I am starting college in the fall for industrial design and I am an aspiring iOS developer. I have about $2000 usd to spend. It took me a year to save up this money and I want to make the correct choice. I cannot go on using my boyfriend's PC for high powered applications because I just don't like it. I use my 2.4 ghz core 2 duo MacBook (which I have had since high school) for Xcode and word processing at this point but not much else. I need a new MacBook.
I will be using the following software the most:
Blender/Carrara for 3d modeling
Adobe Photoshop for some pretty intensive image manipulation
Adobe Illustrator
XCode for iOS development
TextMate
Pages and Keynote (for class)
Garage Band
If possible I would like to be able to play Skyrim via boot camp, but it's not the end of the world if I can't.
I hope to start doing some more advanced illustration on my Mac and maybe some animation (as a hobby)
The screen is kind of a big deal to me. I've been using my boyfriend's PC with a 17" monitor for photo editing and rendering. Even with retina displays possibly right around the corner, 13" seems small. I have definitely considered an external monitor as well but I'm really not convinced that the 13" Air or Pro have capable enough graphics for what I intend to use it for.
I'm not really interested in a desktop iMac because I like going to friends houses and pubs to work sometimes, and it would be nice to be able to bring it to school if need be.
My question is: which MacBook pro is powerful enough for some pretty extensive image manipulation, a healthy amount of multitasking, some gaming, some music editing, and anything else that might hit me as a college student? I have an iPad 2, so if I feel like something lighter for web browsing and light coding at cafes, I am covered.
I am probably leaning towards 15" or 17" inch MacBook pros, to be honest but I don't want to buy something with an excessive amount of power that I won't need. I am comfortable waiting until the late 2011 pros go on sale and saving some money if that is more practical. However... I have always purchased refurb from apple and new tech excites me. What are the benefitsvof buying brand new? Would it be worth it for someone going into industrial design to pay a premium for the newest tech? I do intend for this computer to last as long as possible. The upcoming MacBook pros sound tempting if rumors are to be believed, but will the spec jump be worth a couple more months of saving?
I should probably have waited until monday to post this, and I know things will change, but I hit my $2000 savings goal today and I am overwhelmingly excited.
I will be using the following software the most:
Blender/Carrara for 3d modeling
Adobe Photoshop for some pretty intensive image manipulation
Adobe Illustrator
XCode for iOS development
TextMate
Pages and Keynote (for class)
Garage Band
If possible I would like to be able to play Skyrim via boot camp, but it's not the end of the world if I can't.
I hope to start doing some more advanced illustration on my Mac and maybe some animation (as a hobby)
The screen is kind of a big deal to me. I've been using my boyfriend's PC with a 17" monitor for photo editing and rendering. Even with retina displays possibly right around the corner, 13" seems small. I have definitely considered an external monitor as well but I'm really not convinced that the 13" Air or Pro have capable enough graphics for what I intend to use it for.
I'm not really interested in a desktop iMac because I like going to friends houses and pubs to work sometimes, and it would be nice to be able to bring it to school if need be.
My question is: which MacBook pro is powerful enough for some pretty extensive image manipulation, a healthy amount of multitasking, some gaming, some music editing, and anything else that might hit me as a college student? I have an iPad 2, so if I feel like something lighter for web browsing and light coding at cafes, I am covered.
I am probably leaning towards 15" or 17" inch MacBook pros, to be honest but I don't want to buy something with an excessive amount of power that I won't need. I am comfortable waiting until the late 2011 pros go on sale and saving some money if that is more practical. However... I have always purchased refurb from apple and new tech excites me. What are the benefitsvof buying brand new? Would it be worth it for someone going into industrial design to pay a premium for the newest tech? I do intend for this computer to last as long as possible. The upcoming MacBook pros sound tempting if rumors are to be believed, but will the spec jump be worth a couple more months of saving?
I should probably have waited until monday to post this, and I know things will change, but I hit my $2000 savings goal today and I am overwhelmingly excited.
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