2006 MP to 2011 MBP

[mooseface]

I currently have a 2006 MP and a Powerbook G4. I do a lot of Nuke, C4D, AE and PS. I use the MP for all the heavy lifting and the PB mainly for internet, but the MP is getting a bit long in the tooth and I'm getting a bit tired of trying to keep both computers synced.

I've been looking at the 2011 MBP 2.2 with the thought of getting an SSD, upgrading to 8GB RAM, an external FW800 Raid 1 enclose for all my working files and a 24"-27" monitor for when I'm working. Would this set up be ok for the intensive tasks listed above? I would like it to last at least 3 years before having to upgrade again. I will not be making my living from it, however I will be doing a lot of training, especially in Nuke, as I am starting a career in visual effects. I am looking at a MBP as I will be moving to a new flat soon and I'd like to try and keep the set-up relatively small. I will also be getting the MBP from HK (I have family connections there) and so instead of being £1849 ($3000) I will be able to get it for £1321 ($2150). Would the 2.3GHz upgrade be worth it?

Any ideas or opinions are much appreciated!

 

[NZed]

I currently have a 2006 MP and a Powerbook G4. I do a lot of Nuke, C4D, AE and PS. I use the MP for all the heavy lifting and the PB mainly for internet, but the MP is getting a bit long in the tooth and I'm getting a bit tired of trying to keep both computers synced.

I've been looking at the 2011 MBP 2.2 with the thought of getting an SSD, upgrading to 8GB RAM, an external FW800 Raid 1 enclose for all my working files and a 24"-27" monitor for when I'm working. Would this set up be ok for the intensive tasks listed above? I would like it to last at least 3 years before having to upgrade again. I will not be making my living from it, however I will be doing a lot of training, especially in Nuke, as I am starting a career in visual effects. I am looking at a MBP as I will be moving to a new flat soon and I'd like to try and keep the set-up relatively small. I will also be getting the MBP from HK (I have family connections there) and so instead of being £1849 ($3000) I will be able to get it for £1321 ($2150). Would the 2.3GHz upgrade be worth it?

Any ideas or opinions are much appreciated!

If you are getting it cheaper, get it. Even if the money in your pocket isnt something preventing you from buying, its better to save some money for upgrades later so you pay less for more. If you really really want it to be future proof, get the 2.3Ghz and i think it will at least last 3-5 years before really needing an upgrade.

 

[mooseface]

Thanks! Is the high res screen worth the extra cash? I haven't had the chance to see it at the apple store yet. Also, worth waiting for speed bumps?

 

[Fry-man22]

Thanks! Is the high res screen worth the extra cash? I haven't had the chance to see it at the apple store yet. Also, worth waiting for speed bumps?

I have the high res matte on my 2010 and I love it. It was worth it for me 100%.

GHz bumps are worth paying for sometimes, but not worth waiting on. The 2.2 has 6MB L2 cache ("channel price" $378.00) and the 2.3 has 8MB ("channel price" $568.00) so you are getting 33% more L2 cache for your $250. If I had the money I'd probably pay it because I'm a sucker for specs. Really just saying, for the record, it's not just a GHz bump, you get a bit "better" CPU.

2.3 - http://ark.intel.com/products/52227/Intel-Core-i7-2820QM-Processor-(8M-Cache-2_30-GHz)
2.2 - http://ark.intel.com/products/50067/Intel-Core-i7-2720QM-Processor-(6M-Cache-2_20-GHz)

You will notice a large increase in speed from your current setup - I think it would be a nice upgrade either way you go.

 

[Macsavvytech]

Thanks! Is the high res screen worth the extra cash? I haven't had the chance to see it at the apple store yet. Also, worth waiting for speed bumps?

I personally can't stand low res screens, Hi Res or get lost
You simply get a lot more working space with a Hi Res screen which for my work is invaluable.

 

[berkut]

Get the high-res mat screen, and the 2.3 Ghz option is probably worth it: although rendering in C4D and Nuke is multi-threaded, most of the interface stuff is still single-threaded so the extra 0.1Ghz, 2MB of cache, and the extra turbo boost thermal headroom will be worth it in terms of interface-responsiveness.

There are issues with the graphics drivers though for 3D with the new AMD mobile chips - the AMDs aren't as good as the older ATI or the NVIDIA stuff for VFX apps - things like edges not being drawn properly in the viewer for geometry, and face culling issues - gets quite annoying with mine.

SSD's a no brainer - unless rendering, Nuke's generally IO-bound, so this will speed it up a lot.

Get the extra 4GB RAM from Amazon (they've got good 8GB Kingston and Crucial kits for the new MBP for around £65).