Hardware purchase query
Hey guys,
I need a little help in making a very expensive decision. Thought i'd ask here before making it.
I'm getting into university, and as of 2nd year [next year] i'll be needing a macintosh laptop. It must be a mac, required by the university. I've never been a fan of macintosh for a variety of reasons, including the fact that i won't have 3ds max on it, and less access to a variety of engines etc.
Ultimately i decided that i might bootcamp it, or buy a super high-end pc to work on and a low end mac to take to and fro from uni. There's font convertors out there, like crossfont, and i can just transfer my work onto my pc when at home to work smoother etc.
Now, my questions to you guys are:
1) if i bootcamp my mac to boot windows, are there any performance issues? I recall hearing stuff about 3ds max sometimes not even working on a bootcamped mac
2) would this be worth it if i upgraded to 8gb ram, and with a 1TB external storage device ?
and theres reasons why it must be a laptop and not a desktop, before you guys push me to get a more powerful desktop workstation haha.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Abhishek
I need a little help in making a very expensive decision. Thought i'd ask here before making it.
I'm getting into university, and as of 2nd year [next year] i'll be needing a macintosh laptop. It must be a mac, required by the university. I've never been a fan of macintosh for a variety of reasons, including the fact that i won't have 3ds max on it, and less access to a variety of engines etc.
Ultimately i decided that i might bootcamp it, or buy a super high-end pc to work on and a low end mac to take to and fro from uni. There's font convertors out there, like crossfont, and i can just transfer my work onto my pc when at home to work smoother etc.
Now, my questions to you guys are:
1) if i bootcamp my mac to boot windows, are there any performance issues? I recall hearing stuff about 3ds max sometimes not even working on a bootcamped mac
2) would this be worth it if i upgraded to 8gb ram, and with a 1TB external storage device ?
and theres reasons why it must be a laptop and not a desktop, before you guys push me to get a more powerful desktop workstation haha.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Abhishek
Replies
Autodesk's DRM used to be broken on apple hardware, but that seems to be fixed: http://www.vizworld.com/2009/07/apple-boot-camp-support-for-autodesk-3ds-max/
If you need a macbook for school, then I don't think you'd go wrong installing windows on the same notebook for home use.
Laptop Cons:
- 6mo-1yr of kick ass then quickly out dated. Which is about the time they start to go tits up, lucky you.
- Overheat, burn your balls and cause you to be sterile. Might sound like a plus now when you're young and I guess you can always adopt later... yea its a plus.
- Highly portable also means very easy to lose. Theft, misplacement, angry fit of rage by you a roommate or a sig/other. "But I left it in the shade" /sad panda.
- Cost way too much.
- Screens suck ass.
- People in the library shush you when your fan kicks in. Be sure to remind them that a noisy fan is better than a fire in such places.
Laptop Pros:
- If you find one sitting all alone in a shady spot somewhere, they're totally worth it.
@vig: to be honest, i fully agree with you. desktops > laptops. I've always had custom rigs for my desktops, but now, in reality, i just want a desktop replacement. No burnt balls for me. The reason i must have a laptop rather than a desktop is that this particular place where i worked / intend to work suggest people bring in their own hardware for use, comfort etc etc. I'd rather drag a laptop back and forth than leave a desktop there as with a laptop, i can do personal work at home with the power it provides aswell. Also, there are quite a few long breaks between classes downtown, and if i can squeeze in some work, that'd be great. But that would only be possible if i have a laptop on me.
Also, at home id just plug it into my hdtv and work on that, and the libraries here in Toronto already have enough fan-noise from the oldddd desktops that they have.
Aside from the strange looks and laughter I wonder if you could go the other way?
If I was in your situation I'd probably go with a MacBook Air or for slightly cheaper a regular MacBook. The advantage of the Air would be it fits in your wallet and is slimmer than a credit card... it also sets your wallet on fire in more than one way... and then go with a pretty beefy PC laptop. Dell also has some nice laptops for good prices but you have to watch out for the student versions that are hot on sale right now.
The air is nice, but limited to 2GB ram. That's why I'd recommend the pro instead.
As a general recommendation, when buying a notebook from any vendor, insist on a bright LED-backlit screen. The pro and air are usable outdoors in daylight, which is a great benefit. The plain white macbook is difficult to use in sunlight, so I would avoid it.
SSDs are a good choice for notebooks in particular, because fast hard drives and RAIDs aren't really possible. But I would avoid getting an SSD factory-installed. If you decide to go that route, you'll get a better deal upgrading to an SSD yourself.
Also, if you plan to use external storage, then firewire or esata is important. USB hard drive performance is less-than-adequate.
i'll prolly figure out over the next few days which way to go with this.
@vig: im trying to avoid dropping a huge load on a mac. i might be able to just dump it in my locker if i jsut put everything intomy 8gb USB stick before heading home. Then i wouldnt need to carry laptops back and forth at all
@Ryan: thanks for those tips on monitors and ssds. As for the USB: i've been using a 1TB mybook for the past year or so, and i've literally just worked on it. It stays plugged in, and houses all my information from 3ds max stuff, to million polygon zbrush stuff. I've never experienced any extensive delay above normal times when using it. If it acts up with the laptop, though, then i'll look into eSATA which i've heard is better anyway.
cheers
Abhishek
This was my question too
No worries, it's not a question of acting up. USB works fine, just slowly. Cuts your disc speed in half. Here's a benchmark comparing a MyBook on Firewire800 (left) and USB2 (right): http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/external-hard-drive-charts/compare,694.html?prod[1953]=on&prod[1952]=on
If you work on an external drive every day, then firewire 800 or esata is something to look for when shopping for a notebook. Could cut your loadtimes in half.
Other unis 'highly recommend it'
York University goes as far as to insult Windows PCs
@Ryan: i see. thats definately something to consider then. thanks for the pointer again
Question:
Is the Mobility FireGL V5725 a good graphics card for a 3d intensive work station?
Macbooks retain their resale value unusually well. Look at the prices on 3-year-old Macbook pros on craiglist, to see what I mean.
You could get a powerful one now, and have it dual-boot windows 7. Get a 3-year warranty, so it'll be in good condition when your university program ends.
When your program is over, sell it and only lose a few hundred bucks on the deal. Then put the money into a powerful new 2012 laptop.
That would be cheaper than buying two laptops now.
I know still people that try to sell off their G4 or G5 mac just because they bought it for a shit load of money back then and want at least something back.
Hackintosh could also be an option if you want it cheaper and don't mind the hacking.
I sure had my fights in the past with schools and Mac computers and its also a reason why I dislike it for very personal reasons. I still think that whenever possible it should be up to you to decide what you want to work with (the reason of my fight back then).
Macs and i have a past of hating each other as well [i've lost 32 gigs of data thanks to them] but 'what can you do' right?
I've tried talking to people, but when the time comes, i'm definately going to try my best to avoid a macintosh. And if i must have one, i'll just run windows on it 24/7 just for laughs.
Either way, my dad sent out an order for this with an upgrade to 4gb of ram [cant quite afford 2 x 4 gigs atm]. I hope it serves me well. Should be arriving around the 14th of September:
Just in time for me to work on Unearthly Challenge when i should be paying attention in class.
Cheers
and thanks for all the advice guys.
Will definitely try some of those things if i end up having to get a mac: resell etc etc.
- Abhishek