New Computer thoughts

[benlehman]

So my computer is old and beginning to die. Since a small Apple laptop did well last time, I'm thinking about getting a similar machine. There's no more 12" lappies (sadly), so I'm thinking about getting the 13" MacBook w/ 2.4 GHz processor and extra RAM. But I'm flexible. Does anyone else have any suggestions / concerns / things I should know about? I'd be very obliged if you'd share.

Comments

[doublefeh.livejournal.com]

Depending on your actual needs, getting the $1000 base white MacBook +RAM might save you a few hundred dollars over the aluminum body. Now that even the white plastic MacBooks have real graphics cards inside (the only thing I wish my [nearly 2-year old] white plastic Macbook did better), if money is any sort of object, saving a bit and getting the plastic might be worthwhile.

[doublefeh.livejournal.com]

That said, the current aluminum bodies are really sexy.

[wheeloffire.livejournal.com]

Preface- I'm in the minority. However, I have the 13 inch Macbook (white plastic but extra goodies). It has, in general, been a gigantic pain in the ass. It doesn't play nicely with half the wireless routers I encounter, crashed catastrophically and lost all of my data about 6 months in, freezes when I ask it to do things like save edited quicktime movies, and so on. I know everyone raves about Macs. I know most people love their Mac. I wish I had stayed with a PC.

[boxninja.livejournal.com]

I have the new all-in-one MacBook and it's more than a cut above the white plastic one. The body of the white plastic one has a tendency to break off over time, I've seen it on a number of laptops, more so if you drop it.

I switched to the MacBook at the end of October as I got the new version of Creative Suite and it only runs on G5s or Intel Macs.

My previous Mac was a PowerBook G4 and it still runs well but is light years behind my new MacBook in terms of power and speed. I went for the MacBook rather than the MacBook Pro, as the new MacBook is effectively a MacBook Pro without a FireWire port -- I didn't feel that paying for the extra "Pro" gave me much more for the money (unlike when I got my PowerBook over the iBook). Its specs match up pretty well for anyone (like you or I) wanting to do layout stuff. Its 13" screen is 1280 x 800, compared with the 1280 x 854 of my 15.4" PowerBook. I have found myself able to happily live with the missing 54 pixels in return for a much smaller, quicker and lighter laptop.

I have the 2.4 GHz model. On reflection, I probably could have gotten away with just buying the 2.0 GHz model, but I'm a sucker for paying for more speed -- though I'm not sure the extra hundreds was really, really worth it. As always third party RAM (I recommend Crucial.com since, well, Apple use them and I've always found them ace) rather than buying from Apple.

So, I heartily endorse the new MacBook. I'll be happy using this for the next 4 years or so, like I have with my PowerBook.

[rob-donoghue.livejournal.com]

Thumbs up on the MacBook. That said, while you want as much RAM as you can manage, Apple overcharges pretty hard for pre-installing it (though they're better than they used to be) and if you're comfortable just slapping it in yourself (http://homeoffice.consumerelectronicsnet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=44404), I'd grab it from crucial.com (http://www.crucial.com/) or some other place you trust. I used crucial for my mac, and more recently for my netbook, so they're definitely a company I'd recommend.

Also, glad you're gettign the warranty. So worth it.

[noradannan.livejournal.com]

I have one of the 15 in macbook pros, which might be more than you're looking for, but is amazing. It's body is also done a little differently in that it's one machined piece of metal, and it feels much more solid than the previous macbook I owned. Highly recommended, especially if you drop yours.

[kleenestar.livejournal.com]

If you are contemplating a PC, I love, adore and admire my 14.1" Lenovo. It has stood up to repeated dropping, cats knocking it off the table, and daily transportation to and from school. I can run multiple high-end programs on it simultaneously and don't even notice a hiccup (though I did spring for extra RAM to get it that way). If you want a smaller computer they also have a 12.1" version which is truly a thing of beauty; I just didn't like the smaller screen and lack of built-in optical drive.

Of course, you may want to stay with Mac, in which case, enjoy. :)