Help me decide on a Laptop

I've always been wanting a laptop, and I should of got one for college. However, that didn't happen. I want one just to have and now I want one to start using Final Cut Pro or the New Final Cut Studio 2 and more of Adobe products. I have a connection, if I can call it that, at this local Radio Shack. This guy, who works there, is a retired Doctor and his earnings go to Charity, since his wife is sick. He also teaches classes at night at the local college and also teachers Tutorials on Adobe Photoshop. One of the other employess, a female, is in her like third class of Final Cut Pro learning, which I may hit her up for help as well as the Doctor.

Well the Doctor sells Laptops there, with all kinds of extra software that you won't normally get. And his Laptops seem like phenomenal deals. He is definitely the greatest guy I've met going to a store. He is highly helpful and very wanting to better peoples lives.
Wel he sells more Microsoft based laptops, which are lower in price. And does sell some Macs though, which I think I want. Basically I am going to find out what it comes with and get back to you all. But I would like some info on things to look for when deciding, as in RAM, HD space, all that jazz. I know one of his Microsoft Laptops, plays like 3 movies at once and can surf the web at same time. And the Mac he was talking about has like a 160gb HD. I am going to go investigate again before I purchase. I just want some advice on what I should look for in this Laptop.

Thanks

boosten and my mom just got a new dell

I just want specific features, and looks like Mac is the way to go for what I want. I just want to know what specs I should be looking for when deciding which one to get.

I would STRONGLY recommend a mac.
I used PC's for years. Got a mac last year...im never going back.
Its a little more expensive, but youll never get a virus, the comp. will never slow down, and you dont have to run virus scans and defrags.
Just my ten cents =)

Macs suck. You're limited in software you can use, don't ever think of running games or tuning software (you know you'll want to), and controls differ just enough to aggravate you. My university has a limited number of dedicated Mac labs and they're always having some form of issue with them.

Anyway, Dells seem to always be a good bet. I have an Acer I bought over a year ago and it's been perfect up until recently. It still works fine, but the battery has apparently went bad since it won't hold a charge for very long. My sister had a HP she used for a few years that really sucked and she recently replaced it with a Compaq that she got when CompUSA here was going out of business. Verdict is still out, but I think she likes it.

If you can afford to buy outright don't go with Dell or Gateway. They use the cheapest parts available and if you don't opt to pay for their "extended" service you'll be up a creek.

I'd recommend buying from here
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

You can build what you want with good parts for a fair price. My last two desktops I bought from them and haven't had an issue.

My sister owns a graphics design business and I work in the IT dept of a large company. We use nothing but Dell laptops. The warrenty and service is top notch with Dell. They have even sent out technicians to replace parts that we could not easily do. My sister also swears by a MAC for graphics applications. Her husband is co-founder of a small IT consulting business. He runs PCs but uses Linux. So there you have it, three so called experts with 3 different opinions. Clear as mud.

If it was me, and you are doing 50% or more graphics applications, get a MAC. If you will be doing less than 50% Graphics, get a Dell with XP Pro and as much RAM as your machine can hold. Minimum of 4GB.

Graphics being MAC territory are days long gone. There is no reason to buy one just for that unless you like MAC. If Steve is using it for his new camera, then Adobe's software works equally well on both and will serve all his needs.

Ram restraints are debatable. My desktop is using 2gb/XP and I have yet to top it out playing games and doing all kinds of stuff. That might be a different issue with Vista though. Vista on my Acer laptop hogs the 1gb of ram in it.

Acer is starting to get popular but when i looked nobody recomended them they dont come with anything...with dell they are hard to fix the school donated 20 or so because of issues and capatibility with software i love my toshiba and my boyfriend does to.. thats also what our school has now

I recommend Dell also. I owe a 4 year old dell laptop and my mom has a new one and they are pretty bulletproof. I build my own computers, but Dell is the best for laptops.

Define anything.

If you get an HP, I might be able to get you a slight discount. I can also help you if it ever needs repairs...I can't get the repairs for free or anything, but I can at least let you know your options, and track the repairs for you.

GET A MAC!!!!!! i love my mac and i will never buy another PC again....u will not regret it steve if u buy a MAC...i can eve get u a discount because im a student so let me know...

OMG, I did not expect answers all over the Place. Wow.
I am now confused on what to get. I want it for my editing for film but I also may use it for anything else. I also heard most going to MAC doing go back to PC. I would like to run tuning software, but I have Digital who tunes my ride. I don't have a tuner, so it isn't necessary right now. But I would like to store my stuff on my laptop so I don't have to store files and take up room on his laptop.
I am running now on my home machine XP Home Edition 2002, with Pentium 4 CPU with 2.8 GHz and 2 gb ram. I upgraded the ram form like 1 to the 2 but I still want something more powerful in a system. I know Adobe can be on MAC or PC, but Final Cut hasn't hit the PC market yet, just talks about it. I just want something better in editing besides what I have now, and that'll be Adobe Premeire or Final Cut. I don't care what PC I just need to decide between PC and MAC. And if I can build the PC, then I can upgrade it to be as good or better in specs as the MAC. Because the PCs are usually cheaper. I'd like some decent all around capabilites, but mostly editing capabilities. I know about annoyance, using my sis MAC can make me throw it through a window with the controls, but that'll just have to get use to using it. So why Rook, is it bad for gaming and Tuning, and I'll tell you right now I am not going to be doing gaming, but I will leave that open for future options in mind if I plan to game.

I just got a Dell for my graduation gift, i love it, its superfast, and very light i think, i just thinkits an all around nice laptop. it ended up cosing $769 bucks for it, and shipping was free. took about a week or so to get it, i love it, i strongly recomend Dell.

MACs can't use .exe files, they use .app. The program has to be made for a MAC... and most programs aren't, including games. In fact, I bet you use a lot of little programs right now and you'll never get to use them on a MAC because they're not compatible. This is why programs that are compatible come in both MAC and PC versions. Also, if you buy Adobe for the MAC you'll be restricted to using your laptop by itself for editing. If you buy a PC, you can use the software on both the laptop and the desktop.

Unfortunately, you can't build laptops like desktops. You're basically limited to what companies offer.

The only reason not to get a mac is the annoying compatibility concerns. If the same software worked the same on both, then I might consider one.
PC FTW.

Just get something with a decent higher-end CPU and at least 2GB of RAM. Everything else is preference (HD storage, screen size, style, video performance,...).

Keep in mind that that Dell support costs big time. Have you compared the price of a Dell PC with basic warentee compared to that with one with the three years on site service?

I have owned a Dell and have used one at work for the past 10 years. I don't have much faith in their product. But when you PAY for the extended warrentee their service is good. But you still have to wait for some one to come out and replace the broke part. Which means lost time in waiting for the tech.


And by the way Macs are suseptable to virus's. The only thing is Macs aren't as popular as PCs so virus programers don't spend much time if any to developing virus's for Mac.

If you look back about a year ago some one showed just how vulnerable Macs were if they were "targeted"

AHHH, the options in life. Well I will investigate and research some more. I definitely don't want compatibility issues, let alone I would have to learn the ins and outs of a MAC, which seems to have annoyed me using my sis Mac laptop. And the price difference in PC vs. Mac can be quite different.

i have windows xp installed on my mac laptop along wth leopard...i have absolutely no issues with compatibility....and rook what r u talking about not being able to play games or ne thing i play games perfectly fine with my adobe software and everything on my laptop....i have my games loaded on to my windows operating system on my mac.....u can use macs for everything, u dont have to worry about viruses, as u do with PC's and they operate sooo much better all around

gateway FTW i love my laptop and desktop
my laptop has a core 2 duo processer 2 gigs of ram and 160 GB HD

but now my real baby is my desktop
blueray player
1 TB HD
4 gigs of ram
its amazing!!!! i love it

Ok, loading Windows on a Mac to run stuff is a contradiction to why he should go with a Mac in the first place. That's a custom alteration and the Windows portion will be just as susceptible to viruses as any Windows machine.

its Mac, not MAC. just like its not WINDOWS or MICROSOFT. sorry, just a pet peeve. Why not get a mac? You can dual-boot so if u want to run XP or Vista or Linux or all of them then you can do so. Mac controls take a few hours to learn and if you are used to right clicking then get a microsoft usb mouse, it will actually right click (mac mice, such as mighty mouse, dont have right click). Plus, if you go to Apple website you can get a refurb macbook for about 900. If you need like, HIGH HIGH HIGH end then get a macbook pro, it has faster processors available over just a normal macbook and can also support 4 gb of ram, where as normal macbook can only support up to 2 gb. I would highly recommend just getting a new NON-pro Macbook, 2.16 GhZ with 1 gb of ram (DON'T PAY APPLE TO UPGRADE YOUR RAM BECAUSE THEY WANT LIKE 300 TO UPGRADE TO 2 GIGS, I bought 2 x 1gig sticks for 30.99 each from Canada Computers where I live) with a DVD burner (the dvd-reader CD writer drive is alot louder than the drive they use that supports dvd-burning). The ram and harddrive in macbooks are EASILY replaceable, so if you don't want to pay apple to do it (expensive) then you can do it yourself. Mac will have the software to do whatever you want, won't be the same program as Windows (unless its like Word or Adobe) but its out there. Mac also has TONS of useful widgets. Not to mention the little things like a magnetic end power cord so if you trip over the cord while its plugged in you won't send your $1000+ machine hurling across the room. I'll never go to back to PC, though my macbook is dual-boot with XP I rarely use it. Its your choice, but my opinion is go with a Mac, you won't be disappointed.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Id_kGL3M5Cg

I recommend Dell...

The new Mac's with the Intel chipset, you CAN run windows and do all the same windows functions on it.

Well you would have to go and buy a windows Vista Disc for 200+ so that just adds on to the price of the mac. Illegal copies+Macs=death trust me on that

huh? not true soulonfire, you partition the harddrive to install a new or add an OS, how does that partition know what operating system is on the other partition OR if there is even another partition? it doesn't, so having Mac OS on another partition would not affect it all, its no different than dual-booting XP & Vista. it has nothing to do with the other operating system.

Getting a mac and running windows is not a true dual boot setup; that's a little misleading. WinXP only runs through Boot Camp.

Personally, I hate Macs. I think they're terrible. They overcharge for all their products (which they openly admit to). Their entire business model is to basically screw the consumer whether it's the initial hardware or replacement parts later on.

No, it is a true dual-boot. Bootcamp only ASSISTS you through setting up your partition, creating a CD with all the drivers needed for everything to work on XP (webcam and whatnot), it makes it easier for the end user to create a partition for you to install XP on.

That was funny South Park clip there.

Well now I am totally torn. Basically I want to edit my videos, and either need Final Cut stuff or Adobe stuff. I can't use final cut unless I go with Mac. I don't have to get a laptop just to get Adobe stuff, since I have a fine desktop to use. I can upgrade that if necessary.
Why does Mac have issues with gaming?

Ifitwasnt4u, how come you recommend Dell but are talking about the Mac chipset?

Well if you do that, then you have to reinstall mac os. you can't partition a drive with a full os using all of the hard drive space. BootCamp works alittle differently then partitioning a hard drive manually

What kind of video editing are you hoping to do? I use Sony Vegas...is that all you need?

That is what I use, but I am limited now or I can say I have plateaued. I haven't used every feature but there are thinks I won't to move forward on, professional things I want to do, and Vegs I don't think can provide this anymore.

Because no one wants to bother designing their game to work on a Mac.

rook why do u have such a problem wit macs? have u EVER owned one? because i never used to like macs but until i bought my macbook pro i will never go back to a PC...

i have never liked macs one bit. Kinda just a personal preference for me, but i love using windows.

I used one three times a week for a couple semesters. I hate them.

it isnt loaded with programs like microsoft word and programs basic things that most other brands come with it has word pad and generic stuff the guy at best buy and cc both said thats why they are way cheaper

Ok. Nah, it doesn't come with Office, but it comes with their own software suite for partitioning the drive, energy monitoring, arcade, movie player, and cd/dvd burning suite.

I have my own copy of Office 2000 I'm still using, so it's a moot point for me. At least I can run PowrTuner on it, despite having Vista.