Mac Advice

BFCTom · 28 Feb 2008 at 20:48

Hi guys,

I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to Macs so you'll have to bare with me

Right, I'm thinking about getting a Mac (£1,000-ish budget) but before I rush out and buy one I've got a few questions to ask first.

My main question is what would be the best Mac to buy?

I do a lot of graphics and design work on my current PC and I'm on a multimedia course at uni and we do a lot of video editing using Final Cut etc there.

I don't really play games on my PC (Football Manager and WoW occasionally) so I could live without being able to play games on the Mac.

Another question I have is will the software discs I have that I use on my PC work on the Mac? For instance I have the Photoshop disc, would that work on the Mac I might buy? A main factor in me buying or not buying a Mac would be down to having the software installed that I need.

The other option is to just buy a better PC, but I think the Mac might have its advantages for the kind of things I want to do.

Any advice appreciated guys

BFCTom · 28 Feb 2008 at 21:07

Thanks for the replies so far.

I don't really need the portability of a Macbook but I'm not totally against the idea either.

I'm a bit gutted about the software aspect of it all though. The main reason I would go down the Mac route would be to use all my editing packages on one system. I probably wouldn't be able to afford to buy them all again for the Mac version.

BFCTom · 28 Feb 2008 at 21:12

BillytheImpaler said:
As above, though, you could dual boot Windows, for your Adobe jazz, and OS X for Final Cut if it was really necessary.

Yeah, but how complicated would that be? I've only ever used Macs at Uni so don't have that much experience with them really.

BFCTom · 28 Feb 2008 at 21:20

Right, so basically I could just do everything I do on my PC now on a Mac in Windows?

That sounds cool, gonna have a look at specific Macs over the next few days. Maybe go into the shop and have a play

Thanks again for the help.

BFCTom · 28 Feb 2008 at 21:21

BillytheImpaler said:
How much other Windows-only software do you need to use beyond Photoshop? If the number is small, it might make sense to buy the Mac versions with HE discount. I know I can get a copy of Photoshop CS3 for around $30 with a student license.

Nothing really. Office would be nice but I know you can get a Mac version of that too