Getting First mac.

[lovel]

I'm getting my first Mac this week. I was thinking an iMac at first but then moved to get the portable answer. My question is... Should I wait for USB 3.0? Also which Macbook would fit my needs better? Aluminum Unibody 2.0 or a 2008 MBP? I plan to use it for the following tasks;

1. Photoshop/Illustrator (CS4 and CS5 when it's out)
2. Web Design
3. Light Gaming (WoW/StarCraft 2/Diablo 3)
4. Everyday Stuff (Music/Movies/Web/Photos/E-mail)
5. Video/Sound Editing

I plan to upgrade to Snow Leopard when it's released. I will load it up with 4g of ram. Thanks for the help!

 

[chrmjenkins]

Don't bother waiting for USB 3.0.

Sounds like you would benefit from MBP, but avoid the ones with the nvidia 8600gt (high failure rate).

 

[Aniki]

A Macbook Pro would be PERFECT for you.

 

[lovel]

Looks like I'm going for the Pro. Thanks guys

 

[acfusion29]

Don't bother waiting for USB 3.0.

Sounds like you would benefit from MBP, but avoid the ones with the nvidia 8600gt (high failure rate).

A Macbook Pro would be PERFECT for you.

A MBP is not necessry.

1. Photoshop/Illustrator (CS4 and CS5 when it's out) My MacBook 2.0 does this fine
2. Web Design My MacBook 2.0 does this fine
3. Light Gaming (WoW/StarCraft 2/Diablo 3) Old games, so they should run fine
4. Everyday Stuff (Music/Movies/Web/Photos/E-mail) Every computer does this
5. Video/Sound Editing My MacBook 2.0 does this fine (Final Cut)

 

[chrmjenkins]

A MBP is not necessry.

3. Light Gaming (WoW/StarCraft 2/Diablo 3) Old games, so they should run fine

StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 aren't even out yet. Therefore, it would be remiss of you us to say the 9400 will be ok with them when they don't even have suggested system specs yet.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

Performance per dollar wise, the MBP is a better buy. Much better graphics card and bigger screen. You might miss out on small candy features likes multi-touch gestures, glass screen, unibody structure, but the MBP is a good choice.

 

[JamesGorman]

I actually think a macbook would do just fine. I dont know about how those games would run, but i assume they would be fine on decent settings.

 

[Aniki]

Performance per dollar wise, the MBP is a better buy. Much better graphics card and bigger screen. You might miss out on small candy features likes multi-touch gestures, glass screen, unibody structure, but the MBP is a good choice.

wtf? the new MBP has all of that

 

[chrmjenkins]

wtf? the new MBP has all of that

The OP is talking about an early 2008 MBP, not the new ones. Again, I advise the OP against an early 08 macbook due to 8600GT hardware failure issues.

 

[Aniki]

A MBP is not necessry.

1. Photoshop/Illustrator (CS4 and CS5 when it's out) My MacBook 2.0 does this fine Heavy projects ≠ Macbook *not pro*
2. Web Design: My MacBook 2.0 does this fine Indifferent, might be SLIGHTLY faster on MBP, but not noticeably.
3. Light Gaming (WoW/StarCraft 2/Diablo 3) Old games, so they should run fine NEW GAMES, 2 of them aren't out yet. and WOTLK just came out for Wow
4. Everyday Stuff (Music/Movies/Web/Photos/E-mail) Every computer does this I agree
5. Video/Sound Editing: My MacBook 2.0 does this fine (Final Cut) Ha, with an integrated GPU? and a 2.0 GHz processer? The MBP would be twice as fast, maybe more

Now what?

 

[Aniki]

The OP is talking about an early 2008 MBP, not the new ones. Again, I advise the OP against an early 08 macbook due to 8600GT hardware failure issues.

Oh, Even then, the 2008 models are fine. In real life I've yet to see someone with a 8600m GT burning out

 

[chrmjenkins]

Oh, Even then, the 2008 models are fine. In real life I've yet to see someone with a 8600m GT burning out

Sure, but why take the chance when the issue is known and you don't have to?

 

[iLog.Genius]

I'd go for the MacBook Pro only because of the bigger and better screen. Sure, you could go and buy an external monitor but times when you're not near one, I think the MacBook Pro's screen would be a better fit. As for games, Starcraft 2 and Diablo III haven't been released yet and we don't know the specs so why not go for the better card in 9600M GT?

 

[acfusion29]

StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3 aren't even out yet. Therefore, it would be remiss of you us to say the 9400 will be ok with them when they don't even have suggested system specs yet.

Whoops, went through the games quickly. My bad.

Now what?

I'm still going to argue with you because my MacBook does everything just fine in photoshop and final cut. I understand that the MBP would be way better but it depends on how intense your projects are.

I may have jumped to conclusions too quickly since I don't know what exactly the OP wants to do with the editing.

 

[JD92]

You would probably be very happy with either. I think the main factors you should be considering are:

1. Is the 13" screen too small for you?
2. Are you sure you'd be happy with a second hand notebook?

 

[lovel]

I feel like the 13" screen might be to small with all the pallets open.

What model of Macbook Pro would you suggest chrmjenkins?

I plan on very light video editing. Mainly Photoshop and Web Design. I might have Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and Dreamweaver all open at once. If everything works I don't mind a 2nd hand notebook.

 

[foothead]

I feel like the 13" screen might be to small with all the pallets open.

What model of Macbook Pro would you suggest chrmjenkins?

I plan on very light video editing. Mainly Photoshop and Web Design. I might have Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and Dreamweaver all open at once. If everything works I don't mind a 2nd hand notebook.

I agree. The 13" screen will be too small. I have an iBook G4 12". Whenever I use photoshop, I have to use a second display because mine is far too small.
with pallets open, I get about 3"x4" on my display. Go with MBP.

 

[PaperMacWriter]

If you haven't already bought it, I would advise waiting a a bit longer. There may be a refresh of the MB line soon... though this is just based on the average time between refreshes. There are almost identical wait times for macbook if you ignore major redesigns. But if you want/need it now, by all means get it now. I'm only speculating.
SG

 

[lovel]

If you haven't already bought it, I would advise waiting a a bit longer. There may be a refresh of the MB line soon... though this is just based on the average time between refreshes. There are almost identical wait times for macbook if you ignore major redesigns. But if you want/need it now, by all means get it now. I'm only speculating.
SG

I won't be buying till this upcoming Friday if I do. What kind of refresh do you expect? I can't imagine anything to drastic...

 

[andalusia]

I plan on very light video editing. Mainly Photoshop and Web Design. I might have Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, and Dreamweaver all open at once.

Since you'd be upgrading to 4GB of RAM anyway, I don't think this is a problem. However, it sounds like you need the screen space so go with the MBP. Get a refurb aluminium one.