Need info on buying a MAC

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Morphine Child
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Need info on buying a MAC

Post by Morphine Child »

So I'm thinking about buying a Macbook of some sort, though I don't really know where to start. I own a Dell XPS 17" fully loaded blah blah wonderful super laptop which is powerful enough to do whatever I need, but I want something smaller and more appropriate for travel. I have a PC and I love it. I think Macs look like fun, and I like blowing money, so I want one of those too. I don't want, "Your PC is stupid! Why did you ever buy a PC?" I just want to know about Macs, damn it!

So what am I looking for in a MAC?

-Something fast enough to run GarageBand or some other basic recording program - I hate putting time into learning the complexities of recording programs, and all I want is something to record riffs ASAP. Plus, Garageband looks cool? I'd like it to run moderately fast and stable too. I have a really cool Line 6 unit with all the effects built in and a USB out recording thing. So I want to be able to run that into something.

-Something light and portable, maybe 13.3? Or should I go with 15"?

-Something with lengthy battery power. Not necessarily for recording, but when I'm in a coffee shop and working on my novels. I've never written a novel, nor have I started a novel, but maybe someday.

-What's up with running OSX or Leopard w/ Windows? You can have both, right? I kind of need Windows for my job, so does everything that is Windows compatible run on a MAC?

- I don't want to spend too much. Maybe $1000? It is after all a second laptop for pleasure, so I don't need too much.
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Post by bwohlgemuth »

I have a MacBook...Black 13". Only thing I've done to it is put in a 250GB hard drive and max out the memory.

I run parallels to have Windows available, when I rarely need it. Have Office 2007 running on that (what a piece of junk but oh well) in case someone sends me a Word doc. I also have iWork, which kicks booty.

Get a refurb, and then get AppleCare's 3 yr warranty. I use to go through a laptop a year with Dell, but this Mac is now two years old and I'm not going to get rid of it anytime soon. It got me through my MBA and goes EVERYWHERE with me.

I think there are a few instances where a MBPro or Air would work for someone, but I think those are rare. Get a refurb and buy your own memory and max it out (apple memory is insanely high). The HD replacement was easy, (I think) five screws....no prob.
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Post by deek »

Biggest issue I see is your price range. For $1000, you need to go used or refurbed.

If you get a Macbook (with the Intel processor), you can install windows on it as well. I don't think processor speed will be an issue, but you will want to boost your RAM for what you are wanting to do.

I was going to say you already have a nice rig, but seeing you want to blow some money, Macs will allow you to do that:) As a matter of course, when buying new, Macs will run you about 50% more for the same specs...more or less.
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Post by bwohlgemuth »

I didn't see the $1000....get the MacBook in black (personal choice). I think you will find it becoming your only computer within a short amount of time.
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Post by Morphine Child »

I suppose HD space isn't a huge issue...I'm planning on buying an external hard drive so I can get rid of my desktop. Do most external HDs work between Macs and PCs?
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Post by bwohlgemuth »

All normal USB and Firewire drives that I have used worked flawlessly with Macs. The only ones that have been kooky are ones that have some sort of Windows-only encryption built in.
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Post by bassjones »

I have the latest generation macbook 13" running Leopard and I love it. I'm actually running logic express on the standard 1Gig of RAM and haven't had any trouble yet. Of course I'm not pushing it at all right now either and for what I'm doing could just as easily be using Garage Band... anyway, you weren't asking about recording, just the computer. Just get the standard macbook - unless you're looking to do much video, in which case get the macbook pro. The small screen's fine for everything else, but if you're doing video, you might get frustrated with it. Whatever you do, don't upgrade the RAM from apple ($600 for the 4Gig kit). Get it from crucial.com ($100 for the same 4Gig kit). If you don't want to install it yourself, for $150, the local mac specialty store, next to Guitard Center, is $150 for the 4Gig installed. Me, I'll save the $50 and put it in myself.

Just beware that some stuff is still not working with Leopard OS. Nothing major, but ProTools has some glitches and I'm not sure if that line 6 interface has support yet either (I know it didn't as of a month ago). Those are Avid and Line 6 issues though, not Mac issues. The nice thing is macs hold their value very well, much better than windows based laptops do. It's hard to find even a year old macbook for less than $800 (they're just over $1000 new). A year old Windows laptop that cost $1000 new would be worth less than $500 used right now.
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Re: Need info on buying a MAC

Post by Hotchin »

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