Hello everyone,
I am in a mega predicament trying to figure out the best solution for my 1-3 year trip overseas. I am coming from a 2009 Mac Pro that has been plenty fast for what I do. Basically I am looking for a solution that will:
-be used 90% of the time in clamshell mode in conjunction with a 24" monitor, scanner, wacom tablet, external storage, headphones with mouse and keyboard.
-deal with scanned 600dpi images at roughly A3/A4 size to use in Photoshop/Manga Studio/Artrage/Illustrator for digital painting purposes. I usually don't use anymore than 10-20 layers.
-be used for light video/animation in After Effects/Motion Artist. The later isn't GPU accelerated as far as I know. Basically I would like to play around with making motion comics.
My workload is serious hobbyist, meaning I dont have deadlines and will be using the setup for about 3-4 hours a day. I have anlayzed a few options:
13" Macbook Air i5 1.3/8GB/256GB
This is the option I would most like to work. Light for travel, decent native resolution for working out of clamshell mode, and a great price. Also has the best GPU for external monitor performance.
13" rMBP i5 2.6/8GB/256GB
Smaller desk footprint than air, better screen (colour accuracy) and a processor designed to stay cooler with media workloads as well as ventilation. However the price stings a bit and the retina screen would be under utilized.
Mac Mini 2.3/8GB/1 TB
Has the best processor of the lot and more USB slots. I would feel a bit crippled though knowing that I couldn't pick up the machine and use it outside of its desktop arrangement ( like anyone else, I enjoy my fair share of couch browsing!)
I have researched a lot of threads on this forum and have found many people recommend an Air for a graphic design workflow, yet these are often for queries relating to web. I would like to know if the air is good enough for a medium print workflow? Money is an issue and I'm looking for the most bang for my buck. Thanks so much, sorry for the long read!
I am in a mega predicament trying to figure out the best solution for my 1-3 year trip overseas. I am coming from a 2009 Mac Pro that has been plenty fast for what I do. Basically I am looking for a solution that will:
-be used 90% of the time in clamshell mode in conjunction with a 24" monitor, scanner, wacom tablet, external storage, headphones with mouse and keyboard.
-deal with scanned 600dpi images at roughly A3/A4 size to use in Photoshop/Manga Studio/Artrage/Illustrator for digital painting purposes. I usually don't use anymore than 10-20 layers.
-be used for light video/animation in After Effects/Motion Artist. The later isn't GPU accelerated as far as I know. Basically I would like to play around with making motion comics.
My workload is serious hobbyist, meaning I dont have deadlines and will be using the setup for about 3-4 hours a day. I have anlayzed a few options:
13" Macbook Air i5 1.3/8GB/256GB
This is the option I would most like to work. Light for travel, decent native resolution for working out of clamshell mode, and a great price. Also has the best GPU for external monitor performance.
13" rMBP i5 2.6/8GB/256GB
Smaller desk footprint than air, better screen (colour accuracy) and a processor designed to stay cooler with media workloads as well as ventilation. However the price stings a bit and the retina screen would be under utilized.
Mac Mini 2.3/8GB/1 TB
Has the best processor of the lot and more USB slots. I would feel a bit crippled though knowing that I couldn't pick up the machine and use it outside of its desktop arrangement ( like anyone else, I enjoy my fair share of couch browsing!)
I have researched a lot of threads on this forum and have found many people recommend an Air for a graphic design workflow, yet these are often for queries relating to web. I would like to know if the air is good enough for a medium print workflow? Money is an issue and I'm looking for the most bang for my buck. Thanks so much, sorry for the long read!
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