want to switch to mac, need some advice!!

[roel]

Hello you all.
Need some advice about a macbook/macbookpro
Currently i own a old DELL desktop, and a year old samsung laptop.
I had enough with the whole pc thingie, and want to change to MAC.

First i want to point out were i want to use the mb for.
This year i want to travel around the world a bit, and i make a lot of pictures. I want to use photoshop to edit the photo's, than use a program like iweb to put them on a website, and do some word editing, and email/using internet.
So no heavy video editing (not yet, i also own a panasonic tz7, makes good movies, maybe with a good program, i can also do something with that?)

Now, if i understand it all good, there is the 13" macbook, and then there is the 13", 15", and the 17" macbookpro. ? Or are there also different size macbook??

The 17" will be to big for me, so it will be between the 13" or the 15".
I have read all the differences of the mb against the mbpro, so that is clear to me.
It is more about what is inside the mac, like kind of processor, 2gb against 4 gb, against 8 gb, nvidia 9200 or 9600..
It really doesn't say anything to me, i just need a good mac, don't want to much overkill, but rather pay a bit more so i can keep going the next few years. But, maybe is the cheapest mbp allready overkill.
I really don't know.

Than there is also the difference between the glossy 15"and the normal 15".THat is something for me to decide, i will try if the shop keeper can put them next to each other, so i make a side by side. Is glossy not more for indoors, were is the normal one more for 'on the move'?

And, final question, my 15"samsung has a screendisplay of 1280*800. now is the 13" mbp also 1280*800. Are they then the same size, or am i confusing things.

Okay, that's for now, i hope you can help me out a bit, it would be nize if my next message would be written of a mac?? (or should i wait a bit, because i hear rumours there is something new coming?? Or is that also overkill)

best regards, roel

 

[quin]

Sounds like you might want to look into iLife from Apple for what you're planning to do with the MBP. Get the 15" MBP if you can for photo and graphic work. The 13" screen size is a bit small for that if you are going to do frequently. I would get 4GB of memory, it would help a lot with graphic intense work. All the MBP line have 2+Ghz so it should be fast enough. Screen size and resolution is not the same.

 

[chas_m]

Now, if i understand it all good, there is the 13" macbook, and then there is the 13", 15", and the 17" macbookpro. ?

Correct.

It is more about what is inside the mac, like kind of processor

The MacBooks and the MacBook Pros both use Core2Duo chips at this time. There is some speculation that the MacBook Pros could be upgraded to the newer and slightly faster Core i(something) chips soon. It's likely to happen in the next few weeks, it is said.

2gb against 4 gb, against 8 gb,

This all refers to RAM, nothing to do with the processor. The MacBooks are limited to 4GB max; the MacBook Pros can take up to 8GB. More RAM is always better, though many users choose to order the machines with minimum RAM and upgrade it later (and theoretically cheaper).

nvidia 9200 or 9600..

This refers to the video subsystem. From your description, this is a non-issue for you (either chipset will work fine), but of course the larger MacBook Pros have better video subsystems than the MacBook or the smaller MacBook Pro.

It really doesn't say anything to me, i just need a good mac, don't want to much overkill, but rather pay a bit more so i can keep going the next few years. But, maybe is the cheapest mbp allready overkill.
I really don't know.

Based on what you've written, I'd have suggested the 13" or 15" MacBook Pro as the best overall choice. ANY of the Mac laptops will meet the needs you describe however.

Than there is also the difference between the glossy 15"and the normal 15".THat is something for me to decide, i will try if the shop keeper can put them next to each other, so i make a side by side. Is glossy not more for indoors, were is the normal one more for 'on the move'?

Glossy IS the normal (ie default) choice these days. The matte option (which was once the standard) is an extra only available on the larger models. You are pretty unlikely to find a matte-display Mac available for comparison at any Apple stores.

I don't find the glossy to be a big deal unless I am forced into a position where the strong light is behind me, but on those occasions a matte finish is definitely nice to have.

And, final question, my 15"samsung has a screendisplay of 1280*800. now is the 13" mbp also 1280*800.

They are the same.

(or should i wait a bit, because i hear rumours there is something new coming?? Or is that also overkill)

Might be overkill in your case, but if you can wait a couple of weeks or so you might want to.

Full comparison chart for the various MacBook models:
Apple - Mac - Which MacBook are you? - Comparison Chart

 

[roel]

Okay, so if i get it right, for what i want to do with it, as said in the first post, all the macbooks will do.
So, the macbook 2.26ghz, and the macbookpro 13" 2.26 or 2.53??
It is just up to me if i can live with the 13"screen instead the bigger 15", and the choice between the normal macbook or macbook pro, if choosing for the 13"model.
I just want to make a good decision. It is easy for my to understand that 250 gb is more than 160 gb, but idon't get it regarding 2 vs 4 gb internal, or 2.26 vs 2.53 ghz??

THanks for advice, it will give me more convidence, knowing were to look for when i'm in the shop..

 

[quin]

Okay, so if i get it right, for what i want to do with it, as said in the first post, all the macbooks will do.
So, the macbook 2.26ghz, and the macbookpro 13" 2.26 or 2.53??
It is just up to me if i can live with the 13"screen instead the bigger 15", and the choice between the normal macbook or macbook pro, if choosing for the 13"model.
I just want to make a good decision. It is easy for my to understand that 250 gb is more than 160 gb, but idon't get it regarding 2 vs 4 gb internal, or 2.26 vs 2.53 ghz??

THanks for advice, it will give me more convidence, knowing were to look for when i'm in the shop..

Seems like you are hanging towards a 13" which would be OK also. Not like you can't do a zoom view when doing photos or plug it into an external monitor you may already have. I would try to get a 2.53Ghz processor(faster) just because it may gives you quicker results when photoshop. 2GB or 4GB is the RAM memory for multitasking, opening all kinds of apps and windows to do your thing. 4GB gives the computer the ability to handle all that comfortably and then some. It's an easy upgrade if DIY or have Apple do it. Cost about the same around $100-$120.

I ordered my Crucial 4GB RAM set for $111. If Apple can do it for you within $20 of that price I would think just let them upgrade for you to save time shopping and installing yourself. One catch though, if you DIY, you get to keep the original set of RAM =) Same thing with the hard drive. Just upgrade mine to 500GB myself at total $107 + $10 external enclosure.

If you decide to upgrade yourself, this forum will have very helpful people to guide like when I was trying to on mine.

 

[DarkestRitual]

Seems like you are hanging towards a 13" which would be OK also. Not like you can't do a zoom view when doing photos or plug it into an external monitor you may already have. I would try to get a 2.53Ghz processor(faster) just because it may gives you quicker results when photoshop. 2GB or 4GB is the RAM memory for multitasking, opening all kinds of apps and windows to do your thing. 4GB gives the computer the ability to handle all that comfortably and then some. It's an easy upgrade if DIY or have Apple do it. Cost about the same around $100-$120.

I ordered my Crucial 4GB RAM set for $111. If Apple can do it for you within $20 of that price I would think just let them upgrade for you to save time shopping and installing yourself. One catch though, if you DIY, you get to keep the original set of RAM =) Same thing with the hard drive. Just upgrade mine to 500GB myself at total $107 + $10 external enclosure.

If you decide to upgrade yourself, this forum will have very helpful people to guide like when I was trying to on mine.

All good advice. I also just ordered another 4GB RAM upgrade from crucial... it's about the same amount of money now. I hear PC components are going up in price this year, so if Apple can even keep it close, then that will be very nice of them to upgrade the RAM that way.

The 9400m is plenty for me to do more than basic editing in photoshop CS3 with a bunch of other apps open, or on a typical day, have adium, itunes, last.fm, chrome, mail, ical, and WoW running simultaneously without any noticeable slow down... this is impressive since the system is sharing RAM with the GPU for WoW, this is all with a 2GHz core 2 duo.

4GB is definitely worth it for the knowledge that you won't run into any limits for some time to come.