Convince me to go Mac

[BC-SeaDragon 0]

Hi All,

 

After making a purchase of a new Asus laptop back in the spring I am now leaning towards a MAC. I received my Asus back a day before leaving on a fairly extensive trip and it still has the same issues that it was sent in for....3 TIMES!!! As you can imagine I am a little fired up over it and need to move on. I am in Mexico and have a family member that could bring me a new Macbook Pro if I decide to do so.

 

Will this do?

 

2.66GHz Intel Core i7

4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB

500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm

SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)

MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display

Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide

NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512 MB

 

I would like the additional 4G of ram but it just hits the travel fund even more and I cant do it right now. From what I understand it is very easy to add this in at a later time and I will likely do so. How much of a difference will the 4G make?

 

I will be doing some video work over the next year and need a reliable product. Nothing to intense just some tourist and promo videos. I shoot with a Sony XR-500 and edit with CS5 which matches up well with the NVIDA graphic card.

 

I would love to hear all the PRO Mac opinions as to why I should make this transition?

 

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

Kelly

Edited January 17, 2011 by BC-SeaDragon

[Drew 0]

I won't bother with convincing you. But I'll make a few comments on your system config.

1.The i7 processor on the MBP is about 5-10% faster than the i5 in real world applications. However, CS5 PP Mercury Engine pushes a lot of work to the GPU so more Vram the better. There is a hack to make the GT330M work with CUDA but there are only 48 CUDA cores on the GT330M so it won't be spectacular improvements.

2.If you are on a tight budget, get the 8GB RAM from 3rd party which should cost less than $140 and install yourself. CS5 is 64bit native so if you have 8GB, it will take advantage of it.

3.If you use the computer in a room with moderate to a lot of background light, or outdoors alot, I'd get the anti-glare monitor. Some people don't mind the glare from reflections indoors, and prefer the slightly more contrasty look of the glossy screen. I personally can't stand it and use my computer for travel and outdoors quite a bit, so I got the non-glare screen.

Good luck with your choice.

[cor 0]

If you really want a fast machine, get a (third party) SSD drive. I will never own a personal computer without an SSD drive anymore.

[ChrigelKarrer 52]

BC-SeaDragon,

consider also that you have to buy a lot of expensive software if you switch to a MAC.

Do a reserach what you will need and what the price would be for the software.

I would go with a non-glare screen, maybe a bit more "dull" but much more flexible in positioning your laptop.

I have now my second IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad running Windows 7 64bit and 8 GB RAM and never hady issues with it.

If i get some spare $ i will buy a SSD, as that will kick any computer up on a new dimension of speed.

Chris

Edited January 17, 2011 by ChrigelKarrer

[pmooney 6]

Hi All,

 

I would love to hear all the PRO Mac opinions as to why I should make this transition?

 

Thanks for the advice!!!

 

Kelly

 

 

Hi Kelly ,

 

Get one because you want it.

[loftus 42]

I would love to hear all the PRO Mac opinions as to why I should make this transition?

 

Mostly, because they 'just work'. Coming from a PC you may have some initial frustrations as to how to do things, no right click etc, but quite frequently it will be because things are simpler and more intuitive than you are used to.

I agree with Drew about more RAM and the non-glare screen.

Edited January 17, 2011 by loftus

[cor 0]

I dont Love the glossy screen. I never have problems with it. Take it everywhere. The non-glossy screen is meh.

[loftus 42]

I dont Love the glossy screen. I never have problems with it. Take it everywhere. The non-glossy screen is meh.

Yeah, that's definitely a preference thing - I would say get a screen that matches your desktop if you have one as color saturation and hues etc look different on glossy screen than they do on non-glossy. We have glossy screen iMacs at work and images look different from my home desktop screens.

[cor 0]

My 27" imac at work is WAAAY too glossy, so for that one id agree. My MBP though is less glossy and works fine for me.

[wagsy 0]

What is wrong with your ASUS

I got a cheap ASUS i5 here and can edit raw Canon mov files on it.

You have to set up a PC for it to work properly.

Those that dont just get frustrated and join the other $$$ mob.

[Drew 0]

Yeah, that's definitely a preference thing - I would say get a screen that matches your desktop if you have one as color saturation and hues etc look different on glossy screen than they do on non-glossy. We have glossy screen iMacs at work and images look different from my home desktop screens.

 

I think the majority of the market prefers glossy. It must be somehow cheaper because Apple charges a premium for the matte screens, when it used to be standard. Apple even removed the matte on the 17" for awhile, only when customers started complaining about it did they make it an "upgrade!"

[Captain_Caveman 0]

I think the majority of the market prefers glossy. It must be somehow cheaper because Apple charges a premium for the matte screens, when it used to be standard. Apple even removed the matte on the 17" for awhile, only when customers started complaining about it did they make it an "upgrade!"

 

 

If you ever intend to show your video outdoors, the glossy screen is a no no. I've got a glossy screen on a MB and it's hell to see it out in the sunshine.

[Scubysnaps 9]

iWeb?

Build your photo website with a lot more ease!

[loftus 42]

Time to ventilate.....!!!!!!

Why should you get a Mac, because PC's SUCK!!!!!

Just spent about 4 hours with tech folks trying to get my PC laptop to work on my office network just so I can use the printer and it still does not work. They're having trouble with getting it to recognize the workgroups!. What workgroups? And by the way, I went through this with the same laptop 6 months ago, got it to work after paying about $500 for tech support people to come in the office. In addition, needed some 40 character password or something to work wirelessly. Hell, Macs are just plug and play. I'm sure Wagsy would fix it in a heartbeat but for heavens sake they are a nightmare for folks like me who do not have time to mess with setting computers up 'right', and definitely don't have time to mess with them when they are not working for no obvious reason. And then trying to run a business, I've spent thousands of dollars on tech support over the years for the couple of PC's I need to run one particular piece of medical software.

Anyone who says PC's are cheaper, is full of it. When I consider time wasted, staff hours wasted, loss of productivity, pure frustration shortening my life, tech support, PC repairs, etc, etc, it's not even close. And that's beside the fact that I don't have a SIMPLE easy backup system that my staff can manage, restore etc, in my absence. OS upgrades are a nightmare, and on, and on. I'm convinced PC's exist to support the tech support people. Nuff said...aaaaaaarghhh!

Edited January 17, 2011 by loftus

[gina 9]

Coming from a PC you may have some initial frustrations as to how to do things, no right click etc, but quite frequently it will be because things are simpler and more intuitive than you are used to.

 

Oh, but Macs DO have a right click! You can use a two button USB mouse with any modern Mac (I've got a great Logitech two button scroll mouse), or you can simply hold down the "Control" key as you click to bring up a contextual right-click menu.

 

-Gina, Mac user for 20+ years

[MIKE POWELL 1]

Don't forget no stinking Anti-Virus software needed with a Mac! I still think Microsoft created the virus BS and probably own stock in all the companies that sell the AV software.

I just got rid of Microsoft Hotmail and no more spam....you know the ones I'm talking about....now I can surf all the porn I want and I get zero of those "grow it two inches in one month with this little pill"

 

Once you go Mac you'll never go back!

 

 

Time to ventilate.....!!!!!!

Why should you get a Mac, because PC's SUCK!!!!!

Just spent about 4 hours with tech folks trying to get my PC laptop to work on my office network just so I can use the printer and it still does not work. They're having trouble with getting it to recognize the workgroups!. What workgroups? And by the way, I went through this with the same laptop 6 months ago, got it to work after paying about $500 for tech support people to come in the office. In addition, needed some 40 character password or something to work wirelessly. Hell, Macs are just plug and play. I'm sure Wagsy would fix it in a heartbeat but for heavens sake they are a nightmare for folks like me who do not have time to mess with setting computers up 'right', and definitely don't have time to mess with them when they are not working for no obvious reason. And then trying to run a business, I've spent thousands of dollars on tech support over the years for the couple of PC's I need to run one particular piece of medical software.

Anyone who says PC's are cheaper, is full of it. When I consider time wasted, staff hours wasted, loss of productivity, pure frustration shortening my life, tech support, PC repairs, etc, etc, it's not even close. And that's beside the fact that I don't have a SIMPLE easy backup system that my staff can manage, restore etc, in my absence. OS upgrades are a nightmare, and on, and on. I'm convinced PC's exist to support the tech support people. Nuff said...aaaaaaarghhh!

[loftus 42]

Don't forget no stinking Anti-Virus software needed with a Mac! I still think Microsoft created the virus BS and probably own stock in all the companies that sell the AV software.

I just got rid of Microsoft Hotmail and no more spam....you know the ones I'm talking about....now I can surf all the porn I want and I get zero of those "grow it two inches in one month with this little pill"

 

Once you go Mac you'll never go back!

Unfortunately that's not completely true; it's just that with Macs there are fewer folks out there writing viruses and hacking into Macs etc.

[Drew 0]

Time to ventilate.....!!!!!!

Why should you get a Mac, because PC's SUCK!!!!!

Just spent about 4 hours with tech folks trying to get my PC laptop to work on my office network just so I can use the printer and it still does not work. They're having trouble with getting it to recognize the workgroups!. What workgroups? And by the way, I went through this with the same laptop 6 months ago, got it to work after paying about $500 for tech support people to come in the office. In addition, needed some 40 character password or something to work wirelessly. Hell, Macs are just plug and play. I'm sure Wagsy would fix it in a heartbeat but for heavens sake they are a nightmare for folks like me who do not have time to mess with setting computers up 'right', and definitely don't have time to mess with them when they are not working for no obvious reason. And then trying to run a business, I've spent thousands of dollars on tech support over the years for the couple of PC's I need to run one particular piece of medical software.

Anyone who says PC's are cheaper, is full of it. When I consider time wasted, staff hours wasted, loss of productivity, pure frustration shortening my life, tech support, PC repairs, etc, etc, it's not even close. And that's beside the fact that I don't have a SIMPLE easy backup system that my staff can manage, restore etc, in my absence. OS upgrades are a nightmare, and on, and on. I'm convinced PC's exist to support the tech support people. Nuff said...aaaaaaarghhh!

Breathe, Jeff Breathe!

I recently installed Windoze 7,migrating from my Missta Vista and I have to say migration isn't the easiest thing with Windoze. With the OSX, Migration Assistant is just better.

[wagsy 0]

O.... bugger, now look whats happen.....my man computer will direct cable network but wont share its internet connection with my laptop now... dam PC's

[BC-SeaDragon 0]

I knew this topic would generate a large response and THANK YOU!!

 

Very useful info with regard to the glossy screen being a problem and also the difference the ram will make. I have used a Mac with Imovie to cut the basic tourist product in the past and YES the ease of use was very obvious. I am far from an IT type of person so that is one reason a Mac catches my attention. I may even be ok with just using Imovie for the time being and then when I return home make the upgrades with the Ram, CS5, SSD etc.

 

My Asus has multiple different problems:

 

1-When viewing video clips the on occasion the screen will go white and the computer locks up and the only fix is to power it down and reboot.

 

2-It took my 3 attemps to post my topic due to the computer freezing up. It will freeze at random times, internet on or off, starting the computer, shuting it off, at any given moment really. This has been an on going issue and the computer has been sent away 3 times wiped clean with windows recovered and starting from scratch. Now like I said I dont know much at all about computers but to me this is a hardware issue and not software if the exact same thing has happened 3 times? The amount of time, money and headache dealing with Asus has given me the desire to change, maybe just in spite!

 

Although I must say the small bit of editing I did with this computer and CS5 did preform to my needs.

 

Of course the price difference is much more I'm sure some would argue that you get what you pay for and some you pay for the name. I have not made a decision yet but I need to very soon!

 

Anyways thanks again for all of the input!

 

Kelly

[Captain_Caveman 0]

I've had Final Cut Pro open and minimized into the dock with a project open for two days before now and I've not even noticed.

 

Imagine doing that on a PC.

 

 

I worked in IT for investment banks since 1991 since the beginning of the Windows phenomenon I've been at the foot when windows 2.5 gave birth to Windows 3 and the MS stranglehold was born.

 

Apple always had the head start over MS, but MS powered ahead not long after and really was the only OS of choice for an open (ish) environment that you could buy all your software and it run without problems (ish).

 

But I'm afraid that MS dropped the ball with Windows 95, 98 and then Vista. This has given Apple a chance to pull ahead with Leopard and now the excellent Snow Leopard.

 

The thing that always blighted Apple was the lack of software, but now, with pretty much all the software on MS running on Apple thanks to the oneness of the Intel architecture, it's a level playing field again and Apple are pulling ahead.

 

But it's a fickle game.

 

 

Get a Mac, you won't be sorry. You can even load Windows 7 on it.

[liquidguru 17]

Well, I must be the only one of these forums who uses a 'pc' and loves it. Sorry I don't don't buy into the whole Steve jobs lifestyle thing...

 

If everyone made Macs there would be a lot of crap Macs out there.

 

I have a top end Sony laptop. fast i7 proc, 8GB of fast RAM, Blu Ray burner, 16" 1920x1080 matt screen, 1GB Nvida graphics card, no bloatware and cheaper than any equivalent Mac. It works, runs CS5 (by the way, to run the Premiere 'hack' for CUDA Nvidia cards, your graphic card must have a minimum of 758MB of dedicated RAM, so it won't work with a card with only 512MB). I can plug it into any HD Tv without buying an adaptor.

 

Macs are pretty, and if I was going to buy something for my mum, i would get her a Mac.

 

Use what you are familiar with. If you stay with Windows, get a top-end machine and it will serve you well.

 

For all those that use Macs, I'm please you are all happy with your choice. There is no need to get so angry about people who chose to use Windows.

[Nick Hope 151]

Windows all the way for me, but you do need to know how to set it up to run smoothly, and it is worth spending the money to buy quality equipment (e.g. Dell Precision).

 

FCP has become an industry standard, but it doesn't mean it's better. I'm very happy here editing native HDV .m2t files in Sony Vegas on my laptop. Can't do that in FCP!

[Nick Hope 151]

Another thing pro-Mac... If you're expecting to have to transfer video files to serious Mac users in the future (producers, stock footage houses etc.), they're likely to ask for ProRes files, and you simply can't render that on a PC. So you'll need access to a Mac. There are ways round it with other formats (DNxHD, MXF, M-JPEG etc.) but the receivers of the file will probably be rolling their eyes, wondering why, as a video person, you can't get a Mac like the rest of them.

[Drew 0]

Well, I must be the only one of these forums who uses a 'pc' and loves it. Sorry I don't don't buy into the whole Steve jobs lifestyle thing...

 

If everyone made Macs there would be a lot of crap Macs out there.

 

Macs are pretty, and if I was going to buy something for my mum, i would get her a Mac.

 

Use what you are familiar with. If you stay with Windows, get a top-end machine and it will serve you well.

 

For all those that use Macs, I'm please you are all happy with your choice. There is no need to get so angry about people who chose to use Windows.

Like many others, I use both OSX and Windoze, and thus a comparison is inevitable. OSX is just easier to use and set up, especially for those who aren't technically savvy. Windoze versions of certain software do run faster than on OSX. I could blame the software company but regardless the reality is that for specific software like Adobe CS5, renders and other functions are just faster.

I do agree that Apple QC is slightly lower now that they've moved to Intel parts. My intel MBPs and MPs have had a bit more trouble than my older G4 and G5s. I do question whether they are going to last the 5 year minimum life span I expect from my computers.

 

FCP has become an industry standard, but it doesn't mean it's better. I'm very happy here editing native HDV .m2t files in Sony Vegas on my laptop. Can't do that in FCP!

Nick, you can edit HDV/XDCAM/DVCPROHD natively. It's H.264/AVCHD and R3D you can't on FCP.