Hey there, i'm in need of a new machine. I have around £850/$1330. I'm debating whether to get a macbook or a laptop?? Im going to be doing a lot of web design and programming, a little graphic design too. I really want to create ios apps too, for that I need a macbook. Any input is appreciated. Thanks.
Thanks for the response, ive never owned a mac before so im a bit wary of converting, ive always used windows. I have recently got an iphone and I would like everything to be integrated with each other, so a mac would help there. I want to have all documents available on all devices when I go out to meet clients and such. One thing thats putting me off is I can get a high end PC for my budget or a low end macbook (more than likely a macbook air). From your experience what features of a mac help with web design and development where a windows machine does not?
None really, but if you want to get into app development you'll need a MBP (mine is '10 and it's fine), the airs are apparently fragile. Why buy two when you only need one? I'm sitting here using my mac with my pc and it's 2 screens set up next to me. All my files are synced via dropbox or onedrive so that's easy peasy. Email on mac, pc, iphone, ipad are all via the gmail app - I don't go native for that. The main things that caused me problems were: learning the keyboard shortcuts the roller on the mouse goes the other way command+c (etc) is quite a different keystroke to ctrl+c and honestly - if that's the biggest issues, it's not bad.
Hmm, I was afraid that I would need a mb pro. Not sure I have the cash for it, might need to save for a while. Im still just totally torn between the two. Thanks for the info
Invest in memory (RAM) rather than processor speed. The bottom line for most users is that, for the same money, extra memory gives you better performance than a slightly faster processor. I would specify at least 1GB (gigabyte) of RAM on any new computer. The more RAM you have, the more your computer can hold in its head at the same time.
I use AMD A8 based sony vaio laptop with 4 gb ram - it works great. Price is around $600 only. AMD Processor is incredible fast. With it i do web programming in Visual Studio 2013. Sql server database development and procedure development in Sql server 2012. Graphics work in Adobe illustrator CC 17 . No problem at all. I will be the best choice of you too. thanks.
If you'll be doing ios apps then you should get a mac. macs are great when doing photo/video and sound editing..you also won't have to worry much about viruses the advantage of getting a pc is the hardware. you'll get a faster computer for a cheaper price.