+dapettit Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 HELP! I'm tired of my Dell laptop crashing or running out of memory or taking FOOORREEVVER to load when I run Photoshop and/or 3rd party plug-ins. Several of you have Macbooks and I was wondering what you suggest. My laptop is a Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2.0 GHz dual processor with a 40 gig hd and 4 gig of RAM. The screen size is currently 13", 15" is what I'm thinking. I would like to keep it under 2 grand. Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 That's a decent laptop. I would up the hard drive to one of the 500Gb seagate momentus hybrids. What problems are you having with it and what OS? You're going to be hard pressed to find a faster macbook for under $2000 especially considering you'll need to buy another copy of photoshop and everything else you own that you want to put on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 I'm running XP. I have copies of both pc and mac. It's very slow to open photoshop, I run out of memory when working in layers or the program just crashes. It happens when I am working with the NIK software plug-in suite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Whatever you chose, I suggest you check out macmall.com for the best deal. No tax, rebate on shipping, free printer after rebate, free (or near free) virtualization software after rebate and often times a free case after rebate. Combine this with 2-3% fatwallet cashback and it makes it the best deal I've found. Ordered several Mac's this way. Rebates come fast, everything has always worked great. If you are doing any photoshop I'd steer away from the 13" just due to the low resolution. However, the 15" start at $1799 (retail) so your budget is gonna get real close depending on features you want. You could save a little dough by buying a refurb direct from apple or a closeout from Macmall, but you're gonna be a "generation" behind. If that doesn't bother you some good deals can be had there too. Though the latest Macbooks use the Sandy Bridge Intel chips, which are leaps and bounds above even the previous i3/i5/i7 chips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I recently bought one of the new quad-core 2.2GHz 15" Macbook Pros and love it! The one I got was over $2K, but the 2.0Ghz version is $1800. I previously had a 2008 Macbook Pro running the Intel Core 2 Duo. Even at the same frequency, you will find a vast processing improvement with the i7 over the old Core 2 Duo. And upping the memory yourself is cheaper and easy. I just paid $80 for 8GB of memory from NewEgg for my machine. The 8GB lets me run VMWare with Windows very smoothly. I don't do much picture related stuff with mine, but I do convert a bunch of DVDs to video. And this machine rocks. I can convert a 45 minute DVD episode to MKV in about 4 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Keep in mind there are several ARC member who work for apple who get 10-25% discounts. I have the 15" and it works fine with photoshop. Plenty of harddrive space, (don't get the apple RAM, crucial.com is cheaper) and it is a mac so no virus/spyware, winblows headaches. I use my macbook pro to edit my show (full HD video) and it keeps up well. Whatever you do, make sure you get a MacBook PRO. You'll want the increased speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 I'm running XP. I have copies of both pc and mac. You have 4gig of ram in this machine, now the real question is are you running a 64bit os? If not then you may be on the 32bit addressing wall. Xp and some fluff can use almost up to a gig its self so your 4 gig just got chopped down to 3, photoshop is so hungry and single app limit to 2 gig in non 64native apps. Not mention whats addressed to hardware ect via bios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Why not a new Windows machine? You could get a killer Windows laptop for probably half your budget. (I'd love a Mac too, so I'm not beating the Mac horse.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 I'm running XP. I have copies of both pc and mac. You have 4gig of ram in this machine, now the real question is are you running a 64bit os? If not then you may be on the 32bit addressing wall. Xp and some fluff can use almost up to a gig its self so your 4 gig just got chopped down to 3, photoshop is so hungry and single app limit to 2 gig in non 64native apps. Not mention whats addressed to hardware ect via bios. 32 bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Keep in mind there are several ARC member who work for apple who get 10-25% discounts. The 25% discounts are AFAIK once a year discount for "friends/family". If he can find someone willing to give that up, great otherwise the 10%+ you get from buying smart (online) is a great way. You can consider that you'll save another 8.25% in taxes (bringing you up into the ~20% savings range) along with the freebies/near freebies I mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 Why not a new Windows machine? You could get a killer Windows laptop for probably half your budget. (I'd love a Mac too, so I'm not beating the Mac horse.) I've thought about that too but Windows machine are just so full of junk. We order Dells at work and I delete all the junk they put on them before I put them into production. Just want something that works. . . Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Just want something that works. . . Dave- That's the #1 reason I never touch windows machines. Not to start the mac v. windows rants b/c you've already made up your mind... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 14, 2011 Author Share Posted April 14, 2011 Keep in mind there are several ARC member who work for apple who get 10-25% discounts. The 25% discounts are AFAIK once a year discount for "friends/family". If he can find someone willing to give that up, great otherwise the 10%+ you get from buying smart (online) is a great way. You can consider that you'll save another 8.25% in taxes (bringing you up into the ~20% savings range) along with the freebies/near freebies I mentioned above. Def ording on-line saving the tax alone will keep me within my budget (which I can fudge depending on the deal). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 Keep in mind there are several ARC member who work for apple who get 10-25% discounts. The 25% discounts are AFAIK once a year discount for "friends/family". If he can find someone willing to give that up, great otherwise the 10%+ you get from buying smart (online) is a great way. You can consider that you'll save another 8.25% in taxes (bringing you up into the ~20% savings range) along with the freebies/near freebies I mentioned above. Def ording on-line saving the tax alone will keep me within my budget (which I can fudge depending on the deal). Like I said, check MacMall. For instance: The base MBP 15" is $1799 retail - $1714.26 at MM, that's a 5% discount. Parallels Desktop (windows virtualization) is 49.99 with a 49.99 rebate. That's $50 more "off" your machine. That's another 2%! Another $90 rebate on $149 printer (or skip this if you don't want a printer) So we're at a 7% discount. Add 8.25% tax savings and that's 15.25%. Click through fatwallet for a 2-3% for up to 18.25% off retail. The deals have been deeper in the past, but that's still not bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 MAC makes a good product, but they are very proud of it... I do a lot of photo editing, but I use a Desktop system for the bulk of my editing. I do have a laptop that I do some editing on and it works for me just fine. I run photoshop cs5 and Lightroom 3. I see three options for you.. 1. If you are totally in love with MAC and do not mind the price tag, go for it. 2.. Laptops are the ONLY pre-built computers I will purchase... and I will only look at 4 brands.. IBM, Lenovo, Toshiba, and ASUS. Everything else is crap.. Yes, even Dell.. .. I know this because of the experience of being a pc tech for over 12 years. Rule of thumb when purchasing a laptop.. Never buy bottom line or top of the line.. stay in the middle. Plan on spending anywhere from 600-1000 on a good laptop. After purchasing one the first thing I do is wipe it clean and re-install the OS to get rid of all the crap-ware that is installed. PITA, but fact is... the system will run quicker. Make sure you get a 64 bit OS to take advantage of the memory and your dual core proc. 3. If you are really wanting a MAC but can't afford it.. buy a Laptop and wipe it and then install the MAC OS on it.. Heck, you can probably do this to your Dell. People using MACs and people that work there will try and tell you that it will not run as well and that it is not designed to do that, but fact is... a computer is a computer.. If you build out a MAC on their site I can build a PC for 1/3rd the price using the SAME hardware and then install the MAC OS on it and you would not know the difference. The price tag is in the MAC OS. Now, you cannot "Legally" obtain the software and install it, but I have my ways.. If interested, PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mindflux Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 MAC makes a good product, but they are very proud of it... I do a lot of photo editing, but I use a Desktop system for the bulk of my editing. I do have a laptop that I do some editing on and it works for me just fine. I run photoshop cs5 and Lightroom 3. I see three options for you.. 1. If you are totally in love with MAC and do not mind the price tag, go for it. 2.. Laptops are the ONLY pre-built computers I will purchase... and I will only look at 4 brands.. IBM, Lenovo, Toshiba, and ASUS. Everything else is crap.. Yes, even Dell.. .. I know this because of the experience of being a pc tech for over 12 years. Rule of thumb when purchasing a laptop.. Never buy bottom line or top of the line.. stay in the middle. Plan on spending anywhere from 600-1000 on a good laptop. After purchasing one the first thing I do is wipe it clean and re-install the OS to get rid of all the crap-ware that is installed. PITA, but fact is... the system will run quicker. Make sure you get a 64 bit OS to take advantage of the memory and your dual core proc. 3. If you are really wanting a MAC but can't afford it.. buy a Laptop and wipe it and then install the MAC OS on it.. Heck, you can probably do this to your Dell. People using MACs and people that work there will try and tell you that it will not run as well and that it is not designed to do that, but fact is... a computer is a computer.. If you build out a MAC on their site I can build a PC for 1/3rd the price using the SAME hardware and then install the MAC OS on it and you would not know the difference. The price tag is in the MAC OS. Now, you cannot "Legally" obtain the software and install it, but I have my ways.. If interested, PM me. On point 3. It's not quite that easy. You usually have to use a hacked version of OSX (illegally) that breaks on updates. Also MAC = Media Access Control, Mac (as in Macintosh) is not all capital letters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I had no problem with it.. If its so great.. why does it need updates? All kidding aside, don't update it if it works. Sent from my Android using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 <shakes the topic closing stick> Let's not let this thread degenerate down to a Mac vs Windows debate please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 <shakes the topic closing stick> Let's not let this thread degenerate down to a Mac vs Windows debate please. .... Because MAC will win.....haha, In all seriousness, if you are wanting to do photo editing, and don't need portability, go with an IMAC, they provide much more power for the cost. if not the 15" macbook pro is within your price range. I love my mac, and the customer service and hassle fee nature of the OS have been well worth the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 *sigh*...... here we go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 I've got an iMac and a MacBook Pro. They are both amazing... Mac all the way every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Ok thanks for the debate know what do you recommend if I was to go with a Mac and why, since that was the question. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Jakedoza Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 My laptop is a Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2.0 GHz dual processor with a 40 gig hd and 4 gig of RAM. The screen size is currently 13", 15" is what I'm thinking. I would like to keep it under 2 grand. Dave- Dave, You have a system that is equivalent to a $1100 Mac Book Pro.. This is directly off the Apple site.. 13-inch: 2.3 GHz 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 4GB 1333MHz 320GB 5400-rpm1 Intel HD Graphics 3000 Now if you want something better under 2k.. I see only two options on the Apple site that I would even consider.. 13-inch: 2.7 GHz 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 4GB 1333MHz 500GB 5400-rpm1 Intel HD Graphics 3000 All of this for 1499 plus anything Apple tacks on after purchase. 15-inch: 2.0 GHz 2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 4GB 1333MHz 500GB 5400-rpm1 Intel HD Graphics 3000 AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5 $1799 Before all the other fees and stuff But both of these systems use a 5400 RPM hard drive which WILL BE the bottle neck in both of these systems. Personally I would not buy a 5400 RPM drive to put in a system because it kills the performance of the entire system. Hard drives are already the slowest thing in computer systems, Mac or PC. But you can add a Solid state drive to either of these systems. 128GB $200 256GB $600 512GB $1200 If you want my professional opinion... I would keep the laptop you have, wipe it and install win7 64 bit. It will run smoother and it will utilize the 4GB of RAM that XP will never see as well as the dual core processor. I would save my money and buy a Desktop system. With 2k I could build a system that will out perform any Mac as far as hardware is concerned. Just my $.02 Good luck with the shopping. I'm sure you will be happy with what you decide to do. Personally I would love to get my hands on a Macbook, but knowing the price of hardware, I could never stomach buying one. The Calibrated screens are a plus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I'd suggest that there is a huge difference between Dave's processor and the i5 in the new Macbooks. Not to mention the HD space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 I'd suggest that there is a huge difference between Dave's processor and the i5 in the new Macbooks. Not to mention the HD space. I agree. I found a huge difference going from a Core 2 Duo to an i7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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