I'm a designer and run Adobe illustrator often, wanted to ask this community if I could run it on the new rMB. Also, I'm aware Skylake is around the corner, and wondered what the consensus was on waiting? I've had my current laptop for far too long and have been waiting for the rMB in the rumor mills for over a year and am looking to upgrade, but not if visibly better performance is there.
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rMB processor
- Thread starter Atimix
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Macbook will probably be faster than your current Mac. If you have an old Mac with 4Gb RAM and a harddrive, the new Macbook will run Illustrator that much faster.
SSD and 8Gb RAM will speed up and unless Illustrator demands prolonged use of the CPU, the Macbook will probably run Illustrator fine.
You should wait for some review of the CPU performance since the new Macbook is fanless the CPU will throttle quite quickly.
I would wait on the real world reviews, if the new MacBook can run without throttling it may be worth a look, equally it wont be a powerhouse and I would be more inclined to go for a 13" MBPr if portability is a concern or the 15" MBPr for the sheer performance.
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Q-6
I've been using Photoshop and Illustrator since 1999. Without having access to the new rMB I would assume you will not be able to run (smoothly) Illustrator depending on what you're using it for. It uses considerable processing power compared to Photoshop (which probably will be usable on the rMB) depending on what you're using it for.
That being said, it's anyone's guess at this point. Because software plays such a crucial role in how well a computer functions, we all have to wait until the device launches before assuming what software it can smoothly operate.
That's one reason why I opted for a 15" rMBP. I had a 13" MBP but found it too constraining. It will work, but you are sacrificing a good amount of screen real estate.
If your livelihood depends on using your computer for graphics intensive work - why would you not go ahead and buy the Pro? The prices aren't too far off. The rMB could probably do what you want - you may still have to wait for benchmarks. But if time is money for you; I would get the machine that would get the job done as fast as possible for my clients.
Thanks for all the replies! Honestly the portability is a huge thing to me, I will have an iMac for home but when I'm out, and that's often, I need it to be portable. The MBP can be a bit of a monster and the air lacks retina. I'll have to wait for benchmarks like you all suggested, is there a resource that shows how much demand illustrator uses? I am unable to find anything. And if anyone is aware when does Skylake come out, and would the minor upgrade be worth it in your opinion?
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There will always be something new in technology that will offer another increment to what you have. Say, once Skylake comes out, there will be rumors swirling about how amazing Skypond, or whatever it is after Skylake, "could" be.
Unless, the general consensus is that an update is imminent - i.e, within the next few weeks; it is not worth it to put your livelihood on pause for a distant upgrade. Given Intel's history over the past few years starting from Sandy Bridge; none of the yearly upgrades have been a bridge too far for any machine.