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Male Seeking Computer Compatible With Graphic Design Major Who Dabbles In Gaming

scotteh

scotteh

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 7, 2009
43
0
Title says it all. My parents, as a tradition, bought my siblings computers for graduation, and now it is my turn to leave for college. However, they know, that I know, that I know what I want. The problem is, they like the cost of the base 13", while I enjoy the specs of the base 15". So, here are a few questions. What need is there for me to have the 330 Gt with 256 mb Vram when it comes to say, Crysis (2), America's Army 3, Photoshop, and the likes? Mind you, I will be dual booting. So is, the 15" something I should convince my parents to get me (probably have to help pay myself if I want it), or is the 13" the companion for me? Feel free to use other reasons than just the details presented above to justify your answer, and tell me what a kook I am, and why I didn't search this.
 
Crysis.... on a Mac..... uhhh..... no XD

Sounds like you would fair better with a win7 machine. A nice Asus would do you better I think.
 
Meever said:
Crysis.... on a Mac..... uhhh..... no XD

Sounds like you would fair better with a win7 machine. A nice Asus would do you better I think.
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Uggh what are you talking about. There is not a laptop in the world right now that can max Crysis out so no matter what you buy you will have to compromise and tone it down.

To the OP: Other users have reported that Crysis runs at medium at native resolution, Americas army should be able to run on high with native resolution. You will not regret buying the 15" Macbook Pro (but I would wait for the back to school special).
 
Graphic Design Major? This is easy.

13" = 1280x800
15" = 1440x900 or 1680x1050

Sell it on the resolution, son! Take them to the store and show them both and show them how much more you can see on the screen.
 
scotteh said:
is the 15 a must then for this to even be possible?
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Yea 15" definitely for the resolution mentioned above plus the huge processor and graphics bump. If you go with the 13" you will probably regret it later so... the choice is easy.:D
 
uh, you could also do work on a calibrated monitor. I mean if you are going to do any serious design/print, you would have a calibrated monitor anyways.
 
thanks for the help guys. yeah, i'll wait for the end of school year deals, then take them to the apple store and make my case.
 
scotteh said:
thanks for the help guys. yeah, i'll wait for the end of school year deals, then take them to the apple store and make my case.
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haha @ making your case. it reminds me of when i started college and all i wanted was to convince my parents to buy me a macbook. i'm a senior now and just bought my own mbp. clearly my case sucked. :rolleyes:
 
HBOC said:
uh, you could also do work on a calibrated monitor. I mean if you are going to do any serious design/print, you would have a calibrated monitor anyways.
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Yeah... I don't know many graphics design people (only like 11), but pretty much all of them at least have a separate monitor, if not some sort of monstrous desktop at home. 2 of the people I know do have 15" mbps and just really large second monitors since they have side jobs in graphics design and need to take their work with them, but they don't game or do any of the super intense work...

Depending on how much portability you need, you could always go with some sort of desktop with a large monitor and decent gaming specs, then a cheap netbook for taking notes (or lower end macbook for notes/showing stuff off), but if you really NEED to have some sort of super portable machine that can do hard core graphics design anywhere, I guess you could go with a 15" mbp and hope that it handles games adequately...

Anyways, regardless of whether or not you get a 13" or 15" you will probably want a separate monitor, since neither of those is sizes is really all that adequate.
 
Ritzbitz said:
Yeah... I don't know many graphics design people (only like 11), but pretty much all of them at least have a separate monitor, if not some sort of monstrous desktop at home. 2 of the people I know do have 15" mbps and just really large second monitors since they have side jobs in graphics design and need to take their work with them, but they don't game or do any of the super intense work...

Depending on how much portability you need, you could always go with some sort of desktop with a large monitor and decent gaming specs, then a cheap netbook for taking notes (or lower end macbook for notes/showing stuff off), but if you really NEED to have some sort of super portable machine that can do hard core graphics design anywhere, I guess you could go with a 15" mbp and hope that it handles games adequately...

Anyways, regardless of whether or not you get a 13" or 15" you will probably want a separate monitor, since neither of those is sizes is really all that adequate.
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thank you for the advice. the 15" is what I would imagine being a good fit in terms all in one. I don't think I wanna deal with two seperate machines, but it's something to think about. having a seperate monitor makes sense too, something i will look into. I'll get what I can take.
 
fellow design major here! :) I would advise going for the biggest resolution you can buy, because, as you know, whereas photoshop at 13 inch may be at best okay, you are seriously screwed if you are going to use Cinema 4D (or anything 3D), After Effects, InDesign and espacially Final Cut Pro. Now I don't know if your school is as aggressive as mine when it comes to programs, but there is a good chance that you will encounter some of them. I'm buying a 15 hi-res antiglare one. I have a imac 24 at home, I use it for my design work and this macbook is going to be my portable workspace, as I often have to work in different places. I'm a first year student, with hell a lot of work so I expect myself working in holidays too. That's my reasons for 15. Hope this helps.

ps: if you are going to get 15, go for antiglare.
 
If you're serious about graphic design, I suggest you get a larger external monitor. Preferably an IPS panel. You'll also want to get a calibrator to calibrate all your displays color output.

If you're serious about gaming, you should build a Windows 7 box. $800 will get you a very capable system (won't play crysis on max, but it'll max almost everything else)

Seems like you're trying to find a compromise, which isn't really possible.

That said, a 15" high-res anti-glare MBP would be your best choice for a laptop.
 
macuserx86 said:
If you're serious about graphic design, I suggest you get a larger external monitor. Preferably an IPS panel. You'll also want to get a calibrator to calibrate all your displays color output.
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Couldn't be truer. Color constancy is a must. if you are to compromise portability I'd advise an iMac. (for its ips screen)
 
Just some friendly advice from a "senior" citizen. Aside from taking a class in "title construction" (man that title sucks! Sounds like an add in a 1970's underground rag.) you should take a good look at your atitude in regard to "college." Almost all graduates would probably admit they wasted far to much valuable time and opportunities playing a variety of "games" in their university days, games of all kinds, not just the computer type, which can literally destroy latent talent for sports, martial arts or indeed the fine arts if done to an extreme. Use your new computer as the tool it was designed to be, to help you improve yourself. That doesn't mean you cannot (shouldn't) play computer games for relaxation, it simply means I believe there are other more rewarding venues. You are very lucky to have parents willing to buy you a new Mac! Regardless of model or size. Many of us had to make do with second best, so I suggest you make the most of the opportunity! All of the above is a very personal opinion, take it or leave it as you like.:cool:
 
Rossoneri said:
Uggh what are you talking about. There is not a laptop in the world right now that can max Crysis out so no matter what you buy you will have to compromise and tone it down.

To the OP: Other users have reported that Crysis runs at medium at native resolution, Americas army should be able to run on high with native resolution. You will not regret buying the 15" Macbook Pro (but I would wait for the back to school special).
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i beg to differ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-iPV-2vBw
 
My new 15" MBP runs my 3d CAD and 3D animation software amazingly well (running in Windows 7). The same applications choked my old MacBook.

Same for games. Modern Warfare 2 runs shockingly well with even high settings.

I have to eat a lot of crow for how much I ranted about the mid-level GPU. Although its still far off from an Asus gaming rig, it has handled everything I have thrown at it so far
 
the gaming rig part is the least important part. like i said, i dabble (lol).

Would it be more logical to spend the same amount on a 13" and another monitor, or to get the 15?

the deal is I am only gonna be getting one comp. i will beg for a 15 high-res when we hit up the apple store, but who knows. if my parents pay straight up for a 15, i could prob get an external monitor on my own, but if i help pay for the 15, well there goes that idea.

thanks for all the information guys, i will beg and plead to spend more money.
 
i am in school for web design and am trying to get going on my photography. I have a 15" MBP. I have one external 23" monitor, but am going to be buying an IPS monitor here in the next week as well as a Canon Pixma Pro 9000MKII and a calibrator (don't know which one).

My girlfriend has a degree in graphic design (doesn't everyone now-a-days..she works at Starbucks and 6 of her co-workers have the same degree) and she didn't use a calibrated monitor (has a dell XPS desktop). She got plenty of work on that machine, even print work.
 
yeah, i will deffinetly push for the 15". however, pushing for the better res and antiglare will be hard... I WILL DO IT!
 
If you don't plan on upgrading for a while get as much as you can now and focus on a monitor later. You will need a monitor (+ keyboard and mouse) just because you'll get frustrated after a while with your head cranked downwards and trying to right click all sorts of things on the trackpad. My displays (MBP LCD and Cinema Display) are calibrated via Spyder but the Cinema's IPS screen simply reins supreme. The only reason I would use the built in display on a job is when i'm bringing images into lightroom. Once I get back back home I 'dock' my MBP, close the lid, switch to a user account with a grey background and get to work
 
HBOC said:
My girlfriend has a degree in graphic design (doesn't everyone now-a-days..she works at Starbucks and 6 of her co-workers have the same degree)
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I beg to differ. I'm a first year student and I got my first job offer from an agency. Which I didn't apply for. They found me. Uni. Degrees are good if you are going to a good university.
 
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