Buy a laptop next Sept-Oct, need advice.

[glib]

I'm making the switch, not only to apple, but also to a laptop. I'm having a hard time figuring out the best way to do things for my needs though. Now, I understand that as always, the top end of computing is really more expensive than it's worth (ie. your performance/$ is lower than in the higher-middle range). I just know so little about mac specs, I'm having a hard time figuring out where to draw the line.

Like everyone, I want the best bang for my buck. I'm willing to spend a bit more now so that it will last me much longer, but I'm not looking to spend a *ton* more so that I can brag about having the best framerate on whatever the hot game of the month is.

The only game it needs to run is WoW. It will be used for the standard surfing/music/chat, as well as a fair amount of fairly heavy photoshop/illustrator. Also perhaps some audio recording. I do a lot of work in Maya at school, so I may fiddle with the simpler projects at home too.

My dilemma comes about as to whether I want a macbook pro or just a macbook (assuming thats the name scheme adopted for the new ibook). Is the pro too 'pro' for me? Or will it have better staying power (like it's more in that highest value 'middle range' band)?

Since the macbook isn't out yet, I understand that's hard to answer, but take a guess for me based on the old models' differences and uses?

Thanks for the help.

[edit] A couple other things. There shouldn't be any problem with using my 19" BenQ LCD as a second monitor instead of a mac-brand widescreen one should there? And when at home with your laptops with a base-station sort of setup, I know many people use a proper mouse since scrollpads are kind of clunky. Do many people use a full normal keyboard too?

 

[liketom]

Welcome to Macrumors

the new Macbook(ibook) should be fine for WoW but the Macbook Pro would be better.

Wait and see what apple turns out over the summer - for best bang for your buck!
as for PC Laptops , well they are all much the same IMO - i have a sony vaio celery stick version thats right rubbish on spec 1.5ghz 768mb onboard GPU 80gb HDD DVD-RW but a very nice screen ! and all i use this for is web browsing and syncing my HP 1950 PDA.In fact if my mrs would let me smoke in the house instead of the back door i would'nt have it at all (laptop never moves from the backdoor where i have my smoke)


Back to the Macbook's .. i've had a few iBooks and a few Powerbooks , both was excellent but i prefered the Powerbooks due to ther designs and brighter screens.


hope this helps you

 

[Abstract]

My dilemma comes about as to whether I want a macbook pro or just a macbook (assuming thats the name scheme adopted for the new ibook). Is the pro too 'pro' for me?

Get the MacBook Pro. It'll definitely be worth it.

The only game it needs to run is WoW. It will be used for the standard surfing/music/chat, as well as a fair amount of fairly heavy photoshop/illustrator. Also perhaps some audio recording. I do a lot of work in Maya at school, so I may fiddle with the simpler projects at home too.

Problem is that Photoshop runs in emulation only and is not a native Intel application on the Mac. Maya may not be, either. What this means is that things will run much slower than it would on a Core Duo WindowsXP laptop. Eventually, Adobe will bring out a "universal binary" version of Photoshop (ie: a version that can run using either a PPC or Intel chip on the Mac), but until then, it'll run in an emulated environment that you won't even notice. THe only thing you may notice is how slow it runs. It may not be slow compared to the old PowerBook G4s though.

 

[glib]

Maybe I should rephrase: What about my needs is 'pro'? I mean the surfing/music/chat is what I'd call the most basic of computer uses these days, so the only thing that sets me apart is the photoshop/illustrator usage and the one game?

Maybe this would help me more:
What is the typical Macbook user doing with it? And the typical MBP user?

Does it come down to the MBP simply giving me a longer lasting computer? The price difference between the two is likely to exceed $1000CAD, and considering the current iBook is sitting at 1200-1700, that's a serious amount of money. I could simply write off the old machine and pick up another one a few years later with the $1000 I saved plus a little bit.

Decisions decisions...