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musician making my first macbook purchase... HALP!?

L

Len.non

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 9, 2009
21
0
first off i want to say this site is amazing and ive been looking through it for the past hour finding out so much information on mac's thanks guys

anyways

this is going to be my first mac purchase, my pc is getting BSOD when i plug in my tascam interface and i cant stand it anymore so i switching over, hopefully.

my birthday is tomorrow and my father is looking to purchase one for me and here are the ones i've been looking at the new 13 inch macbook and a refurbished 13 inch macbook. i want to buy from the apple store/online also, so thats why havent looked at many other sites.

the issue is, i go off to college next year and i'll be editing video with this using most of the adobe creative suite programs. the school im looking at has an edit bay but i'm also looking to do independent project where it may not be possible to use those resources, so thats something im trying to consider

i also do music and i dont know if either have enough ports for 2 midi controllers and an interface, and maybe a digi 002 rack for protools if i get one later on...

can someone help me out with picking the right one, because my dad is going a bit crazy over the cost of everything... im also going to buy extra ram and etc after-market, and i dont know if theres a way to get a card slot in the nomal macbooks, or if there's any other mac laptop option that would be better for me... thanks in advance


EDIT: im now looking into mac desktops for the cheaper price but im not exactly sure how everything works with mac desktoips besides what ive worked with in school, so what would be the best cost effective option for a mac desktop? (current or previous gen)
 
also i was wondering if it'd be a smarter decision to get a previous generatinon mac and if that would be cheaper at all... and if so is it possible to find one on the apple store?
 
You can't buy refurbs from Apple Store, they are Online only, I think. Base 13" MBP should be fine for you. Is your video editing going to be something with iMovie or are you going to use Final Cut or other heavy apps? You can buy an external SD card reader and plug it to ExpressCard slot, I guess
 
Also think about the Student Discount option if you side with purchasing the new one because of in-store only constraints, but the refurbs are still obviously cheaper.
 
Hellhammer said:
You can't buy refurbs from Apple Store, they are Online only, I think. Base 13" MBP should be fine for you. Is your video editing going to be something with iMovie or are you going to use Final Cut or other heavy apps? You can buy an external SD card reader and plug it to ExpressCard slot, I guess
Click to expand...

oooh well theres a possibility of buying int online, when isaid apple store i meant like apple retailer online on in store, not an amazon or ebay or gainsaver...

my video editing is ging to be more final cut pro, after effects, and maybe avid
 
thegoldenmackid said:
Also think about the Student Discount option if you side with purchasing the new one because of in-store only constraints, but the refurbs are still obviously cheaper.
Click to expand...

for some reason when i checked the refurbished macbooks all were more expensive than the base 13 inch mbp
 
Len.non said:
oooh well theres a possibility of buying int online, when isaid apple store i meant like apple retailer online on in store, not an amazon or ebay or gainsaver...

my video editing is ging to be more final cut pro, after effects, and maybe avid
Click to expand...

Okay, I thought you meant buying from Apple Store, but whatever.

If you're using those apps, I would think 2.66GHz or 2.4GHz (refurb) 15" MBPs. Video editing needs quite a lot of power and 13" MBP can struggle with it (of course it will do it but slower than 15")
 
MacMini2009 said:
You should get the base 13in Macbook Pro plus you student discount, and also the free ipod touch and free printer deal if you want.
Click to expand...

im goign into my senior year into high school though, so i dont think i qualify for th student discount
 
Len.non said:
for some reason when i checked the refurbished macbooks all were more expensive than the base 13 inch mbp
Click to expand...

They are constantly changing. It's more trying to find the equivalent. With Final Cut being run, I'd recommend getting the MacBook (Pro), it will run on the unibody MacBook, but when it comes to editing and rendering, every last drop of speed becomes important.
 
ok thanks guys... one more question
freak situation occours and i have the choice of just getting a mac desktop, what would be the best option for what ive specified above?
 
Len.non said:
ok thanks guys... one more question
freak situation occours and i have the choice of just getting a mac desktop, what would be the best option for what ive specified above?
Click to expand...

I would still get a laptop. It will handle those apps well but not as fast as better computer would of course. Just get 4Gb RAM and you'll be OK
 
Hellhammer said:
I would still get a laptop. It will handle those apps well but not as fast as better computer would of course. Just get 4Gb RAM and you'll be OK
Click to expand...

the reason i'd get a desktop is because of cost, they are usually cheaper than the macbooks
 
Len.non said:
the reason i'd get a desktop is because of cost, they are usually cheaper than the macbooks
Click to expand...

The base 13in Macbook Pro and the base 20in iMac are the exact same cost. The obvious differences are that the iMac is not portable and has better specs. If you need the portability get the Macbook Pro, if not go for the iMac.
 
MacMini2009 said:
The base 13in Macbook Pro and the base 20in iMac are the exact same cost. The obvious differences are that the iMac is not portable and has better specs. If you need the portability get the Macbook Pro, if not go for the iMac.
Click to expand...

iMac has only better CPU and larger HD. Get the MBP, you'll need portability in college
 
Hellhammer said:
iMac has only better CPU and larger HD. Get the MBP, you'll need portability in college
Click to expand...

ok cool, thanks man...
final question, do you think it'd be a smarter decision ot go amazon/ebay than apple online/store?
and do previous gen macbook pro 15's have the same specs for lower prices elsewhere?
 
Len.non said:
ok cool, thanks man...
final question, do you think it'd be a smarter decision ot go amazon/ebay than apple online/store?
and do previous gen macbook pro 15's have the same specs for lower prices elsewhere?
Click to expand...

I wouldnt buy it from Apple. First off, you pay sales tax, thats another $100+ down the drain. Buy from Amazon, eBay, or MacMall. I bought my MBP brand new on eBay and saved myself over $500. MacMall also offers a number of mail in rebates for a lot of stuff. I bought my Mac Mini from them. Amazon also has some rebates. If you want to save a lot, eBay is the best route. You can get 8% cashback through Bing.com as well as a much better deal.

Look at this deal on eBay (just an example)-->http://cgi.ebay.com/APPLE-MACBOOK-PRO-2-66GHz-15-LAPTOP-MC026LL-A-NEW-ALUM_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1234Q7c293Q3a2Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem4ce9fe68cbQQitemZ330343278795QQptZAppleQ5fLaptopsQQsalenotsupported
$1819 is a great deal for that computer.
 
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