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I just cancel my Mac pro order! I wonder If i did the right thing

L

lico0485

macrumors newbie
Original poster
O.K this has been my big dilemma for months Mac Pro or Mac Book Pro and finally a few days ago I decided on the mac pro

One 2.8GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (quad-core)
2GB (2 x 1GB)
320GB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB (Two dual-link DVI)
One 16x SuperDrive


but guess what today I cancel my order 😱 lol and I'm thinking on going for the mac book pro instead

2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB memory
250GB hard drive1
Double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB


I'm graphic design student while I do some freelancing work on the side and I'm going to be using it mainly with all the adobe applications and every now and then with Maya 8 and Final Cut. Both computers specs are so closed however the Mac book pro graphic card is much better( NVIDIA 512mb) compare to the Mac Pro(ATI 256MB) which I think it will even out to the Quad Core 2.8GHZ of the Mac pro more o less. By the way, my budget for this computer is $2,500. Did i make the right decision you think?
 
Your reasoning is very off. They are not close in specs at all. The MP has over double the processing power, and the ability to have 8X the RAM. Also, the MP can have multiple internal hard drives. The deciding factor is if you need portability. If not, the Mac Pro is definetely the way to go. The Mac Pro has far more expandability, giving it the ability to lat longer. You can always upgrade the video card. MP 8800GT>8600 in MBP
 
I can suggest you get an Apple Cinema Display, KB, Mouse and you can still theoretically have a very low spec MP... And if the storage from 250 --> 320 GB means alot get a small portable 100 or 250 GB external harddisk by lacie... maybe the porsche or something will do trick...

Only thing left now is that you are getting Dual instead of Quad Core....
 
lico0485 said:
Did i make the right decision you think?
Click to expand...

No. Not unless you really need portability. As mentioned, the Mac Pro has a lot more CPU power and can have way more RAM, not to mention lots more hard drives (internally, which is cheaper and more convenient than external drives). The graphics card it comes with is meaningless, since you can always change it out later for something better. But the graphics of the Macbook Pro can never be upgraded. Plus it won't make any difference with most Adobe applications, so it won't "even out" the CPU speed discrepancy in any way.

--Eric
 
For a graphic design student, the macbook pro is plenty of computer. You will appreciate the portability instead of having the 'ball & chain" of a desktop. That being said, the Mac Pro will give you more bang for the buck and is more expandable with ram, drives and other peripherals. However, since most of the work you will be doing as a graphic design student is probably with CS3 design suite, the notebook is all you need. I have a Mac Pro and often I wish I had the laptop instead so that I could take my work with me. Eventually, I plan to at least get a Macbook to go with my desktop so that I can have the best of both worlds.
 
I agree with the rest here, unless you need portability, get a Mac Pro.

Adobe programs really have nothing to do with your video card, your video card is for mostly 3d Rendering (which will be good with maya, but not so much with photoshop). The processor is the huge difference however, and upgradability. I would say re-order the mac pro. Also (I could be wrong in this case as I have not researched the two cards) but mobile graphics cards though dedicated very rarely are better then their desktop counterparts even if they may have more ram. Like I said though I could be wrong with these two cards. I ordered a macbook pro recently (and I HOPE its here today) and I run the same stuff you do but I picked it over a desktop because I need portability, or else Id of gone with the desktop in a heartbeat.
 
your belief that the macbook pro has a better graphics card is also off, this is because the mac pro had a desktop card. These are usually 50% faster, thus the macpro has better graphics capability to. I suggest lowering the ram to 1gb and using the money for a 8800gt and then buying 4gb ran from 3rd party when you can afford it. This will give you a total of 5gb and a very impressive setup. This would be far superior than mbp unless you want the convenient portability that I prefer. Its up to you.
 
I dont think what you need really requires a quad-core processor, tbh..
go with MBP - still a good spec and you get the added portability.
 
zainjetha said:
I dont think what you need really requires a quad-core processor, tbh..
go with MBP - still a good spec and you get the added portability.
Click to expand...

Final Cut has a very nifty performance boost with quad-core processors. I'm think Maya 2008 has been optimised for quad-core systems, but someone better in the know might be able to say!

However, the OP does say that it's mainly Adobe products that he'll be using.

The maximum RAM a MP can have versus a MBP isn't to be sniffed at.
 
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