Graphic designer buying MBP

[hermelina]

Hello,
I'm from Europe and soon coming in CA and i want to buy new mbp.
I'm working mostly in adobe photoshop, indesign and illustrator cs6, rarely using after effects and premiere.
I'm switching from pc 17'' (heavy for carrying around, but very fast in performances) to mbp and I want something lighter but still fast enough to run all these adobe programs. So now my option is mbp 13'' whit this config I found on apple website:

2.9GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM — 2x4GB
1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide (English)

Later I'll buy bigger external screen here in Europe.
So my question is: is this config (graphics and memory) strong and fast enough to handle all my work in adobe programs? if not, is it possible to order something better in apple store in SF and what should I ask for?
Also, can I order anti glare screen on mbp 13''?

Anyone having expirience using mbp 13'' + external screen and working in adobe programs?
Right now I don't have enough money to buy ssd, but can I upgrade to it later on 13''

Thank you for helping me

 

[Ploki]

on the 13" without the retina display you can upgrade later to SSD and also RAM.

Matte is only an option on the 15" MBP.

 

[designs216]

The 13" MBP is a good compromise between pro power and portability and as Ploki pointed out, it has the advantage of savings today whilst allowing user upgrades later.

Adobe has been gradually rewriting it's apps in recent years to be core-efficient. If you don't mind lugging a bit more weight, the c15" offers a quad core processor which makes this model not only a viable desktop replacement for graphics work but also futureproof for the next several years.

 

[KPOM]

You might consider the 15" classic MBP. It would be about $300 more but would have a quad-core processor, and a discrete GPU. It would be $1899 with 8GB RAM and a 500GB HD, or $1999 with the anti-glare screen.

Of course, at that price, the 15" Retina comes into play at $2199 with 8GB and 256GB SSD. The Retina display isn't anti-glare, but since it doesn't have the cover glass on the LCD, so there is much less glare than on the regular MacBook Pro without anti-glare.

 

[nudoru]

Personally, I'd look at the midrange 15" with the hirez antiglare screen. I'm not sold on retina yet and there are performance hiccups with it. I expect the 2nd gen to be awesome however.

For ram and harddrive, get the lowest possible from apple and then aftermarket the upgrades. 16gb of ram is well under $100 now and a decent 750gb 7200 drive is cheap also. Or you could replace the DVD with a 2nd harddrive. a 256gb SSD and a 1tb secondary drive would be great for big photoshop files.

 

[yauzers619]

Being a designer myself, I would highly recommend staying away from the 13" cMBP.

The restrictive 1280x800 resolution screen is highly deficient when working with programs such as Premiere and After Effects with all it's panels and timelines.

The 15" retina with 16GB of RAM is what I'm using and it's wonderful and what I recommend Very thin and light, with plenty of power which is easy to transport. I envision the 13" retina being a similarly wonderful experience with the experience slightly enhanced by it's even smaller form factor.

 

[thermodynamic]

The 13" MBP is a good compromise between pro power and portability and as Ploki pointed out, it has the advantage of savings today whilst allowing user upgrades later.

Adobe has been gradually rewriting it's apps in recent years to be core-efficient. If you don't mind lugging a bit more weight, the c15" offers a quad core processor which makes this model not only a viable desktop replacement for graphics work but also futureproof for the next several years.

"Futureproof" is a myth, or else none of us would have ever upgraded.

Adobe has done a great job with its apps (though I can't stand Flash, and for my own reasons - and not parroting anyone else's marketed spin) and in using more efficient GPUs (there's a fun article somewhere...)

Still, any desktop quad core will outperform the laptop-grade quad core, even if it's Sandy or Ivy Bridge. (the 2011 MBP runs more or less on par to a 2009 Mac Pro, and most 2010 MPs and iMacs run much faster than the 2009 MP... due to desktop-grade CPUs as opposed to laptop-grade units...)

For 3D rendering, fractal rendering, app compiling, etc, a laptop will be competent (especially if it cools well under heavy use), but a desktop will always be much more powerful, and whose size allows cooling to be better... but then, I ditched an iMac for a Mac Pro because of cooling concerns, and I was right... content creators using iMacs might see heat-related anomalies occur before the 3-year AppleCare warranty ends, or slightly afterward. Content consumers will likely never have such problems... or see them develop so quickly...