Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Question for students with Macs

caj

caj

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 16, 2007
66
0
Illinois, United States
So I am in high school going to college in and my very old sony vaio performs very slowly, and I want to know what most of you did.

I like to do basic things and a little photo and video editing, and what really caught my eye was the new .mac web gallary.

Should I go for a new MBP with standered specification or a new MB with a few upgrades such as RAM?

Or should I get the new imac, the cheaper 24 inch model.

My main issue is that i want a nice big desktop now for photos and video, but when i go off to college it might be a bit inconvenient than a laptop.

I can not get an imac now and a macbook pro later, that's the problem.

Please give me some feedback so I know what to do, tell me what you did, or if there are any alternatives

Thanks, :)
 
flopticalcube said:
MacBook now but buy a nice monitor when you can afford to. Most students value portability.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I did, bought a mid-range macbook and bought an external monitor, keyboard and mouse later on, so it's effectively a desktop when it's at home, and then I can just unplug it when I'm out and about.
 
I would get a macbook because it might be a little more portable than a MBP....and it is cheaper


...you'll want a laptop so you can take you computer to class with you. You know to keep yourself entertained during lectures ;) (and maybe type some notes on it along the way if you want)
 
Osarkon said:
This is exactly what I did, bought a mid-range macbook and bought an external monitor, keyboard and mouse later on, so it's effectively a desktop when it's at home, and then I can just unplug it when I'm out and about.
Click to expand...

How does that work? Can you close the macbook? Do things still move as smoothly? :)
 
I'd also advise on getting a laptop vs. desktop. I had a laptop in college and it was great being able to type up lectures, do homework/study at the library and being able to have all of my material with me, and of course, listen to music/watch videos whenever I wanted (that might actually be more of a distraction, though).
 
caj said:
How does that work? Can you close the macbook? Do things still move as smoothly? :)
Click to expand...

You can. Its called "clamshell" mode or you can run two separate screens. Things can get a little bumpy if you have a high-resolution on the second screen and use both screens at once. I had my MacBook hooked up to a 1080p TV (to use as a monitor) and it worked very smoothly.
 
flopticalcube said:
You can. Its called "clamshell" mode or you can run two separate screens. Things can get a little bumpy if you have a high-resolution on the second screen and use both screens at once. I had my MacBook hooked up to a 1080p TV (to use as a monitor) and it worked very smoothly.
Click to expand...

what specs would you get with the macbook
 
caj said:
some people are reccommending a macbook with a display

What display would you reccommend? :)
Click to expand...

anything dell. sorry but apple's displays are waaaaaay overpriced, like COMEON! I know they're better, but 100's of dollars better?
 
The 2.16GHz model should do fine. You could either buy an extra GB of RAM from Apple or upgrade the machine yourself with 3rd party memory. Things would work most smoothly with 2GB of RAM.

Dustman said:
anything dell. sorry but apple's displays are waaaaaay overpriced, like COMEON! I know they're better, but 100's of dollars better?
Click to expand...

QFT. Dell's displays have a lot of respect on this board.
 
Or if you're a student, go for the biggest screen for the lowest price. :D

Although that's what I did, and I'm starting to regret it. The macbook's screen quality is so much better.

And yes, you can run the macbook with the lid shut, I haven't noticed a slow down at all, and I'm only running with 1Gb of RAM.
 
caj said:
So I am in high school going to college in and my very old sony vaio performs very slowly, and I want to know what most of you did.

I like to do basic things and a little photo and video editing, and what really caught my eye was the new .mac web gallary.

Should I go for a new MBP with standered specification or a new MB with a few upgrades such as RAM?

Or should I get the new imac, the cheaper 24 inch model.

My main issue is that i want a nice big desktop now for photos and video, but when i go off to college it might be a bit inconvenient than a laptop.

I can not get an imac now and a macbook pro later, that's the problem.

Please give me some feedback so I know what to do, tell me what you did, or if there are any alternatives

Thanks, :)
Click to expand...

During high school, all I had was an slow acer laptop, though what you could do with it as well is load linux on it :), it might give some more life to it, until near the time you go to college. I would probably get the macbook, unless you have the money to go for a mbp, which from you mentioning of video editing, might help with the better cpu and discrete graphics. I personally got a MBP 2.4 because I've had some bad experiences with integrated, and prefer discrete graphics, and for a lot of future proofing.
 
Portable definitely

Hey I bought a MBP + .mac + Printer + applecare and now I'm saving for a mighty mouse + monitor. I had a MB before that and gave that to my sister as she is just starting univeristy. Personaly I would take a laptop over a desktop any day plus both the MB and MBP are great and with microsoft 2004 they make a great student package. Have to say thought MB are more convenient to carry around but I do also like my gaming so the MBP was perfect for me:D but if thats not for you then get a MB, honestly you will love it. Goodluck with your purchase :)
 
Samsung do a couple of nice 24" widescreen models that cost between £300-£400 depending on the quality of the panel. LG also have one with an HDMI input instead of DVI, so a DVI-HDMI lead could be used there with the MBP or MB (+mini-DVI-to-DVI adaptor).

Still unsure as to whether I should go for 17" HD or 15" with a 24" external monitor myself. I've got an old Dell 20" panel kicking around that could be used with the 17" machine to increase display space if need be, although I'm still tempted to go with a new 2.33GHz 17" via a reseller for the price of the current 15" 2.4GHz machine and attach it to a 24" panel as a compromise solution.
 
MacBook is the way to go. Portability + Power in one very great looking design. (especially the black one)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back