Lightroom 3 - Mac Mini or MBP?

[Michael Russell]

I have been through 3 iMac's trying to find one with a good screen, and have given up. So now I am looking for an alternative. I want to use the computer primarily for photo editing in either lightroom 3 or Aperture 3. Obviously the iMac I7 had no problem, but I dont know how well a Mac mini would do. I am editing 5D II raw files, so they are large, but I am just a hobbyist, so I dont do huge volumes. What to do? MacBook Pro? I dont love the idea of it sitting on my desk killing the battery, and I already have a 13" macbook, so its not like I need another portable computer. Mac Pro is to be replaced any day (month? Year?) now, so I dont really want to dump money into a computer on its way out.

What would you do?

Thanks
Michael

 

[indg]

mac mini server (running SL client) with raid-0 config + 24" lcd + a 1TB external backup drive. total cost ~ $1300. (plus keyboard/mouse)

 

[Kebabselector]

I run LR3 on my early 09 Mini with no real issues. Initial preview is a little slow, but I've got used to it. I do use the Library and Images on an external FW800 HDD though (the internal drive is too small on my mini - 120gb). My images are from the older 5D so a fair bit smaller than yours. That said I have some Raw images from the 5D mkII and 7D and not really found a speed difference.

 

[Michael Russell]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated. So I take it that if you had to do it over again, you would go for the mini over a MBP?

Thanks
Michael

 

[Kebabselector]

Personally for the desktop solution a mini all the way (if like me you don't like the iMac/glossy screens). If you are out and about a lot then maybe a MBP is a better option. For me my old 2ghz 2gb C2D Macbook is fine for onsite work (even with LR3). As I said before I don't have many 5d MkII files so maybe my experience is a little limited.

 

[maflynn]

I found that when I had my core2duo MBP, Lightroom performed better then Aperture, particularly with Aperture 3. I've run both and I prefer Lightroom.

I think the mac mini is capable of handling either application, though LR3 would be better since its not as sluggish as AP3