Laptop recommendations

[da8s0859q]

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Could the Mac snobs tell me how one decides between the Macbook and Macbook Pro? I know the obvious spec differences, but since I haven't owned a Mac (and I'm not a full time illustrator) I don't know how useful the difference in features is.

Also, with regards to the above post about quality of manufacturers - very spot on. I'm writing this post from a 5 year old IBM T41 that is going to (hopefully) last me through August of this year. It's the little things - like sealing their keyboards so when some jackass in an airport spills beer on your laptop (it happened), you just toss in a new keyboard, pay the fine for assault, and go on with your day. 🙂

Oh, well, since you put it like that, count me in!

 

[Maxprime]

I don't appreciate the name calling.

To be honest, most people only need a MacBook and not a MacBook Pro. The primary differences are the better CPUs offer, dedicated GPU, larger screen, backlit keyboard, ExpressCard 54 slot (for mobile broadband), and a Firewire 800 port for external hard drives. That's all really.

Oh come on - Mac fans are fanatical about their special place in the universe because of the apple stuck up their . . . firewire port. 🙂 I kid, I kid.

If one were to occasionally play a game, would the lack of a dedicated GPU pretty much sink them on a Macbook (non-pro)?

 

[nick_carraway]

Oh come on - Mac fans are fanatical about their special place in the universe because of the apple stuck up their . . . firewire port. 🙂 I kid, I kid.

If one were to occasionally play a game, would the lack of a dedicated GPU pretty much sink them on a Macbook (non-pro)?

Yes. Yes it would. TheRealMD casually mentioned the fact that the Pro has a dedicated GPU, but it is a significant difference. Not only is the Macbook's integrated GPU worthless by industry standards, but it also performs worse in the Macbook than it does in PCs that utilize it, for whatever reason.

I have a prev. generation Macbook and nothing drives me nuts more than the fan kicking on with youtube.

 

[TheRealMD]

Oh come on - Mac fans are fanatical about their special place in the universe because of the apple stuck up their . . . firewire port. 🙂 I kid, I kid.

If one were to occasionally play a game, would the lack of a dedicated GPU pretty much sink them on a Macbook (non-pro)?

Uhh... unless this game is Warcraft III, you're going to need a MacBook Pro. It really is a shame that Apple hasn't used dedicated cards in it's consumer level cards ever since the MacBook has been introduced. 🙁

However, you can get a refurb 2nd gen MacBook Pro off of Apple's site for $1299 which can play games decently well. They sell pretty quickly though. It can game decently well, just don't expect too much.

 

[novastorm]

Most institutions and nearly any real life workplaces are not MAC friendly. You can skirt by during school but when you enter the real world I really think you will want a PC. Certain networks are not MAC friendly and this will be an issue. File formats are still not universally compatible and wouldn't that suck if your presentation got ruined (I've seen this happen many times, MAC Power Point rules).

Anyhow. When talking laptops stick to a major brand. You get what you pay for so the super cheap laptops have cheap parts that have higher failure rates, its that simple.

Look to spend 1000-2000 on a laptop. Maintain it properly as the only two parts you should ever have to worry about are the cooling fan and the hard disk drive.

Your laptop circulates air to keep the CPU, GPU/Northbridge/HDD etc cool. When you use your laptop in a dusty environment, outside, on your couch, in bed, on your lap, in general it gets dust inside. Its very important if you use your laptop in places where it wasn't designed to be used that you clean it out with compressed air (once a month or once a week if you like to sit outside on the grass and use it (not recommended).

The second part would be the HDD. Laptop's in general are designed to maximize battery life. Due to the need to consume less power and their smaller form factor laptop hard drives are not as robust as their desktop counterparts. They are rated for a lower duty cycle and less power on hours per month. The lesson here is turn your laptop off when you aren't using it (not every 5 minutes, but if your going to be at work for 8 hours, turn it off). This being said they have small form factor HDD's (2.5 inch) that are designed to run 24/7 but they are hot and use lots of power but they are meant for blade servers not your laptop.

The moral of the story is don't buy cheap, don't pay too much if you don't want too (MAC's are not the end of the world) and use and maintain it properly...and your laptop will last for a long time.

Enjoy.