Refurb Powerbook or new Macbook pro

[craigosh]

Basically i need a laptop now that i've gone freelance but also need a big list of other stuff.. so should i save some cash an get a refurbed powerbook (seen a 1.67ghz goin decent prices) or save up and spend more and get a new macbook pro (with the led backlight)

I'm terrible at making decisions.... help me out lads.

oh and i'm not touching anything with windoze on it unless its the size of a umpc with the power of my desktop!!


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Craig Magee Photography
http://www.craigmagee.co.uk

[Southwell]

What prices are we talking. It's all relitive according to the specs.

[craigosh]

Well the refurb is a g4 1.67ghz/512mb/80gb/superdrive DL - £600 direct from cancom (with 12month warranty) but there are some from them on no reserve auctions.. one ending today currently at £275 (only a 3month warranty though)

Or i was looking at the base new macbook pro - core2duo 2.2ghz/2gb/120gb/superdrive DL/new led backlight 15.4" display - can be had for about £1200 new, there are refurbs available from the apple shop but they dont have the LED backlight and aint much cheaper than new.

[HKP]

I wouldn't buy a PPC Mac now.. best to go Intel as software from apple will require it soon as a minimum (Pro Apps at least). Apple do their own refurbs on their online store where you can save about 20% on average. After Xmas there are a lot of them on there too

[Southwell]

Yeah, Intel is the way to go now. for only a 20% saving i would buy new personally.

[craigosh]

Yeah i'm kinda thinking go intel. So if i'm gonna spend that kinda money I want a new one with the LED screen!!

I dont really run many of the Apple pro apps though, i have final cut and dvd studio but would only use them on the desktop anyway (and i only use em once in a blue moon)!! CS3 is fine and dandy on my powermac.. I dont shoot raw enough to justify getting Apeture! So i'm still tempted by the powerbook... if it looks like i can get it for say £350 at most, which i doubt lol then i'll get it... 2gb of ram is only £30 from crucial so thats pain free!!


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Craig Magee Photography
www.craigmagee.co.uk

[HKP]

Hi Craig. I heard on the grapevine the next Aperture will be G5 DP/Core Duo only, the same for DVD Studio and FCP. G4s are soon getting obselete Leopard for instance is G4 867+ already.

Go Intel, go LED display - you won't look back!! Oh and if you are buying new i can get HE Discount so drop me a line...

[jimmy]

I was thinking of a Mac lappy since I pretty much only use computers for Photoshop and other creative stuff - even more so with the Laptop which is purely used for race reports. I read that the days of photoshop being best on the Mac is long over now and that it's far quicker on a PC since it's not yet optimised for the Intel mac. Oh dear - so guess that's that then?
My current laptop is a bit crap for handling photos - not ideal for me, but I don't wanna spend more than 600 at all.

[MattADH]

I have to say that I have only ever used Macs and love them...

My current machine is one of the models that Craigosh is looking at
- a 1.67ghz/512mb/80gb/superdrive DL. I only have 512MB and yet I use InDesign and Photoshop. A little while ago, I looked at selling it and £600 would have been the very top price I may have got for it.

After installing leopard, I have an issue still with my machine and have found that some of the older Adobe programs would not run so am spending some money on the upgrades to the CS3 family for the likes of ID, PS and Dreamweaver.

I am looking at upgrading and will be looking at the 2.4GHz/2GB machine. I have seen both screens side by side in Apple store and personally, I have to say that the non-glossy screen would be my preference. A new machine with 2GB of RAM would be great compared to the 512MB I have at the moment although at Crucial's prices, I should have visited their site years ago!!! Interestingly, another 2GB of memory for the Intel Core Duo MacBook Pro from Apple is £450!!!!

Tom - any chance of some discount too please?

[craigosh]

Nah jim, CS and CS2 were slow on an intel mac but CS3 runs fine and dandy... Shame same cant be said for Quark 7 which is supposed to be optimized more for the intel machines!!! but then quark has never really been optimized!!!

Looks like i'll have to save and get a macbook pro really, i am really anal about color and screen quality (still have a CRT on my workstations!!) and if the LED one is as good as its supposed to be i'll be pissed if i dont go for something with one.



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Craig Magee Photography
http://www.craigmagee.co.uk

[MattADH]

I just don't think I could look at a "Glossy" screen all day long - it just looks like the settings have been pumped up!!!

[SlowOne]

I've had Macs since 1987, and I'm on my third (well, fourth, if you count the one that got replaced after being zapped by lightening!!) upgrade. I think the new one is best, because it will last you three to five times longer than an older Mac, or a PC.

[Markoxx4]

I run my own music studio running protools through my G5 Power mac and it has never let me down. While at Uni they were using Protools through P.C's and were forever breaking down. It just shows that when the going gets though the pc's breaks down!!

A joke about Mac's-

What do Apple Mac's and Nun's have in common?

Neither of them will go down on you!!

[b4rs]

i must say that apples are amzing to look at and perform ace. and there are no virus's for apple computers = unlimited p*rn downloads

[HKP]

Seconding what Craig said, Photoshop CS3 is intel optimized, and it really flies! Come to the Dark side Jimmy!

[Southwell]

Originally Posted by b4rs

i must say that apples are amzing to look at and perform ace. and there are no virus's for apple computers = unlimited p*rn downloads

Shows how much you know For instance the only reason Firefox was so secure when it came out was because no coders had written viruses for it, that and the Windows kernal is pretty much written around IE

[barnyard]

I just got another new mac to add to the collection.

this time its a nice shiny mac book in black from the apple store on 5th avenue.

the exchange rates being what they are got me a very good price

[jimmy]

Originally Posted by craigosh

Nah jim, CS and CS2 were slow on an intel mac but CS3 runs fine and dandy... Shame same cant be said for Quark 7 which is supposed to be optimized more for the intel machines!!! but then quark has never really been optimized!!!

Looks like i'll have to save and get a macbook pro really, i am really anal about color and screen quality (still have a CRT on my workstations!!) and if the LED one is as good as its supposed to be i'll be pissed if i dont go for something with one.



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Craig Magee Photography
http://www.craigmagee.co.uk

Dint know that, thanks for the tip - I might look into it in the future then. I've got dual 21" crt setup at home on my PC. I always had Amigas in the past and only really started getting into PC's because I needed to produce artwork on them. Never had or used a Mac in mi life but since all I really do is creative stuff it might be a better platform. An animator at work got an Imac to replace his beefy PC setup and it only had 1gig of ram - but he was able to do his character animations in Maya on there no problem. crazy. My work pc has 2gig of ram and it's crap.

The only problem is the price

[craigosh]

Well i've found the money for the macbook pro so its getting bought asap...!! Monday i think gonna get the base 2.2ghz one, really i dont think i'll need a faster processor as i have the workstation at home, and 120gig will do fine, especially as for the £40quid extra to get the 160gb version i can get a 120gig portable disk!!

I'd of said you'd be better with a pc Jim for 3D stuff but with the new intel chips i think macs are catchin up now, just the software support.. Dont think 3dsmax is available mac yet!!! But for everything else ya laughin!!

Yeah the cost seems a bit high but you need to look at everything you are getting, the design and the engineering is superb, With imacs you get a superb screen (though i'm not convinced by the glossy look!) the mac pros are 4core monsters with great expandability now and as for the laptops, i havent found another make thats as well made or runs as well for the same money or less...


Now all i need is a new camera bag and a camera that focuses!!!!