Buying a Macbook Pro - Which one?

[darcy010]

Hello Facepunch.
So i'm looking to buy a Macbook pro some time in the next couple of weeks. I'm looking to do some lots of filming things on it (Eg: movie editing, vfx, shit like that) and hoping it's going to last me for a few years.
And although it's not going to be a gaming laptop, I wouldn't mind downloading steam and being able to play most games. Nothing as demanding as say Crisis 2 though.

My parents have put in $1000 for me :v:

My only trouble now is which one do I get?

My choice is between.

[img]http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/6372/picture6wt.png[/img]

Noting that I don't really care about the size. Is it worth paying that much more money for less memory, but a AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB GDDR5 graphics card. What benefits will this graphics card have? Or am I better off just getting the 13 inch.

[Hack]

Get the 15 inch 2.4 Ghz: 0.2 Ghz faster, 250GB more storage, and 512 mb more video card.

If you want to movie edit you need as much power as possible.

Also, it's only $2500, if you want to go more hardcore you should, I would spend up to $6000.

[tinos]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32953701]Or am I better off just getting the 13 inch.[/QUOTE]
I own the 13 inch, it was a hard decision to make, I thought the screen would we way too small, and the computer way too slow. But that really hasn't been the case.
OSX does such a great job of window management, the screen size is a non-issue. In fact I've come to prefer it. My cousin has the larger MacBook, and it just seems big n clunky, a pain to bring around.

I wouldn't however recommend it for gaming. I turn down the graphics to about half, and it runs decent, but I wouldn't want to use it for a long period of time. I really only "game" on it when I am checking on my servers.

I build websites, do graphics work, have made videos, make music... No issues with the 13.

[Flem]

13 Inch is fine, works like a charm keep your pc for gaming and your mac for media.

[MisterM]

The 13inch won't perform very well in any new games, and with low settings on games a few years old. The 15inch got a real boost of value with a 500GB HDD instead of 320GB and the 512mb gpu. My 330M GT plays any game, Deus Ex: HR, Crysis 2 and BF3, just not on the prettiest of settings so the base 2011 15inch model will be fantastic. For video editing you might want a larger resolution panel, I know I crave it in photo editing but I'm used to at least 192x01200 panels. The 15" isn't a pain to carry around, for the size of it its pretty light and really solid.

If you can, try and get someone who is in college to order it for you, because you get a significant discount that way.

[Protocol7]

The HD 3000 graphics can handle Source games and Minecraft pretty well. If that's what you're shooting for it's fine.

13 inches is perfect for a laptop display too. I have a 13.3 inch 1280x800 laptop and it's just great.

[darcy010]

Just to clarify.
I'm not intending to do very much gaming on this at all. I have my free copy of Portal and Portal 2 and maybe play some Minecraft, so it would nice to just chill out on those. But I would never expect to go out and buy a game just for this laptop. especially not something that's a new release.
So from the sounds of it. Because i'm not hugely intent of gaming, am I better off not bothering with the 15 incher?

[editline]26th October 2011[/editline]

[QUOTE=MisterM;32967489]
If you can, try and get someone who is in college to order it for you, because you get a significant discount that way.[/QUOTE]

My parents will buy it so it will be tax deductable or something if it's 'required for work'

[editline]26th October 2011[/editline]

[QUOTE=MisterM;32967489]
If you can, try and get someone who is in college to order it for you, because you get a significant discount that way.[/QUOTE]

My parents will buy it so it will be tax deductable or something if it's 'required for work'

[Knight Vista]

They're updating the site right now, you can't even attempt to buy one. I think they're going to change the prices again. So whatever results you have there may not be there tomorrow.

[NeoTurtle]

Darcy, I am saying this both as an impartial anonymous person on the internet, and as a [I]friend.[/I]
Get a windows laptop. If you get a macbook pro, I will violently beat you with it.
You are actually just throwing your money away.

[podthegod]

[QUOTE=NeoTurtle;32970826]Darcy, I am saying this both as an impartial anonymous person on the internet, and as a [I]friend.[/I]
Get a windows laptop. If you get a macbook pro, [b]I will violently beat you with it.[/b]
You are actually just throwing your money away.[/QUOTE]
He's not joking. I've seen him do things with grapes and string that haunt me to this day.

[darcy010]

Go away Dom nobody loves you!

[editline]26th October 2011[/editline]

Also mind is made up. I'm just following the influence of Media class. Mrs Burmingham has assured me tthat for film stuff a mac is the right option.

[NeoTurtle]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32972046]Go away Dom nobody loves you!

[editline]26th October 2011[/editline]

Also mind is made up. I'm just following the influence of Media class. Mrs Burmingham has assured me tthat for film stuff a mac is the right option.[/QUOTE]
Has Ms Birmingham ever struck you as the computer-competent type?

[Oath]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32972046]Go away Dom nobody loves you!

[editline]26th October 2011[/editline]

Also mind is made up. I'm just following the influence of Media class. Mrs Burmingham has assured me tthat for film stuff a mac is the right option.[/QUOTE]

Dude, a Windows laptop can do anything a Mac can do, and can even run OSX if you're really set on having a Mac.

[darcy010]

It's because I despise paint to the point where I don't want it on my computer. Is that a good enough reason?

[NeoTurtle]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32972640]It's because I despise paint to the point where I don't want it on my computer. Is that a good enough reason?[/QUOTE]
Gonna go ahead and say no it's not because that makes no sense.

[Oath]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32972640]It's because I despise paint to the point where I don't want it on my computer. Is that a good enough reason?[/QUOTE]

[IMG]http://i39.tinypic.com/21mayoi.png[/IMG]

[darcy010]

Okay i'll admit that was a lie.
But really, even with how much you despise macs. Have you seen a media student walking around with a pc? I'll admit I like them both equally, but with what i'm looking to do I may as well join the badnwagon.

[loony383]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32973157]Okay i'll admit that was a lie.
But really, even with how much you despise macs. Have you seen a media student walking around with a pc? I'll admit I like them both equally, but with what i'm looking to do I may as well join the badnwagon.[/QUOTE]
Yes, actually, in reality, the extra cost of a mac over a Windows laptop has absolutely nothing to justify it, a windows laptop is just as good at everything the mac can do for a lot less money, I see people that use macs for media all the time, I also see people using windows to do exactly the same just as efficiently and easily as the mac users.

[Curls]

So your going to pay like, 3-4 times as much for a stupid brand name

get a windows laptop with the same things in it for far less, and slap an apple sticker on it if you want a mac so bad. It does the same exact thing, plus its just a little more open.

[editline]26th October 2011[/editline]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32972640]It's because I despise paint to the point where I don't want it on my computer. Is that a good enough reason?[/QUOTE]

if this is the one reason you don't want a windows, then I'm sorry, go ahead, go waste your money, I'm not stopping you for being silly.

Sounds more like a personal issue because of bigoted fanboys for fans if thats the case.

[editline]26th October 2011[/editline]

If my parents were going to pay that much, I'd say the laptop cost that, get the money from them and keep it, and pay for a cheap laptop that works good, or something like that.

[Protocol7]

for the price of a MBP you can get a better-specced Windows laptop that will scream through media applications

You may lose out on a great trackpad but you should get a dedicated mouse for serious computing anyways

[Flem]

[QUOTE=darcy010;32973157]Okay i'll admit that was a lie.
But really, even with how much you despise macs. Have you seen a media student walking around with a pc? I'll admit I like them both equally, but with what i'm looking to do I may as well join the badnwagon.[/QUOTE]

Aside from working at college I do all my media work on my [B]PC[/B] at home and I [I]prefer it[/I].

Also if you ant to joint he bandwagon you'll have to sit in Star Bucks, act like a homosexual and pretend your up yourself.

[tinos]

I don't do much video, but I do a ton of graphics and web work.
I was once like the Windows people here, until I actually got used to the OSX operating system.

There is absolutely no way I'd go back to editing on a Windows machine. Too clunky. The workflow OSX can help provide is unparalleled...

[Protocol7]

[QUOTE=tinos;32975106]I don't do much video, but I do a ton of graphics and web work.
I was once like the Windows people here, until I actually got used to the OSX operating system.

There is absolutely no way I'd go back to editing on a Windows machine. Too clunky. The workflow OSX can help provide is unparalleled...[/QUOTE]

I think that's down to the software you use... not the operating system.

[tinos]

[QUOTE=Protocol7;32975365]I think that's down to the software you use... not the operating system.[/QUOTE]
Yes, definitely. Because finder isn't part of the operating system, neither are Expose, or spaces, or any of the other eases that OSX provides.
Not to mention we are looking at a beautifully simple UI that maximizes application space.

Theres a reason our type of people prefer it, and it's not because of fad.

I've used both, Windows longer than OSX, and in between the both, Linux. So don't try preaching to me. I know what works, and what works well.

[Flem]

[QUOTE=tinos;32979205]Yes, definitely. Because finder isn't part of the operating system, neither are Expose, or spaces, or any of the other eases that OSX provides.
Not to mention we are looking at a beautifully simple UI that maximizes application space.

Theres a reason our type of people prefer it, and it's not because of fad.

I've used both, Windows longer than OSX, and in between the both, Linux. So don't try preaching to me. I know what works, and what works well.[/QUOTE]

So does windows.

[tinos]

[QUOTE=Flem;32979719]So does windows.[/QUOTE]
Not nearly as nice, but yes they try (to keep up).

[Big D Duchovny]

[QUOTE=tinos;32979988]Not nearly as nice, but yes they try (to keep up).[/QUOTE]

Try stopping presenting your opinion as fact - it's just gonna piss some people off. Anyway, I prefer WIndows, but that's just my opinion, really.

[tinos]

[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;32980374]Try stopping presenting your opinion as fact - it's just gonna piss some people off. Anyway, I prefer WIndows, but that's just my opinion, really.[/QUOTE]
Well, it is fact, sorrys. They are literally trying to keep up.

Besides, why are you guys even in this thread which is comparing three non-PC laptops. Let alone this whole damn forum...?

You guys come here spouting opinions not asked for in nearly every thread, then have a problem when people defend another side (the side the forum was meant for).
Go to the windows forum and pretend all you want... You wont find me there, promise.

[Protocol7]

Because people don't need to waste money on a computer based on needs that could be fulfilled on something cheaper.

Expose is kind of moot because Windows 7 alt-tab has window previews and then there's win-tab, and from someone who works on 100% Windows and Microsoft platforms, I can say I prefer Windows 7. I have one XP VM (I post on this when I'm at work), one RDP connection, Outlook, SQL Server Management Studio, Visual Studio 2010 and Chrome open running Slacker Radio. That's three different machines I can manage effectively with Windows 7 from one workstation.

The only difference between Mac OS X and Windows 7 is truly that one is an alternative of the other. Functionality is 100% the same but presented in a different manner.

Did I mention that my workstation is an i7, has a discrete Radeon card, 16GB of RAM, a 120GB SSD, a 1TB hard drive, and two 1920x1200 monitors and cost about the price of a 15 inch MacBook?

It's not that Mac OS is bad, it's just that it's not cost efficient. If you have money to blow, go for it, but you shouldn't if you don't need to.

[darcy010]

Dom tell your friends to leave me alone!
First of all the paint thing was a joke. Secondly i'd prefer to have a Mac book pro than a windows laptops. That's my opinion, the reason I came to this section was to get away from the Windows fan boys and get a real opinion on which I should get rather than "Don't get it dickhead"

[editline]27th October 2011[/editline]

If you are all so against Macs. What the hell are you doing in this section? Not everyone shares your opinion.