Need advice from Mac savy on Laptop purchase

[jay sturdevant]

I spend so much time image editing that i need to take the show on the road and get a laptop. I'm really

fond of the Mac OS, so I'm thinking of a new Macbook 2ghz or an used Powerbook G4 1.65. Is Adobe CS3

a universal program or is it going through a rosetta translation on the intel models? I've noticed that the

used Powerbooks are still really expensive relative to the entry level Macbooks, are they still the tool of

choice? Any advice from the Mac savy would be appreciated, I can't splash out for a Macbook Pro so I'm

looking at the next best option. At this stage would you go PowerPC or Intel core duo?

[amadou_diallo]

CS3 is a univeral app so you'll benefit from an Intel Mac over a PPC. RAM is one of the

biggest considerations for performance, so budget in the max that the laptop can use. On

the road, of course you have no choice, but laptop screens leave a lot to be desired for

critical image evaluation. Apart from their small size, the viewing angle is limited and edge

to edge illummination can be inconsistent as well. They are notoriously difficult to

calibrate and profile well. So for home use, you may want to look into an external LCD

display.

<br>

Amadou Diallo<br>

Author, <a href="http://www.masteringdigitalbwbook.com">Mastering Digital Black

and White</a>

[ellis_vener_photography]

Get the 15" Macbook, just don't get the RAM from Apple. Sjobs says that Apple will have new MacBooks out in June using LEds for backlighting the screen.

[Brad_]

Macbook is nice - I'd go with 2GB from apple - an extra $175. A little more than the $130

from OWC, but nice that it's covered under the laptop warranty and Applecare, which is good

to get as well. The new machines announced yesterday have larger base HDs.

[jacob_brown]

Macbooks all have 13.3" screens. Ellis must be talking about the Macbook Pro.

 

Macbooks were updated slightly on 5/15/07 to faster speeds and bigger hard drives for the same price, by the way.

[tony_clark]

If this will be your primary computer I would suggest the MacBook Pro. If you are taking it on

location, presenting to Clients or on a budget the MacBook is fine.

[john v.]

I second Ellis's recommendation of getting as much RAM as possible. Although RAM can obtained cheaper from third party vendors, keep in mind that you might have to chuck the factory installed RAM if you upgrade yourself. I believe that both the MacBook and MacBook Pro's only come with two memory slots. If my information is correct, the MacBook comes with two 512Mb DIMMs from the factory, so if you want to boost the RAM to 2 Gigs, you have to get rid of both factory DIMMS and put in 2 1-Gig memory cards. This may not be a problem with the MacBook Pro, as I believe that one comes with only 1 1-Gig DIMM installed, leaving the second memory slot open.

[godfrey]

There's no point in investing in older technology like the G4 now if you can possibly afford

a new system. Both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS3 are fully native on both PowerPC

and Intel hardware now. If you simply can't afford a new system, sure: the PowerBook G4

works ok, if a little slow. (My systems are still PowerPC and I'm getting lots of good work

done with them, looking forward to when I can afford to update to the Intel machines

now.)

 

For a new laptop system, I prefer the larger screen of the MacBook Pro 15", but if you can't

afford it a MacBook 13" would do fine.

 

In either case, get the fastest processor available. 2G RAM and a 160G drive would be how

I bought the machine if I wanted it fully configured from Apple. Otherwise, I'd buy the

faster processor base model and upgrade RAM and drive myself.

 

You'll want an external monitor and a hardware calibration device for critical editing work.

I use the Apple Cinema Display 23" with both my PowerMac G5 and PowerBook G4 ... it's

excellent if pricey. I use the Eye One Display 2 colorimeter to calibrate and profile all

displays.

 

Godfrey

[jt]

"I can't splash out for a Macbook Pro so I'm looking at the next best option"

 

That would be the Macbook. Prices just dropped (in the UK anyway) and speeds went up (yesterday). You can add an external monitor later if/when you can afford it. 2GB RAM is better than 1GB if you're doing anything vaguely complex with your images.

 

Get a big external drive for backup if you don't have one already.

 

Adobe CS3 is Universal and will run faster on a Macbook than a Powerbook G4.

[jacob_brown]

This week's Macbook refresh gets you a white 2.0GHz Core2Duo machine with 1GB memory and an 80GB hard drive for #700 at the UK Apple Store.

 

http://www.apple.com/ukstore/

 

Double the RAM to 2Gb and upgrade to a 160Gb internal drive, and the final price is #900 VAT included, with free shipping.