[amandabrookelipkin]

Hey you guys.. I wanted to see which mac laptops you think are best for a college student going for a graphic design degree. Thanks in advanced for all your time and information.

[smax013]

amandabrookelipkin said:

Hey you guys.. I wanted to see which mac laptops you think are best for a college student going for a graphic design degree. Thanks in advanced for all your time and information.

Well, if you are going to buy new, then you only really have two models to choose from...the MacBook and the MacBook Pro.



The primary functional differences between the two are:
# Size of the screen...MB is 13" and the MBP is either 15" or 17"
# Graphics subsystem...the MB uses intergrated Intel graphics that uses shared memory (i.e. no dedicated VRAM) and the MBP uses a nVidia GeForce 8600M GT with either 128 mb or 256 mb of dedicated VRAM
# The MBP has a Firewire 800 port...the MB does not, but both have Firewire 400 ports
# The MBP has an ExpressCard expansion slot, the MB does not
# The MBP has a backlit keyboard, the MB does not...and the keys are phyically different
# The MBP has the option of a matte screen or a glossy screen, the MB only has the glossy
# The MBP is available with slightly faster processors
# The MBP can accept more memory than the MB (4 gb vs. 3 gb, although Apple officially list the MB max at 2 gb)
# The MBP has a metal case while the MB has a composite/plastic case
# The hard drive of the MB is MUCH easier to replace than the MBP's
Now, how do those items factor into use for a graphic design degree? Depends on what area of graphic design you think you might go into. If you are doing web design, photo editting, 2D graphic artist, etc, then the more advanced graphics might not matter that much. If you are going to be doing 3D graphics or CADD type stuff (3D models), then the more advanced graphics of the MBP will matter a LOT more. It will large depend on whether or not the programs you will be using will need the advanced graphics or not. Things like Photoshop don't really take much advantage of the advanced graphic, I believe.

Beyond that, most of the other features are personal preference type decisions. Will you prefer to work on a larger screen or is a smaller screen OK? Can you live with the potential reflections of a glossy screen even if the colors are more vibrant or would you want a matte finish screen? Which keyboard feels more comfortable to you? Are you willing to pay about twice as much to get a slightly faster processor? Do you really need the extra speed of a Firewire 800 port (many useful if you need fast hard drive access for things like video editting)? Do you like the look and feel of the metal case or will the plastic case be OK for you?



Those are all things that you will have to decide for yourself. About the only thing that could force your hand is if you must be using programs that need more advanced graphics or will be substantially faster with advanced graphics. About the only other thing is memory, but that is kind of mix of "force your hand" and "personal preference" since you can still likely do what you need to do with virtual memory, it would just be slower.



The only other thing that I can add is that I really like my MacBook Pro. I would not trade it for a MacBook at all. At one point, I did consider the MacBook for the smaller screen, but the 15" MBP screen actually works just fine for me. And the MBP is light enough that you don't really gain much advantage by going to the smaller MB. And that extra screen space is nice sometimes. I will note, however, that there are a LOT of people who like their MacBook equally as much.

[lilxkid24]

You would want a good graphics card, like 2 gigs of ram, a good proccessor. For a mac im guessing if you have recent hardware it would cost maybe 1-3grand. Macs are quite expensive thoughB-)

[smax013]

lilxkid24 said:

You would want a good graphics card, like 2 gigs of ram, a good proccessor. For a mac im guessing if you have recent hardware it would cost maybe 1-3grand. Macs are quite expensive thoughB-)

Macs are not that much more expensive than comparably equipped Windoze PeeCees. In otherwords, if you find a Windoze PeeCee laptop that has the same processor, same amount of RAM, same hard drive size, same screen size, same front side bus, same or similar graphics subsystem, a web cam, a Firewire port, etc, then I am guessing that you will find that it is not that much cheaper than the MacBook Pro. The point is that your don't compare a Ford Escort to a BMW and say that the BMW is expensive without realizing that they in two completely different classifications of cars. You should think the same way with a computer. Sure, you can find a Windoze PeeCee laptop for less than $1000, but it will be nothing close to what you get with a MacBook Pro in terms of features and abilities.