Help me find a Apple laptop to suit my needs.

Hi Apple forumers,

I was wondering if you could help me find a laptop to suit my needs. I have never owned an Apple product before, except for a 5G iPod. Needless to say, I have heard great things about the company.

I need a Apple laptop that can last me two and a half years, as I will be getting a new computer then again. I will be perfectly frank with you - I am a high school student thinking of going into graphic design or industrial design in college and as a career, and I have come to the conclusion that most design firms and my peers in college will be using systems running OSX. As I have stated before, I have used nothing but Windows ever since I started using computers when I was seven. I have come to know the Windows environment very well, and think that I should familiarize myself with Apple's operating system.

Currently I already do freelance graphic design, specifically logotype design. I need the system to handle fairly large Photoshop files. I may also get into photography with a DSLR, so it should be fairly speedy to handle large RAW files. There isn't much requirements other than that, as the only programs I use regularly are torrent applications, iTunes, and the Office Suite -- all of which are available for the Mac. I casually game, which should pose no problem with the new powerful Macbook GPUs, as as for the OS, Bootcamp and Parallels are always there.

My current system was purchased in April. It has a Core 2 Quad @ 2.4 GHz, 3GB DDR2 RAM @ 800 MHz, and a nVidia 8500GT w/ 512 MB DDR2 RAM. Preferably I need a comparable system in the form of a laptop.

I also have a couple of questions - the new Macbooks/Macbook Pros use DDR3 RAM. How much of a difference is that in terms of performance, and how is a 8500 GT comparable to the new GPUs touted in the new notebooks? Another question: I currently have a Logitech Z-5500 system. How can I hook up 5.1 sound to either the MB or MBP, as they only have a stereo connection? Does either have a digital or optical output that I can use with my Logitech Z-5500s, and what cable do you recommend?

Before I forget - screen display size is no problem, as I already have a 24" display with 1920x1200. Hopefully I can get a mini DVI/DVI adapter if I get the MBP, or a DisplayPort/DVI adapter if I go the Macbook route.

I apologize for making prospective posters read this lengthy post, but I wanted to make sure you have all the information to answer my question - what new Apple notebook system do you recommend, and with what system specifications that meets my needs (preferably keeping the price low, as I pay for all of my electronics)?

A summary of all my questions:
1. Which system do you recommend, Macbook or Macbook Pro?
1a: What systems spec do you recommend for the notebook mentioned above?

2. How does my current system compare with the one you have recommended above?
2a. How much of a performance increase is there from 800 MHz RAM to 1333 MHz RAM (or whatever the speed is for the MBPs) and DDR2 to DDR3?

3. How will I connect my Logitech Z-5500 to the system?

4. How should I connect my DVI monitor to the Apple system, and which brand of cable should I use? (Please don't say Apple, as I've heard that they charge 99 USD for a DVI to DisplayPort adapter, and they don't have it yet either)

5. Can Steam games such as Counter Strike Source run on a Mac using Parallels or BootCamp?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this post, and I anticipate your responses.

Regards,
Dean.

 

from what i read, don't get a mac.. they are just notebooks as others are, too. and they have a lot of incompatibilites to your requirements. adapters for the dvi for example, while others have it by default.

booting into windows should allow you to play steam games, parallels i guess not (no gpu support afaik, but i could be wrong)

 

Hi,
I can see what you're getting at, but my current system is really fine -- what I really need is the OSX environment to get familiar with. I have already tried converting my other laptop to a Hackintosh, but there are severe driver issues. Gaming isn't a major issue with me either, as I've had increasing amounts of homework, and just thought I'd throw it out there if I ever had some free time.

Thanks,
Dean

 

If screen quality matters to you, these are interesting pictures (MBP on the left, MB on the right; MBP on the right in the second):





These are from Gizmodo's review:

http://gizmodo.com/5063492/macbook-and-macbook-pro-dual-review

It really depends if you want a smaller laptop or an average sized one. A smaller laptop, MacBook, is easier to carry around while an average sized one, like the MacBook Pro gives you more screen real estate and a screen that's around 25%-40% bigger.

 

MBP. You mentioned gaming and graphic design. Gaming will benefit from the dedicated video as will graphic design.

Yes... Adobe will use your video card :-D
Though, I'm unclear if CS3 will take advantage of dedicated video cards or not... I believe it was able to under OS X but not windows... Either way, CS4 will take advantage of your video card.

In desktop systems, there is hardly any reason or advantage to going from DDR2 to DDR3. Unless you absolutely need that extra 1% performance or want the bragging rights for high benchmark scores, DDR 3 really isn't worth the cost. Not that you can avoid it in new MBP/MB.

Does your logitech system have optical in? I know most of the computer speaker setups for some reason don't have optical in (I swear, this is creatives fault). If it does have optical in, the headphone jack on the MB/MBP will transmit optical out surround sound to your speakers.

Uhh... the DP -> DVI adapter is $30. It's available on the website. IT's all you need to run your monitor.

yes, you will use bootcamp for this.

 

Uhh, I'd say wait for someone who actually owns a mac to respond before you make your decision.

And yea, I'm not sure about the screens, check them out in person.

And as far as running CSS, IIRC vmware fusion should be able to play some virtually. But for sure you can play them using Crossover. I've done it in the past, and its playable, but obviously youll get better results if you just were to boot into windows.

 

Yikes, that's quite a drop in screen quality.

Hmm... I haven't run over to the Apple store to check for myself but Gizmodo reports it's 99 and won't ship for a month: http://gizmodo.com/5064186/macbook-...k-dvi-adapter-costs-100-wont-ship-for-a-month

Hmm, according to the Logitech website, it says it uses this:
"Digital optical for DVD or CD players, PlayStation®2, Xbox®**"
I'm not sure, but I think TOSLINK is the only form of optical audio? Does optical audio share the same plug on the Macbook/Macbook Pro as the 3.5mm audio jack?

So it seems like everyone recommends the MBP. How does my current system's performance compare to a 15" MBP? Should I wait till a 17" MBP to be released, or will it take too long? (I'm actually willing to wait until June 2009 to make the purchase).

Thanks for the detailed response, I appreciate it!

 

Yea the MBP uses a 3.5mm toslink. If anything you may need to get an adapting cable depending on what ones the speakers came with. But if its optical, it will work.

The 99$ one I think is if you were to run a 30" monitor (the 99$ one is a Dual-link DVI adapter). Basically if youre going to running a large screen. Normal DVI should be okay.

If you're willing to wait, eventually the 17" will be refreshed. Although it will be probably the same price as it is now, which is fairly expensive compared the 15"s.

Though if youre going to be carrying around the laptop a lot, like to classes or something, sometimes a 17" can be a bit too much to carry. Even with my 15" sometimes I'm annoyed at its size.

 

Hmm, so regarding the DVI adapter, a 24" should be able to just use a normal one, right?

I don't think I would carry my laptop around a lot, as generally our high school doesn't allow us to use laptops to take notes (a shame, I know ): )

I may just wait until the 17" MBP models come out, as I really would like two 1920x1200 screens. If I don't like the pricing, I'd probably still come down to a 15" model. I'm extremely wary of seeing the 13" monitors that someone posted, highlighting the different quality between the MBP and MB screens.

Thanks for the info.

 

Oh, and I neglected to add:

Never used a chiclet keyboard before. What are your guys' opinion on it?

 

Gizmodo says that it only looks chiclet, it's actually an improved version of the keyboard style that the MBP uses now. The MB still has the chiclet style keyboard, though. The only time that I tried the chiclet keyboard I hated it, but a lot of people have different opinions about that. This picture from WilliamG's review shows that the MBP has a regular-style keyboard pretty well:

 

Wow, from that image we can see a huge difference in the old MBP and the new MBP screens. I was originally hoping on taking advantage of the old-gen discount but I don't think it's worth it for the screen. Or maybe the screens were using different brightness/contrast setting?.. but then again, I've heard nothing but amazing things about the LED displays.

 

If you can afford it, and the small increase in size is not an issue, definitely go with the MBP, it has more power and more extra features (although less now with the MacBook update).

A MBP will be just about the same, a little less powerful than your current desktop. The 2.4 GHz Quad Core is more powerful, but in real life not by a ton, so while you'll see in like converting video or such processor-intensive tasks, regular activities won't make a difference. The graphics card is about the same, as your 8500 is a desktop card and the new 9600M GT is a notebook card. But don't quote me on it, graphics cards aren't my thing!

 

Get a used macbook from the NBR marketplace to familiarize yourself with OSX IMO. Now days you don't actually need OSX in the graphics design field, there are PLENTY of windows substitutes.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=310570

You can probably buy this users macbook for a fair price. I really don't think it's worth spending so much extra money when you don't need the difference in performance to begin with, plus you'll be stuck with a glossy screen.

 

That's not a quad core, just duo core. P8600

 

Comparing screens in this way is not proper since the viewing angle is diffrent.

 

Yeah, the guy that wrote the review, WilliamG, noticed a huge difference:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=310477

 

I'm slightly confused as to what you mean.

 

No, I was referring to the original poster's desktop, which was a 2.4 GHz Quad Core .

 

I think what I might do is just bring in my Toshiba laptop that I bought in 2007 to the Apple Store and compare it with the computers there. Do you think they'd mind?

 

I'm sure they won't! They know at least half the customers now are switchers, not repeat customers, and they understand people have doubts and concerns about switching. Go right ahead, they'll help you out in the process as well, I'm sure.

 

The size of the monitor is not the issue with needing dual link DVI. It's the resolution. 1920x1200 would not require dual link as far as I know.

I hate chiclet keyboards. With a passion. I have the standalone apple chiclet keyboard... I hate it. It's okay for the average user probably, but for developers and engineers... the older style MBP keyboard is better.
Note, I have not tried the new MBP keyboard. But considering it's compared to the Air, and the Air is only slightly better than the MB/desktop keyboard... I know I won't be impressed.

*edit*

about the audio... Toslink has two different ends. I don't remember their names. One end is a square jack which is most often used and the other kind is a narrow jack that fits into normal headphone jack size plugs. Most optical cables will come with the narrow adapter to put on the square jack.

 

Thanks for the audio comment, I was wondering about that as the images I've seen have a squarish looking plug so I wasn't sure how that was going to fit into a 3.5mm

Any other recommendations on a notebook?