My first Mac! (Student - college)

[likewhat?]

Hey!

As the title suggests, I'm on my way to buy my first Mac ever and I need some advice!

My budget: 2000$ (max) - I don't have any problem upgrading any hardware later on...

My needs:

- Programming
- Video editing (nothing hard core, but decent enough so that Final Cut runs decently)
-Browsing, music, movies, email, etc etc etc...

Overall, I'm looking for a comfortable experience - smooth performance (which probably includes having a relatively fast processor and other such decent specs).

At first, I considered going with the basic MacBook. But it seems like that may not be enough...Will the Mbp with core i5 (2.4 ghz) suffice to my needs? A MacBook (C2D, 2.4 ghz, 2GB Ram), perhaps?

Thanks for any advice/input/suggestions!

 

[Intell]

In my opinion, the basic will be fine for you.

 

[wakka092]

I would go for the Pro. Speed wise your needs would be satisfied. I'd recommend against the 13" MBP - Final Cut and programming would be cramped.

 

[likewhat?]

@Intell, could you elaborate as to why the basic should be fine?

@Wakka, should I aim for core i5 or i7? I've read that theres little difference between the 2, and it'd be worth saving some money and spend it on upgrading to SSD, better display and more RAM.

Thanks for the replies, guys/gals!

 

[Intell]

Opps, I meant the basic Pro. Not the plastic Whitebook. I think the basic is fine, because I'm using all the software you outlined on a 3 year old 13" Macbook and it handles it all very nicely. The only thing I've done to it is upgrade it's hard drive to 500Gb.

 

[Yimbie]

I'd recommend going with the 15" for the video editing... unless you're fine working on a 13" screen.

 

[wakka092]

Stick with the i5. You'll get a lot more use out of getting the higher-res screen.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

15" Macbook Pro

later: more ram if you get into higher end video editing
large external display
midrange ssd (intel x25-m others; I consider "top end" ssds to be any of the expensive slc based models).

 

[likewhat?]

Ok so it all boils down to

13-inch: 2.4GHz
Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB Memory
250GB hard drive
SD card slot
Built-in battery (10 hours)
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics

VS

15-inch: 2.4GHz
Intel Core i5
4GB Memory
320GB hard drive
SD card slot
Built-in battery (8-9 hour)
Intel HD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256 MB

Are there any huge benefits with having the above highlighted features?

 

[Mac-key]

Ok so it all boils down to

13-inch: 2.4GHz
Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB Memory
250GB hard drive
SD card slot
Built-in battery (10 hours)
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics

VS

15-inch: 2.4GHz
Intel Core i5
4GB Memory
320GB hard drive
SD card slot
Built-in battery (8-9 hour)
Intel HD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 256 MB

Are there any huge benefits with having the above highlighted features?

You'll definitely see better results with the i5 when it comes to rendering video and exporting out of FCP.

Since you got the budget, go with the i5 - better processor, and more screen real estate.