Well, before you go down there, you might just do some “familiarization” with the computer “lineup” that Apple has.
Laptops...
http://www.apple.com/macbook/
[average consumer model]
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/
[best for graphics and a workhorse]
http://www.apple.com/macbookair/
[lightweight and limited]
Desktops...
http://www.apple.com/imac/
[the amazing desktop one...]
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
[the tiny one, for those who have their own monitor and keyboard]
http://www.apple.com/macpro/
[beauty and the *beast* and it’s a beast all right in computing power... :-) ...]
OK, I went into the Apple Store. I felt like I walked into another world! It just was odd. Anyway, it was packed on a Tuesday afternoon. I looked around a little, but didn’t really know what to look for! I may go again, but in the meantime I( have emailed a couple of instructors who are in the animation department. Hopefully, I will hear something from them. I may have really messed up cuz I stopped in a Best Buy and there was an open box MacBook Pro for $1699 instead of $1999. I just couldn’t do it without knowing for sure. If it is still there tomorrow I may get it anyway. I am hesitant cuz I think Best Buy charges restocking fees and so on. Need to be sure of what I am doing and I am the queen of second-guessing myself. lol
Thank you all for your help. Not sure I understood everything that was posted, but there was a lot of great info here!