i want to buy a macbook but dont know what i need

Photoshop CS3 and Final Cut Express HD both run very good on the MacBook. I would suggest not getting the cheapest as they do not have the super drive which allows you to burn DVDs. I back up my photos, music, and video projects on DVD-RW for safety and convenience. No matter what I suggest you get an external drive also. I use a 250 gb drive to keep everything on except for current projects. That way I always have plenty of room on my drive for anything I might be working on.

For FCE-HD and CS3 you will want at least 2 GB RAM. This just makes everything run smoother. You can upgrade the RAM later yourself if you decide to. It's usually cheaper than Apple putting in the RAM.

Mort is dead on with his advice:

Get the best processor and the super drive, everything else is upgradable by you at far reduced cost, and will not impact your warranty.

I bought the BlackBook Core 2 Duo because I wanted to beef up the RAM to 3 Gig as well as be able to use the 802.11n protocol wirelessly with my Mac Pro and 24" iMac. I do a lot of movie making and use FCExpress. By beefing up the RAM I am able to reduce the rendering time. I did buy the 200Gig internal hard drive for storage but also use an external LaCie 600Gig to save my projects.

The BlackBook is excellent for field work - work that you do while sitting in coffee shops or WiFi hotspots or even in your own bedroom or kitchen - and should accommodate you very well. I do a lot of preliminary work on the BlackBook then do some of the heavier graphical and special effects work on the Mac Pro.

I absolutely love my MacBook and wouldn't give it up for anything!

Tim...

You can have 3 GB of RAM in the Macbook? When I get on the page to get one, I can limit the RAM to 2 GB only...