MacBook Pro, Adobe CS3 & RAM

[Poopface Morty]

I'm brand spanking new here, and I am desperately wanting a Mac, though I don't need one ASAP. I'm holding out until there's some upgraded Macbook Pro's. I'm also looking at picking up Adobe CS3 Design Premium, so I can freelance sometime down the road. When all is said and done, my wallet will be hurting, big time.

I guess I have this concern that updated MBPs will only allow 3 GB max of RAM, which seems like a lot now (and is the current max on MBP), but I can see that being 'not-enough' down the road. I like to have multiple programs open at once, say Photoshop, Illustrator, iTunes, Safari, whatever. So I guess I'm asking, anyone have experience running CS3 (Photoshop, Illy, Indy, Flash, Dreamweaver) on a MacBook Pro? Any recommendations on RAM (I know, I know, "you can never have enough RAM," you can never have enough money either)?

I would ideally like to get a MBP with say 2GB at first, then get my own RAM elsewhere (to save $$$), and it would be nice once 2GB sticks drop in price considerably. I've been eyeing the 17" model, with 200 GB of storage.

Anyway, glad to be here and looking forward to some input. FYI, I'm kinda ignorant when it comes to hardware.

 

[roland.g]

I'm brand spanking new here, and I am desperately wanting a Mac, though I don't need one ASAP. I'm holding out until there's some upgraded Macbook Pro's. I'm also looking at picking up Adobe CS3 Design Premium, so I can freelance sometime down the road. When all is said and done, my wallet will be hurting, big time.

I guess I have this concern that updated MBPs will only allow 3 GB max of RAM, which seems like a lot now (and is the current max on MBP), but I can see that being 'not-enough' down the road. I like to have multiple programs open at once, say Photoshop, Illustrator, iTunes, Safari, whatever. So I guess I'm asking, anyone have experience running CS3 (Photoshop, Illy, Indy, Flash, Dreamweaver) on a MacBook Pro? Any recommendations on RAM (I know, I know, "you can never have enough RAM," you can never have enough money either)?

I would ideally like to get a MBP with say 2GB at first, then get my own RAM elsewhere (to save $$$), and it would be nice once 2GB sticks drop in price considerably. I've been eyeing the 17" model, with 200 GB of storage.

Anyway, glad to be here and looking forward to some input. FYI, I'm kinda ignorant when it comes to hardware.

I would say that I would go with the faster, yet smaller drive and get a nice portable external as well. I don't like 4200 drive, which I think the 200GB is. Also, not sure if the new chipset will offer a higher cap on RAM, but still 3GB should be fine for awhile. I wouldn't drop the $$ on CS until you are ready to start using it. When you say down the line, it sounds like you may not make much of you spent $$. Buy it when you need it. Same for the 2GB stick as prices only ever go down. I think you will find a MBP just fine for running CS.

 

[Poopface Morty]

Dang, thanks for the quick reply!

Just for clarification, I use Adobe's programs on a regular basis at work and when I was in school, so I wouldn't be suffering from lack of knowledge, and I also need to update my portfolio, so it's not strictly for freelance. I thought about getting it for my current PC (a Toshiba Satellite 17"), but would rather make the switch.

Another thing, I may be entitled to an educational discount in the summer for I'm planning on taking some summer courses. Even with the tuition, that combined with the discounted CS3 is still cheaper than the full version, and it's applicable for commercial use as well (I verified that with two people at adobe and this page).

But yeah, I probably should stick with the 160 drive, for the 200 is a slower drive.

 

[roland.g]

Dang, thanks for the quick reply!

Just for clarification, I use Adobe's programs on a regular basis at work and when I was in school, so I wouldn't be suffering from lack of knowledge, and I also need to update my portfolio, so it's not strictly for freelance. I thought about getting it for my current PC (a Toshiba Satellite 17"), but would rather make the switch.

Another thing, I may be entitled to an educational discount in the summer for I'm planning on taking some summer courses. Even with the tuition, that combined with the discounted CS3 is still cheaper than the full version, and it's applicable for commercial use as well (I verified that with two people at adobe and this page).

But yeah, I probably should stick with the 160 drive, for the 200 is a slower drive.

Sure no problem. One other thing to check with the CS is sometimes, as in with Apple apps and MS Office, educational discounted versions are not available for future upgrades. I was going to get Final Cut Express HD on Apple's educational discount when i was taking some classes but found out I couldn't upgrade it when a new version came out because it was edu. Adobe may or may not have a similar policy.

 

[Poopface Morty]

Actually I forgot to link to this page in the first post, but you can still upgrade.

http://www.adobe.com/education/purchasing/faq.html

Final Cut Pro is a bit outside my scope right now, but I'd love to get into it.

 

[roland.g]

Actually I forgot to link to this page in the first post, but you can still upgrade.

http://www.adobe.com/education/purchasing/faq.html

Final Cut Pro is a bit outside my scope right now, but I'd love to get into it.

Well Final Cut Express is only $299, less with EDU, and has a lot of the features of Final Cut Pro, not to mention it comes with Livetype and Soundtrack. So unless you're doing professional production but want a bit more than iMovie offers, it's a great app at a great price.

 

[Poopface Morty]

Cool, definitely something I'll check out when the time comes. I haven't even had a chance to toy with a Mac since school, so I'm not even sure how robust iMovie is.