advice please: macbook prov V mac pro

[Stuttter]

Hi,

I've been running a 12" 1GHz powerbook hooked up to a monitor for the past 2 years. I'm an illustrator and use photoshop 80% of the time. File sizes are getting bigger (upto 500mb lately) and my current machine is struggling. I'm no gamer and don't use a 3d package.

Was thinking of getting another laptop, top spec macbook pro, but would I be better off going back to a tower with a mid range mac pro?

is the standard graphics card good enough for photoshop or should I be looking to upgrade?

all advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Blue Velvet]

Graphics cards are not that relevant when discussing Photoshop performance.

If you're a pro, then the only reasons for selecting a laptop over a tower should be portability and/or space-saving. Both machines you've mentioned would work fine but you might get a little more life from the tower... they take up space though and you'll need a decent monitor too if you work in Photoshop almost all the time.

Remember to budget for at least 1.5gb of RAM if you're Photoshopping, preferably 2gb+ if the machine can take it.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

if you can afford it, get the best machine possible. Once CS3 comes out, your Mac Pro will fly.

 

[Temujin]

if you can afford it, get the best machine possible. Once CS3 comes out, your Mac Pro will fly.

As will the MBP

 

[FFTT]

I would max out the RAM in your PB and keep it for your portable needs then buy a 2.66 GHz Mac Pro for your primary workstation.

As a professional, you'll not only benefit from the gain in perfomance, but also benefit from the larger and faster 7200 RPM HD's.

As the others have mentioned, you'll want to configure your system with 2 GB RAM
to counter Rosetta's RAm cravings for your Adobe PPC applications.

 

[Stuttter]

Is 2 Gb of ram enough, would I see much of a difference if I had 4 or 8?

the difference between a 2.66 and a 3Ghz is about 800eur, a similar amount to the upgrade from 2gb to 4gb of ram. which do you think would I get the best value/performance from?


I'm leaning towards the tower I think. Are there any updates worth waiting for or is now as good a time as any to take the plunge?

thanks

 

[FFTT]

Configuring your system with more than 2 GB RAM at the moment probably will not give you any noticable improvement until Adobe releases CS3.

2 GB RAM in 4 X 512MB would get you rolling along nicely and time will help to drop prices on these current RAM prices.

Now obviously if you can afford 4 X 1GB of the correct RAM, by all means go for it.

 

[tuartboy]

Configuring your system with more than 2 GB RAM at the moment probably will not give you any noticable improvement until Adobe releases CS3.

My understanding is that CS2 already hands off memory management to 10.4 (Tiger only) on 64-bit Processors (Mac Pro) and can take more than the previous max from CS1 and 10.3

In short, load her up.

Also, to see how efficiently you are using your current RAM, see this info from the Adobe Knowledge base:

Watch your efficiency indicator while you work in Photoshop to determine the amount of RAM you'll need to keep your images in RAM. The efficiency indicator is available from the pop-up menu on the status bar of your image and from the Palette Options on the Info Palette pop-up menu. When the efficiency indicator goes below 95-100%, you are using the scratch disk. If the efficiency is around 60%, you'll see a large performance increase by changing your RAM allocation or adding RAM.

 

[freakonguitar]

go get the desktop. If you want performance and a machine that won't stutter and frustrate you with 500 mb files the macpro is excellent. I haven't been disapointed at all. but do get at least 2gb of ram. Currently i am not running many programs using rosetta but when i do the 1gb is gone is NO time. So load up on the ram. As for processor, depending on your budget, you will be more happy to have more ram and hdd space with the 2 2ghz than the 2.66 and not able to get enough ram and hdd space. So far i have NEVER topped out my CPU's and have done extensive work that uses a lot of power. I think more ram is a priority

 

[miles01110]

I'd get the tower also- it will last longer than the MBP.

 

[Stuttter]

I currently use an external iomega hard drive for back up. Should I add a 500gb hd to one of the bays instead of the iomega or is it best to have both.

do you think these HDs will be compatable with any future generation towers?

thanks again