Help with Macbook Pro for Graphic Design

[k-dezign]

Hey guys, I'm new here and I'm thinking of buying a Macbook Pro. I am a student studying graphic design and will be using the MBP mainly for my work. I am not planning on playing any games at all on it.

I'm trying to decide whether or not i should buy a 2.66GHz MBP with 4Gb RAM or just to stick with 2.4GHz and use the extra money to upgrade to 8GB RAM.

The specs for the two Macbook Pro's are listed below.

• 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
• 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
• Backlit Keyboard & User's Guide
• SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  
  A$ 2,159.50
  incl. GST

• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
• 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
• Backlit Keyboard & User's Guide
• SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  
  A$ 2,263.50
  incl. GST

Also, is the NVIDIA GeForce 320M better than a GeForce 8500 GT?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[tombilske]

definitely go with the 2.66
always get the best that you can afford in terms of components that aren't able to be upgraded, because RAM can easily be upgraded later

and the 2.66 config is cheaper as well......i would definitely go for that one

 

[cluthz]

For graphic design I's suggest getting a 15-inch (or even a 17)!
The 13 inch screen is just too small!

User benchmarks on this puts the 320M in par with the 8600M GT (with GDDR, not DDR) which the old Penryn and Santa ROsa MBPs had.
If you refer to the 8500GT desktop card, I'd guess the 8500GT with be slightly faster (if it features GDDR and not DDR), if it's a DDR version, the 320M would be faster.

I do believe most people think that the difference between a 2.4GHz and a 2.66GHz C2D is very little and more RAM would make sense if you work on huge projects, but if you do, the 13-inch screen would be the limiting factor anyway.

Imho, go with stock 13 inch and upgrade RAM later, or go buy the 2.4GHz i5 already!

 

[andalusia]

• 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
• 250GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics
• Backlit Keyboard & User's Guide
• SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
  
  A$ 2,263.50
  incl. GST

I vote for this one. More ram is essential, I wish I had more ram (I'm also studying Graphic design).

 

[Bill Gates]

As a student I doubt you will need 8GB of RAM. I suggest getting either the 2.4GHz 13" model with 4GB of RAM or the 2.4GHz 15" model with 4GB of RAM. Don't forget that you can always upgrade the RAM if you find my words inaccurate.

 

[ldobson]

As a student I doubt you will need 8GB of RAM. I suggest getting either the 2.4GHz 13" model with 4GB of RAM or the 2.4GHz 15" model with 4GB of RAM. Don't forget that you can always upgrade the RAM if you find my words inaccurate.

Get the 13" 2.4 and use an external 24" display. I dont think many graphic designers actually do design 'on-the-go'.