What is a good entry-level macbook ?

jimmysoy · May 27, 2015

I'm looking for in-between level apple laptop that is good for starters. I'm not looking for a "top-notch" apple laptops
because I invest more on my PC because I prefer working with desktops
Although I want to have the best of both worlds.

So this is the best budget I can have for laptop

13" MacBook Pro w/ Retina

-2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
-Turb Boost up to 3.1Ghz
-8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 Mmry
-128GB PCIe-based flash storage
-Intel Iris Graphics 6100
-Built-in battery (10 hours)2
-Force Touch trackpad

I usually edit my projects on PC.
But I also want a laptop that is good (not best because of my budget) for editing or presenting my projects whenever I'm not in my home.

Hope you can help me out, thanks!

lclev · May 27, 2015

I am curious. You talk about editing projects on PC's. What are you editing and with what program? Why a Mac and not a PC laptop?

Don't get me wrong, I work with both PC's and Mac's which has required that I learn two very different operating systems and purchase mac and pc versions of the software I use.

So I am wondering why you want a mac for when you are not at home.

Nice middle of the road Mac. The SSD is a bit small if you are planning to store big files though. You might also check out the apple refurbished store. They are cheaper and come with a year of apple care and you can extended it 2 years if you want.

Lisa

jimmysoy · May 27, 2015

lclev said:
I am curious. You talk about editing projects on PC's. What are you editing and with what program? Why a Mac and not a PC laptop?

Usually photoshop, indesign, illustrator, adobe premium and after effects. That's about it.
I want to have the best of both worlds where I'm expose in PC world and also in Mac world.
I used my friend's iMac for a weeks a few months ago and I really really like it!

lclev said:
Nice middle of the road Mac. The SSD is a bit small if you are planning to store big files though.

I have a 1TB External. So I think it's not really an issue

lclev · May 27, 2015

Well hopefully you have Adobe CC so you can download and install on up to two machines - mac or pc.

I would recommend getting a minimum of 16GB of memory and an i7 if you plan to do much work with Premiere Pro and After Effects. They both will definitely use what ever you give them. I will admit I have an issue with waiting for encoding so I want it fast and now. If that is not a problem for you then the i5 with 8GB will be fine.

I actually have two computers I use for video/graphics work. One is a Windows 7 PC with dual quad-core Xeons, 24GB memory, 500GB SSD boot drive, Nvidia GeForce GTX770 and many terabytes of storage attached. The other is a Mac Pro with dual 6-core Xeons, 32GB memory, Nvidia GeForce GTX780 and a 500GB main drive plus a bunch of terabytes of storage. I have them linked so they can share each others drives to prevent the inevitable "I need the files on the mac for a project on the pc" problems. I also have a MB Pro with an i7, 16Gb memory and a 1TB hard drive.

Both my desktops will smoke my MB Pro but for a laptop it does very well and I have used it away from my office when I had things to get done but was not in the office so unable to use the desktops.

You are correct - the external hard drive will solve the storage issue. :Cool:

Lisa

jimmysoy · May 27, 2015

lclev said:
Well hopefully you have Adobe CC so you can download and install on up to two machines - mac or pc.

I would recommend getting a minimum of 16GB of memory and an i7 if you plan to do much work with Premiere Pro and After Effects. They both will definitely use what ever you give them. I will admit I have an issue with waiting for encoding so I want it fast and now. If that is not a problem for you then the i5 with 8GB will be fine.

I actually have two computers I use for video/graphics work. One is a Windows 7 PC with dual quad-core Xeons, 24GB memory, 500GB SSD boot drive, Nvidia GeForce GTX770 and many terabytes of storage attached. The other is a Mac Pro with dual 6-core Xeons, 32GB memory, Nvidia GeForce GTX780 and a 500GB main drive plus a bunch of terabytes of storage. I have them linked so they can share each others drives to prevent the inevitable "I need the files on the mac for a project on the pc" problems. I also have a MB Pro with an i7, 16Gb memory and a 1TB hard drive.

Both my desktops will smoke my MB Pro but for a laptop it does very well and I have used it away from my office when I had things to get done but was not in the office so unable to use the desktops.

You are correct - the external hard drive will solve the storage issue.

Lisa

we have a similar specs on the Mac Pro but only for my PC. except I only have 16GB Ram..
but thanks for the thoughts you shared.
I'll be upgrading them soon as I earn more money from graphic designs.
I just have to start somewhere from the bottom

lclev · May 28, 2015

Totally get that. My PC is my own custom build that I saved up and put together in 2008. I own all my equipment because that was the only way I could get the speed and power I wanted so I didn't spend my life waiting on my computer to render. I bought the MB Pro used in 2013 to add portability and an additional work station as projects continued to come in. Retired a PC editor I built in 2005(?). Added the Mac Pro just a few months back - need more capacity for more projects.

I hope this happens for you and one day you find yourself adding capacity because you have lots of projects to do!

Lisa

What is a good entry-level macbook ?

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