please help convince my PC hubby I need a Mac...

[MamaBee]

*sigh* I'm having PC laptop problems AGAIN. This month's issue is that I'm working away and *pop* blackout, computer turns itself off. In the past, it did it once in a while and thought I was just overworking it (too much scrapping ) and it overheated... but this morning, I couldn't keep the computer on for 10 min at a time before it shut down on me.

So, in talking to the IT guy at work, hubby found out that they had the same issue with one of the computer laptops and Dell had to come in and replace all the parts. My laptop is only 4 years old... and already has a new fan, motherboard, and hard drive from 2 years ago... so to say I'm not impressed with my Dell, would be an understatement.

So here is my question... I would LOVE a mac... I have a desktop Mac that is 5 years old, only has PSE4 on it and not power enough to even run that (hence why I got the dell)... my hubby is a die hard PC guy... so he needs convincing that Macs are awesome.

Ladies - if you have a Mac... what stats do you have on it, laptop vs deskstation, powerful enough for scrapping in PSE or CS5 (if I get a mac, I'll probably only be able to afford PSE for the time being)... what else do you have running in the background... hubby is always after me for the amount I have open (6+ tabs in chrome, photoshop, word document, about 5+ folders, and IM)...

I think this is going to be my chance to get my Mac that I always dreamed of... or a my hubby puts it, "getting off his back about me wanting one"... but he has concerns about power...

Thank you so much!!!

[ripal]

I just bought my iMac in December. Right now, I have Safari(browser) with 14 tabs , iTunes, Photoshop, ACDSee and Filezilla(FTP program) open. There are times I would also have iFont, YNAB(Budgeting software), 3-4 file folder windows open at the same time. I haven't felt slow performance from running too many things.

My iMac has 4GB RAM. I might upgrade it later, but for now, it's not a priority for me.

[aggiefamily]

All macs meet the requirements to run PS but of course more is better. Just get one that has at least 4G of ram and you are good to go. I just upgraded to 12G (super easy and super cheap to do) but before I was at 4G. I would have chrome (with a ton of pinterest tabs open), PS, Bridge, Ai, Yahoo, Mail, iTunes, finder windows and a couple other apps open. The only time it would lag is when I would run actions that have many steps.

We have a 27in iMac and 13 in macbookpro. The laptop is my husband's and I find it very hard to use for scrapping or designing due to the small screen. I do use it for internet browsing. I love my iMac. It takes up no more room than a flatscreen tv the same size.

If you do get one, try talking to adobe. When I switched from pc they offered me a great upgrade price (PSCS4 had just come out) and sent me the mac version.

Oh- I don't think I would get a macbook air. They are more limited in storage and do not have a dvd drive.

[taracotta7]

I have a Macbook Pro. Love love love it. I think in the 1.5 years I have had it, there was only one time that I had a lagging issue. I don't think it was my computer though.......I think it was my internet/modem.

I love my macbook pro. I got my eyes on iMac though. I thought I would be more portable than I am. I tend to stay at my desk to do computer surfing and scrapping. SO, I would go IMac desktop. I love that it is all in one and there aren't a bunch of cords to mess with.

[Nettio]

Well I hate to break it to you but my MacBook Pro is almost 4 years old and has a new fan, motherboard and hard drive too. I wouldn't say that's normal though. I think I just got a bit of a lemon, haha.

As far as what to get, I love the portability of my laptop so that's a must for me. My ideal setup is a laptop plugged into a big display - best of both worlds. My advice is to get the most powerful machine you can get in your budget. I'd avoid the MacBook Airs but otherwise any one of the Macs should work for you.

[scrapmommaof3]

once your husband is on board, can he convince mine? I would love to have a Macbook Pro. Just sayin'.

[Julie Billingsley]

Originally Posted by MamaBee

Ladies - if you have a Mac... what stats do you have on it, laptop vs deskstation, powerful enough for scrapping in PSE or CS5 (if I get a mac, I'll probably only be able to afford PSE for the time being)... what else do you have running in the background... hubby is always after me for the amount I have open (6+ tabs in chrome, photoshop, word document, about 5+ folders, and IM)...

these are my specs-
I have the i5 processor, 8GB memory, 2TB hard drive, and 512MB graphics card. I have not had one problem with this computer since I got it in June last year and I've never thought "gee, wish I had sprung for more _____ ." I did get the AppleCare Protection Plan. Which I haven't needed at all yet. I am glad I got it for the peace of mind since this is an all in one unit.

This is what I current have running: Photoshop with 25ish open layered files (I'm in the middle of designing a kit), Illustrator with 2 files, Chrome with 20ish tabs, Img2Icons, Pages, 5 windows of Finder, FileZilla, YIM, my scanner program, my zip program, Firefox with 2 tabs, and pixlr-o-matic. I've had my Mac continuously going for about 8-9 days and I am not having any slowing whatsoever.

Hope that helps!

[xboxmom]

I love my MacBook Pro!!!! Its got a 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 processor with 8 GB of Memory I <B it!!!! Seriously best purchase EVER. And I too have the protection plan. If you are spending that kinda money on a machine you might as well make sure its going to be free to fix! As my Macbook seemed like it was always in the shop for something.

[MamaBee]

thanks ladies... I don't know what hubby is thinking... he spent close to 2 hours on the phone arguing with the Dell guy over sending out a technician. My hubby wanted to talk to me first and they wouldn't let him off the phone and transferred him to a manager who just would not give up... my hubby has a lot of patience for this type of thing, and I could see him getting really frustrated.

The service guy comes out on Saturday to see if it's hardware vs. software... that will be the determining factor.

The macpro would be an must for me... I'm all over with my laptop. haha... I have a 17 in now, and thought I could go down to a 15th... but now you have me thinking - which isn't good... at the midlevel, it was $500 more than hubby wants to spend.