what is best for an artist

[xHeartOfAnArtis]

i am entering an art school in December and it has come to my conclusion i need a better computer for the work i do in digital arts, photography and journalism. i am not sure what Mac to buy. i will be running light room and aperture and using final cut in the provided labs at the school. i am on a budget and i know i will need more than 80Gb but don't want to spend over 2500 at the most.
so if anyone could assist i would be most thankful=)

 

[WillJS]

i am entering an art school in December and it has come to my conclusion i need a better computer for the work i do in digital arts, photography and journalism. i am not sure what Mac to buy. i will be running light room and aperture and using final cut in the provided labs at the school. i am on a budget and i know i will need more than 80Gb but don't want to spend over 2500 at the most.
so if anyone could assist i would be most thankful=)

Keep in mind the HD and RAM in the MB are user upgradable but only the RAM in the MBP can be user serviced. If you decide on a MB, get the lowest HD amd RAM you can configure with and upgrade those later for cheaper.

Ram and HD's can be found here:

Crucial
OWC

 

[xHeartOfAnArtis]

Keep in mind the HD and RAM in the MB are user upgradable but only the RAM in the MBP can be user serviced. If you decide on a MB, get the lowest HD amd RAM you can configure with and upgrade those later for cheaper.

Ram and HD's can be found here:

Crucial
OWC

i was looking at MBs and the most expensive one
* 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1GB memory
* 160GB hard drive1
* Double-layer SuperDrive

Ships: Within 24 hours
Free Shipping
$1,399.00

seems pretty nice and good for the price so it won't bag me out of all the grant money