Mac or Windows?

Valentia · 21-08-2007 12:08pm #1

I have just posted this on the Mac forum:

Has the price of the 17" MBP gone up by€200 since yesterday? I may be wrong but I thought it was €2,499 than and it's €2.699 today.

I am thinking , only thinking mind you, of getting one. There are a few things that annoy me a bit though.

The price! Mad money really and if you want to upgrade, which you nearly have to do, an extra 2Gb of memory is nearly 700 shaggin euro ( my God is that really possible??). A faster HD is extra. For something calling itself "Pro" I'd have thought that a 7,200 RPM HD would have been standard. It's slow HDs that frustrate me with laptops.

And what is the difference between the standard display (matt & glossy) and the "Hi-resolution" options? Are they just trying to bleed every cent out of me?

Actually the more I type and think the more I ask myself am I mad? Is it really worth the massive price difference for a more stable, multitasking environment?

Excuse the stream of consciousness. I think I'm going off the idea. Though I'd love one I'm not sure my conscience would allow me to be sucked in like that. Might just suffer the few inconveniences of Windoze.

Anyone prepared to try and convince me. (I wouldn't mind )

Anyway the prices seem crazy. What can I get on the windows front that would compare power wise? I'd be using it exclusively for heavy Photoshop work?

su_dios · 21-08-2007 12:14pm

Why do you need the top spec? I just bought the 2.2Ghz 15" and loaded it with 4gb ram. Its better spec than pretty much any pc laptop out there when you take into account all the things osx has to offer and frontrow with the remote etc too. It should lso last you a lot longer going from my experience in the past of macs. Build quality is great too(brilliant aluminium finish). But prices for macs are always going to be way up there..its just how it is. So if you don't have that money to spend get yourself a HP or something, or even just look for a macbook.

Also, the glossy option is a FREE option. I got the glossy screen and love it. Its unlike most glossy screens I've seen including the macbook. Its great for colour but apparently not TRUE colour so if you're using photoshop for print work youll want a matt screen but same goes on any laptop.

With the hdds.. most hdds are only 5400rpm internal I thought? You only need faster when its external. I have never had a problem with the hdd as long as you have good ram and you won't need to do anything faster than this machine can handle. Yes ram.. WHY would you pay apple prices for ram?? Do what I did.. www.crucial.com, 2x2gb sticks for 260 delivered. Give your 2gb(2x1gb) away to someone you know.

Illkillya · 21-08-2007 12:14pm

Macs are very expensive. You can save money by buying the basic amount of RAM and upgrading it yourself, getting the RAM from Komplett or somewhere at less than 1/2 the price Apple charge. I don't like to think of it as Mac vs Windows, because you can install Windows on your MacBook too. I would go for the MacBook myself, but a high spec laptop from IBM or Dell or anyone would probably be a lot cheaper and suit you fine.

art · 21-08-2007 2:23pm

If you are doing heavy photoshop work, you should be using a PC. Laptops have slow HDDs for a reason: spinning them fast uses up more power from the battery, spinning faster causes more heat which needs to be dissipated, requiring more power from the battery. Running filters (performatively) requires good cpus which also need more power... Small screens are also a bad idea for proper photoshop work... and so on. Unless you are determined to do your photoshop work on a bus or something, get a PC.

Valentia · 21-08-2007 3:04pm

art wrote:

If you are doing heavy photoshop work, you should be using a PC. Laptops have slow HDDs for a reason: spinning them fast uses up more power from the battery, spinning faster causes more heat which needs to be dissipated, requiring more power from the battery. Running filters (performatively) requires good cpus which also need more power... Small screens are also a bad idea for proper photoshop work... and so on. Unless you are determined to do your photoshop work on a bus or something, get a PC.

Hmm. Thanks for that. I kinda know that though.

440Hz · 21-08-2007 4:15pm

art wrote:

If you are doing heavy photoshop work, you should be using a PC.

I would not agree. A huge percentage of graphics companies (most I would reckon) are Mac based using PS, InDesign, Illustrator whatever it might be. I think that statement is too general and does not have any valid reasoning behind it IMO.

Valentia · 21-08-2007 7:49pm

I think he means "desktop".

art · 22-08-2007 12:08am

Valentia wrote:

Hmm. Thanks for that. I kinda know that though.

Ok, but don't understand your reasoning for going for the laptop - a 17" is hardly a portable option so, if it is "exclusively for heavy Photoshop work", I think you are making a bad choice there. The PC (and, as you rightly noted, I consider a Mac just another type of PC - be it better built, safer and with a more modern OS than most other PCs

) will have much higher specifications in all the kind of stuff that impacts manipulating images in photoshop: eg for 400 euros cheaper, you can get the top of the range new iMac, much faster cpu, memory the same, three times bigger Hard drive (and faster of course), better graphics card, a 24" screen!! I can't see why you are handicapping yourself...

Anyway, going back to the original question, be very hard to find a laptop with the speed of a Mac Pro, plus it's screen resolution: you could have a look at the slighter slower Toshiba X200 Duo2 or build up a Dell option - the vostro business line is getting everyone excited with it's value but you'll be left waiting a number of weeks for one of them (plus they are a bit clunky and plain!). The latter will save you loads though

Valentia · 22-08-2007 2:04am

"Chunky and plain" is no problem

This 3D floating stuff wears thin after awhile I imagine. I just want something that is fast and solid. I do come from an Amiga background so I understand how multitasking really works.

That's what appeals about the Mac. The marketing and fancy stuff (and exorbitant prices) makes me feel that the image is overtaking the soul though.

I'll have a look at the iMac. I had a peep earlier. I'm fond of upgrading as I need though and I can't see where everything goes in the iMac. Is everything contained in the monitor?

Portability is not an issue. Just that I thought a MacPro would be as good as a Windows desktop. If not I'll just get a decent windows desktop. It'll save me getting a lock of new software.

BostonB · 25-08-2007 10:30am

This is a bit of a mad thread people throwing around half baked opinions as facts. Macs and PCs are pretty much the same except for the OS. The hardware is the same, the applications are pretty much the same. Lots of companies use both to do the same jobs especially in the creative industries. When you consider the exact same hardware and form factor (the last bit is important) Mac aren't that much more expensive. Just remember that that aren't budget ranges so don't compare them with the yellow pack dell ranges. They compare more closely with the premium dell range and the business dells.

Based on what the OP said they want they don't need a laptop. It makes no sense to go spend 1k more to get a laptop. I heavy user of photoshop would be very aware of the hardware. Which suggests to me they are not a heavy photoshop user. For example. Do you use it all day every day for images for print work for business?

Mac or Windows?

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