Oooh, a shiny new hardware forum just when I need to ask a question about laptops! How nice! I have been thinking of getting myself a laptop for quite a while, and this year I reckon it will be extremely useful to have a portable computer of my own. I have been doing a bit of research on laptop computers, and at present I am considering getting an Apple laptop so I can both run and write programs for Mac OS. The model I presently have my eye on is Apple's middle-of-the-range MacBook (the white 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB memory, 80 GB HD, SuperDrive version; costs A$2099 before any educational discount) as it seems the best bang for buck out of the MacBook and MacBook Pro range. However I have never bought either a laptop or an Apple computer before, and I do not know a lot about the specifics of hardware. Thus I am uncertain as to exactly what is the right sort of laptop for me, or if buying a Apple is wise given my inexperience with them. Given I suspect many of you have similar requirements for a laptop I would like to ask for your advice on laptop purchasing. I will be using the laptop for postgraduate research work as well as game development. This involves a lot of typing (writing papers and my thesis dissertation, programming) and some graphics work (mainly 2D: diagrams, vector and raster artwork). Portability and durability is important too, as I would be lugging this computer around a fair bit and taking it with me when I travel. In general although I don't need a desktop replacement I want a laptop that I could use for the same sorts of things I use my desktop PC for, with the exception of the latest gaming. Do you think the MacBook is a decent enough laptop for a portable general work computer, as well as for game development? Or are there any recommendations for other laptops, or the general process of figuring out what I need in a laptop (what features are important, etc.)? Thanks.

I've got a Macbook Pro.

Frankly, I love it. Mac OSX is simply outstanding ( I also use Linux and Windows quite a bit. I am even a RedHat Certified Engineer).

This MacBook Pro has a Radeon 1600. It is sufficient for my game dev needs. Supports GLSL and is fast enough.

I cannot emphasize how well designed it feels. I use a monster Alienware laptop at work. I hardly ever use it since I got the macbook pro.

My favorite feature is the backlit keyboard for late night coding... ;-)

I like XCode quite a bit - but I also still use emacs/gcc/make

BTW - Ruby development is also great on the mac.



Now for the bad news...

IMHO - The macbook non-pro does not have an adequate graphics card for game development work.

You should get the MacBook Pro if you want to do any 3d work at all.

Quote: Original post by AzCoder
I've got a Macbook Pro.

Frankly, I love it. Mac OSX is simply outstanding ( I also use Linux and Windows quite a bit. I am even a RedHat Certified Engineer).

That's the impression I get about the MacBook Pro. I've got a few friends who have the more expensive developer end PowerBooks or MacBook Pros, and they seem to be good quality laptops.

However I don't know if there is a significant enough difference between the MacBook Pro and the standard MacBook to warrant spending at least an extra thousand dollars for the Pro version.

Quote: Now for the bad news...

IMHO - The macbook non-pro does not have an adequate graphics card for game development work.

You should get the MacBook Pro if you want to do any 3d work at all.

This is the one weakness in the MacBook that I'm a bit concerned with. I don't need a fancy graphics card for gaming, but I may need it for OpenGL game development. On the other hand, I'm not that interested in pushing graphics to the limit - I'm planning on sticking to 2D for quite some time - and it might be reasonable to develop with an integrated graphics chip as an ideal target system. Although I don't know what the effect of having a dual core processor would do for the graphics chip - surely that would help somewhat?

Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid
Do you think the MacBook is a decent enough laptop for a portable general work computer, as well as for game development?

Sure. The ability to run WinXP and OSX (and Linux too if you like) could come in handy.

Plus, I'm guessing your sort of work will involve a lot of academic UNIX-alike work, which OSX (mostly) excels in. That's why you're seeing more and more professors lugging around Macs nowadays.

Basically when it comes to laptops, though it's fairly simple. Intel is better than AMD pretty much across the board. You can have performance, or light weight and long battery life, but not both at the same time.

The Core 2 Duo Macbook and Macbook Pro are roughly equivalent for your needs; the only difference would be the bigger screen and the X1600 GPU (instead of the GMA 950). I love my MBP, and think it's one of the most versatile computers I've ever used.

My advice in either case is to wait a few days for Macworld San Francisco; it's two days and nine hours away!

Quote: Original post by Promit
Sure. The ability to run WinXP and OSX (and Linux too if you like) could come in handy.

Plus, I'm guessing your sort of work will involve a lot of academic UNIX-alike work, which OSX (mostly) excels in. That's why you're seeing more and more professors lugging around Macs nowadays.

That's a big drawcard for me to the Apple laptops - plus I'm not using any software on my Win XP desktop that doesn't have a Mac equivalent (except possibly for ModPlug Tracker, but I'm sure there's a tracker program for Macs out there?)

Quote: Original post by Ravuya
The Core 2 Duo Macbook and Macbook Pro are roughly equivalent for your needs; the only difference would be the bigger screen and the X1600 GPU (instead of the GMA 950). I love my MBP, and think it's one of the most versatile computers I've ever used.

That's what I suspect, but I'm wary that everyone I know seems to have the MacBook Pro instead of the plain ol' MacBook. I'm not sure if it's because more people like that larger screen, need a better graphics card, or just like buying more expensive stuff.

Quote: My advice in either case is to wait a few days for Macworld San Francisco; it's two days and nine hours away!

That's a big Mac press event, isn't it? What sort of important info do they release at these shindigs?

I'm not planning on rushing to buy a laptop too soon (I'm still in the research phase) - but I'd like to get one within a month. I was planning on buying last year but I was holding out for the MacBook to be released.

Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid

Quote: My advice in either case is to wait a few days for Macworld San Francisco; it's two days and nine hours away!

That's a big Mac press event, isn't it? What sort of important info do they release at these shindigs?

I'm not planning on rushing to buy a laptop too soon (I'm still in the research phase) - but I'd like to get one within a month. I was planning on buying last year but I was holding out for the MacBook to be released.

Correct. Steve Jobs has a keynote there. In such keynotes often new products are introduced etc.

Quote: Original post by Sijmen
Correct. Steve Jobs has a keynote there. In such keynotes often new products are introduced etc.

I'm skimming through a transcript of Steve Jobs' keynote presentation now. While he did reveal a bunch of nifty new products (iPhone, Apple TV), did he say anything about Macs, MacBooks, the new Mac OS "Leopard" version, or anything else pertinent to choosing a laptop? I haven't seen anything as of yet.

Well I've got a MacBook and I'm very happy with it (I'm using it to write this post).

I think it should meet your needs nicely, the integrated graphics are a weakness but I don't really play many graphically intensive games anymore so it doesn't bother me (I tried playing company of heroes, which failed miserably, JK II which now a rather old game ran nicely, as did Defcon a recent game that just uses 2D graphics). I think performance for 2D OpenGL stuff should be fine. Apart from graphics the performance is very good.

I've heard that some people don't like the keyboards but personally I think it's great, it may be a good idea to see if you can find a demo model in nearby store and try it out.

As for portability I've had no problems there either I bought myself a Brenthaven Edge case along with the MacBook which is designed especially for it (You can get them in the online apple store) which works nicely. I've haven't carried it around for especially long periods but I find it to be very light when I've got it in my rucksack or slung round my shoulder in its case (I did think it was a tad heavy when I first picked one up in a shop but it doesn't seem that way when actually carrying it).

As for why I choose the macbook over the macbook pro it was a simple matter of money, it was an extra £500 for a pro and I didn't think the extra features were really worth it (for me anyway).

Quote: Original post by Trapper Zoid

Quote: Original post by Sijmen
Correct. Steve Jobs has a keynote there. In such keynotes often new products are introduced etc.

I'm skimming through a transcript of Steve Jobs' keynote presentation now. While he did reveal a bunch of nifty new products (iPhone, Apple TV), did he say anything about Macs, MacBooks, the new Mac OS "Leopard" version, or anything else pertinent to choosing a laptop? I haven't seen anything as of yet.

Nope. The scuttlebutt was that he was going to announce a 12" Macbook Pro, but I assume that didn't materialize. He also announced a new version of the Airport routers, and some other junk -- macrumors will have the full scoop.

You should be good to buy without fear of obsoletion although interim updates (such as the Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro) are usually done without a keynote.

I was going to buy a Macbook, but I needed the faster GPU as I was upgrading from my 12" Powerbook only for better shader performance. Other than that, I would far prefer the Macbook's portability, lower price, nicer keyboard and awesome latch. I'd go to the store and physically try out both machines.