Should I buy the Macbook Pro for $2799.99? or something else around that price?

[trixstar]

I will be purchasing the Macbook Pro at the applestore for 2799.99 in march onces the new operating system (Mac OSX Leapord) takes over the OSX Tiger.

The specs are as follows:

2.33ghz duo core
2gb ddr2 ram
ATI X1600 256 GDDR3 SDRAM Video
120 GB HDD
Superdrive 6X Dual Layer DVD
6 Hour Battery Life

I am also qualified for the student discount which brings the price down to 2599.99 so I can also purchase some laptop gear.


Do you guys think I should get this macbook pro? Or for thiis price, should I consider other options?

I'm heading for Ryerson in the Graphics Communications course and they recommend ibooks/macbooks for the course.

I will be playing some games like CS:S, F.E.A.R, Quake 4 and WOW so I'm guessing I'll need a decent graphics processor.

I also consider a longer battery life and a lighter lappy, durable and stable construction + a reliable system.


btw.. I really hate the new HP/compaq notebooks. The touch pad is a nightmare.. its like,... push buttons.

[input]

I have no personal experience with notebooks but couldn't you buy a base model then upgrade yourself? It would be cheaper than upgrading from Apple itself. In terms or HD and RAM.

If you're going to play those games, you need install Windows XP or Vista as your secondary operating system with Boot Camp.

I guess if your course really requires Apple Mac OSX, then you might not have any other choice to buy.

[TenzoR]

btw.. I really hate the new HP/compaq notebooks. The touch pad is a nightmare.. its like,... push buttons.

Their consumer line (presario, pavillion) are garbage. Take a look at HP/Comapq business notebooks nw8440 (in this price range). It's very similar to Thinkpad with magnesium chassis and lcd cover. The FireGL graphics should be handy for any OpenGL apps you may be using.

Other consideration is the Dell Precision M65. It pretty decent with Nvidia Quadro and with 3 year next business day onsite it's pretty darn good imo.

I've used MacBook Pro, PowerBooks, HP Business Class, IBM thinkpads. They are all very nice but it depends what you need. If I had to actually buy a laptop with my money I'd buy HP Business. It's easily the cheapest by far yet it's 90-95% as good as the Thinkpad. The MacBook Pro/Powerbooks. I think they are great if you desire/require OSX but I'd rather get another brand just cause it's much easier to upgrade other brand than Mac notebooks.