[GodsHand]

I am going into college for graphic design next fall, and wanted to get a laptop. I am a PC user at heart, and honestly don't know the first thing about Mac's. I was wondering what computer you guys would recommend I buy for school. Do I need a Powerbook, or would an iBook suffice?

I would really appreciate any advice you could give me, Thanks!

[mduell]

You'll probably want a pro laptop for the extra screen space.
Since you're not starting until next fall, and Universal Binaries should be out by then, I'd get one of the MacBook Pros.

[brassplayersrock²]

and i would also recommend getting an external display, the apple 23'' is very nice and if you do get a macbook and your pockets are deep enouph, go for the apple 30''. since your going to be doing graphic design, the more screen estate you have will be better. im talking about dual displaying.

[art_director]

mduell & brassplayersrock are right, get a pro machine and, if you can swing it, an external monitor. If portability isn't an issue you could get more firepower for the bucks but, when in school, I can see the appeal of a laptop.

A few other items you'll want to consider:

• External hard drive -- for backups and extra space.
• Jump drive -- quick transfer of small files.
• Extra Firewire cable -- it'll come in handy if you keep it in your bag, trust me.

[GodsHand]

Wow, that, um, that is a little out of my price range (poor high school kid that gets paid $4.80 an hour) So, I couldn't get away with using the powerbook or iBook until after college? That is going to hurt the pocketbook.
Well, thanks a lot for the advice, now to figure out how to finance it.

[Westbo]

Originally Posted by katjackusd

Wow, that, um, that is a little out of my price range (poor high school kid that gets paid $4.80 an hour) So, I couldn't get away with using the powerbook or iBook until after college? That is going to hurt the pocketbook.
Well, thanks a lot for the advice, now to figure out how to finance it.

katjackusd,

Get a hold of a copy of Macworld and look thru the ads in the back pages. Often you'll see refurbished Macs at very affordable prices (even for poor HS kids). You could get a good deal on a perfectly good G4 and have a couple of $ left over. BTW, for what I ended up getting paid from one particular client, I would've been happy to have made $4.80, let alone by the hour... LOL!

Good luck!
W2

[art_director]

Westbo is right, you can get good deals on older machines. That's your best bet while in school. But, before you buy, compare the costs against what Apple gives for educational discounts.

[chris v]

Chech Apple's refurb. page. You can usually pick up 15" powerbooks there for around $1500.00. nothing wrong with the G4s. They're not cutting edge any more, but they'll run the Adobe CS stuff better than the Intel Macbooks for the next year, anyway.

[production_coordinator]

It completely depends upon you!

I would simply buy a new iBook, and get a 2nd monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Why:
- It is your first year. I would be surprised if you even do much with the computer (besides a little design, writing papers, etc. etc.)
- The iBook is nearly as fast as the current PowerBook.
http://www.macspeedzone.com/html/har...ok/index.shtml
- Again, it's your first year! Who knows if you will even like the program... do you really want a $2000 Mac if you end up being an engineer?

I have the current iBook. I run Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark on it all the time. It isn't great, but with a 2nd monitor, keyboard and mouse, it CAN be a design system.

SIDE NOTE: You may want to actually pay more for a GOOD color printer!

P.S. I would really consider buying a Mac mini and a used iBook (even an old school G3 would get you through a few years).

[production_coordinator]

Or get something like this:

Refurbished PowerBook 15-inch 1.67GHz SuperDrive
512MB DDR333 SDRAM; 80GB Hard Drive; ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (64 MB DDR); AirPort Extreme; Bluetooth 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rates; Backlit keyboard
Price: $1,549.00

Refurbished Power Mac G5 1.8 GHz/ 256MB/ 80GB/ SuperDrive/ GigE/ 56K
Price: $1,099.00

Refurbished Power Mac G5 DUAL 2GHz/ 512MB/ 160GB/ SuperDrive/ PCI-X/ GeFr5200/ GigE/ 56K
Price: $1,449.00

[normdzn]

Wow, I wish I had that kind of cash flow when I was in college!!