Choosing a Laptop

Hello, Mac aficionados

I'm a college student looking for a laptop for basic word processing, lots of photoshop, music, internet, and a little bit of video editing.

Plus, I need to be able to play Diablo III when it comes out.

Storage isn't an issue because I live off of my external hard drive.

Any suggestions?
I'll sacrifice a little speed for price
My grants can only stretch so far.

Probably the MacBook 13" is your lowest common denominator. For video editing, and Diablo III, you definitely would need discreet graphics, which older 13" MacBooks did not have. The newer ones do have discreet graphics though.

If I were you, I would go for the 13" MacBook Pro though. It has the aluminum body, which is tougher for everyday use, and it has a faster processor, SD card reader, better battery (can be recharged 1000 times instead of only 300 times, meaning it will last 3 times longer). And it only costs about $200.00 more. To me this is the best compromise between money vs best features.

After reading this thread:
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/ap...w-rugged-new-unibody-macbooks.html#post819443
maybe I should revise my advice. I had no idea that the lid was that easy to dent!

Really, it's not as long as you're careful. Compared to the number of people who have had no issues with their MBP's getting dented, I'd say odds are in your favor if you get one. But if you KNOW you're going to be toting it around in your knapsack a lot, get the white Macbook. I'd say a MBP is for professionals who'll be putting it in proper case/sleeve/bag and using it as a portable desktop machine rather than a "laptop".

The white Macbook is made of plastic because it's intended to be used more like a laptop by students, casual users on the go, etc. MBP's are considered notebooks, not laptops, which is why it has a nicer screen, nicer, slightly less durable construction, etc.

theoak said:

Probably the MacBook 13" is your lowest common denominator. For video editing, and Diablo III, you definitely would need discreet graphics, which older 13" MacBooks did not have. The newer ones do have discreet graphics though.

Click to expand...

It does not. It's still steals system ram to make it's VRAM. The only models that are out now with dedicated GPU is the 15", and 17" MBP.

Second that. No dedicated GPU on 13" MBP.

The previous generation of 15" MBP's didn't have dedicated GPU's on the base model... I think this might be true of current base models. It might be something you pay a little extra for.

I'm too late, but I'll say it again. The nvidia 9400m is an integrated graphics card. And for Diablo III it will be just fine. It runs WoW at close to full settings just fine. I've seen the diablo iii trailer. It isn't as intense as WoW. I'd get the unibody MacBook refurbished for 899.

DarkestRitual said:

I'm too late, but I'll say it again. The nvidia 9400m is an integrated graphics card. And for Diablo III it will be just fine.

Click to expand...

Have they announced hardware specs for Diablo 3?

I've seen people guessing at what they might be...but even at the Blizzard website they say:

"We'll announce specific system requirements at a later date."

- Nick

CrimsonRequiem said:

It does not. It's still steals system ram to make it's VRAM. The only models that are out now with dedicated GPU is the 15", and 17" MBP.

Click to expand...

I stand corrected! This page:
Apple - MacBook - Graphics - Powerful NVIDIA graphics performance
made me think that the Nvidia GeForce 9400M was a discreet chip. (Since it is on a lowest end MacBook, I should have known better.) The link on that page to a graphics chip comparison shows the GeForce 9400M to be 5.4 times better than the Intel graphics chip in my MacBook.

So do we still need a discreet video chip for graphics performance? I am speaking of gaming, and light video editing.

theoak said:

...So do we still need a discreet video chip for graphics performance? I am speaking of gaming, and light video editing.

Click to expand...

The short answer is no.

Oneironaut said:

Really, it's not as long as you're careful. Compared to the number of people who have had no issues with their MBP's getting dented, I'd say odds are in your favor if you get one. But if you KNOW you're going to be toting it around in your knapsack a lot, get the white Macbook. I'd say a MBP is for professionals who'll be putting it in proper case/sleeve/bag and using it as a portable desktop machine rather than a "laptop".

The white Macbook is made of plastic because it's intended to be used more like a laptop by students, casual users on the go, etc. MBP's are considered notebooks, not laptops, which is why it has a nicer screen, nicer, slightly less durable construction, etc.

Click to expand...

I 100% disagree with this
why?
Because all you have to do is through a hardcase on the mbp and a nice
sleeve and you have a completely portable laptop.
I would not base my buying prefernces on something with such an easy fix
especially with the beneficial diffferences between a MacBook and a mbp
true if the mbp and MacBook Were not that differnet spec wise I would consider this but even then, not greatly.
The mbp is ultra portable

My 2p

Of course putting a case on a MBP helps considerably, but as is, it's definitely not as dent-resistant. I have to say though that I've never used a hardcase on mine and even the last Genius I saw was impressed by how pristine it is. I take it traveling and even camping, and it looks great because I treat it like a newborn infant.

I've noticed quite a difference in the way people treat Macbooks vs. MBP's. I would NEVER just throw my MBP in a backpack along with books, keys and other junk the way my boyfriend does with his MB. I put mine in a sleeve before putting it in a computer bag and that's the only way it should be treated if you're worried about dents and scratches, imo.

My point is that MBP's ARE portable, but out of the box they require more care than a Macbook.