I am looking to buy a new mac laptop. And i am having a hell of a time decide between the macbook pro and the macbook. Basically the only thing keeping me from the macbook is the graphics card. I plan on majoring in Graphics Design. Would the graphics card limit me greatly? What real benifit does the better graphics card have besides gaming?
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Is the cost worth it?
- Thread starter guyyobitty28
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guyyobitty28 said:
get the macbook pro
you will LOVE it!!!
i use mine for some graphic design, and it works great
Haha as much as i would love to, there is a 600 dollar difference between the two models. I'm just trying to find out if the graphics are really that worth it.atticus1178 said:
guyyobitty28 said:
buy refurb then, i think you can get an mbp for like $1549
i think the graphics card helps greatly in photoshop, it renders much faster
plus the screen is bigger, higher res, better speakers, brighter screen, backlit keyboard, higher res iSight, more connectivity ports, prettier case, the list goes on and on for me, oh yeah AND no "glossy" (yuck) screen!
L
Lau
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I'm pretty sure the graphics card on the MacBook will be absolutely fine. I did my graphic design degree entirely on a 12" Powerbook, and a 12" iBook. Absolutely fine. 
I'm not sure how much difference the graphics card will make. But having been a starving Graphic Design student myself not too long ago my advice is probably going to go against the grain.
I would recommend a MacBook. Here's why: you are going to want to max out the RAM regardless of which system you get, you are going to want a quality scanner, and you will probably want an external monitor. Graphics apps (Illustrator, Photoshop) love a lot of memory. You are definitely going to want a scanner. Please, for your own sake, get a good quality one. Lastly, doing any work in Illustrator or Photoshop on a 13" screen is going to be an excruciating process, what with all the palettes and tabs and layers (much less actual files) running about. Having worked on a 15" it is merely bothersome. Working on a 19-20" monitor is much better, and hey, the graphics card will support it.
If you get a white MacBook, max out the RAM (say Crucial or the like), and get a good quality scanner you will end up at about the same price as a 15" 2 Ghz MacBook Pro. The computer will be more comfortable to carry to class (you may want to staple it to your shirt each morning), and less intrusive if you use it in your labs. You will definitely want the larger monitor for longer work sessions when you are back in your room. Adding a 20" monitor gets you up to around the price of a 15" 2.16 Ghz MacBook Pro.
Good luck, and don't sweat the critiques. They get better after a while.
I would recommend a MacBook. Here's why: you are going to want to max out the RAM regardless of which system you get, you are going to want a quality scanner, and you will probably want an external monitor. Graphics apps (Illustrator, Photoshop) love a lot of memory. You are definitely going to want a scanner. Please, for your own sake, get a good quality one. Lastly, doing any work in Illustrator or Photoshop on a 13" screen is going to be an excruciating process, what with all the palettes and tabs and layers (much less actual files) running about. Having worked on a 15" it is merely bothersome. Working on a 19-20" monitor is much better, and hey, the graphics card will support it.
If you get a white MacBook, max out the RAM (say Crucial or the like), and get a good quality scanner you will end up at about the same price as a 15" 2 Ghz MacBook Pro. The computer will be more comfortable to carry to class (you may want to staple it to your shirt each morning), and less intrusive if you use it in your labs. You will definitely want the larger monitor for longer work sessions when you are back in your room. Adding a 20" monitor gets you up to around the price of a 15" 2.16 Ghz MacBook Pro.
Good luck, and don't sweat the critiques. They get better after a while.
Thats a reallly good point. The computer itself will be better because ill have the extra money to spend on it, and if the graphics card doesn't really effect photoshop or illustrator then i dont relaly have to worry about getting a pro. Hmm i have a lot of thinking to do haha.macaddicted said:
The GPU won't affect your productivity, but Rossetta might. Keep in mind Adobe Apps will not be intel native for another year.
The MacBook keyboard really isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. I think some may be passing judgement on it based mainly on it's appearance, instead of spending a decent amount of time with one. I'm used to an IBM Model M (plugged into the Mac via USB adapter!), so I can't really consider any other keyboard truely "good", but the MacBook laptop keyboard is one of the nicest laptop keyboards I've put up with so far. The spacing between the keys is actually rather convenient, since it makes it harder to make mistakes when you forget you're on a laptop and start typing faster.
Thought I'd put my 2¢ in.
I have had PowerBooks, Power Macs and right now I only have a Black MacBook. I think it's the greatest computer since sliced bread. I am also a graphic designer and I do all kinds of work on my computer. All of the graphics apps work great. Sure there is a small lag ... at times, but Adobe should have the UB apps sometime by spring and what is out now is very, very livable. The one thing I did do and I think has made all the difference in the world is I maxed out the Ram. I also upgraded to the 100 GB drive
The computer is much, much more capable then my old 1 Ghz powerbook. And the fact that it can do Windows is like have two computers in one. The Keyboard is great. It is not, as some like to think, a toy keyboard. When you first start typing on it, it a little weird ... for about 3 seconds and then you are used to it. And for the graphics card, I think this computer works great! I am not a gamer ... and probably if I spent my days playing Doom 2 or what ever the bleeding edge of gaming is at the moment I would have not bought this computer. Again I use it for graphic design stuff, my financial stuff (quicken), Word, Music, Movies, Photos, Internet and mail. I also run a couple of windows apps in Parallels (thank god someone finally got it right!). The screen thing is a preference. The MBP is bigger, but I’ve always thought a laptop should be portable and smaller. The fact that the screen is widescreen makes this the perfect laptop. That was always my one complaint about my 12-inch PowerBook. I also have a 17 LCD display that I can hook up if I need the space … but to be honest it is living in the closet. This screen is also much brighter and crisper then any PowerBook I’ve used … I even liked it over the current MBP.
One more thing…
I love the black. It does smudge as has previously been reported … but I think looks much, much better then silver … dare I say a bit more professional as well. Also I had the pitting problem with the Aluminum notebooks, which looked awful. But the real reason I went black, and I’m almost ashamed to admit it … is I always feel the iSight camera is like Hal from 2001 Space Odyssey staring at me. With the Black MacBook you don’t even notice it's there.
I have nothing bad to say about this computer.
I have had PowerBooks, Power Macs and right now I only have a Black MacBook. I think it's the greatest computer since sliced bread. I am also a graphic designer and I do all kinds of work on my computer. All of the graphics apps work great. Sure there is a small lag ... at times, but Adobe should have the UB apps sometime by spring and what is out now is very, very livable. The one thing I did do and I think has made all the difference in the world is I maxed out the Ram. I also upgraded to the 100 GB drive
The computer is much, much more capable then my old 1 Ghz powerbook. And the fact that it can do Windows is like have two computers in one. The Keyboard is great. It is not, as some like to think, a toy keyboard. When you first start typing on it, it a little weird ... for about 3 seconds and then you are used to it. And for the graphics card, I think this computer works great! I am not a gamer ... and probably if I spent my days playing Doom 2 or what ever the bleeding edge of gaming is at the moment I would have not bought this computer. Again I use it for graphic design stuff, my financial stuff (quicken), Word, Music, Movies, Photos, Internet and mail. I also run a couple of windows apps in Parallels (thank god someone finally got it right!). The screen thing is a preference. The MBP is bigger, but I’ve always thought a laptop should be portable and smaller. The fact that the screen is widescreen makes this the perfect laptop. That was always my one complaint about my 12-inch PowerBook. I also have a 17 LCD display that I can hook up if I need the space … but to be honest it is living in the closet. This screen is also much brighter and crisper then any PowerBook I’ve used … I even liked it over the current MBP.
One more thing…
I love the black. It does smudge as has previously been reported … but I think looks much, much better then silver … dare I say a bit more professional as well. Also I had the pitting problem with the Aluminum notebooks, which looked awful. But the real reason I went black, and I’m almost ashamed to admit it … is I always feel the iSight camera is like Hal from 2001 Space Odyssey staring at me. With the Black MacBook you don’t even notice it's there.
I have nothing bad to say about this computer.
Arcobb, my 2gig MacBook is arriving monday and your filling me with confidence I made the right decision with the Mac over the Dell
macbook pro..
Well, I'm hoping so.. I had the macbook since end of May... Now I'm so fed up with the design, the yellowing, and now the random shutdown, I'm upgrading to 17 inch MBP. If this MBP acts up, I'll never buy mac laptops until I know for fact no one has any major problems with it..
Well, I'm hoping so.. I had the macbook since end of May... Now I'm so fed up with the design, the yellowing, and now the random shutdown, I'm upgrading to 17 inch MBP. If this MBP acts up, I'll never buy mac laptops until I know for fact no one has any major problems with it..
Herblenny said:
Indeed. Though I still suggest the MacBook. It's a wondrous computer when it works. I gave Apple $1501 for the device so they better make it work. The 2nd guy I talked to at AppleCare was actually pretty helpful (Paul). So hopefully all goes well. I just need it back before school starts
I wish I could use it now, but it's just not reliable enough for my paying job. Sending out emails and then having your computer turn off in the middle of a long message is just terrible. One power incident left my addressbook deleted.Oh and I wouldn't call them shutdowns - because that implies a process is going on. This is a poof, off, dead, kind of thing. Like taking a desktop and yanking out the cord.