DesignersTalk - View Single Post - 13" Mac Book

freelancr · 11-04-2008, 10:52

Alright chaps, I'm looking to replace my current laptop with something a bit better.

I currently have a Dell Inspiron 6000 which work gave me recently, its a very low spec and couldn't run Windows XP very well, so I am using CentOS Linux. It's fine for what I want to do, apart from I need to use another PC to use CS3. The battery life is about 45 minutes, so its bloody useless for doing any work on my 3 hour each way train journey to the office - at least it gives me a chance to read my RoR books.

I am very tempted by a Mac Book Pro, either the 15" or the 17", but if I am being honest it is priced way out of my league. I could save up, but it would take me forever cos I can see the money getting spent on everything else that we need instead. Also the missus would nail my bollocks to the ceiling for spending over £2000 on it instead of buying her a new kitchen floor that she's been nagging at me to do for ages.

This then leaves the 13" Mac Book, much easier to save up for, could probably get one in about 3 or 4 months if I don't spend anything. The screen is smaller than my current laptop, but the resolution is the same, and the battery life is a hell of a lot longer if the apple website is to be believed.

I'm predominately a developer, so don't necessarily need the poke of the Pro, but I still need to make use of CS3 applications like Fireworks, Photoshop and Illustrator to work with files the designers make.

Should I get one then, or won't it be good enough? Should I bother upgrading the ram, or is 4GB a waste for this laptop. I reckon it would be ok as it is, but would be good to hear from anyone who has one.

I suppose even if it isn't good enough for me to do what I wanna do on it, I'm sure I could wrap it up for the missus as a birthday/xmas present, and then get the Pro! I've never had an apple computer before so I suppose this is probably the best way of doing it, since I don't wanna spend a fortune and find I can't get on with it!

11-04-2008, 10:52	#1 (permalink)
freelancr Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,097	13" Mac Book - Good enough for CS3? Alright chaps, I'm looking to replace my current laptop with something a bit better. I currently have a Dell Inspiron 6000 which work gave me recently, its a very low spec and couldn't run Windows XP very well, so I am using CentOS Linux. It's fine for what I want to do, apart from I need to use another PC to use CS3. The battery life is about 45 minutes, so its bloody useless for doing any work on my 3 hour each way train journey to the office - at least it gives me a chance to read my RoR books. I am very tempted by a Mac Book Pro, either the 15" or the 17", but if I am being honest it is priced way out of my league. I could save up, but it would take me forever cos I can see the money getting spent on everything else that we need instead. Also the missus would nail my bollocks to the ceiling for spending over £2000 on it instead of buying her a new kitchen floor that she's been nagging at me to do for ages. This then leaves the 13" Mac Book, much easier to save up for, could probably get one in about 3 or 4 months if I don't spend anything. The screen is smaller than my current laptop, but the resolution is the same, and the battery life is a hell of a lot longer if the apple website is to be believed. I'm predominately a developer, so don't necessarily need the poke of the Pro, but I still need to make use of CS3 applications like Fireworks, Photoshop and Illustrator to work with files the designers make. Should I get one then, or won't it be good enough? Should I bother upgrading the ram, or is 4GB a waste for this laptop. I reckon it would be ok as it is, but would be good to hear from anyone who has one. I suppose even if it isn't good enough for me to do what I wanna do on it, I'm sure I could wrap it up for the missus as a birthday/xmas present, and then get the Pro! I've never had an apple computer before so I suppose this is probably the best way of doing it, since I don't wanna spend a fortune and find I can't get on with it!