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Best Mac notebook?

by Nmuta Jones · in Torque Game Engine · 08/30/2005 (4:02 am) · 8 replies

Sorry if this post is out of place, but I couldn't seem to find the best place for it.

I am considering getting a Mac notebook. I have previously only owned PCs. I am considering buying Mac for three primary things:

1. Testing Torque on the Mac and building Mac version for my game
2. DVD Video production, which has been a fair to poor experience on my new PC notebook (HP)
3. Also looking into the Unity Engine , which is Mac only development

What is the best Mac to get for my needs? I see a wide price difference between the iBook and the PowerBook. What is your recommendation?

Thanks.
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Torque Owner Nmuta Jones
#1
08/30/2005 (6:02 pm)
[bump]

any ideas?

[/bump]

Associate Kyle Carter
#2
08/30/2005 (6:15 pm)
This is probably a bad place to ask. Try in general discussion?

I'd just get a recent vintage powerbook if I wanted portable, or else a G5. iBook I would suspect to be a little lower end than I would be happy with. I might well be wrong.

Torque Owner Nmuta Jones
#3
08/30/2005 (6:26 pm)
Good suggestion. Yes, I don't want to get something too low because then I'm stuck with a rapidly diminishing investment.

Torque Owner Nmuta Jones
#4
08/30/2005 (6:37 pm)
Here's an iBook. Sells for $1300. Seems like it has everything I need, on paper at least.

Should I be cautioned against this one though? What are the potential pitfalls with this ?

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0194058

Torque 3D Owner Rubes
#5
08/30/2005 (7:31 pm)
You didn't talk about what your budget is, which makes a big difference.

My wife has a 15" Powerbook, which in my opinion is the best one out there. The 17" is bigger, but too big in my opinion. The 15" is a perfect size and has good performance. It's slick and beautiful, too. But, it's a little pricey overall.

The 14" iBook is a nice deal, too. The one you showed cost as much, if not more, than a brand new one from the Apple Store. The Apple Store also sells refurbished units...you can get a refurbished 1.33GHz 14" iBook with a Superdrive and wireless card for $1099 right now. That's a pretty nice deal.

But you can also find refurbished 15" Powerbooks for not a lot more, too.

Torque Owner Nmuta Jones
#6
08/31/2005 (4:53 am)
Budget is flexible. I will make more of an investment if I feel it's absolutely neccessary.

I would like to spend $1000 but will spend up to $1500 if necc.

Torque Owner Berserk
#7
08/31/2005 (7:42 am)
When I had a Mac, I was very happy with PowerBook G4 12" with superdrive.
You should however tune the rest of hardware configuration on Apple's website to conform it to your budget and your needs.
It comes with an nVidia GeForce and running MarbleBlast @ 1024x768x32 fullscreen with no problems.

Bye, Berserk.

Torque Owner Adam Schofield
#8
08/31/2005 (8:34 am)
To be honest, I think the iMac is your best bet. Before you say 'its not portable' - it depends on where you are porting it to! Its an all in one machine (less cables and the like) and it supports pixel shader 2.0 if you ever wish to goto TSE.

But hay, that's just my 2c worth