what kind of computer to get?

[lisa_13]

so, im going to college in the fall for photography/graphic design. the school suggests a macbook pro, but its really pretty much out of my price range. i mean, i can get it if i need it, but if i can get by on a regular macbook, then i'll do that instead.

what do people suggest? why is the pro so much better? what's the difference?

thanks in advance

 

[Jleda]

Hey Lisa,

I have an ibook g4 and it works great for me. I do a lot of photo-editing on it using photoshop, illustrator, indesign, etc. Only thing, it's a little slow (1.42GHz) so I plan to upgrade. But, what are you planning to do on your computer? If you're gonna do a lot of editing I'd suggest getting a macbook. No need for a pro, really. I'm sure it's faster but the simple macbook will do great AND it's not top of the line, so of course the price is lower.

Good luck!

 

[rob40wilson03]

you will definitely be ok with the reg. macbook

one of the main differences between them is that the macbook pro has RAM that is used solely for the graphics card in addition to the system RAM.... the macbook shares system RAM with the graphics, so the graphics and system will both take a hit when you've got multiple programs (especially ones like photoshop) running simultaneously

... but dont let that scare you, just get the macbook and select the added RAM (get AT LEAST 2GB!! 4GB would make it run extremely well, but i think you could get by with 2GB pretty easily)