DaniGirl Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 I started editing on a 15" MacBook Pro that I picked up refurbished from Apple in 2012. It's done me well, but after a full motherboard replacement a couple of years ago with days left in my Apple Care, it seems to have crashed again. I'm trying to decide between repair and replacement. If it's the same issue as last time (and the symptoms are similar) it's about $500 in repair costs. I do the bulk of my client work on a desktop iMac, but I need a laptop for casual editing plus all the other things you need a mobile computer for - minutes of PTA meetings, vacation editing, one of the kids is playing FortNite on my iMac, etc. So - would you invest in repairing a six year old MacBook? I don't think I have the disposable funds to invest in a new or even refurb MacBook, so my (graphic designer) husband is lobbying hard for me to get a decent PC laptop and at 1/3 the price of the MacBooks, I'm having trouble finding reasons to disagree. Will I be able to export a Lightroom (sorry Damien) catalogue from a PC laptop to an iMac? Anything else I need to know? Thanks for your insight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 In my personal experience, laptops only last about 4 years or so, well for the more expensive ones. Laptops that are less than $500 seem to last 18-24 months. Of course there are exceptions and I’m basing this on my own personal experience. So I agree with your husband, I wouldn’t fix your Macbook. Apple’s prices on laptops is ludicrous. Though I wouldn’t buy a $500 laptop either. I like the Asus Republic of Gamers Line, as they tend to have IPS-Based screens, which is better for photos. I’d plan on a budget of $1000-$1500. As far as copying stuff to a Windows Computer, Apple makes that difficult. By default you can copy Windows files to your Mac easily, it’s just going from your Mac to Windows that is somewhat difficult. Generally people will recommend using exFAT for a Partiton Type and that works for the most part, but I like leaving that to the more advanced computer type people. It’s not 100% bullet-proof. FAT32 also works will going between Windows and Mac, but I wouldn’t push it above 32GB. So good ‘ol Sneakernet with a 32GB Thumbdrive. Which leaves software to do the conversion and honestly, I’d use a cloud service to go between the two worlds, for example, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. Here is a pretty good web page to read: https://www.google.com/amp/s/mashtips.com/transfer-files-between-pc-and-mac/amp/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniGirl Posted October 29, 2018 Author Share Posted October 29, 2018 Great insight as always Brian - thank you! (Crossing my fingers for a little luck on a Black Friday sale - prices in Canada are usually about 25% higher, too.) At least now I know what to scope out in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damien Symonds Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 What did you end up doing, @DaniGirl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaniGirl Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 I ended up with a great deal on a new small MacBook Air and a new subscription to Creative Cloud. Looking for a way to network the MacBook to my iMac eventually, but for now it's exactly what I needed. Thanks for following up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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