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Must purchase by March 20. What to buy?


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Must purchase by March 20. What to buy?
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mrjasonian
 
 
2006-01-20, 01:40

Hi All

I'm a noob to the applenova world and to macs in general. I've done a search and couldn't find similar questions that help, so please don't flame if I'm out of line.

I've been a Windows user forever, but want to switch to a Mac for simple video editing. (mini dv camcorder) Just home movies and stuff. I'd most likely use the program that comes with iLife (idvd?, imovie?) unless there's something cheap that works better. The rest of what I'll use it for is just email, word processing,quicken, itunes, and web browsing.

SO.... I want to buy a laptop. I have a feeling that the ibook is a bad idea because it won't handle the video. That leaves the powerbook or the macbook. The apple store has good prices on refurbed powerbooks and I'm not sure if it's worth the $2000+ to go top of the line with the macbook.

I need to at least order it by March 26 as my bride to be won't allow me to buy a new computer once we're married. (long story) I don't think they'll announce more basic intel notebooks by then.

So, what do you think? After reading post after post, I can tell y'all know your stuff and I'd appreciate the opinion.

Thanks!
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Artap99
Totally awesome.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC
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2006-01-20, 01:48

I've used both an iBook and a Powerbook for video importing and editing. I had no loss of frames or slow down during the process with the iBook. I was using Final Cut, which is more CPU intensive. You're going to get slower rendering times than a faster processor would, but the iBook is more than capable. Between the two, there wasn't a huge difference.

Go to an Apple store. See what you're comfortable with. Personally, I bought the Powerbook for a nicer keyboard and a screen that extends further. I sacrificed durability and a bit of battery life.

As for waiting...that's up to you.
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Franz Josef
Passing by
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
 
2006-01-20, 05:44

Hi and welcome to 'Nova. The iBook should be fine for what you have in mind, though there is always a question of degree. Given what you describe, in your position I'd buy an iBook with lots of RAM.
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Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2006-01-20, 06:17

You'll have to get divorced in about two or three years if your wife won't let you buy a new computer once you're married! I mean, assuming you have a happy and long-lived marriage, will you still be using your circa-2006 Mac notebook in 20 or 30 or 50 years? Or does she mean she won't let you buy one right away after your marriage?

Either way, I guess you need something before March 20th. Apple have often released minor updates (rather than major product redesigns) in the early part of the year. They'll have the requisite big announcement at MWSF, and then they'll update the rest of their products over the next month or so. I'd suggest waiting at least a few weeks before you order.
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curiousuburb
Antimatter Man
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
 
2006-01-20, 07:23

Welcome to AN.

If you're going to be grabbing large contiguous chunks of video, a faster-than-average-laptop-speed (4200rpm) drive may help. The new MBP does offer the option of an internal 7200rpm drive, but you can always get an external FireWire drive (often a good idea for larger capacity video work and backup redundancy anyway).

If you can wait until early March, it is remotely possible that there may be minor revisions in the MBP (if they find some early issues in initial shipments) and/or the iBook may transition to MacBook (probably will wait for the single core Yonah closer to mid-year). Rev. A machines are often flaky, so waiting a month before jumping in may save you some grief. There is a small chance that the PB will get more affordable, mainly through current users selling off in anticipation of the MBP. Time won't hurt you, and might help.

If you're doing a lot of editing, the extra screen real estate may matter, so a 15" MBP or PB 15 or 17 may seem more pixel bang for the buck. Both will support the addition of an external 30" LCD (and the MBP with better GPU and more VRAM will be snappier at it), but you may be content with a regular DVI widescreen LCD. iBooks don't do DVI, but can use the Screen Spanning Doctor to drive an external monitor too (though officially they can only mirror, not span).

Go and test them out in February once the stores have stock. See which suits.

Either way, there are a few things you won't be able to upgrade, primarily VRAM, so plan to get the most you can if the laptop has to last you for a long time. Definitely bump up the RAM too (though Apple RAM is $$$... look at crucial.com or OWC or read the threads here for tips on where to do better).

iMovie HD and iDVD are probably fine for you to learn on, and are both shipping in Universal Binary form, so there's no issue of compatibility or emulation performance hit on intel. Final Cut Express would be the next step up the pro editing chain, but it's not UB yet, so you'd have to wait before diving into it anyway.

Wait until mid-March to buy. Use the time between now and then to test drive, ask more questions, and price out your best bang for the buck.
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mrjasonian
 
 
2006-01-20, 20:20

Hey Everyone, thanks!

I should clarify, she won't let me buy a computer till we buy a house. We're still a year away from that.

I think I'll wait as long as I can and do some more research. This forum has been invaluable so far and I really appreciate the help.

JC
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JKitterman
New Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
 
2006-01-21, 22:32

Listen to your bride and wait until after the house. Your just getting yourself in trouble.
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709
¡Damned!
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Purgatory
 
2006-01-21, 22:52

A little trouble, maybe, but internet porn will be there for you long after the honeymoon is over and you've found yourself trading a week of taking out the trash for a blowjob.

So it goes.
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spikeh
BANNED
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
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2006-01-22, 07:26

Quote:
Originally Posted by 709
A little trouble, maybe, but internet porn will be there for you long after the honeymoon is over and you've found yourself trading a week of taking out the trash for a blowjob.
still laughing.
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