I'm going to need a new computer soon. I don't use mine for much other than media related stuff (music, photo editing, and web browsing). I'm debating. I'd like a laptop, but I'm also going to need a nice desktop pretty soon as well. I can't decide.

Dell XPS
A New Macbook
Or make my own pc from Newegg.com or something similiar

Opinions/thoughts?




Also, does anyone know if any of the Mac mini's can support dual monitors?

[Edited on May 28, 2006 at 3:42 AM. Reason : .]

5/28/2006 3:41:59 AM

i just bought the lowend macbook for my wife that arrived a few days ago. It is a really sweet machine - highly recommended, and for a good price too. After using this for a few days, going back to her Dell Inspiron feels like a cheap plastic toy.
You can easily do all your normal activitys using Apple applications, and now of course with boot camp (or Parallels) you can go into XP whenever you want/need. Also, the Macbooks support dual monitors too with a DVI-out port.

5/28/2006 8:34:14 AM

yeah i would second the macbook

5/28/2006 8:56:28 AM

MacBook

as far as your other question:

Quote :

"Mac mini's can support dual monitors"

Not easily, no - single DVI out.

The MacBook, however does allow you to use an "extended desktop" (internal LCD+external as two separate displays.)

[Edited on May 28, 2006 at 9:22 AM. Reason : other Q]

5/28/2006 9:19:15 AM

My only problem with the macbook is that I hear it has SERIOUS heating issues. If this proves to be an early model problem that is probably fixed by now, then I will probably lean toward the Macbook.

The only other thing that concerns me is if a 2.0 ghz dualcore macbook with a gig of ram will be powerful enough to run another monitor, and if it will be safe to use as a desktop (assuming I put it on some type of cooling platform).

5/28/2006 12:42:21 PM

^

Quote :

"The mac web has taken note of an observant MacBook owner who found at least part of the reason why his MacBook was running so hot. Apparently, some MacBooks are shipping with the rear vent (between the base and the screen hinge) blocked by a piece of plastic. Removing the plastic allowed air to circulate correctly and lowered operating temperatures dramatically. While some users report having found the plastic, others report not finding the plastic, so mileage may vary. Meanwhile, due to the controversy surrounding the excess Thermal Paste, MacDevCenter disassembled their MacBook Pro to see if reducing the Thermal Paste would indeed cause a significant change in the running temperature. Contrary to other anecdotal reports, they found there was only a 2 degree difference in temperatures before and after the extensive disassembly."

http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2006/05/20060525153551.shtml

As far as the plastic is concerned - many laptops come wrapped in plastic and have various packaging items that need to be removed. I suspect that this was the case here where some people fucked up and didn't take the plastic off and blamed it on a bad design.

5/28/2006 1:17:30 PM

photography post processing on a mac

-ZiP!-

5/28/2006 1:24:38 PM

awwww man please dont get a mac

please

5/28/2006 1:36:49 PM

99% of people I talk to, even hardcore PC people, agree that a Mac is better for media/graphic stuff, which is mostly what I'm going to use it for. Plus, with bootcamp it becomes versatile enough for me.

5/28/2006 3:18:43 PM

^^ you hate but you don't have a reason to hate. :-\

5/28/2006 4:01:28 PM

^^ i hate mac with a passion (not to say that i love pc, but i love to hate macs)...i will admit, however, that they are awesome for video/photography-type stuff...when it comes to laptops, my main complaint with mac goes out the window (see my pun...hah!), so go for the mac

but PLEASE don't get a white one...they're so GAY...nothing says flaming homosexual more than a white laptop

5/28/2006 4:26:05 PM

In the other thread, someone mentioned a student discount and a once per lifetime hardware discount if you are a member of some mac student delevopers something or other. Basically, if I join the clubfor 99 bucks, I can get a macbook pro for 1599. I'm thinking that is the way to go.

5/28/2006 4:26:23 PM

what makes a macbook pro better than a pc laptop for $1698 ($1599 + $99 club membership)? you can get an awesome pc laptop that has better specs for less than $1700

* this is a serious question...not trying to be a douche and trash mac (i really am curious, though)

5/28/2006 4:38:34 PM

macbook

i recently switched from pc to mac and i don't know jack about computers. i was sick of my shit crashing & randomly shutting off and having to be reformatted all the time when it was slowing down.

as i understand it, spyware and virus stuff isn't written as much for macs because "no one" has them, so pc users get all the crap from surfing the net and such

i couldn't be happier-- my mac was easy to use from the start and hasn't given me any problems. granted i've only had it a few months but i know others with macs that have had zero problems

the mac of course costs more but you're not going to have to worry ab the bullshit you get with pcs. also, the things i already used work with my mac (printer, digital camera etc) and i didn't even need to install extra software

AND... if you have problems with your dell, you can't exactly go to the mall kiosk and get some help with it. if you have trouble with your mac you take it to the apple store and someone can help you there.

anyway, thats my 2cents. i'm very impressed and i was very worried ab making the switch mostly because i wasn't sure if i would be able to learn to use a new OS and be able to get around, i learned the mac OS in less than two days

[Edited on May 28, 2006 at 9:47 PM. Reason : hghk]

5/28/2006 9:38:50 PM

If you don't need it right away I'd say that you should get a MacBook at the bookstore during the tax free weekend so you get the advantage of the student discount as well as saving ~$100 on tax. If you're not interested in waiting, Amazon is offering a $100 rebate, so that on top of not having to pay tax will save more than getting the student discount through Apple.

5/28/2006 10:08:53 PM

Well, this probably won't be anytime soon, end of summer at the earliest. I'm going to try and get the 15in macbook pro for 1599 I think. The macbook is 1299, so for the extra 300 bucks I definitely think it is worth it.

5/28/2006 10:14:52 PM

If you buy it at the NCSU bookstore (even online), you can combine the student discount with tax-free weekend and free shipping. It's the only way to fly.

5/29/2006 9:28:28 AM

Quote :

"what makes a macbook pro better than a pc laptop for $1698 ($1599 + $99 club membership)? you can get an awesome pc laptop that has better specs for less than $1700"

Have you actually configured a computer to see? What pc laptopts are you calling "awesome" for that price range? Going through the dell.com/ncstate site and configuring a d820 with as close specs as possible to the macbook pro we find a system with all the same specs as the macbook pro except 1 gig of ram and a 256mb nvidia quadro video card for 1817.60 and 2072 after tax and shipping. Pricing is similar on nearly identical thinkpads through the bookstore.

A Macbook pro with the same ammount of ram less powerful graphics card but isight and all the toys mac OS comes with would be 1788, shipped free. To be fair though, you really have to add in the cost of apple care to get it a 3 year warranty. At that point it becomes 1928 (assuming education pricing of upgrades.) That's 120 bucks more for a roughly comparable system. Yes you can get a slightly slower dell for MUCH less, but if you configure one with most of the same features (like bluetooth, dvd burner, larger harddrive, high end core duo, etc.) you end up with a less than gigantic price difference. To be even fairer, one should really throw in stuff like adobe elements when pricing the dell to account for programs like ilife.

Sure there's a mac premium you pay, but with that 1599 deal it's almost all discounted away espescially when you consider the inclusion of the isight, mac software, and the quality of construction of the macbooks over the lattitudes.

As far as deals go, I'd wait till early july if you could. The bookstore is in the process of negotiating better-than-education pricing for a back to school deal. That's usually around the time when negotiations finish. It partially depends on whether or not school of design gets their fucking act together and decides on what recomendations to give their students...

Also, if you purchase it through the bookstore, they will offer you an OEM copy of windows with your computer. That way you don't have to go out to tiger direct and buy an IDE cable or something silly to get one that's not retail priced. If you're in any CSC classes though you can get xp pro through the MSDNAA free.

But yeah, quagmire is right about you having to pay more for a mac with similar specs (even after taking education discounts from Dell, Lenovo, and Apple into account.) The difference just isn't nearly as huge as it used to be now that the macs actually have current technology in them. If you were considering an alternate PC laptop though I'd look at the T60's here:

http://www.fis.ncsu.edu/ncsubookstores/ibm_hardware.html

Anyways, as a primary computer I'd reccomend a Dell D820 or D620, a thinkpad T60, or a macbook pro. If you're going to get an insane desktop, building it is always pretty damned satisfying and at the high end is much cheaper than anything you'll get from dell. If you did that and got a laptop as a secondary computer I'd look at the D620's, the 14.1 inch thinkpad T60's, or the macbooks. If it's you've got a disgusting desktop, the only thing the laptop can do better is be portable, so why not get one that's actually good at being portable right?

[Edited on May 29, 2006 at 1:37 PM. Reason : ]

5/29/2006 1:17:11 PM

Quote :

"nothing says flaming homosexual more than a white laptop"

lol nothing says flaming homosexual more than mac

[Edited on May 29, 2006 at 3:11 PM. Reason : j/k in case any lurkers read this or something and dont know if i'm like trolling or whatever]

5/29/2006 3:11:00 PM

Hate all you want, but macbook pros are beautiful machines. I've never owned a mac, so I'm far from being considered a typical mac fanboy. It simply suits my needs better.

5/29/2006 4:12:31 PM

It's also one of the lightest laptop with that screen size.

5/29/2006 5:48:24 PM

i'm not enrolled at state anymore. i was browsing the link to the student store that someone posted for the T60s comparison. maybe a stupid question - do you have to be a student to purchase at those prices?

i tried to look at the apple store but the page asked for a unity login . . . .wtf?

5/29/2006 8:59:35 PM

Yeah, the ncstate apple education site requires verification, but if you go through apple.com/store and select "education" on the right hand side you can select a college that doesn't require verification.

5/29/2006 9:02:06 PM

so i could buy through apple.com's store and claim to be a student at a school that doesn't require verification?

5/29/2006 9:11:38 PM

Quote :

"so i could buy through apple.com's store and claim to be a student at a school that doesn't require verification? "

Nope, if the school's online store doesn't ask for verification, Apple will ask you to fax them a copy of your school ID or other proof of enrolement.

5/29/2006 11:48:22 PM

^Apple never asked for verification on the two purchases I've made (no logging in). Maybe they were busy with back to school stuff...

[Edited on May 29, 2006 at 11:51 PM. Reason : .]

5/29/2006 11:50:42 PM

go with the mac ronny

5/30/2006 3:13:48 AM

ok, another stupid question: how does the macbook 13" widescreen size compare to the 14" screen on the T42 I'm using for work?

I guess they're both screen diagonal measures, but is there something I'm missing, or is 13" a really small screen?

5/30/2006 1:04:33 PM

I am pretty sure the 13inch will be roughly one inch smaller then the 14inch. However, I'm not exactly certain.

5/30/2006 2:12:52 PM

It's not THAT small. it's bigger than the ibm tablet screen or the old 12" powerbooks. Basically, if you only plan on having one window open and visible at a time and you don't need glasses, you should be fine.

5/30/2006 3:37:55 PM

a 13" wide screen is exactly the same width as a 15" regular screen, just not as tall.
But the resolution is great - they run natively at 1280x800. So even if the screen is much smaller than a 15", the resolution is a better than the maximum 1024x768 on my 15" Dell Inspiron 600m

5/30/2006 4:15:28 PM

yeah well, I do have glasses...

5/30/2006 4:28:08 PM

Well if the 14 inch t42 screen is good for you, there won't be much difference. The resolution vs screen area is fairly similar so the text should all be roughly the same size at optimal resolution. Anyways, if you're fine with the 14.1" t42 the widescreen 13" macbook shouldn't feel that different, besides being a bit lighter and smaller on the whole.

5/30/2006 5:29:05 PM