MBP or Mac Pro for Web/Video/other uses...help

[hobes270]

Hi all,

I currently have the original MBP 15" and I need a little more power to run photoshop and dreamweaver. The things I will be using it for are:

~Web Design(PS, DW, FL)
~Print Design(PS, ID, IL)
~A little video editing (FCS2)
~Apple TV library (100's of movies)
~Gaming

So if I went to the Mac Pro then I could still use the laptop I have for portable if I ever needed it. If I went with the MBP, I would get an external display and I would imagine I would also have to get a drobo? I am not sure what the best external solution is for a MBP that has expandable space?

I do the occasional gaming, but when I do, it is usually games that are intensive, (Crysis, COD 4). I just want to make the right decision, because these are two totally different machines.

I am not looking for an exact answer, just feedback, in the end, I still have to make the decision...Oh and I will eventually be putting in an SSD.

 

[hobes270]

Ha, uh anyone?

 

[techound1]

I recently had this dilema myself - it sounds like we do a lot of the same things. I tried the Pro route but just wasn't happy. It seemed like it should be blindingly fast on everything and when it wasn't, I was disappointed. I sold that and picked up a new MBP. I knew it wasn't going to be Pro-fast, but it tosses final cut stuff around like it was, um, really easy to toss around. I suspect it's management of expectations - it's not perfect and so I'm happy with however it performs. I did bump the ram up to 8gb - yummy fast! - and put in an intel SSD - ditto on the super-fast boot. The SSD will freak you out on start up until you get used to it not making a spin-up sound .

 

[thegoldenmackid]

I'd say Pro, your current Machine could prbly handle any of your portable needs and I imagine you won't have to worry about doing it all at once...

 

[netwalker]

Hi all,

I currently have the original MBP 15" and I need a little more power to run photoshop and dreamweaver.

What are you MBPs specs?

I am at the same point. MBP (2008) is great for 80% of the things I am doing but the remaining 20% are such a pain, that I am now seriously considering a Mac Pro. HD video editing in FC/FCE beyond simple reviews and cuts just doesn't work well for me on the laptop.

It seems silly, that you might need a Mac Pro for Dreamweaver. That editor really doesn't require 8 cores or super fast graphics. How fast is the hard drive in your current MacBook Pro and do you have enough space left? I just upgraded my MacBook Pro to the new Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB drive. Makes a big difference.