13" or 15" MBP for Photoshop

Joemero · Jul 30, 2009

I posted something similar in the 'Buying Tips, Advice' forum, but thought I would get a more specific response here. I will be buying my first mac ever to work on graphic & web design as a freelance/hobby. I have considered the following options:

Choice 1: mini $599 model upgrade RAM to 2gb + 24" Samsung or Dell monitor

Choice 2: New 13" MBP $1099 (student price) 2.26ghzm,2gb,160gb, + 24" same as above (and get free ipod touch)

Choice 3: Refurb 15" MBP $1449, 2.53ghz, 4gb, 320gb, no extra monitor for a while since I think the 15" will be good enough to get me going.

I'm leaning more towards a MBP though because of portability. Will the 13" MBP be very limiting in regards to learning and using Adobe CS4, primarily photoshop, illustrator and dw?

I would probably buy a 2nd larger monitor in about 6 months after my mac purchase.

oculus42 · Jul 30, 2009

Bigger is better

I have a 15" MBP and it's confining when I use Photoshop. I am also a web designer/developer, and I bought a 30" for the purpose.

I do use Photoshop on my 15" when I'm traveling. I end up tabbing to hide the toolbars pretty often.

Being able to resize a site to 1024x768, or 1280x800, or 1920x1200 and find out what a user's experience will be at that size is really nice. On the 30" I can bring up two 1024x768 and two 1280x800 screens without overlap.

I think you would be able to use Photoshop on the 13" but you'll want to be intimately familiar with keyboard shortcuts. The less time the toolbars spend on the screen, the better.

Joemero · Jul 30, 2009

oculus42 said:
I am also a web designer/developer, and I bought a 30" for the purpose.

What kind of 30" apple cinema?

JustLikeYou · Jul 30, 2009

I use my 13" macbook for school work all the time, and I'm going to be upgrading to the 13" MBP when I get the chance. 13" is not a problem if you connect to an external monitor, which is what I do. I would say it'd be better to work on a 15" or 17" if its your only source... but a 13" with an external monitor is just fine for me.

Joemero · Jul 30, 2009

JustLikeYou said:
I use my 13" macbook for school work all the time, and I'm going to be upgrading to the 13" MBP when I get the chance. 13" is not a problem if you connect to an external monitor, which is what I do. I would say it'd be better to work on a 15" or 17" if its your only source... but a 13" with an external monitor is just fine for me.

Whats a decent external monitor at a reasonable price?

Joemero · Jul 30, 2009

I couldn't wait!!! I jumped the gun IMHO and bought the 15" MBP 15.4/2.53/2X2GB/320/SD/512VM-USA !!!! and it actually shipped today too, by FED/EX!!
I hope I made the right choice for an adobe graphics machine

I think I did...right? June next yr I think my wife will let me have a 30" external monitor for my bday!

jecapaga · Jul 30, 2009

Joemero said:
I couldn't wait!!! I jumped the gun IMHO and bought the 15" MBP 15.4/2.53/2X2GB/320/SD/512VM-USA !!!! and it actually shipped today too, by FED/EX!!
I hope I made the right choice for an adobe graphics machine I think I did...right? June next yr I think my wife will let me have a 30" external monitor for my bday!

That's fun.

I think you'll be more than happy with your purchase and it's more than enough to run Photoshop.

Joemero · Jul 30, 2009

jecapaga said:
That's fun.

I think you'll be more than happy with your purchase and it's more than enough to run Photoshop.

Forgot to mention its the refurb direct from apple.

JFreak · Jul 31, 2009

Computer is irrelevant. Buy any display that has S-IPS panel and then complete the system with any Apple that fits the budget.

EDIT: Too late for this comment, sorry. Nice to hear someone got lucky with the display choice

oculus42 · Jul 31, 2009

Joemero said:
What kind of 30" apple cinema?

I actually picked up a Samsung 305T 30" from Newegg as an Open Box item. They have them (or did) occasionally, ranging from $1000 all the way down to $750.

I set up a few Live Bookmarks in Firefox that get the prices of 24" (1920x1200) and 30" monitors on Newegg, so I can just click the icon and see what the best prices are right now. $211 for a 24" Samsung 2433BW at the moment, and 30" start at $1148 for the HP.

stainlessliquid · Jul 31, 2009

The resolution on the 15" stinks, it will be fine for spontaneous work but I would go crazy if I had to use it all the time because theres not enough room to fit all the tables and tools. Working in Flash would probably add hours of extra work because it needs so much space for the timeline, stage, and actionscript window.

I would have gone with the 13" + external monitor because youre going to need it. Its not the end of the world that you got the 15" and is probably better in the long run but its not going to be fun until you get an external monitor.

Joemero said:
Whats a decent external monitor at a reasonable price?

Dell 24" Ultrasharp

Just stay away from monitors that have 160 degrees in the viewing angle specs, they are TN panels and those are terrible for design because of the visual inconsistencies.

Joemero · Jul 31, 2009

stainlessliquid said:
I would have gone with the 13" + external monitor because youre going to need it. Its not the end of the world that you got the 15" and is probably better in the long run but its not going to be fun until you get an external monitor.

I think I got a better video card on my 15" too, spec says:
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory2
Graphics Memory 512MB GDDR3

So I think it has an additional 512MB on top of the internal shared 256MB? Is that correct??

Also, is this a better card than I would have gotten on the 13" ??

Sorry for the newbie questions

Nicolecat · Jul 31, 2009

I'd say good choice...I'm actually eyeballing the 15" as an upgrade from my white 13" macbook.

Let us know what you think.

JustLikeYou · Jul 31, 2009

I really wanted the 15" with the extra graphics, but it wasn't worth the $600 price jump for me since what I'll be doing isn't super graphics intensive anyway.

But it woulda been sweet

Joemero · Aug 3, 2009

So I just received my new 15" refurb mcb, & all i can say is WOW. This thing looks BRAND NEW. I will post pics, vid soon

really happy

mofunk · Oct 18, 2009

@Joemero How are liking your MBP? I'm trying to see if should get the one you have or go with the newer 2.53ghz 250GB HD or previous model 2.4Ghz 250HD with 2GB Ram.

Price wise they are all about the same, if you factory the HD space and Ram. If I add ram to the 2.4ghz and external HD it would be only $70 cheaper than any of the 2.53Ghz MBP.

I need to run CS4, Lightroom, Digital Performer, and Groove Agent.

Joemero · Oct 18, 2009

mofunk said:
@Joemero How are liking your MBP? I'm trying to see if should get the one you have or go with the newer 2.53ghz 250GB HD or previous model 2.4Ghz 250HD with 2GB Ram.

Price wise they are all about the same, if you factory the HD space and Ram. If I add ram to the 2.4ghz and external HD it would be only $70 cheaper than any of the 2.53Ghz MBP.

I need to run CS4, Lightroom, Digital Performer, and Groove Agent.

I absolutely love it, I love the fact that it's a unibody, yet I can take the battery out myself, and that it has a firewire port (late 2008 model). I also love that I DID NOT upgrade to SL and my Adobe CS4 Web Premium is running fast and flawlessly!

Only problem im having is my wife getting upset, cuz I'm always on my mac

Unprocessed1 · Oct 18, 2009

I would get the 13" high end MBP and a 23" monitor, unless you're always on the go. A 23" monitor is a significant upgrade over a 15" screen.

mofunk · Oct 18, 2009

Unprocessed1 said:
I would get the 13" high end MBP and a 23" monitor, unless you're always on the go. A 23" monitor is a significant upgrade over a 15" screen.

Thanks but I've been using my 15in Powerbook G4 for about 6yrs. I'm use to having a 15in screen. Plus when I'm tutoring my students , their 13in MacBook is just too small for me. Also, I will be on the go. In my studio I have a 20in monitor. IDK if it works with the unibody. I haven't researched that. But I suspect I would need an adapter or have to buy a new screen.

that's good to know Joemero. I'm goona have to play the waiting game. That model pops up in the store and goes fast.

I'm wondering if Apple did it again? Try to do too much thus the problems. For ex. On my PB G4, my iTunes 9.0 crashes like crazy. I don't think its just SL. I've never had my iTunes crash so many times. I guess maybe its a memory hog.

mofunk · Dec 4, 2009

FINALLY!!! OMG this MBP is hard to get. I finally saw one in stock, and ordered it yesterday. It will be here tomorrow.

I'm surprised that it's coming so soon. I was expecting it to be here sometimes next week.

I can't wait to use it. My PB G4 is still running but most of the software I want to use is not compatible.

13" or 15" MBP for Photoshop

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