what graphics card should i get?

[lindsey11]

I am a photographer and I'm looking for a laptop to edit pictures on the go and to meet with and show clients. I already have a 24" Imac that I do the main share of editing on. I currently use Lightroom2 and might purchase photoshop in the future. Im trying to decide which macbook pro to go with. I have narrowed it down to the 15" mbp but I'm debating whether or not to go with the 2.66 ghz with 320gb and the 9600M GT with 256MB graphics card or the 2.53ghz with a 250 gb and the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card. My question is, will the better graphics card make a noticeable difference for the extra $300? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[robbieduncan]

Look at the other threads in this forum. Unless you 100% absolutely need a new computer right this second then wait. We all expect updated, faster MBPs in the next few weeks.

 

[jawa12083]

Wirelessly posted (iPod Touch 2G 8GB: Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)

If you really need one today, and you plan on using it for a few years, definitely go with the 9600gt with 512mb

 

[lindsey11]

Thanks for your input! However, I feel like they are always going to be updating them and making them faster...How big of a difference are we talking about here in a couple of weeks?

 

[Inutopia]

I disagree. I'm a heavy Lightroom user and professional photographer.

it doesn't need a fast GPU at all.

PS on the other hand can use the GPU, but for a mobile workstation you will be just fine with the integrated graphics.

I found my old Mini with a GMA950 (very bad GPU) fine for editing 50Mp Hasselblad Raws, as long as you have a few GB's of RAM you will be fine with any model of MBP.

 

[robbieduncan]

Thanks for your input! However, I feel like they are always going to be updating them and making them faster...How big of a difference are we talking about here in a couple of weeks?

Enough that I'd wait. Apple only update their laptops once or twice a year...

 

[apw100]

The upgraded graphics card will make a minimal difference in PS/Lightroom. A 7200rpm hard drive and RAM upgrade would improve performance more.

 

[Alvi]

Thanks for your input! However, I feel like they are always going to be updating them and making them faster...How big of a difference are we talking about here in a couple of weeks?

Well maybe they could make the 1199$ Low end MBP faster than your 9600GT 256Mb 2,000$ MBP, better wait, I'd wait a week for more RAM, HD, and a better Processor and Graphics card for the same amount i pay, and maybe they come out Tuesday which is sooner than a week! You still have an iMac which means you can wait without as much pain as i've been doing for months on a XP Machine

 

[Jaro65]

Thanks for your input! However, I feel like they are always going to be updating them and making them faster...How big of a difference are we talking about here in a couple of weeks?

You need to consider not only the additional speed (which you actually may not need), but also the impact on the eventual resale value. The upcoming refresh is going to be a major one as it will include a migration to a new CPU. Unless you REALLY need a new computer right now, I suggest waiting another couple of weeks.

 

[MossyForest]

The updates are likely to be insignificant to the average user.

The recession has had an adverse affect on the tech-world.
Much of the technology we have been hearing about has been greatly delayed on any remotely affordable level. Its likely this update will be pretty insignificant to the day to day user at the average price range. Its pretty much a given that the macbook will have a GPU that will switch on and off [ a dedicated GPU + an integrated gpu ], for increased battery power say when not working on that render for the graphic design firm.
Computers have long been at the point where they are more than powerful for most day to day applications. We are approaching a diamond ceiling that will be broken very very slowly. For the most part, current applications resource requirements have been met. If anything, personal computers will get smaller and smaller and suck less and less energy.


Not related but: [Maybe a wireless charger for the macbook?]