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about to buy an imac AND macbook, last minute questions...

student_trap

student_trap

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 14, 2005
1,879
0
'Ol Smokey, UK
Hi all,

I'm off to buy a imac and macbook tomorrow, and have a couple of questions before i do so...

regarding the imac:

1. i am planning on maxing out the 20inch model with 2Gigs of ram, 500gig hard drive, 256 graphics, wireless KB and mouse, but am unsure about whether to max out the processor as well? how much difference does .16Ghz make? i do photo and video work, as well as a lot of garageband.

2. would it be better for me to get the 24", at uni space is very limited, but at home (where i'm at for half the year) space is no problem. Also, next year at uni my room will probably be huge, as my current one is tiny.

regarding the macbook:

1. i am buying this as a present to my parents, and am unsure whether to go with the 2Ghz whitebook with 120gig HD, or the blackbook. I am wondering about the cosmetic differences mainly, as the machine will almost never be cleaned but rather used without much care (i expect scratches etc)

thanks for any advice you can give, i am really at ends about which macbook to get!
 
I have the 24" iMac with 2.16GHz, 7600GT and 2Gb.

If you can afford it, I would highly recommend it. Simply put, it is a better machine than the 20".
 
might as well get the lowest priced macbook if your parents are not going to have much regard for it.

as for the iMac, go for whatever screen size fits your needs - i think 17" is a good size, 20" is big and 24" is monstrous. obviously the 24" comes with more stuff standard so it might be a better value in that sense - you just have to figure out what you want.
 
Demon Hunter said:
The white Macbook hides scratches very well.
Click to expand...

LMAO. You oughtta be kidding me, right? You can see every mark on those White MacBooks, just like the back of an iPod. Black on the other hand is a different story (you can't see scratches, at all - unless they are BIG.)

I know this because I have both under my roof. =]
 
depends...i have an ibook and same material as the macbook....it hides deep scratches better than the black macbook my friend has...but the white one shows little scratches easily. but for someone who is gonna get it dirty and not gonna clean it....with the black you won't have palm marks....little bits of junk won't be noticable....i would say just go for the black one
 
lilstewart said:
LMAO. You oughtta be kidding me, right? You can see every mark on those White MacBooks, just like the back of an iPod. Black on the other hand is a different story (you can't see scratches, at all - unless they are BIG.)

I know this because I have both under my roof. =]
Click to expand...

yeah. LOL. black is much better! LOL

my friend has one, its filthy all the time. you have to practically wear rubber gloves when you use it. it shows smudges and fingerprint SO bad. you need to wash your hands before you use it every single time, or the oil from your skin gets all over the damn thing. no thanks.

fact, gloss black will ALWAYS be more difficult to keep clean than white. end of story.
 
The greatest advantage of the 24" iMac is F/W 800 and upgradable GPU
along with the 24" HD display.

When you're working with any pro apps the more screen real estate you have the better, simply to keep track of all your different control surfaces.

How soon do you really need a portable?

I would get the iMac now and hold off on the MacBook if you can stand the wait for Santa Rosa or Penryn processors along with Leopard.

I'm saying this because it's best not to put all your technology in one basket.
 
FFTT said:
The greatest advantage of the 24" iMac is F/W 800 and upgradable GPU
along with the 24" HD display.

When you're working with any pro apps the more screen real estate you have the better, simply to keep track of all your different control surfaces.

How soon do you really need a portable?

I would get the iMac now and hold off on the MacBook if you can stand the wait for Santa Rosa or Penryn processors along with Leopard.
Click to expand...

thanks for the info, i think i may not have explained myself properly, basically, i am buying the macbook for my folks, who have no computer in their house at all, whereas the imac is for me. I already have a portable, my powerbook, but need something with more oomph to help with my music production, as well as the (admittedly) lighter video and photo work i do.

Because i am at uni, whatever i buy will have be taken to and from my halls 3 times a year for the next 3 years, but for the money i am spending on the 20", i could get the 24" with some upgrades

regarding the macbooks, my folks need a computer that is low maintenance, they wont throw it around, but it wont get cleaned and will probably get quite scratched, so i want to buy them a machine that they can look at in a while and still be visually pleased with. the price difference between the black and white macbooks with 120gig hard drives is negligable.

thanks for all the replies so far, but please keep them coming, i will buy within the next 2 hours
 
student_trap said:
thanks for the info, i think i may not have explained myself properly, basically, i am buying the macbook for my folks, who have no computer in their house at all, whereas the imac is for me. I already have a portable, my powerbook, but need something with more oomph to help with my music production, as well as the (admittedly) lighter video and photo work i do.

Because i am at uni, whatever i buy will have be taken to and from my halls 3 times a year for the next 3 years, but for the money i am spending on the 20", i could get the 24" with some upgrades

regarding the macbooks, my folks need a computer that is low maintenance, they wont throw it around, but it wont get cleaned and will probably get quite scratched, so i want to buy them a machine that they can look at in a while and still be visually pleased with. the price difference between the black and white macbooks with 120gig hard drives is negligable.

thanks for all the replies so far, but please keep them coming, i will buy within the next 2 hours
Click to expand...

Hopefully, you've left yourself enough room in your budget or planned
for all the additional expenses of music production.

Interfaces, DAW software, plug-in software, back-up storage, mics, cables,
near field monitors, power conditioner, amps, pre-amps, FX and so on.

You're going to be hauling quite a bit of gear down those halls no matter what.
 
FFTT said:
Hopefully, you've left yourself enough room in your budget or planned
for all the additional expenses of music production.

Interfaces, DAW software, plug-in software, back-up storage, mics, cables,
near field monitors, power conditioner, amps, pre-amps, FX and so on.

You're going to be hauling quite a bit of gear down those halls no matter what.
Click to expand...

is the 20" good enough for music production?

how important is the processor upgrade anyway?

wouldn lugging a 24" to and from uni all the time be an uber pain the the rear?
 
There's not going to be that much difference in the hassle factor of hauling
a 20" or 24" and all the rest of your gear.

Either one will be fine for music production providing you aren't trying to
record too many tracks at the same time.

Generally, you'll never be tracking more than 2 inputs at the same time
running a solo project studio.

For that kind of work while you're learning, I would recommend the new
F/W Digidesign M BOX 2 PRO with the factory software bundle.

That's going to set you back $699.00 US.

If you intend to record live drum kits or a live band, you're going to want
a Mac Pro and much deeper pockets.

The best forums for music production are Gearslutz.com and BigBlueLounge.com.

Gearslutz has countless professional members right in your back yard there in the U.K.
 
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