thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

wayoftheworld · Post by **wayoftheworld** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 2:55 am

so i've been considering getting a macbook and was looking for some advice from people that've been using mac's for a while....ive only ever used pc and there are certain things im just completely tired of.....so i was looking at the new 2009 model and read some reviews that weren't exactly positive. some of the criticisms were of the plastic unibody scratching easily, the new "sharp" rounded edges, the reduced number of ports, and the integrated battery. i believe they've improved some things like the led screen which tbh isn't really of any concern to me since ill be using this computer for production.

so i was wondering what you guys recommend. the macbook pro 13" is 200 dollars more and comes in an aluminum casing. a friend recommended one of the 2008 models. should i buy one of the new 2009 or maybe get an older model refurb? and whats the deal with firewire?

any thoughts??
thanks

antics · Post by **antics** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:03 am

Just to mention it:
Really consider you're reasons for a macbook before you buy one, as you can get a more powerful windows laptop for the same price, and as long as you're not running Logic it should be pretty identical

wayoftheworld · Post by **wayoftheworld** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:17 am

yeah, i've made up my mind.

really i'm just looking for some advice on whether the new 2009's are worth it, or if i should try to get an older model new or refurb. or if i should just spend the extra 200 and go with the pro.

collige · Post by **collige** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:57 am

Get a new Pro. Regular Macbooks have no firewire and the new trackpad is to die for.

wayoftheworld · Post by **wayoftheworld** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 4:08 am

hm. still a bit unsure.

out of the 09 macbook and macbook pro, i'm leaning towards the macbook pro for 200 dollars more.....slightly more processor speed, firewire and sd port (the regular macbook doesn't have these) backlit keyboard (would really come in handy for those late night sessions or djing out) and the aluminum casing, which is a pretty attractive option cos ive heard the glossy white macbooks tend to scratch rather easily and im not trying to fuck with that haha. i had a guitar i bought for 1000 dollars and over the course of 5 years it accumulated a couple minor scratches but even still it made me absolutely SICK to the stomache when i'd find a new one.

so 200 more for the pro, or should i call around some apple stores and try to find a regular macbook 2008 edition? the big selling point here is that it would be about 400 dollars cheaper than the mac pro, and has firewire. still has that scratchable glossy plastic body and doesn't have the new glass track pad, but i dont care all that much for 400 cheaper.

again im not trying to fuck with windows anymore so please dont waste yr time trying to convince me to stay pc. and any other advice would be awesome!

zonetrooper5 · Post by **zonetrooper5** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 9:39 pm

If you got the extra 200 dollars and you want those extra features then get the Macbook Pro 2009 model. Hell if you got even more money then go for the 15" Macbook Pro which obviously comes with a bigger screen extra usb slot I think, SD card and some other features.

rbnc · Post by **rbnc** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:34 pm

The macbook pro build quality is much better. I have the macbook and as you mention, it is very scratched. Still better than any PC I've owned in terms of: not crashing, no driver issues, Logic 9 <3.

Sure you could get a 50GHz, 10000000GB ram with 16 graphics cards, a million DVI ports, leon lights and a built in toaster for the same price but the mac will work, looks beautiful and won't let you down.

ninjadog · Post by **ninjadog** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:51 pm

Personally I would go for the new aluminum for the extra 200 because of the track pad and the sd slot. But if you can still get apple care for the refurbed that would make the choice a little more difficult. Whatever way you go get the apple care, consider it a must. Which ever one you get you cant go wrong, and you will be so happy you made the big switch.

wayoftheworld · Post by **wayoftheworld** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 11:59 pm

rbnc wrote:The macbook pro build quality is much better. I have the macbook and as you mention, it is very scratched. Still better than any PC I've owned in terms of: not crashing, no driver issues, Logic 9 <3.

Sure you could get a 50GHz, 10000000GB ram with 16 graphics cards, a million DVI ports, leon lights and a built in toaster for the same price but the mac will work, looks beautiful and won't let you down.

haha right on. ill admit, although im completely satisfied with ableton, i'd definetly like to try the logic demo sometime. thanks for the replies dudes...@ninjadog....i'll definetly aim for the apple care and thanks again for the reinforcement bro

just realized apple offers a student discount which brings the macbook pro down a hundred dollars which is pretty cool....i guess there's been some talk of apple refreshing their macbook pros and possibly the macbook air sometime in early january/february so i guess i'll wait for the (hopefully) increased hdd and whatever else they decide to upgrade.

what exactly is an sd drive and what do you use it for with production if ya dont mind me asking?

collige · Post by **collige** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:04 am

wayoftheworld wrote:
rbnc wrote:The macbook pro build quality is much better. I have the macbook and as you mention, it is very scratched. Still better than any PC I've owned in terms of: not crashing, no driver issues, Logic 9 <3.

Sure you could get a 50GHz, 10000000GB ram with 16 graphics cards, a million DVI ports, leon lights and a built in toaster for the same price but the mac will work, looks beautiful and won't let you down.
haha right on. ill admit, although im completely satisfied with ableton, i'd definetly like to try the logic demo sometime. thanks for the replies dudes...@ninjadog....i'll definetly aim for the apple care and thanks again for the reinforcement bro

just realized apple offers a student discount which brings the macbook pro down a hundred dollars which is pretty cool....i guess there's been some talk of apple refreshing their macbook pros and possibly the macbook air sometime in early january/february so i guess i'll wait for the (hopefully) increased hdd and whatever else they decide to upgrade.

what exactly is an sd drive and what do you use it for with production if ya dont mind me asking?

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
A update is probably coming soon.

SD cards are what are used in cameras and other portable devices. Odds are you will never use one for production but it's nice to have.

rbnc · Post by **rbnc** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:54 am

You should be able to get 15-20% off as a student, depending on model.

The educational price of Logic Pro in the UK is £150, so I should imagine that it could be $150 as Logic Pro is £499 in the UK and $499 in the US.

Look into it...

skyh · Post by **skyh** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:57 am

Macbooks tend to hold their value quite well. AND I don't particularly like the way Apple markets their computers but they ARE reliable.

The downside, of course, is the price...

wayoftheworld · Post by **wayoftheworld** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:08 am

rbnc wrote:You should be able to get 15-20% off as a student, depending on model.

The educational price of Logic Pro in the UK is £150, so I should imagine that it could be $150 as Logic Pro is £499 in the UK and $499 in the US.

Look into it...

hm. will do

bit afraid i might like logic a lil too much if ya get me haha....the last thing i really wanna do right now is learn yet again another daw....suppose i can always rewire into live which would be pretty sick.

manillathrilla · Post by **manillathrilla** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:44 am

ran pc until last year... have the white macbook 2009 gets the job done and i will never go back to pc...ever for me personally this computer is more than enough i basically use it for papers, porn, research and i used to run WOW on it. Only issue i ever had was the harddrive crashed and i lost my entire photography portfolio. (they replaced the harddrive for free) great customer service too and much easier interface than any pc.

MimikOctopus · Post by **MimikOctopus** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 9:34 am

I have several machines, but only use 2 regularly. I don't see a HUGE difference between them. They are both pretty easy to navigate etc. All my graphics Apps run off my quadcore desktop, and all my audio stuff off my MBP. I don't have ANY problems wiith either machine. The MBP was expensive, but it's also all metal, sturdy, and has good specs. Just my .02 I'm running PT, Ableton, Reason, and some outboard gear and Massive/Albino III. No probs yet.

rbnc · Post by **rbnc** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:27 pm

manillathrilla wrote:ran pc until last year... have the white macbook 2009 gets the job done and i will never go back to pc...ever for me personally this computer is more than enough i basically use it for papers, porn, research and i used to run WOW on it. Only issue i ever had was the harddrive crashed and i lost my entire photography portfolio. (they replaced the harddrive for free) great customer service too and much easier interface than any pc.

Forgot to mention, pr0n won't give you viruses, you can download what the fuck you like and never get any viruses. I haven't had one virus since switching to mac 5 years ago. I used to get bare viruses on my PC back in the day.

steppo · Post by **steppo** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 12:53 pm

older macbooks have lots of faults with them too from what i understand, like fans dying/overheating etc. i'm in the same boat, saving up for a brand new macbook pro.. i have cubase 5 for my pc right now, and it runs beautifully but i like the look and feel of logic a lot more tbh

setspeed · Post by **setspeed** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:37 pm

i'm rocking a white plastic Macbook.

Really happy with it - it's 2 years old now and still going strong. It has a couple of advantages - you can remove the battery, hard disk and RAM yourself; so I've upgraded all that stuff and it's now running a 500GB hard disk with 4GB of RAM. my brother with his MBP is still saving up until he can afford to get apple to replace his HD.

it also has Firewire.

the downside is, of course that A) they're a bit old now and b) they are prone to getting cracks on the body at the front, just to the left and right of the trackpad. Apple will fix that for free, but I've never wanted to hand mine over for repair, so for the last 18 months it's had some rather unattractive yellowing sellotape on the front edge. Still, I didn't buy it for the looks!

dynamat · Post by **dynamat** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 1:46 pm

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=macb ... &_osacat=0

get one of them to avoid scratches, well worth it. Also if you go for the 15" its like an extra 50 quid or something for the faster hard drive which is probably worth it

skunk · Post by **skunk** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 4:51 am

ok so why does my macbook that i bought new this year have firewire? its the $999 13 incher that came out this year...

thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Re: thinking of buying a macbook, a couple questions

Who is online