Okay, I'm going to get a laptop this week for school. The big question is whether I want a Mac or a PC. Budget is not 'totally' a problem, but I don't think I'll be able to get a Macbook Pro for one, so that's out of the picture.
I'm in the Arts, Design and Media course. Most people would assume I should get a Mac then. But honestly any high-powered rendering and stuff (which would be next year for my Year 2 course) would be done on the workstations in the school itself. However, Mac is more stable, and comes with free packed in Adobe Premium CS3, which is very nice (pirated stuff for Mac is hard to come by).
I didn't bring my roadshow brochures so I can't state the models today, but I can list some of the features I remembered as well as the brands and price.
Acer: Most bang for buck. $1800+ (cheapest) Comes packed in with a better graphics card than the standard Intel Express Chipset that comes packed in with most of the other roadshow. A couple of extras, but it's its cheap price that makes it a consideration.
Cons: Acer doesn't have the best build quailty. Otherwise, it's okay, if pretty standard.
Macbook: $2400+ Well, it's Mac. Free upgrade to Leopard OS X, a free 1 GB iPod Shuffle, packed in with the full Adobe CS3 Premium Pro suite. Extremely good for a graphics student like me. Aesthetically the most appealing.
Cons: Graphics card is the standard chipset (on Macbook Pro has a most advanced graphics card). I can't run most of my games/other applications on it w/o Boot-Camp and Windows XP/Vista. I'll have to learn a whole new OS (although I do have a year till I need to use it more vigourously).
The others, Fujitsu, Toshiba, are all under consideration. But if I'm going to get a standard laptop, I might as well get the cheapest.
The way it is, using a Mac might be fun. But see, I might not be able to run Psychonauts on it =/
Unless someone can tell me that the Intel Express Chipset can do that, then I parition the hard drive and use Boot-Camp so that I can still use Windows.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220162)
I gots me one o' these. The only con is that it comes with Vista preloaded, but you can get XP or Linux (although you'd probably want XP, in which case you'd have to slipstream the Intel AHCI drivers into XP before the install with nLite) installed with a bit of tinkering.
Can you contact the department head/professors for your area of study? They'll tell you what is working best for their students and for them. If most of them are using Macs, you might want to go with a Mac. If they're using mostly PCs, you might want to go with that instead.
Mac OS is easy to learn, so I wouldn't worry about that.
While I am a diehard Microsoft/Windows user, I do recommend the Macbook Pro if you have the cash. That way, you can use "Bootcamp" to dual boot your Mac w/ either XP, Vista, or whatever OS you want. It really depends on how much you are willing to spend.
If you do not like the idea of doing that, then I recommend getting whatever Windows based PC out there. I have a feeling that you'll have better luck with it, but like I said, it all depends on how much you are willing to spend and what you want to do with it. Best of luck!
PC if you want to be able to do things
Mac/PC if you want to either be able to do things or color **** and feel on a higher level than all your peers.
Mac if you want to color **** on a higher level than all your peers.
Linux if you want to lose some friends.
All 3 if you really have nothing better to do
Compiz Fusion attracts spectators though.
If it has to be a Mac, buy an intel Mac. But by all means, if it's not money coming out of your ass when you crap, the why the heck spend more money for less, when you can have more for less money? Also, do not believe that "ooo mac is soo totally the graphic stuff", 'coz it ain't true any more.
If you ask me, buy HP.
No seriously.
And don't as any ancient aged prof about what computer-hardware to get.
get an alienwear one. tose r awesome!!!
If you ask me, buy HP.
No seriously.
And don't as any ancient aged prof about what computer-hardware to get.
I generally support what Ray says, and this is no exception. But he still needs to post more on the Sam & Max board.
Ah guys, I got myself a standard Windows Fujitsu E84 instead ^_____^;;;
My reasons? I'll be doing the heavy duty stuff I need on the workstations set up in the school itself anyway, and THAT'S only until next year!
To hell with being 'with the crowd', my Fujitsu is a SEXY BLACK (oh gawd, "Sexy Back" rhyme!) and if Apple had bothered to bring in the Black and Silver Macbooks instead of the stripped down White Macbook, I would definitely have considered it.
Still, Windows Vista is pure crap. I'll be downgrading to Windows XP, hopefully.
Edit:
Something funny I found while surfing about Windows Vista compatibility (including for Psychonauts, I haven't finished it yet =p)
BY RYANREDZIE AT 09/05/06 03:41 PM
"Microsoft takes backwards compatibility seriously"? XBox 360 owners are rejoicing that Aquaman:Battle for Atlantis just got added to the BC list on that lost update. No Conker, no Psychonauts, no DOAU, but here's some Catwoman movie-based gaming goodness from your good friends at Microsoft!!!
BY LEMURS AT 09/05/06 03:46 PM
When Apple supports full backwards compatibility for their game console, your comment will be relevent. Until then, it will be filed with the comments on the new world record for deep sea ironing over at Deadspin. They're more closely related.
BY JAY AT 09/05/06 03:52 PM
I knew someone was going to work Psychonauts in this topic somehow. I just knew it.
Just XD!
From what I've heard, Macs are very good at graphics design and music mixing.
Getting off topic...
I think those Mac commercials are funny. Of course, they see it as "PC=Windows," which is not necessary. PCs are pretty much EVERY non-server/mainframe/terminal computer that people have. Many people and corporations use PCs that aren't Microsoft Windows-based (ie: Red Hat's used IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads (aka laptop PCs) is that they're all running Fedora (duh!)).