HELP - what Mac

[TimMyself]

hej guys,
because of my birthday my parents will give me a mac but what one should iChoose

- MacBook Air (13-inch: 1,8GHz)
- MacBook Pro (13-inch: 2,9GHz)
- MacBook Pro with Retina-display (13-inch: 2,5GHz Retina-display)

All of these macs cost almost the same
Can you tell me which one is better i need it to:
- edit video (Youtube)
- Photoshop (For fun)
- Student council (secretary)
- School (Homework, Giving presentations)
- Portable (Going to friends, Family, vacation)

Please tell me and tell about your experience with your mac
Thanks


(Sorry for the bad spelling)

[CharlieHorse]

What sort of video editing are you doing? What editing software do you need to use?
That would be the most heavy processes for the computer out of what you're doing.

The pros are going to be more customizable on apple's site. What's your parent's budget?

Mac's are great for all around use, but they suck at gaming and / or customizing them into ridiculously powerful machines. The UI is great most of the time. I've been using macs all my life. My dad got a mac for me and my brother to use back before they were mainstream, like 10 years ago. They also will cost you a LOT! But they last a good while.
They're pretty stable machines all around.
I think you'll be very happy with one.

[Axw_JD]

For what you are doing, sounds like you don't need a Mac at all. I bet all the software you need is available on Windows as well and the money you save by buying a PC with the same specs can be spent on the software you want, or even better hardware.

For the price of a 13-inch MacBook air you could get either a Microsoft Surface (http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/surface-with-windows-8-pro/home)(much more portable since its both a Tablet and a Laptop with the same specs), a Lenovo Yoga, an ASUS Taichi or similar Ultrabooks that offer similar or better performance for the same price or slightly lower.

You could also get gaming-oriented stuff like the Razer Edge (http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-edge) or a XPS Notebook (http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/xps-laptops?c=us&cs=19&l=en&~ck=bt).

They will all allow you to do what you want to do at a more comfortable price tag with the added benefit of being compatible with every PC game under the sun.

[CharlieHorse]

For what you are doing, sounds like you don't need a Mac at all. I bet all the software you need is available on Windows as well and the money you save by buying a PC with the same specs can be spent on the software you want, or even better hardware.

For the price of a 13-inch MacBook air you could get either a Microsoft Surface (http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/surface-with-windows-8-pro/home)(much more portable since its both a Tablet and a Laptop with the same specs), a Lenovo Yoga, an ASUS Taichi or similar Ultrabooks that offer similar or better performance for the same price or slightly lower.

You could also get gaming-oriented stuff like the Razer Edge (http://www.razerzone.com/store/razer-edge) or a XPS Notebook (http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/xps-laptops?c=us&cs=19&l=en&~ck=bt).

They will all allow you to do what you want to do at a more comfortable price tag with the added benefit of being compatible with every PC game under the sun.

The dude said he's getting a Mac. OK? Not everything is better with windows 8.

[Cygnus]

Macbook Airs are terrible, they are only for those people who travel a lot and need something small to check their e-mails. Get a 13' Macbook Pro with 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5

[Beckblue]

I'd Get the retina. Much better display than the other two. Although the specs are pretty terrible and not what I'd expect for the price, although it is the best out of the 3.

[Hypers]

i'd go for an Air, since the SSD will definitely help performance when dealing with pictures, and videos. The new Haswell-based Air also has a tremendous battery, so it's more portable.

If you really want a Pro, wait until they get Haswell. And I'd definitely not get the Retina, since it is really expensive and underpowered.

I have the old Air and its pretty quick, I even do a little bit of Unity3D on it.

[Human]

Macs aren't exactly designed for these purposes as well as pc, but get a Pro

[Altiier]

I recommend the Macbook Pro, the retina display is a preference. If I remember correctly the MacBook Pro has a 2.3Ghz Quad core that you can overclock to 3.3-3.5ish for those larger rendering projects. Depending on the size of the files you will be working with, you should probably invest in an external SSD or HDD, laptops are not known for their memory. But with only 4GB of RAM (meh) your processing power wont be all that good. If you are going through all the trouble to get a Mac, you could build a PC for maybe a bit more and get better performance out of it. Just a recommendation. Hope that helps :D

[Cicero]

The retina display Mac is best for editing and shit like that.

Mac is so much better than PC and 20x faster.

[CharlieHorse]

Mac is so much better than PC and 20x faster.

This statement is so true, that it doesn't even need any proof, reasons, or valid statistics for it to be right. Mmmhmm
:P

[Cicero]

This statement is so true, that it doesn't even need any proof, reasons, or valid statistics for it to be right. Mmmhmm
:P

In some fields it is

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/tests/4258725

[Chelsea716]

Get a pro or save money and get a PC. You can get laptops that are touch screen and have what you need for HALF the price.

[samsunglover]

- MacBook Pro (13-inch: 2,9GHz) . none retina because you can not upgrade anything and the retina display is completely useless unless you are a pro needing super high resolutions.

[CharlieHorse]

- MacBook Pro (13-inch: 2,9GHz) . none retina because you can not upgrade anything and the retina display is completely useless unless you are a pro needing super high resolutions.

this

plus the intel 4000 gpu in the 13 retina can BARELY drive the display.

[jaxian rhyder]

Pro.

[samsunglover]

this

plus the intel 4000 gpu in the 13 retina can BARELY drive the display.

exactly, For such a high resolution display you need a dedicated GPU with dedicated DDR5 memory. But on the regular mac book pro like i have it runs it amazingly good, I get crisp ,high quality graphics with no lag

[CharlieHorse]

exactly, For such a high resolution display you need a dedicated GPU with dedicated DDR5 memory. But on the regular mac book pro like i have it runs it amazingly good, I get crisp ,high quality graphics with no lag

Well said sir! :)

[dubstep13]

Get a PC. Macs are terrible.

[Rickgg]

Depends on the software and memory you'll need: if you don't need much memory, get the air; if you do, get the pro. The retina may seem good but not all programs and internet sites etc. Can use it, so you should get the pro ;)

I have a mac pro and im really happy eith it :)

[Cooper197]

Get the Pro. You have the option to change stuff around all you want. I set up mine with a 1tb standard hard drive, then I swapped out the disc drive for another hard drive bay and a 512gb ssd. Can't do that with the other ones. It's worth being able to change stuff.

[Cooper197]

Also, (rant) those of you saying "get a pc the mac isn't built for this" blah blah blah.
Stop. Go do your homework then come back. The Mac can handle all of that no problem. The OS uses waaaaaaaay less resources than Windows does. So when you set the exact same thing side by side, Windows and Apple being the only difference, the Mac will be faster. Always. A Windows computer is never a substitute for a Mac. If he says he wants a Mac, don't give him options for something Windows, it isn't what he wants and it isn't the same. It's like saying "Lets get icecream" and coming back with brownies. Yes, they are both dessert, but no, they are not even close to the same.

[JRwulf64]

mac book pro with the faster processor...the retina display isnt that AMAZING compared to the standard screen

[colepuck]

MacBook Pro (13-inch: 2.9GHz) would be my choice because im pretty sure it has a i7 intel chip (good for Photoshop) and it has a CD drive if you ever want to get music off CD's or watch movies.

[Rickgg]

Get the pro :) the retina isn't worth it...

[Joseph69]

The MacBook Air would be a bad choice for what you're doing, so I would say the MacBook Pro, but you'd have to try out both of them to decide which one you wanted out of the two. Personally I prefer the Retina model, but that's just me.