I need to know if I'm getting what I want.

Okay, so I'm getting ready to buy a new laptop (With a budget around $12-1300) and there's so much I need to know before I buy. I've been asking everyone various things, and I figure that these forums are a good place to ask as well (as you guys own the computers and know about them).
I've used Macintosh minimally, but I love them, I know musicians love them, and I would much rather have one that my PC, however, I've been doing a lot of looking into it and I'm still thinking PC is the best way for me to go right now, so here's your chance to change my mind:

This is what I am going to do with my new computer:
Use Fruity Loops Studio
Use Finale 2007 and beyond
If I get a Macintosh, I plan on getting GarageBand and hopefully some of the Logic Studio programs.
I want to be able to store large amounts of music, as well as create podcasts efficiently and professionally (I have a radio podcast hosted on a website and iTunes)
I want to be able to (hopefully) create and maintain a professional website for that podcast, as well as my musical endeavours.

Now this is all fine and good (except maybe Fruity Loops), but here's the kicker.

I am not a hardcore gamer, but I play Counter Strike 1.6, and C&C3, Guild Wars, then smaller games like StepMania, et cetera. This sort of worries me with the Mac, because the Macintosh I would get if I do choose to get it has only a 64MB video card. Now, I talked to a representative on the phone and they said that with the 2.0Ghz Dual Core Processor and the 2GB of RAM (Which is what I plan to get), games will run fine speed-wise, but I still don't know in terms of the video card. And the compatability of certain things is also an issue. I do not want to buy a Mac just to run Windows XP on it so I can do these things, I want a mac for the great machine that it is, but these things lead me to believe that at this point, with the budget and such that I have, that going for a new PC is the best choice for me.

Your thoughts?

The Mac I am going to get is a regular Macbook (the one that starts at 1,099), except I am upgrading it ever so slightly.

Here are the specs:

2.0Ghz Dual Core processor speed (4MB l2 Cache)
2GB 667Mhz DDR2 SDRAM
80GB Hard Drive (kind of a kick in the ass for me)
Intel GMA 950, 64MB DDR2
And then I plan on improving the sound card and sound system in any way I can.

What should I do?

P.S. Not to be rude, but I know people for both sides of the computer world spectrum tend to be "fanboys" for their particular OS. Please don't be one of these people; I seriously want to get what I need out of this computer and can't afford to make a mistake. Thanks, everyone.

 

Well, the reason I'm not going to do that, is because I have other computers that, if this Mac is not going to give me something that makes me want it that much more than another computer, I'm going to go for. So I'm going to assume this is a vote in favour of, the Mac is not what I want. Thanks for the reply, though. =]

 

I have done a ******** of research on it, and I am not a very computer literate person. My intent here was to find people who own Macintoshes who can tell their opinion on whether or not I'm going to be able to get what I want out of this Macintosh. I made it very clear that I want a Macintosh, not a PC, but I do not want a Mac if it's not going to give me what I want. I also made it very clear that playing Counter Strike is not my only intent with this computer. My main concern is whether it has the ability to do more of what I want to do (which is make/record music and play a couple of games) than another computer. I didn't ask anyone to compare it to another computer, I just want to know how much of those things and how well this Macintosh would be able to handle it, but if you want the one I'm looking at to compare, I am looking at the dell Inspiron 1721:

PROCESSOR AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-60 (1MB/2.0GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
SYSTEM COLOR Spring Green
DISPLAY Anti-glare, widescreen 17.0 inch display (1440 x 900)
VIDEO CARD ATI RADEON® Xpress1270 HyperMemory™
HARD DRIVE Size: 160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Dell Wireless 1490 802.11a/g Mini-Card
INTEGRATED WEBCAM No Webcam Option
BATTERY OPTIONS 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™HD Software Edition

My only reason for asking people not to be fanboys, is I don't want people to come on here and copy the mac slogans like "it just works" and stuff verbatim, or just say things like "Mac is much better than PC, go Mac." I was simply asking for a serious opinion on the state of this particular macintosh for my interests. I'm sorry if that's too much to ask in a forum called "buying tips, advice, and discussion."

 

Well, selling my Desktop is not part of the plan. I plan on keeping the desktop PC, which is capable of playing those games, (though not very well). I know Macs are very expensive, which is why I've been leaning towards going Dell instead for my laptop, but I was posting this just to check any other opinions and comments related.

 

Okay, there's a bit of an update still...

I've heard all this stuff from both sides, and i understand that the video cards in this Macbook is going to be ******, but there's a couple things that are still making me consider getting this Macbook...

The biggest reason: Logic Studio.

I looked up the recommended requirements for the entire $500 Logic Studio package, and the Macbook I looked at seems to be able to handle it all perfectly. This is a HUGE factor or me in my decision, because I would absolutely love to own and use this program, and would be an amazing asset to my computing and music world.

And upon looking a bit closer at the video card in my PC choice, the video card seems to be (I don't know if it's as ******, but close) just as ****** or close to the 64MB one in the Mac. Another important thing is that I do still have this Desktop that I can play Counter Strike on.

The important thing for me is not necessarily whether the computer can do everything I do with a computer right now, it's whether it will be a major asset to my traveling needs. I want something that can do my basic tasks, like taking it to school and typing papers and taking notes and stuff with it, and maybe play some simple, can-play-on-5-year-old-computers games, like StepMania and such, as well as surfing the internet, but besides those basic tasks that pretty much every computer can do, I want something that is exactly what Logic Studio is. I want to have this professional software because I am a musician and that is what is important to me in this computer, is recording, mixing, editing, and listening to music, and things like that. It would also be nice if there was a way for me to use, say, Fruity Loops on the computer, too, but from what I understand, with Logic Studio, I can do anything I could do on Fruity Loops.

So, I've noticed people seem to get a bit angry regarding what people say on here, and please, don't be. Like I said before, I'm not very computer literate, and I'm trying my best to explain what I want, so I can get opinions. I don't want one person to say any magic words to convince me, I just want to hear what a ton of different people have to say about it so that I can make my decision when the time comes. So at this point, it comes down to this:

I have until 2009 or 2010 before I go to Berklee College of Music, where I am required to buy a brand new Macbook Pro for their laptop program. If I get this Macbook and Logic Studio, will it satisfy me, musically, as well as satisfy me with those simplest of tasks (ignore the gaming for now), until then? If I seem to be reiterating the stuff I said before at all, I probably am, but I'm jsut looking for as many opinions as possible. Please don't be frustrated with me.

 

I will check that out and get back on you. And yeah, that would be an option, if I had a lot of money, but I'm still in High School and with needing to buy the newest Macbook Pros for the college anyways, I was looking more for something that served my purposes now, which I think if I got Logic Studio and could use that well, that would be perfect, however, I don't know. That's the only reason I responded like that, to him. Also, because to get a decent Macbook Pro instead would be another 4 or 5 paychecks, not just one =/ I appreciate the feedback, though, and all of this is (believe it or not) helping me with my decision. It's just a really hard one to make, because I don't want to make the wrong decision at any costs.

And no, I don't have two other computers, I just have this desktop, which isn't that great, and I need a laptop mainly for the ability to take it places and move it around, et cetera.

There are still reasons for me to consider buying a Macbook, and Logic Studio is the biggest one, so at this point, if I'm going to have to go for a Macbook Pro just to make getting the mac worth while, I'm going to stick with Windows, but we'll see.

Does anyone think that Logic Studio is a better reason to get the Macbook than not getting it?

 

I guess that's true. And I've thought about all that. Most of what makes sense about the decision points to just going for the PC at this point, but, godamn... .Mac and Logic Studio and all those are so enticing lol

And I'm a Junior. The point of the laptop for me is to take my musical exploration to new places, which is why Logic Studio is such a big dreamy thing for me. It's not necessarily a need at this point, it's just that appeal of becoming a bigshot around these parts, haha. I'm definitely going for a laptop, it's just the decision that's the hard part, because while I was at Berklee, I got to try out the Macs they use there and they use Logic Studio and the midi keyboards and all that good shiz, and it was oh so amazing.

Also, I have a ******** of stuff planned up besides this laptop lol

Here's a short list, in order:

New Laptop (around Christmas time)
New Rickenbacker 4003 Bass, yum...
Paying to go to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp next summer
Hopefully entering Berklee College of Music ($3000 Mandatory laptop program for brand new Macbook Pro), ~$12,000 a semester for Tuition.

So, yeah...I have my goals set out for a while lol I'm a kid, what do you expect? =/

 

This is all becoming more and more helpful. I actually do think I'm going to go for the Mac at this point, if and only if I am able to afford to get Logic along with it, which will require a bit more saving, definitely, but I think it's worth it. I guess more questions I have at this point are these:

Assuming I buy a new Macbook at this point, with the 2.0Ghz Dual Core Processor and the 2GB of RAM (Which I believe is plenty to run Logic efficiently and all its sub-programs in the package, someone correct me if they have actually running experience with logic on this machine), will I be able to sell it for a decent price in a few years easily, when I need to go and buy a brand new MBP?

Also, any information anyone has regarding Logic and how well it works, and possibly some short tutorials regarding it and how easy it is to use or how to use Mainstage in a live playing situation. That kind of stuff...I know this is the wrong forum location, so I'm going to repost questions like that in a more appropriate forum, but I'm just throwing it out there in case.

Thanks for the help, everyone, and I look forward to getting more =]

 

One thing about it, is, with Logic being so expensive, as well as any extra equipment I may need in terms of sound or whatever, it's going to be close to $1800 or $2000, even with the cheapest Macbook (upgraded, of course). So, yeah. I'm also not even sure what kind of other things I need (midi-related things, cabinets, et cetera) to make Logic more useful for me. I'm not very proficient in all the technical stuff surrounding music.