MBP performance...

Hey all... I think this year is the year I'll finally get my PC replaced. The rest of the house is on Mac, but I'm still chugging away with my office Windows box.

I'm really trying to make sense of what the best setup is going to be.

I do web development and graphic design. Right now it's a side business but this is the year (I hope) to convert it to my actual full time gig and get out of the soul vampire that is my corporate job

So I'm kind of trying to figure out what setup to go with because it might be the last setup I'll be able to afford for at least a while. The programs I use won't be super heavy - Adobe Creative Suite CS5, Coda, Music, graphics tablet and that kind of thing.

I'm kind of leaning toward the MBP, but I'm just not sure of the performance. My wife has a 2.4ghz 2010 Mini with 4 gigs of ram, and I really felt that CS5 just kind of acted a little slow for my taste. Can anyone with a MBP attest to it's performance with those programs? I always thought the mini's were pretty similar in specs, but maybe I'm wrong.

So it kinda comes down to a few choices on what to get. Right now I have my own mouse, keyboard and 24" monitor. The main reason I was considering the MBP is to get the extra screen real estate along with the portability. I'll be much more mobile and I've had issues trying to use the iPad with clients - at times it's just a little TOO limited for some applications.

The setups that I've considered is:

Mac Mini + MBA - On this option I'd really have to wait for the Mini refresh and see if the performance is high enough give it a little jump from what I experienced with my wife's. I'd want to just get a refurb Air for the portability.

MBP + Keep all my existing stuff - sort of the all-in-one approach. I'd still have my iPad for ultra mobile needs (go show clients proofs, get contracts signed, etc) Just not sure the lower end MBP's can handle the software.

iMac - If I went this route I think I'd really need to get the 27". Kind of kills any chance of getting a laptop for the full mobile experience on what budget I want to spend. But it does pretty much guarantee I can run everything I want.

Ugh so many options...

 

Yeah I'm seeing the stuff around the refresh which should boost these up a bit. But I'm not seeing how the MBP's blow away the mini's in general - the 15" seem to but not any of the baseline 13". Am I interpreting that right?