New Mac Choices

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With my career choice, it appears as if I am going to need to come over to the dark side.

This is my final semester as a senior in college.I will be receiving my bachelor's degree in Arts Technology (graphic design, video editing, web design, etc..) As I have been searching at a lot of current jobs throughout the design industry, I have found most to want 'Mac savvy' employees. While I have always worked on Mac computers in college, I am currently using Windows at home.

On the Mac, I would use programs such as Adobe AfterEffects, Premier, Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. AfterEffects' demo slowed down my Windows laptop to a snail's pace when I had used it. I hope that will not to be the case with the new Mac.

I have done a few online searches, but have found several different answers to my question: What mac system should I choose? Some say iMac, some say Mac Pro (which makes me cringe to at the price.) There was a student in one of my classes that had used a MacBook Pro. Then there's the i5 or i7, and GHz choice.

Thank you in advance, Mac gurus.
 

pigoo3

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With my career choice, it appears as if I am going to need to come over to the dark side.

I'm sorry...but when you post on a Macintosh oriented internet forum...the Macintosh computer platform is NOT considered the "dark-side"!;)

As far as the computer choice. The first thing to decide is do you need the portability of a laptop? So the first decision is laptop or desktop??

- Nick
 
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I'm sorry...but when you post on a Macintosh oriented internet forum...the Macintosh computer platform is NOT considered the "dark-side"!;)

As far as the computer choice. The first thing to decide is do you need the portability of a laptop? So the first decision is laptop or desktop??

- Nick
After I have grown up with Windows over the ages, it is hard not to take sides. I will admit however, the mac computers at school are nice.

I believe a desktop would be of more use. I have a Windows 7 laptop that I can use for web browsing and e-mail. A desktop would be able to store more information, would it not?
 

Raz0rEdge

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The Mac Pro is very upgradable and able to sport a lot of large HD's for storage. The iMac is capable of a single HD and can go as high as 2 TB. The MBP are come to the same size but you can remove the optical drive and get a second HD.

Either way, if storage is your primary concern, an external drive will work with whichever Mac you choose..

Based on your budget, choose the most Max you can afford..
 

CrimsonRequiem


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After I have grown up with Windows over the ages, it is hard not to take sides. I will admit however, the mac computers at school are nice.

I believe a desktop would be of more use. I have a Windows 7 laptop that I can use for web browsing and e-mail. A desktop would be able to store more information, would it not?

I would have checked the specs on the Macs at school and looked up the price online. That will give you a good point to start. Performance vs Price.

Not necessarily. You can always just use an external storage device. IE. Thumb drive, external SDD etc as Raz0rEdge has nicely pointed out.
 
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I run a lot of the programs you listed ( not InDesign though) on a 2 1/2 year old 27" iMac with no problems at all. I must say that I prefer FCPX to Premier, but that's just the way I work.

Mac Pro's are slatted for an upgrade next year ( about time) and it's expected the iMac will too,( Rumour only). So if you are looking at a MacPro I'd try and wait for that.

If you can I would opt for the 27" iMac. This is particularly useful for editing. You get more "Real Estate" which is useful.

There is not much of a price difference between the 21" iMac and the 27" so the 27" may be the better option if you go down this path. You have to decide if the processor upgrade is worth the extra. I'd definitely up the memory, but this may be better done with 3rd party memory as Apple does seem expensive at times.

I'd also look at storing most of your data on external drives. You can quickly fill up an internal 1 TB, or 2Tb , and Thunderbolt drives are slowly coming down in price, alternatively opt for a Firewire external drive.

Now this is just my suggestion for what I do, yours may be different. However look at your budget and see what seems a good option. Opt in the original machine those things that can't be easily or cheaply upgraded, mainly processor and hard drive. Memory is easy.

\Good luck with the decision making
 

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