Hey everyone. I'm on the market for a new laptop and I've been researching like crazy. I last got an Alienware Sentia back in 2005 when I first came to college (had an insane student discount, like $500 off!)- but it quickly turned into a POS. I knew nothing about what I was ordering and a friend just told me that they had a great rep, so i thought what the ****. even though my heart was set on a MB, my grandmother was buying it for my for a grad present from high school and I was trying to find a decent deal for her. ANYWAYYY fast forward three years later and the thing has just about crapped out on me, it turns off about 5x a day whenever I try to move it, the battery is completely dead and it freezes up constantly when I'm using Firefox. I want to do all the necessary research this time around, so I'm not disappointed in 6 months like I was last time.
I'm really getting into design, mostly for the web but I'm also interning for a magazine and creating ads...so I need the whole CS lineup in my next machine. From everything I've been reading, I can tell a MBP is the way to go. I have about $2300 to spend - cashing in my 21-year-old savings bonds! haha-, and I'm really trying to stay there (though I can go a LITTLE over).
I don't need a powerhouse necessarily, but definitely something decent and I really want this machine to last me a few years. Chances are, I'll be going into some sort of light web design/graphic editing/layout design aspect of the journalism field after I graduate this year, so I need to know this baby is gonna keep up. My question is now, what do you guys recommend I order as a base machine from Apple? I've been reading about installing my own RAM upgrade, as they rip you off completely there, but not the hard drive as that voids my warranty (right?) I know there are probably fifty million threads like this, I've searched through a bunch but can't find any that straight up give me the specs I should get for needs like mine.
I kind of know computers, both mac and pc, but I'm not a hardcore enthusiast or anything. I don't really game, hahah my extent of that is a little of The Simms 2 when I'm super bored in classes. So I don't really know what all the numbers and stuff mean...once the conversation gets really technical, I get lost. Also, and I know everyone has a different opinion about this, but do you think this refresh really going to be coming soon?? I don't want to wait much longer for my new machine, I don't know if I can stand this Alienware anymore, but if it means a better MBP for less money....the idea is enticing. Sorry for such a long post, and I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to help me out!
I'm really getting into design, mostly for the web but I'm also interning for a magazine and creating ads...so I need the whole CS lineup in my next machine. From everything I've been reading, I can tell a MBP is the way to go. I have about $2300 to spend - cashing in my 21-year-old savings bonds! haha-, and I'm really trying to stay there (though I can go a LITTLE over).
I don't need a powerhouse necessarily, but definitely something decent and I really want this machine to last me a few years. Chances are, I'll be going into some sort of light web design/graphic editing/layout design aspect of the journalism field after I graduate this year, so I need to know this baby is gonna keep up. My question is now, what do you guys recommend I order as a base machine from Apple? I've been reading about installing my own RAM upgrade, as they rip you off completely there, but not the hard drive as that voids my warranty (right?) I know there are probably fifty million threads like this, I've searched through a bunch but can't find any that straight up give me the specs I should get for needs like mine.
I kind of know computers, both mac and pc, but I'm not a hardcore enthusiast or anything. I don't really game, hahah my extent of that is a little of The Simms 2 when I'm super bored in classes. So I don't really know what all the numbers and stuff mean...once the conversation gets really technical, I get lost. Also, and I know everyone has a different opinion about this, but do you think this refresh really going to be coming soon?? I don't want to wait much longer for my new machine, I don't know if I can stand this Alienware anymore, but if it means a better MBP for less money....the idea is enticing. Sorry for such a long post, and I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to help me out!