Adobe CS: i5/i7 + SSD

[Daelos]

looking to buy a new mbp in the next couple of days and wondering on spec:

is there a major difference that i would notice between the base i5 to i7 for work involving CS5 (illustrator, photoshop, indesign and dreamweaver exclusively at this point though post graduation i speculate possibly aftereffects/premier too)? this is assuming that the machine is running on 4gb ram. unsure of which spec to buy, needs to last a good 3-4 years unless see the ability to upgrade earlier and sell on this one.

cheaper i5 means could probably afford to put 8gb ram in it in the near future but dont know if will be shooting myself in the foot regarding the slower processor for the applications i'm required to run. (not very good with these things!)

Also, SSD is a must and torn between the intel X25-m g2 or the OCZ vertex 2 (80gb/60gb as keep majority of work on backups and only really needed for the system, applications and current projects).

Any help would be greatly appreciated! want to get this purchase out the way so can sort out my finances!

 

[Macsavvytech]

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For Starter i5 to i7 isn't a massive difference but A better upgrade to the ram one. As for ssd out of the two I would pick the intel however I would pick a OWC Mercury Extreme over both of them

 

[dusk007]

It is about a 10% difference and some people say 10% is the minimum you need to feel any difference at all. Others say it needs at least 20%. I guess the truth lies in the middle but one thing can be say for certain in normal use you probably cannot make out the difference in speed of a i5 and the i7. You'd need to launch some benchmark or start an encode session that last a few hours to see the difference.

About SSDs I would also consider the non existent TRIM support. Maybe it changes soon. I have heard better things about Intels degradation than of Sandforce. Performance is better with Sandforce.
Toshiba like the V+ Series do have very little performance degradation but their random read aren't great.

 

[Daelos]

so to clarify:

i5-i7 would be a better upgrade than 4-gb ram? and even then its unlikely i'll see much difference?

i dont know much about SSD's except that OS X doesn't support trim and that the sandforce controller is the way forward. from reading around these forums i get the impression that the vertex 2 uses this controller? haven't looked properly at owc drives, need to check their prices and shipping to the UK.

what would be considered the optimal small storage size SSD (brand/model) in your opinion? only looked at the OCZ vertex, agility, and the intel drive at present.

Edit: just looked at the OWC, and will be subject to import taxes etc. will need to look around and work out how much we are talking, as that drive looks awesome.

Still, any other suggestions greatly welcomed

 

[aimbdd]

OWC drives are awesome! They have garbage collection too.
I also agree, go for the memory.

 

[rhinosrcool]

so to clarify:

i5-i7 would be a better upgrade than 4-gb ram? and even then its unlikely i'll see much difference?

Even though I'm no expert on CS programs, this doesn't seem right. To me, the ram/or ssd upgrade would have the bigger impact. The CPUs seem too close in specs.

 

[JamesGorman]

The difference in the mobile i5 and i7 is very nominal. Your getting the same architecture. The only difference is the i7 has one more mb of cache. Besides that its very much the same. Go with the ssd and the ram, and save by going with the i5. Than again if money isnt an issue, I say go all out.

 

[Daelos]

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Thinking i5 is the one, thanks! Probably base model: it's still going to be better than the 2.4ghz Santa rosa MacBook pro it's replacing.

Now just to decide on the ssd.

 

[JamesGorman]

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Thinking i5 is the one, thanks! Probably base model: it's still going to be better than the 2.4ghz Santa rosa MacBook pro it's replacing.

Now just to decide on the ssd.

For sure it will be better. The base model i5 is faster than any macbook pro in any previous generation.

 

[Macsavvytech]

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In general more RAM would be better performance however
I've yet to know someone who could use 4GB of RAM in CS. I personally do not live in America so to have to pay shipping fees however, in Australia where i live the dollar is actually worth more then the American dollar. I have Also checked prices v performance
And noted that even including shipping for
Me the OWC drives
Are the way to go.
To clarify out of both the RAM and the processor you will see very little difference however ram can be upgrades later the processor can't.

 

[Daelos]

i'm really liking the looksof the OWC. boot doesnt seem as fast in videos compared to some of the others, but i dont shut down my computer much anyway, so its the rest of the benefits i require most anyway.

true about the processor being unupgradeable in the future... though as i dont plan to do any video work in the forseeable future, i'm guessing i'd be better off putting the money towards the SSD. Will check education prices tomorrow when on the Uni's network and see how dramatic an increase it is in price, considering also bumping to AG screen (find the gloss nigh on unbearable).

From what i see, to import an OWC mercury pro (80gb) won't cost me customs charges as it falls below the £135 after shipping has been added too. with VAT, actually makes it more reasonable than the intel i was looking at. just need to double check im right with that; never imported anything before...

Thanks for all the help so far though, much appreciated!

 

[The General]

My MBP boots incredibly fast on my 120GB OCZ Vertex 2. The pinwheel on the gray apple logo boot screen doesn't even make a full circle. That's how fast it is.

Photoshop opens in 2 seconds.

 

[Daelos]

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I'd looked at that drive as it seems to have some pretty vocal supporters on here, though people say the intel or owc is better, because of trim etc. I basically need it to last about 4 years, 3 at least. It'll be mainly used as a boot disk, so of an 80gb drive, I'd never expect it hit above 40-50gb full. Still torn between the three!

 

[Daelos]

update:

been reading around and definately thinking of the OWC but concerned about what happens in the case of a failure (which would seem pretty common with SSD's over HDD (and have had plenty of HDD failures) though understand alot of people who do have a good ssd that is reliable is less likely to shout out on a forum than those with problems. If it went wrong, even with a 3 year warantee, living outside the US, repairs would be 1) time consuming, and 2) costly.

also read that SSD's don't contribute as much as people say to a snappier machine. Other than boot times, application loading and lack of moving parts; what benefits are there to the SSD?

in some ways would it be more advisable to install something like the Momentus XT, and wait for prices of SSD's to drop, or the new intel G3's (whenever they actually get released) to come out?

alos unsure about the whole space left for over-provisioning thing? this probably wouldn't be an issue but hear the OWC ssd's only leave 7%, and at least 10 is recommended. is it simply a case of being careful not to fill the drive fully to allow for the extra %'s?

sorry, really not good with these things and decision making! used mac's for 4 years and it's just 'worked' and times have changed since building custom PC's oh so long ago.