Now you’ve done it. This thread is gonna explode.
A dedicated card will be his friend.
If it has to be a laptop, get a MacBook Pro. For artistic software you are going to want the MIPs.
Ping
If he needs a Mac, then by all means that’s what he should get.
But if he has never used a Mac, doesn’t need a Mac, and just wants to have a Mac because that is the cool computer, then price becomes a serious issue.
So buy on need first, then buy on quality/price balance next.
The killing blow is that that you son’s new Mac will run Windows alongside the MacOS if he ever thinks he needs it (which in all likelihood won’t). A Windows laptop can never run MacOS. I am a Unix/Windows/Mac professional and always use Macs at home and for work whenever possible. The Windows OS is outdated, faulty, and highly prone to viruses and maleficent software which makes repair costs inherent with a Windows computer. Get the Mac, and do it right. You and your son will not be disappointed with its power and versatility. For animation, it is also the choice of the trade due to the Mac’s long relationship with the art community and its ability to run all Unix open source (read FREE) software for animation and computer graphics professionals. Please feel free to FReepmail me if you would like more information.
You might have to purchase expensive animation packages, choose the platform wisely with software costs in mind.
ping or freepmail swordmaker
http://www.freerepublic.com/~swordmaker
In a recent thread, he was explaining how some older desktop MACs can be purchased and upgraded at reasonable prices. Based on experience with my son, he’s not going to go for the netbook idea.
Transitioning to the imac slowed me down to a crawl, haven't figured out how to do the simplest things yet. It's compounded because I got Fusion so I could run my irreplaceable Windows apps on it. When I realized what lay ahead in the way of getting all that all configured, and what kind of virus checker to install, I just gave it up for now.
My granddaughter got the neatest pc laptop a couple years ago, I'd kind of like one of those if I find out what it is and if I can load enough RAM and ROM onto one.
I didn't think the imac with the huge screen was THAT expensive compared to what I put into my first two computers. And it has a really slick desktop and all sorts of neat things you can do with it if you ever get it all figured out. The 24" monitor is fantastic, but it displays web pages more like a tablet (taller and narrower), not the "landscape" mode I'm used to (width exceeds height).
I do a lot of Photoshop work and have just upgraded to CS4 and Lightroom, but I can't install it on the pc because it's on dvd which I didn't realize when I bought it. I can't install it on the imac because it's for Windows. But Lightroom has both Windows and Mac versions on it. Somehow I got Lightroom to intall but immediately got an error when I tried to run it, am guessing because it needs 1gb RAM. I still only have 512mb. So I'm stuck with that for now.
I have an external dvd drive. It has software. But it says to uninstall Roxio or there will be conflicts. So I start looking into that, what a huge hassle, won't do a clean uninstall (as usual).
Every time I try to do something like that, it's become a huge hassle. Plus for the first time ever NAV picked up and quarantined a virusW32.BugbearB@mm. Another huge hassle to get rid of that. Symantec says to run the scan again in safe mode and try the repair. I get an error that it won't run in safe mode.
You really need to scrub your hd once a year or so if you use a pc, don't know about the mac yet.
i used to work at an advertising agency. all the business end people used PC's. all the art people used MAC's. made sending emails that contained attachments a lot of fun.
seriously, if he's doing art stuff. go to a model with a lot of memory. but definitely get a Mac.
I agree w/ others that he should ask students/faculty in the program he’s entering. Once he figures out what he needs at a minimum, I recommend looking on craigslist.
He can get deep student discounts on a computer if he buys it on campus from the school vendor. Don’t buy it elsewhere, otherwise he will pay full or near-full retail.
By the time you deck out a PC with all the extra goodies he’ll need to work quickly, you’ve paid for a Mac.
Sounds like for his needs the $500 PC won’t work. If you price a good Dell I’ll bet the price difference is minimal to nonexistent.
I switched 1 1/2 yrs ago. Very happy I did. Just easier to use, much better display, little need to buy extra software, much less virus prone.
Get iLife and he’s good to go.
Worth it.
If your son is going into animation then he will most likely be using Mac software. If you get him a Mac he can still use Windows as well on the Mac. Best of both worlds. Personally, I prefer the screen size and clarity of a 15” Macbook Pro. The more expensive Macbook Pro has a better video card. It’s 2k, but worth every penny IMO. He should get by with this laptop for at least 4 years.
In all honesty, if your son is going to a typical four year public university, he isn’t even going to need a full blown graphics computer until his sophomore or junior year, so why try to take a shot in the dark to buy an everything-to-everybody high end laptop now?
Get a decently priced PC laptop that he can type papers on, surf the web, and email home for more pizza money, and wait until he *knows* what sort of computer and software suites he will need for his specific animation classes.
His first two years will be filled with filling the humanities, writing, and mathematics prerequesites for his degree.
Simple response - don’t ask strangers, or blogs or even Freepers. Ask the college! Most colleges provide specific requirements. Go with the flow if you are not able to do your own tech support.
MacBook: general purpose laptop OSX & windows
Macbook Air: a boutique laptop OSX & windows
Macbook Pro: the power of a Unix Workstation
in the form of a laptop with OSX & windows