sajseven Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I'm a long-time computer user who's been looking at Macs for many years now. I'm a part-time web developer, and I want a machine that can run the following quite happily: Photoshop CS2 TextMate Dreamweaver Ruby Apache And the other sort of things that web developers use very often. I don't want to spend too much, and the MacBook seems like the only affordable option for me at the moment. I wondered if that would be a smart choice... What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK.Xscape Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 you should go with the pro if you can afford it, you will love bigger screen because you are using design programs like photoshop and dreamweaver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plebmac Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 i currently run all those fine on my macbook what spec of macbook wore you thinking of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajseven Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 I'm thinking of a BlackBook high-end... Trust me, I would love a MacBook Pro, too, but I can't really afford one. Do you think it would be a worthwhile investment in a black MacBook with all the extras? Or I could always buy an older iBook / PowerBook off eBay. I do love the look of the MacBook Black, and I don't mind having a smaller screen - I'll probably plug it into the external monitor at some stage. The DELL laptop I have now only has a 14in screen (4:3), and I use it to design... I found this on another post, and if it's true, it would seem that a BlackBook is just what I needed. I'm more interested in the power of the 'Books compared, if you know anything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plebmac Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 get the high end white macbook and get the extra ram and hard drive elseweare thats what i did you will save about $600 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajseven Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 I'm 'gonna go look on the Apple Store right now. I wandered if the difference between the 1.83 and 2.0 is very much. Is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plebmac Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 you can get the 200gb harddrive and 2gb ram less than half the price apple charge so trust me mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajseven Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 What I mean is:- I might as well get the low-end 'Book if the performance difference between the 1.83GHz and the 2.0GHz isn't very much. Is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plebmac Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 in my opinion (my opinion as a hardware developer) there is about 5% diffrence you wont notice the diffrence unless your trying to use it for games get the lower end macbook it will do everything you want it to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajseven Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Thanks mate! I'll keep an eye on that. The other thing I'm worried about is that the MacBook seems to be coming to the end of its cycle. The new Leopard supposedly will have touch-screen capabilities, and so Apple will jump right in and change the whole line. I'll miss the thought of a BlackBook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plebmac Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 i dont know where you heard that but leopard will not have touch screen features leopard is and will be 100% fully compatible with all existing macs down to and including G4 anymore questions and im happy to help ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2k. Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 i vote for ow-end 'Book too. because it is to much money difference just for 200 Mhz... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaco Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Go for the low end macbook but load it up with RAM - 2GB - Photoshop loves RAM and it's amazing the difference between 1GB & 2GB. I would upgrade the HDD up to 160GB (5400rpm) - if space is more important than speed go for the 200GB (4500rpm) Defintely stick with the new Intel line rather than buying an old iBooks/Powerbook otherwise you will not be able to take advantages of Photoshop CS3 & Dreamweaver CS3. Personally I would go with the Macbook Pro just because of the screen size, but you stated that is not important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBK.Xscape Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Defintely stick with the new Intel line rather than buying an old iBooks/Powerbook otherwise you will not be able to take advantages of Photoshop CS3 & Dreamweaver CS3. what do you mean take advantage of photoshop and dreamweaver cs3? those are universal applications and run equally well on ppc or intel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plebmac Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 they probaly run faster on intel tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajseven Posted May 11, 2007 Author Share Posted May 11, 2007 Allright then... the white MacBook (SmallBook, as I like to call it) seems like a good option. Are you absolutely sure that the 200MHz won't make that much difference. It seems (even 2GHz) very small compared to my 2.6GHz machine. Is this just a fact of Mac OS X? Also, will upgrading those components void my warranty? Should I get AppleCare for it? Thanks PS - Why will it only make a difference when you try to game. I don't really want to game - there aren't many out there for the Mac. I'm going to run Photoshop quite often. Will this make a difference? Oh, and if I want to do Boot Camp or Parallels, is it enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacTalk Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Just a thought, the higher end MacBook will have a better resale value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plebmac Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 the 200mhz wont make a diffrence i can run photoshop on my ibook well and i had a 1.8ghz macbook and it ran fine on that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddM Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 I've got a Dual Core 2.0ghz (Black) MacBook with 2gb RAM and it runs all of those absolutely fine. Only a 13.3" display, but it's absolutely fine for design work for me. It still reaches a 1280x800 resolution :] Plus these are compact, sleek little beasts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajseven Posted May 11, 2007 Author Share Posted May 11, 2007 Well, it's obvious which one I should get - the SmallBook of course. (SmallBook = 1.83 MacBook). I saw one today and asked the owner what she thought of it. She said she loves the look and the OS, but the reliability and endurance of the 'Book is awful. Almost everything has gone wrong. Mind you, she has a Core Duo (1st Gen) model. Have all these faults been fixed in the 2nd Gen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sajseven Posted May 14, 2007 Author Share Posted May 14, 2007 Is the Second Generation of MacBooks more reliable than the first? Should I extend my warranty with AppleCare? I'm taking it to England... Thanks! :censored2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riktor Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Well you can buy the Apple Care within that first year of warranty and then if anything happens and the design of the macbooks have changed then you can usually get upgraded if its a major problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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