[idyll]

i've got a 2 x 2.66GHz mac pro with 3GB of ram at the moment and mostly do work in photoshop cs3. i'm thinking about going to a macbook pro for the mobility but am afraid the decrease in speed will be too big. anyone got any benchmarks or anything that compares the two?

i would of course max it out with ram (4gb) and get a 7200rpm hard drive...

[art_director]

If you're doing high-res retouching with large files and loads of layers then you may want to think twice. If you'e a web guy it won't hurt your productivity.

Trade offs exist. Mobility is nice. Laptop screens aren't so hot for design / retouching work. Sure, you can use them but color is just a guess based upon what angle you view from.

You could always use both a laptop and a desktop. That's what I do.

[OreoCookie]

A few thoughts: if you just edit `smaller' images, e. g. RAWs from a 10+ MP camera or so, a ProBook works just fine. Photoshop uses the extra cores only in certain filters, so at least here, you won't be slowed down by the cpu a lot. Notebook harddrives are slower, but again, this isn't really an issue for `smaller' files. I'm not much into PS, but I love Aperture: it works just fine on my first-gen ProBook with 2 GHz and 2 GB RAM (although I sometimes do run out of RAM). Exporting images is very quick, as is browsing, even with photos taken with my new D80.

The other thing is mobility: to some people (this is a personal preference and depends on your situation as well as the way you work), mobility is far, far more important than having a machine that can do certain benchmarks much quicker.

The screen is also fine, the viewing angle is not as much an issue as people make it out to be: as soon as you type, you're looking straight at the display. I've calibrated my screen and editing photos is just great (I bought a Color Spyder2Express for less than $60 on amazon.com, worked like a charm and is definitely a must). If you want, you can still add a second display (e. g. the ones you already have).

However, art_director is right, if you edit really big files (> 70-100 MB, perhaps), you'll definitely see an impact. I think in your situation, you really need to borrow a ProBook and give it a try.

[idyll]

the last file i just edited was 1.65GB and 400 layers or so.. i would use an external display at home and definitely max it out as much as i could (i was thinking the new 17" with the highest res)

i guess im going to stick with the mac pro for now, since portability isn't an absolute must, as nice as it would be.

[peeb]

But just think of the productivity implications of being able to sit in a coffee shop pretending to yourself that you are working...

[OreoCookie]

That really sounds as if a Mac Pro would be faster. If you think it's tempting, try to edit one of your files on a ProBook. It will work, but you have to decide whether portability outweighs speed here. (IMHO the harddrive will probably make you wait most of the time, not the cpu.)

Sure, you could get an eSATA controller and external SATA drives (which are then as fast as internal drives in your Mac Pro), but I guess that would defeat the purpose of portability.

[art_director]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

A few thoughts: if you just edit `smaller' images, e. g. RAWs from a 10+ MP camera or so, a ProBook works just fine. Photoshop uses the extra cores only in certain filters, so at least here, you won't be slowed down by the cpu a lot. Notebook harddrives are slower, but again, this isn't really an issue for `smaller' files. I'm not much into PS, but I love Aperture: it works just fine on my first-gen ProBook with 2 GHz and 2 GB RAM (although I sometimes do run out of RAM). Exporting images is very quick, as is browsing, even with photos taken with my new D80.

The other thing is mobility: to some people (this is a personal preference and depends on your situation as well as the way you work), mobility is far, far more important than having a machine that can do certain benchmarks much quicker.

The screen is also fine, the viewing angle is not as much an issue as people make it out to be: as soon as you type, you're looking straight at the display. I've calibrated my screen and editing photos is just great (I bought a Color Spyder2Express for less than $60 on amazon.com, worked like a charm and is definitely a must). If you want, you can still add a second display (e. g. the ones you already have).

However, art_director is right, if you edit really big files (> 70-100 MB, perhaps), you'll definitely see an impact. I think in your situation, you really need to borrow a ProBook and give it a try.

As usual, OC nails it. That said, I'd still caution you on the screen. For professional users who live and die by color matching, a laptop won't cut it unless you use an external screen. If your needs aren't on that level then you can get by just fine.

[ssherman]

Hey idyll.
I'm trying to reach you on ur MBP deal.
Your mailbox is full.
I'm good with our deal.It's Friday the 3rd of Aug.
Stephen