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Macbook pro or macbook air

J

jonniehenriquez

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 19, 2011
9
0
Im in need of a new laptop
I will use it mainly for photgraphy and video
I do alot of editing and need alot of space for photos
what do you guys recommend i need something that will be fast and wont slow down when im editing im new to macs so what do you guys recomend my budget is 500-1000
 
Used 15" MBP. 13" has too low res a screen IMO for photo/video editing, and the air isn't fast enough

Or a MacBook and use an external monitor
 
a used 15' mbp
processor speed?
processor type
ram
and hard drive
does it matter what year ?
im really new to this
 
I'm a heavy video editor, and I had the same predicament, I ended up getting a MBP because you do get more horse power, wait till tomorrow and see what happens to the air though, if it has i5 or i7 chips, GET IT
 
dallascurrie said:
I'm a heavy video editor, and I had the same predicament, I ended up getting a MBP because you do get more horse power, wait till tomorrow and see what happens to the air though, if it has i5 or i7 chips, GET IT
Click to expand...


what is an i5 or i7 im so new to this lol
 
I do plenty of serious photography on my 15" MBP. I upgraded the hard drive and the ram myself - cheaper than apple and does not violate the warranty. Plenty of ram and a good size hard drive is often very useful for that type of work. You can't do this on a MA and the bigger screen is better to show others your work, but when at home/office I can use an external monitor.

As for the i5 vs i7, I tend to go with the base models, which are i5's as they offer the best value and the price difference let me do my own upgrade. An i5, of the last generation, 2010, has been plenty for me. For video the newer quad cores might offer a tangible difference.

To upgrade ram from 4 to 8gb currently cost under $100 and my large, fast (fast for a HDD drive) 750Gb 7200 rpm, Scorpio Black cost me $109 from Amazon. I use the original hard drive as one of my backups - cloned everything except my library so if the upgraded drive ever fails I just open and swap it out
 
jonniehenriquez said:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/sys/2499956052.html

what do you guys think about this?
Click to expand...

Price seems good considering it is loaded - no mention of the year or model. The CPU is far from the best if you plan on serious work. I had a 2010 13" MBP that had the same 2.4 C2D CPU and the 2.4 i5 runs 50% faster. If you do not already have software them perhaps that model is okay but if you already have software then may be best to pass.

Also, the current 2011 base 13" MBP's are fantastic with the latest i5 Sandy Bridge CPU's. If you have a Microcenter.com store near you then they have a 'in-store-only' sale for a new model for only $999 which is a fantastic price. I actually bought my 2010 13" MBP from them for $999 last July and sold it in December for $1,100 loaded with Photoshop CS4
 
MBP is my best option
does it matter what year 2008-2010
i5 or i7
2.4ghz or more
2gb ram or more
250gb hard drive or more
13 or 15'
is that what i should be looking for?
 
And to be honest, I'd be skeptical of the software, IMO it's more than likely pirated software. Very common on Craigslist unfortunately.
 
If you're looking for an i5 or i7, a 15 inch would be more than your $1000 price range. More in the 1300+ area even used/refurbished. If you can handle a 13 inch screen for photo and video editing (I couldn't) then you might get it for around $1000-$1100.
 
well all i need is something than can not slow down on me when im editing
and just need it for photo editing and space for lots of photos dont want something super fancy and expensive
 
Overall I would recommend the base model of the 13 inch MacBook Pro. You can or a friend can always help you upgrade the RAM and Hard Drive space later for much cheaper than Apple would charge. Maybe buy it on MacMall or Amazon for a bit cheaper and no tax. Still going to be a bit over $1000 though.
 
You definitely don't need a pro for photo editing.

And IMHO a maxed out current 13" Air will be faster than a pre-2010 MBP.
 
If its a core 2 duro will that still do ?
If all i use is photoshop and aperture cant a reg macbook do instead of a macbook pro
 
ressources

If you do a lot of photo and video editing you probably won't be satisfy with a macbook air, programs like final cut pro or aperture or even imovie takes a lot of your ressources and macbook air are just not fit for the job my friend... I know its sad. But the new macbook pro 13¨would do the job for a lower cost and good ressources!
 
jonniehenriquez said:
If its a core 2 duro will that still do ?
If all i use is photoshop and aperture cant a reg macbook do instead of a macbook pro
Click to expand...

I used Aperture with an 07 Black macbook, heck I'd sell it to you right now if you want, PM me and we can work something out :)

But yea, a machine with at least a 2.2ghz core 2 duo, 4 gigs of ram... that should treat you just fine if you're doing light editing with photos. I edited and touched up pictures on mine with Aperture and loved it. Great performance.

If you can't afford a new machine, a C2D one with 4 gigs of ram would be good enough. Obviously one with a sandy bridge processor (iCore) would be better though.
 
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