Looking to turn mac.

mattyy · 2 Jul 2013 at 20:37

So I want to make my first mac purchase but I need some advice.

What I need and what I want are around £1500 apart.

I will be using the macbook for photoshop, dreamweaver and internet browsing.

Will I be okay with the 13" macbook pro with the i5? or would I be better of getting the i7?

Playing games would be nice but I cant justify spending the extra to bump up to the 15"

Thanks.

Nemesis379 · 2 Jul 2013 at 20:39

Try find someone that's in Education as the MBPr can be had for £1,528.80 + iTunes gift card £70.

Sagalout · 2 Jul 2013 at 20:47

i5 will be fine.

Dreamweaver is terrible though. Take a look at Coda or Sublime. Also, Pixelmator on Mac is absolutely awesome and lightening fast. Unless you're using very advanced features of photoshop it's worth switching to. You can get it from the App Store for $15 and its pretty much a clone, just faster and slicker.

mattyy · 2 Jul 2013 at 20:47

Aye I can get that. but I'm interested while I picked two of the cheapest 13" you've gone and spec'd me one of the most expensive 15".

If I could afford to pick anyone of them then I wouldn't be asking the minimum I could get away with for my requirements.

Thanks for pointing out the offer though.

mattyy · 2 Jul 2013 at 20:49

Sagalout said:
i5 will be fine.

Dreamweaver is terrible though. Take a look at Coda or Sublime. Also, Pixelmator on Mac is absolutely awesome and lightening fast. Unless you're using very advanced features of photoshop it's worth switching to. You can get it from the App Store for $15 and its pretty much a clone, just faster and slicker.

Thanks for that, great help. I will check out those suggestions as well.

cypto · 2 Jul 2013 at 21:19

Sagalout said:
i5 will be fine.

Dreamweaver is terrible though. Take a look at Coda or Sublime. Also, Pixelmator on Mac is absolutely awesome and lightening fast. Unless you're using very advanced features of photoshop it's worth switching to. You can get it from the App Store for $15 and its pretty much a clone, just faster and slicker.

Agree on using sublime text 2, been using it for a few months now and compared to the over bloated mess that is Dreamweaver its great. Coda is nice but found it lacking a few features when working with wordpress and php.

Best of all opens in no time at all on a SSD.

Higher Education Discount is the way to go though, you also get 3 year apple care for around £50 compared to £279

Sagalout · 2 Jul 2013 at 21:40

Yeah, I've switched from Coda to Sublime in the past 6 months or so. Its a very powerful editor once you learn the tips and tricks. I found this workflow video really useful:

http://tarantsov.com/blog/2012/02/sublime-text-workflow-that-beats-coda-and-espresso/

Been really impressed with Pixelmator. I've been using Photoshop since about 2000, and every year its got more and more bloated and expensive. Then along comes Pixelmator and does all the same functionality, even opens up PSDs, but wrapped up a beautiful UI thats really quick and pleasant to use. The latest update means I can pretty much open any PSD without issue.

http://www.zdnet.com/pixelmator-2-2-is-a-legitimate-photoshop-replacement-that-costs-15-7000015035/

Spit · 2 Jul 2013 at 22:22

The MacBook Pro is due an update anytime so might be worth hanging on if you can.

cypto · 3 Jul 2013 at 01:19

A nice as a ui it looks, I find my self using and abusing everything photohop has to offer.
But a nice alternative non the less for people who don't use photoshop for much.

Signed up to creative cloud anyway so not as if it makes sense to switch mid term.

Only thing that has to be said, is rather disappointed on how un-upgradable the new macs have become. My 2011 mac with its SSD in the optical bay is still a great work horse.

Raymond Lin · 3 Jul 2013 at 01:32

Well, consumer demands more lighter and thinner laptops and the only way to do it is to make proprietary parts that goes into all the little gaps that generic hardware can't go to. Removing the space needed for upgrade purposes and maximising the use of all that gap needed to make it smaller and thinner.

MagicBoy · 3 Jul 2013 at 01:49

Apple are wrong for pandering to consumers and banjaxing the Pro line in the process.

I've very glad I bought a 2011 MBP before they shafted the line. I don't want slightly thinner and lighter, I want FW800 and proper ethernet and by jove I have it!

bloodiedathame · 3 Jul 2013 at 09:20

MagicBoy said:
Apple are wrong for pandering to consumers and banjaxing the Pro line in the process.

I've very glad I bought a 2011 MBP before they shafted the line. I don't want slightly thinner and lighter, I want FW800 and proper ethernet and by jove I have it!

Hear hear (posting from 2011 MBP with no adapters hanging out of the side!)