Is a MBP right for me?

[Mustang Maniac]

Okay, so I'm in the market for a new computer. I'd really like a laptop so that I'm not chained to my office when I want to work on something. I like the idea of a mac but I'm just not sure its right for me. Here's what I do on a typical computer.

- e-mail, web, windows messenger.
- listen to music with iTunes
- occasional gaming such as warcraft and spacecraft.
- Online poker
- Personal finance
- Occasional programming using C/C++
- I have a digital camera but up to this point haven't done much with editing.

I know a Mac will do all these tasks just fine. The issue is that 2 apps I use heavily (my poker client and my poker statistics program) don't have Mac equivalents. Also, I've read a lot that Quicken for Windows is far superior to the Mac version (not to mention the headache of data conversion). So for these three programs I would either run parallel or bootcamp.

I've dual booted windows and linux in the past and I've found it to be more of a PITA than benefit. So parallel seems to me it would be the best approach.

I'm just not sure about buying a mac when I have windows applications I need to run on a daily basis.

So all that being said, I'm wondering if a Mac Book Pro is the right computer for me.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Cult Follower]

Actually i think a MacBook would be the best for you as it doesn't seem you need the graphics card, i own a macbook and it is the best computer i have ever had. I feel more productive with a mac.

Hope this helps

 

[emac82]

a MBP will be fine. Even a MacBook would be fine, except maybe on some of the games...But you will get more screen and a dedicated graphics card on the MBP, so if you can afford it, buy it.

 

[suneohair]

Do you need it soon? There are rumors of a 15" MB on the way... it would perform great at what you need and give you that extra screen space at a lower cost of course.

 

[Mustang Maniac]

Do you need it soon? There are rumors of a 15" MB on the way... it would perform great at what you need and give you that extra screen space at a lower cost of course.

No, I don't need it right away. I've followed the rumors for Leopard and MB/MBP refreshes and would probably wait until a refresh is released. I've considered the MB.. but like the idea of a bit more powerful machine even if I don't use all that power right away.

My biggest concern is running Windows apps rather than native Mac apps.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Texas04]

No, I don't need it right away. I've followed the rumors for Leopard and MB/MBP refreshes and would probably wait until a refresh is released. I've considered the MB.. but like the idea of a bit more powerful machine even if I don't use all that power right away.

My biggest concern is running Windows apps rather than native Mac apps.

Thanks,
Jeff

Just make sure you have 1GB+ in your MacBook Pro. If you max it out Windows will run beautifully. No problems. I use Parallels a lot for coding Java on my MacBook Pro and it works fine. My mother uses her Macbook for a huge family tree project. It's hundreds of pictures and pages on Microsoft Publisher that needs windows. She maxed out her memory and it runs great to.

Leopard hopefully will have more "windows compatible" features. So it should be great.

GO APPLE!

 

[johnmartin78]

I think 9 times out of 10,the Macbook is a better computer for what poeple need.MBP is an over buy a lot of times.

 

[Mustang Maniac]

I think 9 times out of 10,the Macbook is a better computer for what poeple need.MBP is an over buy a lot of times.

Doesn't the MB only have a 13.3" display? (yes, I know there are rumors of a 15" coming.. but they are just that, rumors at this point)

It might be an extravagance, but a 15" screen seems like a minimum requirement for me.

Jeff

 

[johnmartin78]

Ya the screen is tiny.Thats one thing that bugs me.But on the other hand if i need something bigger I can plug another monitor in,and the MBP is too huge for me personally.