For photography and video editing... MBP 2010 or MBP 2011?!!!

[Lucho]

Ok, plain an simple. I'm into photography and video editing, that said, after I hit play to my favorite playlist, I find myself joggling between final cut, aperture, After effects, Photoshop, WavePad and maybe a few others if need be (all at a time). If you are thinking what I'm thinking, you can only imagine what it is like at the time rendering! All and all, my 2010 MBP does the job, but what for me in the new 2011?!!! I feel tempted by the sweet i5 that sports, but at the same time, somewhat turned down its graphics performance rumors and "oficial" benchmark. BTW, I wont be playing video games on it. What should I do? Should I upgrade?

Currently own:
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB RAM
250GB HDD
VIDIA GeForce 320M

Considering:
2.3-GHz Intel Core i5
4GB RAM
320GB HDD
Hard Drive Size: 320GB
Intel 3000 HD

 

[jakku]

Ok, plain an simple. I'm into photography and video editing, that said, after I hit play to my favorite playlist, I find myself joggling between final cut, aperture, After effects, Photoshop, WavePad and maybe a few others if need be (all at a time). If you are thinking what I'm thinking, you can only imagine what it is like at the time rendering! All and all, my 2010 MBP does the job, but what for me in the new 2011?!!! I feel tempted by the sweet i5 that sports, but at the same time, somewhat turned down its graphics performance rumors and "oficial" benchmark. BTW, I wont be playing video games on it. What should I do? Should I upgrade?

Currently own:
2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB RAM
250GB HDD
VIDIA GeForce 320M

Considering:
2.3-GHz Intel Core i5
4GB RAM
320GB HDD
Hard Drive Size: 320GB
Intel 3000 HD

Yes. For Ps, Aperture, Ae, Fc one thing who make it faster is CPU/RAM. It's 2x times faster with new MBP 13" ! Intel HD 3000 graphics it's more than enought for these programs.

 

[namethisfile]

if i were in your shoes, i would save up to get the low end 15" because of the work you listed. the dedicated gpu will help in AE and video editing. the 13" might be able to do it, but, you will really tax that integrated intel gpu, i think.

the way i see it, the 13" is only for people who don't use "professional graphics/video softwares" like AE or FCP that need the extra muscle of a dedicated GPU.

so, in a way, apple has made the choice simpler for the professional user. even if one is not making money from it (like me), a dedicated gpu, is a must.

 

[jakku]

I'm making money from Ps, Ai, ID. Sometimes Cinema 4D, and it's powerfull enought for that. Many people work with 8400/9400 and don't telling it sucks or something. I think 2011 13" base model is very good for money. If you don't play games it's more powerfull then you need for your works. If you make serious 3D works, with millions of polygons, you need top of 15" or mac pro.

 

[Lucho]

if i were in your shoes, i would save up to get the low end 15" because of the work you listed. the dedicated gpu will help in AE and video editing. the 13" might be able to do it, but, you will really tax that integrated intel gpu, i think.

the way i see it, the 13" is only for people who don't use "professional graphics/video softwares" like AE or FCP that need the extra muscle of a dedicated GPU.

so, in a way, apple has made the choice simpler for the professional user. even if one is not making money from it (like me), a dedicated gpu, is a must.

Without a doubt the 15" would do all that and a bit more. Unfortunately, the budget doesn't let me put those extra couple hundreds to get, at least until the photography and video editing biz start bringing some profit. Now, I just read a few posts on the battery life, what's your take on it?. If while under high stress my current MBP gives me barely 5 hours, does that that mean I would get 3 hrs with this new one?

 

[HBOC]

For anything "pro", i would no doubt stick with the 15". The 2011 13" MacBooks probably will run this stuff fine.

My 1Ds files are pretty big, and my Penryn MBP could process the files ok. It was limited to 4GB of RAM, and I can tell this one is faster than mine with the same RAM, but that is to be expected as this is a quad core and mine was a core2duo.

If you are rendering, the better graphics card will obviously be better. My old MBP wouldn't run NBA 2K11 not very well under VMWare.

 

[akasch]

I don't know about you, but the extra screen real estate is a must for me when I am using Photoshop, Illustrator and Aperture. I don't do any video editing but I imagine having more space to view clips etc would be a plus.

I also upgraded to the 2.3 i7 so that it can handle photoshop even better. There is 0 lag or render time.

I would recommend possibly waiting to upgrade and save more money until you can get the 15 in because it would suit your needs better as a photographer/video editor.

Edit: Oh and about the battery life you are going to get pretty much the same life span, during usage I barely get 4-5 hours under high stress and over 7 under normal web browsing. Correct me if I'm wrong but the battery life didn't change in the new computers, just Apple's measuring techniques which are more accurate so it shows the battery life as it under real usage. Apple shouldn't have changed it, poor marketing technique haha

 

[JamesGorman]

Refurb 2010 i5 or i7?

 

[namethisfile]

I'm making money from Ps, Ai, ID. Sometimes Cinema 4D, and it's powerfull enought for that. Many people work with 8400/9400 and don't telling it sucks or something. I think 2011 13" base model is very good for money. If you don't play games it's more powerfull then you need for your works. If you make serious 3D works, with millions of polygons, you need top of 15" or mac pro.

i think the the 2011 13" MBPs' would meet your needs for PS, Ai and iD. But, I think, AE, FCP, Avid, and similar programs need dedicated gpu's. at least, from looking at the "recommended" tech requirements for these softwares.

 

[AppleGoat]

At least with respect to the 13" models, the 2011 actually has a longer battery life. Numerous tests have confirmed this.

 

[billgates99]

If the the upcoming 2011 FCP update does not include a 64-bit executable and OpenCL or some form of GPU accelerated processing, I would seriously consider switching to a Premiere CS5 and build a cheap, powerful windows desktop with a top tier NVIDIA video card and i7-2600k.

http://ppbm5.com/Benchmark5.html

http://ppbm5.com/Background.html


However, I'm fairly hopeful that the Final Cut update will include these important changes, in which case I would suggest saving up for the 2011 15" MBP or perhaps the forthcoming Sandy Bridge iMac. It's possible the FCP update will allow for GPU accelleration with AMD cards, in which case I would go for the 6750 option instead of the 6490.

 

[Lucho]

Ok, so all suggestions point to "15 MBP, but that sort of leaves me at square one. I currently have the base model of the 2010 MBP and let's say that I have been given the opportunity of trading it for the new model. Based on the use (above described) that I give to mine. If today I walked into the Mac store and traded it, would I be wining or losing?

All comments are suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[Lucho]

I don't know about you, but the extra screen real estate is a must for me when I am using Photoshop, Illustrator and Aperture. I don't do any video editing but I imagine having more space to view clips etc would be a plus.

I also upgraded to the 2.3 i7 so that it can handle photoshop even better. There is 0 lag or render time.

I would recommend possibly waiting to upgrade and save more money until you can get the 15 in because it would suit your needs better as a photographer/video editor.

Edit: Oh and about the battery life you are going to get pretty much the same life span, during usage I barely get 4-5 hours under high stress and over 7 under normal web browsing. Correct me if I'm wrong but the battery life didn't change in the new computers, just Apple's measuring techniques which are more accurate so it shows the battery life as it under real usage. Apple shouldn't have changed it, poor marketing technique haha

Indeed, poor marketing technique. Thanks for putting to rest the battery concern.

 

[Tibits]

I just ran through my normal Aperture - Photoshop workflow on my new 2011 machine (15", 2.2GHZ, 8MB RAM, 7200rpm hd, hi-res ag display).

To quote Charlie Sheen, these quad cores will MELT YOUR FACE.

Go for the upgrade, these machines are fantastic.