Looking to buy a new Mac Laptop

[gazfocus]

Hey guys (and girls).

I currently own a 15" G4 Powerbook 1.33GHz, which is currently with my insurance company being repaired after a slight accident.

Anyway, I've been looking to buy a new Mac laptop for a while now but I'm waiting for the next revision.

What I want to know is, do I go for a MacBook or a MacBook Pro?

I know it's hard to say while no-one knows what's coming in the next revision, but I mainly do photo editing (in photoshop), video editing (in FCP), Sound Recording (in Garage Band and Logic Studio 8), and then my uni work (usually MS Word and MS Excel). I also use Keynote 2 for presentations.

I know Apple don't officially support FCP on a MacBook, but I don't do massive amounts of video editing so I don't know if the MacBook would handle what I need.

Thanks in advance

 

[phooi]

If you're not in dire need of a notebook, I would wait until after Macworld.

If you can't wait, I'd recommend a MBP depending how hardcore you are with Photoshop. Having the separate video processor will definitely help with the photo and video editing.

Good luck!

 

[BIK]

^ is right


though i will add, my macbook 2.2ghz is a beast, and i'm pleasantly surprised with how scrappy it is. I haven't experienced this kind of fortitude from a laptop since my iBook G4 1.33

 

[airjuggernaut]

Honestly, A Macbook would be fine for you.
It runs Photoshop, Final Cut (trust me I've used it), Aperature, ANYTHING.
The only thing is, if your planing on doing anything with motion, or any modern gaming then a MBP would be better.
Save yourself the extra grand, and buy the Mid-end MB. You wont regret it.

 

[Josheua]

I purchased a macbook pro over a macbook for a number of reasons. The added screen real-estate makes general work much more pleasing. The power under the hood does have an effect in everything from multi-tasking (while having videos running on one window and other things in another corner.) It is powerful to run any games you want to play down the road and if you do any sort of graphics (such as I will as an engineer), the Pro is a must have. Personally, I also love the lighted keyboard and enjoy the feel of the keyboard much more than the macbook, it is less "clicky" and annoying when in a quiet public place.

My 5 cents.

-Josh

 

[gazfocus]

Thanks for the advice so far. I will be waiting til MacWorld before I purchase either option as I don't want to place an order then it be old hat within a week or so, so I think my best bet would be to wait until the MacBook or MacBook Pro's are updated.

Yeah, my one concern (well one of two) is the size of the screen on a MacBook, but then again, I will be doing most work at home so could use my external 22" widescreen monitor. (My 2nd concern being the integrated graphics for obvious reasons).

I'm a uni student in the UK and the Mid range MacBook is £700 where as the Mid range MacBook Pro is £1400, and for the slight increases you get, I don't think the increase in price is totally justified.

 

[anotherarunan]

was in a similar situation as you a few months ago (UK student, did similar things but not that intensive with photoshop, more with video). Although I am yet to do anything demanding at all with my macbook, it seems perfect for what I do. Technically, processor wise and with a RAM upgrade, they are identical, its just the graphics and screen size (on the go) that add the extra £500 (compared to the low end one! (and a few minor things like a firewire 800 port), so personally for me it wasnt worth it. Obviously wait til macworld, and then get a macbook, they're awesome especially with an external monitor at home!!

 

[ivan1234]

if you plan on running any graphics intensive apps I would recommend you going with the 17'' high res mbp, it has a much beefier graphics card and a much superior screen than the macbook (I even prefer it over the 15'' LED screen)