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BobTheDog
Joined: Feb 28, 2005 Posts: 4044 Location: England
Audio files: 32
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:56 am Post subject:
Thinking of getting a Mac laptop Subject description: Some advise would be nice. |
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Hi Guys,
As I have now moved over to Logic I am thinking of getting a new laptop as mine is XP.
The two I am looking at are
1. MacBook 2GB ram, 120GB HD & applecare = 1,298 pounds.
2. MacBook Pro 2.16, 2GB ram, 120GB HD & applecare = 1,748 pounds.
So the difference is 450 pounds.
I don't really mind the 13 inch screen so is there any good reasons for splashing out the extra cash on the Pro version?
Also what is the difference between the glossy and normal screen?
Cheers
Andy[/right] |
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v-un-v
Janitor
Joined: May 16, 2005 Posts: 8933 Location: Birmingham, England, UK
Audio files: 11
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:15 am Post subject:
Re: Thinking of getting a Mac laptop Subject description: Some advise would be nice. |
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BobTheDog wrote: |
Also what is the difference between the glossy and normal screen?
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the glossy screen is only useful if you like looking at yourself while you are working
The glossy screen is also CRAP for doing any picture editing, because it has too much contrast, otoh, the glossy screen increases the dmax (black) so you get better viewing while watching videos- and if, ahem, again, you don't mind looking at yourself in the mirror!!
The deciding factor for me getting a MBP over the MB was that wretched screen
PS, do you know anyone at University, because you may get (quite a bit) of discount if you take that route _________________ ACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.
IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.
ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN. |
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v-un-v
Janitor
Joined: May 16, 2005 Posts: 8933 Location: Birmingham, England, UK
Audio files: 11
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:17 am Post subject:
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oh yes, I should say that the MBP has Firewire 800 too, and again, the screen is a lot sharper imo. It also has a far better graphics card- if you're into gaming or high end graphics stuff- like CAD, but perhaps not? _________________ ACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.
IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.
ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN. |
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BobTheDog
Joined: Feb 28, 2005 Posts: 4044 Location: England
Audio files: 32
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:09 am Post subject:
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Hi Vunv,
Thanks for the info.
Maybe I will get the pro
Cheers
Andy |
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Sonarbase
Joined: Mar 10, 2007 Posts: 5 Location: Beyond Hoag's Object
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Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 2:02 pm Post subject:
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Like v-un-v said if you're into gaming and graphics, you're better of with a pro. If you want to add an mobile Internet card or something you'll need a pro cause the mb doesn't have an expresscard slot.
Another thing is the ram, a pro can go up to 4Gb while the mb can go up to 2Gb.
I use the latest macbook with 2Gb of ram and love it... It's powerful enough to run logic and nice amount of plugins.... I need about 10 to 20 audio tracks at most and run at least 2 inserts on every track.
If you don't need the capabilities of a pro I advice you to save your money for a nice 22" screen or something for working at home.
Sb _________________ Sonar base
Sonar base on myspace |
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cletus
Joined: Jul 09, 2007 Posts: 6 Location: Bay Area
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:39 am Post subject:
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Definitely go for the MBP if you can afford it. Extra RAM capacity and having the express card slot for e-sata can come in handy when running logic. _________________ www.myspace.com/ifnobodyknew |
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rikardgrankvist
Joined: Jul 07, 2007 Posts: 6 Location: Stockholm
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Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:56 pm Post subject:
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I recently bought the exact macbook you're talking about. I'm very pleased. To me, the increase portability of MB versus MBP was important, so that you can make field recordings more easily. The biggest difference between the two seem to be the graphics, which doesn't matter at all to me, since I work only with music. Use the extra money to buy the mini-DVI to DVI converter and buy a nice big screen for when you're at home. That's my setup. |
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renevanderwouden
Joined: Feb 25, 2006 Posts: 186 Location: Gouda (NL)
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Kassen
Janitor
Joined: Jul 06, 2004 Posts: 7678 Location: The Hague, NL
G2 patch files: 3
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:32 am Post subject:
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Speaking of Mac laptops and graphics; a while ago there was a issue where the whole thing would crash if video memory would share ram in the area above 2GB. I can't remember wether that was on the pro or the plain one but it was due to a faulty video card driver. Has that been adresed yet?
I'd like to get into Open GL in the future and that's a serious bottleneck for my current laptop.
Also, are there mature window managers yet that can act as a alternative to Aqua while preserving the native Open GL support of the OS? _________________ Kassen |
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v-un-v
Janitor
Joined: May 16, 2005 Posts: 8933 Location: Birmingham, England, UK
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 4:55 am Post subject:
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I didn't even know there was a problem here Kas. This Macbook Pro has 2gig installed, runs XP in VMware Fusion, while running several drafting programs, and live video from the internet etc etc, and yet runs like a cat off a hot tin roof (and no stability issues either )
hope that helps _________________ ACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.
IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.
ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN. |
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etherline
Joined: Apr 27, 2007 Posts: 42 Location: UK
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 5:15 am Post subject:
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renevanderwouden wrote: | I am thinking of replacing my DUAL G4 1 ghz for a Mac Powerbook, but not the Pro. |
I've got a powerbook. It's a nice wee computer but the sharp edges are not great when you are typing and the small screen really does become a drag after a while. |
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v-un-v
Janitor
Joined: May 16, 2005 Posts: 8933 Location: Birmingham, England, UK
Audio files: 11
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 5:29 am Post subject:
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etherline wrote: |
I've got a powerbook. It's a nice wee computer but the sharp edges are not great when you are typing and the small screen really does become a drag after a while. |
But how big is your screen? There are 17" screen G4 Powerbooks you know
Also most of the time, this MBP is connected to a separate 20" monitor (made by NEC, not Apple). The great advantage of this is one gets dual screen/ mirror capability _________________ ACHTUNG!
ALLES TURISTEN UND NONTEKNISCHEN LOOKENPEEPERS!
DAS KOMPUTERMASCHINE IST NICHT FÜR DER GEFINGERPOKEN UND MITTENGRABEN! ODERWISE IST EASY TO SCHNAPPEN DER SPRINGENWERK, BLOWENFUSEN UND POPPENCORKEN MIT SPITZENSPARKSEN.
IST NICHT FÜR GEWERKEN BEI DUMMKOPFEN. DER RUBBERNECKEN SIGHTSEEREN KEEPEN DAS COTTONPICKEN HÄNDER IN DAS POCKETS MUSS.
ZO RELAXEN UND WATSCHEN DER BLINKENLICHTEN. |
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dewdrop_world
Joined: Aug 28, 2006 Posts: 858 Location: Guangzhou, China
Audio files: 4
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:16 am Post subject:
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v-un-v wrote: | I didn't even know there was a problem here Kas. This Macbook Pro has 2gig installed, runs XP in VMware Fusion, while running several drafting programs, and live video from the internet etc etc, and yet runs like a cat off a hot tin roof (and no stability issues either )
hope that helps |
The MacBook does use some system RAM for video.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303407
Apple wrote: | The Mac mini (Early 2006), MacBook and iMac (Mid 2006) computers use the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor for video output. This graphics chip set shares the main system memory of the computer rather than having dedicated graphics memory. The GMA 950 allocates a base amount of 80 MB for video and boot processes at startup. In a computer configured with 512 MB of SDRAM, this leaves 432 MB of SDRAM available to Mac OS X in a standard system (configured with 512 MB SDRAM).
Mac OS X may make additional main memory available to the graphics processor for texture use beyond the base 80 MB amount mentioned above, depending on the application being used. The most common types of applications that request more system memory to be used as graphics memory are 3D and graphics-intense applications. |
The MacBook Pro has dedicated video RAM separate from system RAM (IIRC).
hjh _________________ ddw online: http://www.dewdrop-world.net
sc3 online: http://supercollider.sourceforge.net |
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etherline
Joined: Apr 27, 2007 Posts: 42 Location: UK
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:28 am Post subject:
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v-un-v wrote: | etherline wrote: |
I've got a powerbook. It's a nice wee computer but the sharp edges are not great when you are typing and the small screen really does become a drag after a while. |
But how big is your screen? There are 17" screen G4 Powerbooks you know
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Beg pardon; I meant an Intel Macbook |
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elektro80
Site Admin
Joined: Mar 25, 2003 Posts: 21959 Location: Norway
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:35 am Post subject:
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dewdrop_world wrote: | v-un-v wrote: | I didn't even know there was a problem here Kas. This Macbook Pro has 2gig installed, runs XP in VMware Fusion, while running several drafting programs, and live video from the internet etc etc, and yet runs like a cat off a hot tin roof (and no stability issues either )
hope that helps |
The MacBook does use some system RAM for video.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303407
Apple wrote: | The Mac mini (Early 2006), MacBook and iMac (Mid 2006) computers use the Intel GMA 950 graphics processor for video output. This graphics chip set shares the main system memory of the computer rather than having dedicated graphics memory. The GMA 950 allocates a base amount of 80 MB for video and boot processes at startup. In a computer configured with 512 MB of SDRAM, this leaves 432 MB of SDRAM available to Mac OS X in a standard system (configured with 512 MB SDRAM).
Mac OS X may make additional main memory available to the graphics processor for texture use beyond the base 80 MB amount mentioned above, depending on the application being used. The most common types of applications that request more system memory to be used as graphics memory are 3D and graphics-intense applications. |
The MacBook Pro has dedicated video RAM separate from system RAM (IIRC).
hjh |
Right!
This means that the MB is an excellent tool for general computing but far from perfect for use with apps like Aperture. The MB runs Logic just fine and apart from issues like the MB not having a card slot ( for say an eSATA Card ), there is no FW800 and the bundled drives are still 5400 RPM ( AFAIK ) then I´d´say that the MB is quite good. The MBP is the only option if you really need fast external drives and a decent graphics card. The card slot in the MBP also allows for gear like the UAD-1e box and such. _________________ A Charity Pantomime in aid of Paranoid Schizophrenics descended into chaos yesterday when someone shouted, "He's behind you!"
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GovernorSilver
Joined: Apr 26, 2004 Posts: 1349 Location: Washington DC Metro
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 2:36 pm Post subject:
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Kassen wrote: | Speaking of Mac laptops and graphics; a while ago there was a issue where the whole thing would crash if video memory would share ram in the area above 2GB.a alternative to Aqua while preserving the native Open GL support of the OS? |
That's a problem in and of itself.
I say the same thing to those shopping for a Windows laptop that want to run graphics-intensive apps.
Avoid shared memory.
Unless you love being miserable a lot. |
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Kassen
Janitor
Joined: Jul 06, 2004 Posts: 7678 Location: The Hague, NL
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 2:47 pm Post subject:
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Yeah, I figured that one out already :¬).
I'm not complaining; my laptop was a bargain when I bought it and now that it has a gig of ram it's still working fine so I'm getting my money's worth but I'd like to get into graphics. I'd like to have visualisations of what my sequencer and msuic are doing and project those, that kind of thing. That aint happening on my current laptop :¬)
Still, video cards have a finite amount of RAM and at some point it'll run out. OSX isn't especially modest with it's footprint there either (I think it clocks in at 80 or so MB of video RAM?) and if I get a new laptop it'll have to last for a few years so I have to think about the future and future demands that'll be placed on it so that's why that video driver bug looked scary to me. _________________ Kassen |
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