To Mac or not to Mac

Hi,

Im beginning to consider my first ever Mac Purchase, and need some advice on whether it really is the perfect device for me.

Im currently using a Dell Notebook with Vista,
C2D 2.2gz,
2gb Ram,
250gb hdd,
256mb nvidia 8600M GT
etc.


and am thinking of purchasing the 15" MBP with the 9600MGT

Im mainly going to be using it for graphic and web design so the adobe cs4 suite needs to run smoothly.

Also, I was hoping some one could tell me how well the 9600M GT handles games, I am an enthusiastic gamer and want something that can ideally handle the newer games

Thanks,

 

The 9600M GT is a mid-range performance graphics chipset hobbled by a 128-bit memory interface. At lower resolutions it shouldn't be much of a problem, but don't expect to pump Crysis out to a 30" display at native resolution or anything.

Compare the 9600M GT to my Sager's 8800M GTX:

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=596&card2=569

The numbers tell the tale.

 

Do you just need a laptop with equivalent setting to that Dell or better? If so then the Macbook Pro will be fine.

 

The Macbook Pro spec is similar to the Dell you have owned.
The 9600M GT is similar to 8600M GT just fractionally better because it uses a newer chipset so it is better to save your money and buy Windows 7 instead.

 

If you're into games, the notebooks to consider are the ones with GTX260m or Radeon 4650 (I'm talking reasonable prices here, not the $2-4k firebreathers).

It would probably help if you list the title of games you intend to play on the notebook.

 

It all depends on what YOU want to do. A Mac isn't a gaming rig and will be bested by many lower cost PCs in that regard. Adobe should run fine on either a PC or Mac. If you are happy with Windows you just may be better off buying a new PC.

My question to you is... What made you think about getting a Mac?

If it is because of a perception of Macs being "cool" (no accusations here) you may want to rethink your reasoning. Just let us know what you are thinking and we'll try to help you out with some info. Just be ready for some PC user to start Mac bashing or try to show how Windows is far superior.

In the end the choice of an OS is a personal decision that shouldn't be swayed by either Mac users or PC users. Look over them both, compare them, think about what you want and make YOUR decision.

 

Wow, an unbiased, well thought out response from an Apple user. Very impressive, and great advice!

 

Wow, Jervis, you changed quite a bit from a while ago.

 

I game pretty good on my 9600GT, but its definitely not top of the line. I even game some on my 9400M...

If you want a killer gaming machine, this isn't it... but if your like me and you just have fun with games and do not care if its at the lower/mid graphics settings... then its fine.

 

Not really, I still can't stand Windows (from experience). I would just rather have a rational, honest conversation about Mac vs PC. I realize that not everyone will have the same experiences I've had with Windows or OSX. Its the mindless dribble that some users post that gets to me. If you've had an actual experience with a Mac or PC I may agree or offer a counter point but I can't discount your experience. Now, if you talk about a Hackintosh experience or rumor to bash OSX I'll call you out on it.

 

I am still wondering why the OP needs a new laptop in the first place. By the looks of the specs he probably have an Inspiron 1520/1720, maybe even a Vosrto 1500. The CPU looks like a T7500 (65nm merom).The performance gain by upgrading to any new notebook (right now) is not worth the price. Might as well wait for the next gen of CPUs/GPUs instead of rushing into a purchase.

The 9600M GT is a die shrink of the 8600M GT, it runs cooler, so Nvidia up'd the clock speed making it faster. Essentially it's the same GPU manufactured on a smaller scale. That applies to most of Nvidia's GPUs too........

 

This is my same thoughts. The 9600GT is a marginal upgrade at best..........

To Mac or not to Mac, you shouldn't ask yourself the question of GPUs at this time. You should ask yourself is OS X right for you. Take an hour to try one at the Apple store. It should help you out.

This is one of those thread that should require a WNSIB FAQ.

 

Thanks to all for their input

You are correct that I am using an Inspiron 1520 at the moment.
Reasons for thinking I want/need a Mac are due to recommendations from other graphic designers and general Mac users.
- I've never heard a complaint from a Mac user regarding their mac or osx.
- Apparently Photoshop runs a lot smoother / more efficiently on Mac,
- The 'cool' factor
- Windows feels like it deteriorates, performance gets slower and slower and I need to re-install often

Gaming power isnt much of an issue, as I can always play games on the xbox. But I like knowing that If i ever want to play a graphics intensive game I can do so without having to tweak to extreme settings just to get a reasonable fps.

Considering the Mac is £1500 today, and my current Dell cost me £650 in Feb 2008, it just seems a bit expensive for such a small upgrade in spec.
EDIT:
Im not sure whether OSX is really the godsend people make it out to be, They've put the idea into my head that once i start using OSX I will realise how bad Windows actually is.

Also, does anyone know what the maximum resolution is that the 9600MGT can handle? Im running 1650x1080 on my Dell at the moment.

 

I don't think that Photoshop runs smoother on OS X than in Windows.

Also, Windows 7 fixes a lot of issues that plagued previous versions. If you do basic maintenance, you should not need to re-install the OS often.

 

While it is debatable whether Photoshop runs faster on Windows or Mac, I do think the Mac version provides increased productivity in certain situations.

Notably, if you work with multiple photos with arbitrary names. The Photoshop on the Mac allows you to expose and visual identify the photo you are working on if they all have arbitrary filenames, like DSG1958392, DSG384958334, etc.

On the Windows version, there is no easy way to replicate the Expose effect, since all the photos are inside the actual application window.

Other than that, they are about the same in my opinion.

You gotta ask yourself, is it worth the money?? Cause you can get yourself a REALLY REALLY nice watch for that kind of money. Or a REALLY REALLY nice TV.

 

There is something cool about owning a Macbook pro. OSX is priceless. My ONLY complaint about OSX is that regardless of what some people say, there ARE compatibility issues. Some websites don't fully function properly, or ask you to download stuff that windows already has etc. The world is based on Windows, which is why I have both. HOWEVER you can run windows in bootcamp if you need it, but I like having both systems on native hardware. (I.E. a windows PC, and a mac OSX system).

 

Mac users have their complaints. Oh, they have their complaints alright. The Apple website has a forum system, http://discussions.apple.com. I recommend you peruse it.

Debateable. Also, Adobe won't have Photoshop in x64 on OS X this time around, since Apple made some design decisions regarding OS X in x64 that are requiring Adobe to do considerable extra work to get an OS X Photoshop x64 released.

People loading all kinds of unofficial drivers, weird apps that tinker with system files, clicking weird links, and whatever else.. plus the fact that there's simply *a lot* more stuff available for Windows, and yeah, people can overdo it. OS X doesn't exactly have many of these temptations. Still, there are people who complain of OS X slowing down over time too.

 

OS X is not a web browser, it's an operating system. It comes *with* a browser, Safari. They do make Firefox for OS X also.

 

Yeah I know it's a browser...but I like it better than Firefox, I wish it had 100% compatibility.

 

Can you name a site that isn't 100% compatible?

 

Well in Safari I've had popups asking for downloads to make it run correctly etc. I also had to download flip for mac and other apps to help run videos such as UFC on the macbook pro. I'm not complaining, I own one and think Apple systems are above the rest, I'm just talking about my experience with both.

 

All browsers have to download add ons (Flash, Adobe and such). There is no browser that is 100% compatible.

 

Flip4Mac is a common tool that all Mac users should install anyway because it allows Quicktime to run WMV files and various Windows codecs.

Windows also requires users to download certain apps for quite a few websites to run properly: NextDEF and Spotlight are two that are necessary (Mac too) for MLB streams to play at high res.

With the proper browser and plug-ins, modern OS like Linux and OS X have few problems with a vast majority of sites.

 

My college's Distance Learning site totally does not work right with Safari. The sick thing is there's no errors, just things missing.. things a new user would not expect to see, so it causes a lot of confusion.

I had to install Firefox just for class.

 

That's kinda lame. I notice the same thing with IE and Firefox. You never explicitly notice the incompatibilities.

 

Blackboard or something else? Cuz Blackboard doesn't work right in Safari at all, and they say they will not support it and to install Firefox.

 

You will be able to play most games at midrange settings.

On my unibook i can most games at mid settings with the 9400m

 

Off topic, but blackboard doesn't like Opera either. It is not like blackboard is that special anyway (although you do need it for class as do I). It is just slack how they can't be bothered making it work for the others, almost all other websites manage to do it why can't they?

 

Probably cause they got better things to do than to cater to the insignificant population. Why not work on actual problems that affect everyone, like the next generation of Blackboard.

HTML like any other formal standard, suffers from a "culture lag." Browser development and the needs of the Internet will always outpace any standard's ability to adapt.


I think it is safe to say though, that Safari support is a small issue in the realm of browser compatibilities. Typically, the most common browser related deal breaker when it comes to OS X is the lack of ActiveX support. If a website you visit requires ActiveX, you get the short end of the stick when you are on OS X.

 

I used to love gaming on the Mac. My first 3dFX card ran in my PM 7500, my favorite games were made by a new Mac only company called Bungie. What the heck has happened

I suppose what flavors of software you need has a big impact on platform decisions..I still prefer video editing and certain music apps on the Mac..so guess the OP really needs to get a grip on choice of OS..or run both?

 

i dual boot windows and os x . so i have the best of both world. when i need battery, i virtualise my bootcamp on os x with the 9400m. and when i need raw power, i use my bootcamp natively.