive, and I think we both agree that 70 GB more HD isn't worth 400 more.
So what are the recommended brand names? The Macbooks are too expensive for me. I need something less than $1,000($500-$800 preferably), doesnt overheat like a mother******, wifi enabled preferably, and is 14" or bigger. I look on sites like Best Buy's and the such but I have no knowledge of half the features for laptops. Especially when they throw numbers at me.
A laptop with ~15" display or less is going to be 1200 pixels x 800 pixels. At 12 pixels tall for a line of text, you'd get about 66 lines of text on the screen. But you have the window decorations, so something less. A laptop with 17" display is going to be bigger and a little heavier, but you should get at least 1440x900 pixels and the pixels are bigger so everything looks better and text is easier to read. The CPUs are hard to get your head around. Some are 2GHz and are slower than ones that are 1.8GHz. It won't matter that much unless you're making super huge complex spreadsheets, or otherwise have a need for number crunching horsepower. The key thing, IMO, is getting a 64 bit CPU because it's maximum flexibility (can run 32 bit or 64 bit OS), and in 64 bit mode you could use more than 4G of RAM. Also, at least dual core is good because it will make the whole system seem a lot faster (it can truly do 2 things at once). Big hard drive means you can store a lot of MP3 and video type files. That's up to you. I personally tend to have several different versions of many files, so the disk space is important to me. If you have 40G of MP3 files and want to experiment with some tagging software, you might want to copy all 40G and experiment on the copy. You'd use up 80G on that right away. Windows Vista? Installs to a small amount of disk space, but after you start getting updates and that kind of thing, it gets big. I have a system with not much installed on it, just a few applications, and it takes 70G or so of disk space. Also, the more full your disk is, the slower the OS goes; a big hard disk 1/2 full is WAY better than nearly full disk 1/2 the size. Then there's density. When you have a 2.5" disk with 300G on it, the drive is faster because you have 2x as much information that can be read in one revolution of the disk than for a 150G drive (assuming a single platter, or same number of platters). The HP laptop I posted a link to can act as a TIVO, I do believe. So you might want extra disk space for recording TV shows or other things off the cable in your dorm (or wherever). If you look hard enough, you can find a 17" screen with 1600x1200 resolution or better. WUXGA+ is like 1920x1200 which gets you HDTV resolution, and then some. At 1600x1200, you get 2x full pages of text side by side - good for working on your school papers. The advantage of a 14" or even 12" screen is that the laptop is going to be small and very portable. You might not even need a bag for it, as you can carry it like a school book.
Hmmmm. Dunno for sure if I'll be editing video and such but I am taking a film and digital media class and plan on taking a lot more after this quarter. A Mac sounds like it fits all my needs with basic internet, music, video, etc. plus consistency, reliability, and its small/lightweight. Money isn't really an issue since I've been working for two years and basically only spend money on gas and car insurance. I have no problem dropping a grand in savings as long as I get a good product. So basically what I'm asking is what is the best lap top to get regardless of price (maybe regardless is a little much but I can go up to $1200 max probably)? I know a ton of people who swear by Mac and I used to resist that but now I'm open to getting a Mac if its really all its cracked up to be. Also FWIW I'm more than happy on my current computer that I've had all through high school- 2.24 GHz Intel processore, 512 MB DDR RAM, 80 GB HD, GeForce 4 video card, running on a cracked version of Windows XP that I love. Nothing fancy but it more than gets the job done for my basic needs. Only cost me a few hundred dollars total to put together. I'm thinking a new low-end Mac can easily fit these specifications(?).
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (#1_War_Poet_ForLife @ Aug 15 2008, 07:58 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Denny, can Ubuntu run 64 bit, and utilize 4GB+ of Ram?</div> Yes. A laptop (or desktop) with 4G will only show 3.2G or so usable under 32-bit Windows or 32-bit Ubuntu. But 64-bit (either) can use 4G or more. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Aug 15 2008, 08:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Hmmmm. Dunno for sure if I'll be editing video and such but I am taking a film and digital media class and plan on taking a lot more after this quarter. A Mac sounds like it fits all my needs with basic internet, music, video, etc. plus consistency, reliability, and its small/lightweight. Money isn't really an issue since I've been working for two years and basically only spend money on gas and car insurance. I have no problem dropping a grand in savings as long as I get a good product. So basically what I'm asking is what is the best lap top to get regardless of price (maybe regardless is a little much but I can go up to $1200 max probably)? I know a ton of people who swear by Mac and I used to resist that but now I'm open to getting a Mac if its really all its cracked up to be. Also FWIW I'm more than happy on my current computer that I've had all through high school- 2.24 GHz Intel processore, 512 MB DDR RAM, 80 GB HD, GeForce 4 video card, running on a cracked version of Windows XP that I love. Nothing fancy but it more than gets the job done for my basic needs. Only cost me a few hundred dollars total to put together. I'm thinking a new low-end Mac can easily fit these specifications(?).</div> http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop.../family/macbook I wouldn't want anything less than the $1299 version, though I still think the screen is smaller than I personally want. Your mileage on that score may vary. I think you want at least 2G of memory (the more RAM, the faster the machine is going to go). http://www.apple.com/macmini/ The cheapest Mac desktop system, at about the same price.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1211587728253 Pretty good deal, IMO. You can get a refurbished n card for pretty cheap too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (#1_War_Poet_ForLife @ Aug 15 2008, 09:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I'd stick with 14.1, L. You can build nice laptops, and get it for 800, with coupons.</div> Agreed. Building your own laptops is a very good idea. I bought all the components for about £400 ($800) and my friend got the case and built it for me for £20 ($40)
