Looking at buying a Mac

[master7045]

Hello all, like the title says, I'm considering a Mac laptop for me and my wife. I just sold my Windows laptop (an Asus POS) and I'm considering jumping on the Apple bandwagon. We both have iPhones now (mine: 3Gs hers: 4) and were using itunes more and more. I've been a Windows user all my life, somewhat by default, but I've dabbled into Linux a bit so I'm not afraid to dive into something new. The wife has always used Windows, hated it when I tried Linux. She does some light picture editing (we take tons of pictures of our son, yes we are those people) and I think we'll start editing some home videos as well. I was originally going to pick up a tablet, either an ipad 2 or transformer prime, gtab, etc, but since my wife hates using our desktop in the office, I am somewhat forced into a laptop. I was looking at the MacBook Air 11" as my boss just picked one up and man that is tiny. I have no need for optical as my office PC/server has one. Also, this is going to be on a wireless N connection. My "needs" (who really needs a 1K laptop for home use...) is strong battery, portability and good screen for pictures/videos. I'm leaning toward the Mac Book Pro 13" in the core i5 variant. What does everyone think?

 

[Kadarin]

You should really look at both the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air in the 13" size. You're probably going to be fine with the capabilities of the laptop either way you go, but the form factor of the Air really grows on you after a while. Make sure wifey is on board with the choice as well...

 

[TheStu]

Go to an Apple Store or Best Buy and play around with them for a bit. See which one appeals to you the most.

 

[Subyman]

MacBook Pro 13" is the staple of Apple IMO. Definitely a solid buy for your first Mac. I think it would be perfect for your wife. Using iPhoto is a breeze for amateur photographers. Definitely worth it and you can bootcamp Windows on there for yourself

 

[master7045]

Thanks for hte tips, I think I'll head to BBY tomorrow to take a look at them. I like the 13" form factor, but need to make sure the wife approves too.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Welcome, and best of luck, enjoy your Mac.

Do you or your wife work for a corporation that gets a discount at the Apple store, or have any affiliation with a school? There are nice discounts to be had if so.

Also bounce over to www.appleinsider.com they have a pricing grid for the various vendors, and there are always refurbs from Apple on their website, aside from the packaging, Apple refurbs (from Apple) are perfect.

IMHO, the MBA's make the iPad unnecessary, but I have one of each.

There's lots of folk here happy to help with any problems you might have...

 

[Reliant]

I used to have a MBP 15 but I recently sold it and ordered an 11 Air. I was convinced 11 would be too small when I heard about it but when I started seeing them pop up at work I was swayed otherwise. Also, Sandy Bridge in them is quite the performer so I don't feel slowed down.

You can swap to SSD as a BTO or yourself, but it makes the world of difference in the Pro. (Standard in Air but some sizes are unforgiving on certain models.)

 

[master7045]

I think the company I work for offers Mac discounts at random times of the year w/ a local Mac reseller, I'll have to check that out. Other than that, I work near a Micro Center and I've noticed they run some Mac specials every now and then. BBY is the closest, so I'll head there to play with the different models.
One question, how difficult is it to buy a SSD later down the road and install it into a MBP 13" if I go that route? (This is assuming I get the 13" MBP w/ a HDD and not a SSD). I know w/ Windows its a PIA, esp if you don't have the physical media, I have no idea how this would work in a Mac. Also, since were on the topic of upgrades...Is adding RAM just as easy in a PC? or is it pretty much not possible?

Thanks!

 

[Reliant]

I think the company I work for offers Mac discounts at random times of the year w/ a local Mac reseller, I'll have to check that out. Other than that, I work near a Micro Center and I've noticed they run some Mac specials every now and then. BBY is the closest, so I'll head there to play with the different models.
One question, how difficult is it to buy a SSD later down the road and install it into a MBP 13" if I go that route? (This is assuming I get the 13" MBP w/ a HDD and not a SSD). I know w/ Windows its a PIA, esp if you don't have the physical media, I have no idea how this would work in a Mac. Also, since were on the topic of upgrades...Is adding RAM just as easy in a PC? or is it pretty much not possible?

Thanks!

Both are fairly easy. Ram is pop the bottom off and replace RAM. SSD is take bottom off, undo a few screws and SATA connectors, replace drive. I'm not sure if the newer Pros with Lion ship with OS media (doubt it) but if they do the OS install is also standard fare.

 

[master7045]

Both are fairly easy. Ram is pop the bottom off and replace RAM. SSD is take bottom off, undo a few screws and SATA connectors, replace drive. I'm not sure if the newer Pros with Lion ship with OS media (doubt it) but if they do the OS install is also standard fare.

Awesome, good to know. I'll do some googling to figure out what the OS re-install process is like. Everything is supposed to be "simpler" with a MAC, so any improvement w/ the OS re-install process would be a welcomed change.

I like the idea of a SSD as I have a windows 7 PC w/ a 2 TB drive that I use as my storage device, so I'm hopeful that Win/Mac play nice together in this respect. I basically use my Win 7 PC as a fileserver to my old (now gone) laptop, Xbox 360, HTPC, & tablet.

 

[Reliant]

Awesome, good to know. I'll do some googling to figure out what the OS re-install process is like. Everything is supposed to be "simpler" with a MAC, so any improvement w/ the OS re-install process would be a welcomed change.

I like the idea of a SSD as I have a windows 7 PC w/ a 2 TB drive that I use as my storage device, so I'm hopeful that Win/Mac play nice together in this respect. I basically use my Win 7 PC as a fileserver to my old (now gone) laptop, Xbox 360, HTPC, & tablet.

If there's a CD the install process is just like Windows, put cd in. As for file sharing, I have a Windows Home Server and Windows 7 PC and both of those are sharing via their standard format. OSX just sees them on the network without any effort. Also, I can also mount specific SMB (Winows) shares on my WHS in OSX and use it as a file server or way to transfer between the devices.

 

[Geekbabe]

I took delivery of my first Mac two weeks ago, got a 13 inch MacBook Air & I love it! This computer is very fast, super thin & light, the screen is great, the back lite key board is wonderful and the freaking trackpad on this thing is the work of a genius.

So yes, buy a Mac

 

[Pliablemoose]

Just a heads up, upgrading the RAM on a MBA isn't possible, it's soldered to the board, the SSD's can be upgraded, but it's expensive.

If you like to tinker, a MBP is a better choice.

 

[TheStu]

Just a heads up, upgrading the RAM on a MBA isn't possible, it's soldered to the board, the SSD's can be upgraded, but it's expensive.

If you like to tinker, a MBP is a better choice.

You can get a system pull SSD on ebay for a reasonable price especially since that is a market where you actually can get money for selling your old one. I have been considering upgrading the 64gb in mine to a 128 and then selling my 64.

The OWC drives are faster and go to higher capacities, and they are sold by OWC, hence the markup (most of OWC's stuff is kind of expensive).

 

[alent1234]

was going to buy a MBA but MBP now. saw both at the store and the MBA screen looks like crap compared to the 13" MBP. $200 more for thin and cute isn't worth it for me

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

was going to buy a MBA but MBP now. saw both at the store and the MBA screen looks like crap compared to the 13" MBP. $200 more for thin and cute isn't worth it for me

That's interesting considering that the MBA screen is at a higher resolution than the MBP.

 

[alent1234]

on macrumors people said the MBA screen has washed out colors. went to best buy last week and saw them next to each other. on the galaxy picture there is a huge noticeable difference in color quality. speed of opening safari and itunes was about the same on both of them

at least in the MBP forum there most people said the MBP was a much better value for your money

 

[TheStu]

on macrumors people said the MBA screen has washed out colors. went to best buy last week and saw them next to each other. on the galaxy picture there is a huge noticeable difference in color quality. speed of opening safari and itunes was about the same on both of them

at least in the MBP forum there most people said the MBP was a much better value for your money

Wait, the people in the MBP specific forum said that the MBP was a better deal? Shocker!

It is all about use cases. I was just at an Apple store the other day, didn't notice a whole lot of difference between the Pro and Air displays other than that the glass fronting does catch more glare. For me it is F the optical drive, and after having had this 11" Air, I am not real likely to want to get a big thick-burger laptop again.

 

[alent1234]

the MBP is thick?

on the demo best buy had playing when the screen is white there is almost no difference. on the galaxy picture in the desktop of whatever the OS X name is there is a huge difference. the MBA looks washed out like one of my iphone photos where it uses the flash

 

[mshan]

If you don't need portability, I'd recommend looking at the iMacs.

IMO, best bang for your buck and you get a fully integrated Apple solution (computer, screen, speakers, keyboard, and mouse - get same with Macbook Pro, but obviously less bang for your buck).

27 inch iMac is supposed to have great screen (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2922/1) too, and refurbs show up at decent prices in Apple online store (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac)

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

27 inch iMac is supposed to have great screen (http://www.anandtech.com/show/2922/1) too, and refurbs show up at decent prices in Apple online store (http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac)

The screen is amazing. Plus they calibrate it before sending to you. The iMac screen is comparable to the high end Dell Ultrasharps.

 

[TheStu]

the MBP is thick?

on the demo best buy had playing when the screen is white there is almost no difference. on the galaxy picture in the desktop of whatever the OS X name is there is a huge difference. the MBA looks washed out like one of my iphone photos where it uses the flash

Thick and heavy compared to my Air, yes. Compared to most any other system, no.

 

[PeeluckyDuckee]

The iMac is a leader in AIO solutions, other implementations by Dell, HP, or Lenovo doesn't really match its user experience. I'd recommend it if you don't need the portability.

Choice between a MBP or MBA really depends on if the DVD drive is really that big of a deal to me, and to me it's not. For space, a 256GB SSD drive should be more than enough. If I need to pack multimedia on the go I'd simply bring 32GB USB drives with me.

 

[sportage]

If video editing, in any form, is the wife's desire, she WILL LOVE the mac's. iMovie is fun, easy, great results, and never crashes. If she has ever used windows based video editing software of any kind, she already knows what I'm talking about.
I'd go with a 27' iMac first off, then a mac laptop down the road if you need portability. Especially if you have iPhones, the mac is the only way to go.
There is a bit of a learning curve going from windows based to mac, but the reliability of a mac based system will be apparent from day one.

Like I always say, its so nice to focus on your project, whatever that may be, instead of focusing on getting that darn pc and windows software to co operate. Then become so frustrated, you forget why you even turned the pc on in the first place.
Everyone should experience life with a mac. You can actually get something done, and enjoy the experience.

 

[AGENT_P6]

For the "needs" you stated, getting a mac would probably be a nice purchase.

Personally tho, and I'm not trying to hate on apple, I don't jive well with mac. I purchased an iMac recently and had to take it back within a week and exchange it for a PC because of the compatibility issues.

When buying Apple, keep in mind that it is kind of a walled in garden. My experience was this, in point form

-i enjoy video gameplay capture, edit and upload to youtube
-got a mac on hearsay that mac is superior to pc for video editing in terms of smooth processing, rendering etc
-my hauppage hdpvr for gameplay capture was not compatible with mac. hauppage did not offer a patch or anything for compatibility
-no mac freeware for compatibility, had to purchase a $30 application
-said $30 application worked well but...
-imovie, a staple of advertising for mac was not compatible with hauppage video recording format: m2ts
-purchased $30 file converter "featured by apple btw" from apple appstore to convert to imovies preferred format: AIC
-said file converter crashed thrice and left no option but to restart my computer

take my experience and consider that you may run into a similar compatibility issues.
Basically what I'm saying is that the problem is not necessarily with the hardware or software, but rather with the lack of support for OSX among software developers.

Sorry to kind of put a damper on it all, and again, I'm not trying to hate on apple, but what I am saying is that my personal experience was unpleasant with my personal hobbies and interests that I wanted to use my imac for. You may or may not run into the same problems due to dissimilar interests and hobbies.

I liked how smoothly imovie DID run mind you, and garage band came preloaded with some great loops that had me slappin together songs straight out of the box! The resolution of the screen was fantastic and all apple products are extemely aesthetically beautiful, and they emanate a statement of affluence just by having them in the household.

The integrated email consolidation thing was pretty sweet too. You just register your email addresses, and similar to your iphone, all your email is consolidated into one handy, easy to navigate application, which is pretty sweet.

Your choice OP, but my personal suggestion is to stick with windows for better OS compatibility support from software developers. Otherwise, you may find yourself doing a lot of shopping on the appstore, searching the web for third party applications, etc etc that windows would likely offer support for with much less hassle. At least thats how it was for me