15.4 MacBook Pro Deciding Questions

ive been debating this for a couple weeks now, what to buy... macbook pro 15.4 " or the dell e1505 or something else.

Ive been discouraged (despite the stellar pricing) of the dell through reports of very crappy screens. I am a designer and animator, i use illustrator, photoshop, flash and maya primarily. Screen quality is very very important. I know adobe products are a little slower on the mbp at the moment but will be better on the next release.

i still can use my student discount and the 180 rebate for the ipod I do chalk up as 180 off (since i need an ipod) the problems and questions i have concerning the macbook are these:

mainly: will installing new ram void the warranty? i am leaving the usa in sept which is why im buying the laptop in the first place - i figured the extendd warranty would be prudent considering laptops are supposed to be shaky in terms of longevity. why i ask is that 512 ram is terrible and i need more buy the premium asked for on apple.com is steep. i would be willing to find a thorough tutorial and less expensive ram on newegg to do it myself

second: 2 usb slots! thts terrible! i use a intous tablet to draw and then using a mouse... thats already my two slots take n up... if i wanted to plug in my ipod or a usb thumbdrive? kinda lame - not sure if anyone has a similar setup and doesnt find it that bad

finally: refurbished, i believe the refurbished set up is about 1540 or so for the same basic 15.4 new version. it doesnt come with the rebate for the ipod tho. not sure if anyone has an opinion on the refurbished models.

side note: the mbp ends up being $1800 (student discount) - $180 ipod rebate = $1620

thanks in advance!

 

the memory upgrad you can do yourself, and it wont void warrenty as long as you put everything back where it waqs when you send it back in for repairs and such

 

it's not neccessary to keep the ram when it is sent in for repairs...it's just that any ram related problem won't be covered by apple warranty.

 

I would say only get the MBP if you dont plan to use it as a true laptop, because they just get too hot... some aparently arent as bad but Iguess its all just what you can deal with, mine was too hot so I returned it. I would strongly reccomend going with a Dell Latitude D820 if you plan on using it as an actual laptop at all. They are much cooler and for the price, you cant beat it. I got the one it my sig for $1850 after a $150 rebate...

 

i have read such varying reports on the heat of the apple. generally i hear it is quite warm, but i dont necessarily get the impression that it is too hot to have on ur lap. primarily i will be using it on a desk, and when im traveling ill use the airplane tray probably, or just lay it on top of my sketchbook which follows me everywhere.

as far as games go... i dont know i dont consider myself a hardcore gamer... the only intense new game i could potentially buy is the WoW expansion if i have a lot of free time and cant seem to make friends with the london folk i meet =)

i did configure a d820, theyre ugly as sin but here is what i came up with =

Latitude D820 Intel® Core™ Duo T2400 (1.83GHz) 667Mhz Dual Core
Operating Systems Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2, with media
LCDs 15.4 inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel
Memory 1.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
Internal Keyboard Internal English Keyboard
Graphics 512MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache™
Hard Drives 80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
Optical Drive - Modular 8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio Digital Media™ and Cyberlink Power DVD™
Wireless LAN (802.11) Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini Card
$2,101.00 -$400 rebate = $1,701 (include 3 year economy warranty)

 

The other thing to consider is most the apps you use are not yet Universal Binary and will have to run using Rosetta. This can hamper performance, some programs are worse than others. I would say look around and see how bad the performance hit is and when the Universal Binaries will be released. I know all Adobe products will not be changed until CS3 which is beginning of 2007 at this point.

 

http://www.pagecomputers.com/store/...tegory_name=68g68c284s2388&product_id=1066739

pagecomputers is offering the HP nc8430 for $1575, it is configured just like the 2ghz macbook pro but the x1600 is actually clocked right on the HP

it is brand new too, 3 year HP warrenty (i think it is even a global one but i'm not sure). It is part of the HP Business line so it is comparable in build quality to a Thinkpad. The screen resolution is also higher than the apple (1680x1050) plus you get multiple mouse buttons, a fingerprint reader, and a secure SD "key". No heat issues also...plus the business level support is likely better than most consumer oriented options. Mine is coming tomorrow via fedex...I can't wait! (yes I considered macbook pro....education prices are more tolerable but I was on a budget)

imo the macbook pro is really a tad ambitious with its pricing for me...i mean if I were steve jobs I'd price it to the sky also but as a consumer I have to laugh a bit. I mean you can get portable 3D workstations for the macbook pro's prices. IMO the 2ghz macbook pro is worth about 1600 refurbished and maybe a few hundred more new. You can get one for 2k new from a reseller but they certainly make you look!

 

Very true, however they do not have OS X which, for those who have tried it, is a deal breaker.

 

No PC notebook compares to a Macbook Pro with an SATA Express/34 card and 400GB SATA HDD when it comes to any pro audio/video app. For my uses, MBP is going to be perfect...my powerbook 12 is getting pretty old for FCP. I look forward to having Final Cut Studio and Shake(which I've used on my friend's iMac 20"). My 2 cents are....macbook pro's are made for a diff. reason....for professional use mostly....and then there are those rich kids who just want to look cool and buy an MBP without knowing the Pro's/Con's and using it's strengths to their advantage. It's like buying a Subaru Impreza WRX STi and not racing it at a track or on the road(not that I condone road racing)...aka poser.

So my take on MBP(not MB's as they are truly consumer products) is that they should be used for what they were meant to do...which is create stunning professional art(may it be any form of art..video,audio,images,etc) and just plain use it for OS X....not OS X trying to be windows...after all, that is why it is unique.