Choosing a Mac
A post I did a while ago asking the community if I should buy a MacBook or a MacBook Pro still gets at least one comment every week. I love that people are coming in and reading through the comments and finding out which one they should get. What I learned from that discussion and now my own experience is that if you are going to do anything that is processor intensive I’d go with the Pro model. The faster processor and more RAM makes a world of difference. I also still very much like the keyboard better, but that is a personal preference.
Yesterday I upgraded my main desktop computer from a PC that has served me well (bought off the shelf from a Best Buy), but that has been acting flaky lately. Just like a car it is not uncommon that after three years of heavy use a computer can start to bog down, act funny and just not get you where you want to go as nicely as it could. Sure, it still runs, but not like a shiny new one.
My rule when buying a new computer is simple. Buy the highest level of everything that your budget can afford. Spending that extra bit of money now to have more RAM installed will save you time and aggravation down the road. Also, you need to accept that no matter when you buy a computer (or other gadget) that the price and capabilities will be old and outdated faster then you want it to be. Just accept it and move on. It is not worth dwelling on.
If you are thinking of buying a Mac of any sort then I highly recommend checking out the Mac Buyer’s Guide that based on previous release schedules tells you the optimal time to purchase. I listened to them on my iMac and waiting a couple of weeks was the right move. Bookmark that site now!
So wait… you ditched your desktop PC for a desktop Mac now? Honestly, C.C., you’re becoming smarter every month.
“Also, you need to accept that no matter when you buy a computer (or other gadget) that the price and capabilities will be old and outdated faster then you want it to be. Just accept it and move on. It is not worth dwelling on.”
thank you for that. i want things to last forever and that’s not how the world works, particularly anything technology-related. i needed to hear this from someone, so thank you for being the new media voice of reason once again.
I think she mentioned that she was looking at laptops (MacBook v. MacBook Pro).
To add another key factor, whether or not your graphics card is using shared memory would impact your performance, especially for things like playing graphically-intensive games like Second Life or most MMOs.
The difference is having a dedicated card and dedicated memory (the higher the better) for handling just the graphic functions. If you have a graphics card that utilizes shared memory, your graphics capabilities will be competing with all the other applications open on your computer.
The MacBook and MacBook Air use shared memory. The MacBook Pro uses dedicated memory.
Don’t throw away your PC. Get yourself a free copy of Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon and install it and see what you think.
It works very well and apart from games, there’s not much Ubuntu can’t do compared to an INTEL box running Windows XP.