Moving to Mac

[phly]

Good Day

I'm thinking of moving over to mac and thought to myself the folks in here may be able to help. The back story is I had a Dell xps studio1645 laptop that died on me due to a combo of old age and overheating of some kind. It was a great laptop. Had all the feature I needed most of which one has to pay a premium to get even in today's laptops.

Dell XPS Studio 1645
Core i7 720QM Quad Core CPU with Turbo Boost
8GB RAM DDR3
500GB HDD
1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670
RGB-LED Full HD 1920x1080 Screen
Backlit Keyboard, 2MP Webcam with dual array mics, WIFI, Bluetooth, 2x USB ports. 1x Usb/Esata port, HDMI port, VA port, DisplayPort, 2x headphones, 1x Mic. Slot loading dvd rom/writer, 8in1 Memory card reader. Mini 1394 Firewire port, 54inch Express Card Slot as well as a slot for the WWAN card to use a sim card.

The integrated ATI HD 4670 graphics card with 1GB ram,*gorgeous 16inch bright display and a backlit keyboard were the main selling points for me as I do graphic design and a play a bit with video. Also gamed a bit on it as well. It could handle anything I threw at it. Watching movies on it was awesome. Only the size of it was a bit on the heavy side.

I'm now looking over to the Mac side as I'm being convinced they are the best in my line of work. I can even dual boot with Windows 10 or even run 10 via virtual machine. The main reason though is I want to go a bit more into video editing and visual effects and I'm hoping to have the power to do that in a portable package that has a long life battery and can run Windows too. Adobe suite is already available on Mac and I get added benefit of final cut pro for videos as well as parallels to run Coreldraw x7 which doesn't have a mac version. I have done my homework and looked up the various MacBooks and configurations etc. First question would be which is the best portable macbook for my kind of work on a budget? Graphics and Video editing,* gaming not so much. 2nd question is how good is the non retina core i5 2.5ghz MacBook pro 13inch mid 2012 with 4gb ram Intel HD 4000 and 500gb HDD for graphics and video. On the one hand it's* upgradable as I can upgrade the ram and HDD and even slot in an ssd and has a higher resell value than Windows Laptops but on the other hand the HD 4000 is a bit of a shortcoming and retina display which is touted as best screen display for designers is also missing. Its the one I have my eye on though due to affordability and later on upgradability.

Having done as much research as I can. The mid 2012 MacBook pro 15inch 2.6ghz quad core seems to be the best buy as I can up the ram and hard drive as well as have an ssd in there. But most importantly it has the Nvidia GeForce 650m with 1GB ram. Still no retina though. And the one that has I'll be stuck with whichever ram and hard drive it comes with as they are soldiered on. So question 3 goes,* is the retina display more advisable for me than the upgradability and performance boost that comes with the non retina counterparts once upgraded?

Also any other points to consider before jumping to Mac?

 

[Aghori]

I recently hated mac with a passion. Then I bought an iphone and an ipad, and am loving it.

 

[itareanlnotani]

Good Day


Having done as much research as I can. The mid 2012 MacBook pro 15inch 2.6ghz quad core seems to be the best buy as I can up the ram and hard drive as well as have an ssd in there. But most importantly it has the Nvidia GeForce 650m with 1GB ram. Still no retina though. And the one that has I'll be stuck with whichever ram and hard drive it comes with as they are soldiered on. So question 3 goes,* is the retina display more advisable for me than the upgradability and performance boost that comes with the non retina counterparts once upgraded?

Also any other points to consider before jumping to Mac?

Don't buy that particular model.

That GPU has issues. They have a recall, but good luck with that here.
I recently took one affected unit to China to get fixed there (they swap the motherboard aka logic board), as Core were... not interested in fixing despite the recall. Doesn't mean it won't happen again though.

https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

 

[MagicDude4Eva]

Don't buy that particular model.

That GPU has issues. They have a recall, but good luck with that here.
I recently took one affected unit to China to get fixed there (they swap the motherboard aka logic board), as Core were... not interested in fixing despite the recall. Doesn't mean it won't happen again though.

https://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/

Agree - we have 4 Macs which have the same issue. Getting it fixed via Core is a true PITA.

 

[wezzcoetzee]

The thing I prefer about the non-retina MacBooks is that you can easily upgrade them, I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro, I've upgarded the RAM to 16GB, upgraded the HDD to a SSD and removed the CD-ROM drive and added a second HDD, probably going to change that out to a SSD as well.

 

[phly]

So what model would you advice instead of that particular one? Checking online the 650m is not that far behind the 750m that is in the newer models. And the newest 2015 version with the R9 m320 I think is way over what I'm willing to spend even in the near future. So bang for buck was the aim in choosing that particular model. I'm open to other ideas as I'm not well versed with the Mac world of things.

 

[phly]

The thing I prefer about the non-retina MacBooks is that you can easily upgrade them, I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro, I've upgarded the RAM to 16GB, upgraded the HDD to a SSD and removed the CD-ROM drive and added a second HDD, probably going to change that out to a SSD as well.

That was my idea as well going the non retina route. Just unsure if that is more favorable to a designer that stares at that screen all day. Especially coming from a screen that was almost retina like if I dare compare them.

 

[itareanlnotani]

"Cheapest" way to get a Mac if you are on FNB is this way -


https://www.fnb.co.za/downloads/smartphone-tablet-offer/SDV_Catalogue_Jan2016.pdf

I say cheapest, as its full price, but you can get it 24 months interest free, financing.

 

[PostmanPot]

Having done as much research as I can. The mid 2012 MacBook pro 15inch 2.6ghz quad core seems to be the best buy as I can up the ram and hard drive as well as have an ssd in there. But most importantly it has the Nvidia GeForce 650m with 1GB ram. Still no retina though. And the one that has I'll be stuck with whichever ram and hard drive it comes with as they are soldiered on. So question 3 goes,* is the retina display more advisable for me than the upgradability and performance boost that comes with the non retina counterparts once upgraded?

Moving to Mac is the best thing you'll ever do.

The Mid 2012 13-inch MBP with USB 3.0 is still a brilliant machine. The way to go if you're on a low budget, or looking for cheapest second hand. Very safe buys, with parts availability galore.

Where will you find a Mid 2012 i7 though? Unless going second hand because AFAIK it wouldn't be new.

But if you can afford it, you really should just go 15" rMBP. It's that much better. The PCI-E SSD especially performs much better than SATA 6G SSD.

Take out a loan if you have to...

 

[creeper]

If you are planning on getting a Mac, if possible. Hold out a bit. I suspect the Skylake upgrades will be announced next month.

 

[phly]

Moving to Mac is the best thing you'll ever do.

The Mid 2012 13-inch MBP with USB 3.0 is still a brilliant machine. The way to go if you're on a low budget, or looking for cheapest second hand. Very safe buys, with parts availability galore.

Where will you find a Mid 2012 i7 though? Unless going second hand because AFAIK it wouldn't be new.

But if you can afford it, you really should just go 15" rMBP. It's that much better. The PCI-E SSD especially performs much better than SATA 6G SSD.

Take out a loan if you have to...

Unfortunately I'm on a low budget so yes i'm going for second hand cheapest. However the one I will end up with is the core i5 13inch mid 2012 one. Thereafter I can always sell it, add more cash and buy a higher specced one should I not be content with this entry model. the 15 inch rMBP you are referring to is the late 2013 model or mid 2014? I have read about how blazingly fast the PCI-E SSD's are. At the end of the day cash is king unfortunately. I'm glad to hear though that the 13inch non retina core i5 is not a bad buy at all. and the words "safe buy" and availability of parts has me at ease.

 

[phly]

Moving to Mac is the best thing you'll ever do.

The Mid 2012 13-inch MBP with USB 3.0 is still a brilliant machine. The way to go if you're on a low budget, or looking for cheapest second hand. Very safe buys, with parts availability galore.

Where will you find a Mid 2012 i7 though? Unless going second hand because AFAIK it wouldn't be new.

But if you can afford it, you really should just go 15" rMBP. It's that much better. The PCI-E SSD especially performs much better than SATA 6G SSD.

Take out a loan if you have to...

Unfortunately I'm on a low budget so yes i'm going for second hand cheapest. However the one I will end up with is the core i5 13inch mid 2012 one. Thereafter I can always sell it, add more cash and buy a higher specced one should I not be content with this entry model. the 15 inch rMBP you are referring to is the late 2013 model or mid 2014? I have read about how blazingly fast the PCI-E SSD's are. At the end of the day cash is king unfortunately. I'm glad to hear though that the 13inch non retina core i5 is not a bad buy at all. and the words "safe buy" and availability of parts has me at ease.

 

[PostmanPot]

Unfortunately I'm on a low budget so yes i'm going for second hand cheapest. However the one I will end up with is the core i5 13inch mid 2012 one. Thereafter I can always sell it, add more cash and buy a higher specced one should I not be content with this entry model. the 15 inch rMBP you are referring to is the late 2013 model or mid 2014? I have read about how blazingly fast the PCI-E SSD's are. At the end of the day cash is king unfortunately. I'm glad to hear though that the 13inch non retina core i5 is not a bad buy at all. and the words "safe buy" and availability of parts has me at ease.

Glad you're feeling at ease. Go with your plan, you'll be able to sell it for close to what you paid for it. An Ivy laptop/Mac i5, 8 - 16GB of RAM, and SATA 6G SSD will fly for you. HD 4000 isn't too bad either. You have a lower res screen which plays in your favour.

 

[lupedelupe]

Good move.

One.
Consider an iMac: larger screen in a much better position, and the trackpad – off to the side – is far less awkward to use for design. You will likely also want a mouse.

Two.
CorelDraw. Really? I have a love-hate relationship with Adobe but their software is, on the whole, when it works, and when you have an internet connection, actually pretty good. Plus it's the industry standard.

Three.
I have never really got comfortable with Premiere Pro; prefer Final Cut Pro X by a country mile. But if you are going to go into the high-end of video production then Premiere Pro, and crucially After Effects is probably the way to go.

Four.
Forget Windows, you won't need it (for anything aside from gaming). Macs have a leaner OS, and in my experience run better with smaller spec numbers. Plus Macs are quiet.

Five.
Lots of free (and good) software with a standard Mac. But you may want to save a few bucks for extras like Little Snitch.

Six.
Down the line bend over and pay for a Thunderbolt-connected G-Tech or Lacie external. Fast, reliable.

 

[wezzcoetzee]

Six.
Down the line bend over and pay for a Thunderbolt-connected G-Tech or Lacie external. Fast, reliable.

LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt

Samsung External SSD is also really nice.

But yeah, bend over for both of them

 

[PostmanPot]

Well, inside the LaCies and G-Technology drives, are standard hard drives. One's paying for the enclosure and its connections, not 'reliability' unless it refers to Thunderbolt being a more consistent throughput technology than USB 3.0.

 

[phoneJunky]

Anyone using Autocad on a Macbook, from their minimum requirements it looks like it can run on the entry level Air.

Also, what is the best alternatives for Microsoft Projects and Visio - doesn't seem like it works on a Mac like the Office 2016.

Someone I know is considering switching if these things can be sorted out.

 

[icyrus]

Also, what is the best alternatives for Microsoft Projects and Visio - doesn't seem like it works on a Mac like the Office 2016.

Omniplan and Omnigraffle.

Can't say I've used Omniplan or Microsoft Project but Omnigraffle is amazing.

 

[Cassady]

...

Also, what is the best alternatives for Microsoft Projects and Visio - doesn't seem like it works on a Mac like the Office 2016....

I would be inclined to say OmniPlan >> but have heard it might not be best if collaboration is a must (unless the collaborators all have it as well). The OmniGroup produce very good software - but think they will need to have a good look at things >> maybe this would be start?

As for Visio - Lucidchart appears to be making waves - and then there's OmniGraffle, by the same people who do OmniPlan (subject to the same collaboration constraints?), which has a very loyal following...

 

[phoneJunky]

Omniplan and Omnigraffle.

Can't say I've used Omniplan or Microsoft Project but Omnigraffle is amazing.

I would be inclined to say OmniPlan >> but have heard it might not be best if collaboration is a must (unless the collaborators all have it as well). The OmniGroup produce very good software - but think they will need to have a good look at things >> maybe this would be start?

As for Visio - Lucidchart appears to be making waves - and then there's OmniGraffle, by the same people who do OmniPlan (subject to the same collaboration constraints?), which has a very loyal following...

Thanks guys