[i hate ram]

Hey guys,

wow... it's been a looong time since I've asked a question. thanks in advance for the help!

ok, i'm going off to school in the fall. i obviously need a laptop that is both powerful and portable enough to run photoshop and some other graphics/webdesign apps, as well as multitask without getting sluggish. i'll also need some ease in portability to take to classes and other various places. granted college is 4 months away, i'm still doing some preliminary research to get a feel for what kind of power i should expect and a mean price.

i've basically narrowed it down to the macbook pro and the dell latitude d820.
on both systems, this hardware is the same:

2.16 MHz Intel Core 2 Duo
120GB hard drive at 5400rpm
3GB ram (mac) / 4GB ram (dell)
6x / 8x CD/DVD burner
15.4" viewable LCD
3 year warranty
some kind of carrying case
128mb / 256mb nvidia graphics chip

system specific:
Apple
backlit keyboard
definitely better support
ilife
leopard w/ bootcamp (native XP + OSX)
much more attractive and smaller

Dell
less expensive (by about $200-$300)
4gb ram, 256mb graphics card, and 8x dvd burner instead of 3gb/128mb/6x

i'm torn because this is going to be a big investment. both systems hover around the $2000-$2100 mark (with a student discount)

it'll probably come down to personal preference, but which do you think is the better buy? to be honest, i'm not a gamer, so graphics isnt all that important, and i really do like macs. i dont want to act on impulse and i'd like to make an educated decision.. maybe you can help.

thanks
rambo

[VegasACF]

If it comes down to personal preference then little said here will be of assistance.

I guess you'll have to decide if you want to spend $2000 on a computer that will (legally) only run Windows and Linux) or if you want to spend $2000 on a computer that will run the Mac OS and Windows, and Linux.

If you really like Macs, as you say, then the choice is fairly obvious, I think. But personal preference will rule the day.

[i hate ram]

yeah yeah obviously, personal preference is big... but i still want to make an informed descision.

how is apple's support vs dell? i'd be getting a 3 year warranty on each... i have had bad experience with dell, but i dont want apple to tell me that they cant fix something after 2 and a half years of use either.

overall, which do you guys think is a better product?

[ferrija1]

Apple's support is definitely better than Dell's.

I think that, for what you need, the Macbook Pro would be a better choice. Macs are great for graphics and web design applications and most web designers use Macs, too.

[VegasACF]

If you're getting a laptop and going off to school you'll want to purchase AppleCare. I'm sure you'll treat it like your baby. No one else will.

But, yes, Apple's tech support is awesome. Can't say I've dealt with Dell. Can't say that I've wanted to, either.

[i hate ram]

yeah obviously.. thats the '3 year warranty' i mentioned, figured applecare was obvious.

well im not buying until after wwdc... shame that leopard isnt coming until october. hopefully they'll update some hardware specs at least... quad core maybe?

will they release new hardware with leopard? i REALLY dont want to buy a laptop a month before huge updates come out, and i know apple always loves making a big bang. if i bought the laptop when i needed it for school, could i return it for a new one if there was a better model?

[ferrija1]

Originally Posted by i hate ram

will they release new hardware with leopard? i REALLY dont want to buy a laptop a month before huge updates come out, and i know apple always loves making a big bang. if i bought the laptop when i needed it for school, could i return it for a new one if there was a better model?

They may have a 12 inch Macbook, but I don't think there will be many changes.

You may want to just get 2GB of RAM and than get RAM from Transintl, it will be much cheaper.
http://www.transintl.com/macupgrades/index.cfm