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Cloud · Sep 23, 2005, 11:40 AM

Hi I'm new to these boards and this is my first post. I've used Mac before but not extensively because I'm pretty much all PC.

Anyway I have to buy a Mac now because of work. I'm a graphic designer and I know tons and tons of people in the industry use Macs over PCs.

So I'm thinking of getting a Power book with these specifications:

1GB DDR333 SDRAM - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
100GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
8x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
1.67GHz PowerPC G4 w/128MB VRAM dual
AirPort Extreme Card
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
15.2-inch TFT Display

Does anyone know if the programs i will use (photoshop, illustrator, quark, flash, indesign etc) will run fast on these? I'm using a PC now....

P4 3.0 Ghz, 1 gig or RAM, 160 GB hard drive on a RAID configuration. And I'm very happy with my performance on this. I don't really have to wait for things to load, save, open and use internet etc. which is what I love about it.

I'm wondering if the Powerbook (with those specs) will run just as fast or faster than what I am using now on my PC.

Keep in mind I am doing graphic design so I'm using a lot of those programs, and I want that portability which is why I have ruled out an iMac G5. But it the Powerbooks are really slow... then I guess I will have to buy an iMac. Also will there be any other FASTER better performing Powerbooks coming out by December? Cause that's when I'll be buying an Apple... wheather its an Powerbook or iMac.

Thanks for your help.

Randman · Sep 23, 2005, 11:50 AM

Consider getting more ram. 1.5GB is nice but if you can go for the full 2GB, your Mac will love you. Also, make sure that the 15 is enough for you. Many graphic designers prefer the 17. And it is difficult to go back once you have worked on a 17.

TimothyJay · Sep 23, 2005, 12:23 PM

I have a similar pc configuration as yours, and when I compare it to my PowerBook which is listed in my signature, I would say that the PowerBook is slightly slower than my PC. Load time is slightly slower, but not too much. But I've come to realize that it is normal for notebooks to be slower than desktops, more or so because of the hard drive speed?

I would say though, I think you'd be satisfied with the PowerBook configuration you listed. And I agree with Randman, get more ram. I only have 1gb, which is fine for me, but when I have many programs open (CS2 Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Acrobat, and other programs such as AIM, etc.) all at the same time, I notice a difference in speed and performance. So until I can upgrade to a full 2gb of ram, I'm happy with my 1gb of ram for now.

Cloud · Sep 23, 2005, 04:57 PM

Thanks for the input.

Ya the only reason why I don't think I'm going with the 17" is because portability might be hard to lug around. Also I'm thinking the battery won't last ask long (even if it 4hrs tops... so they say) and the 15" will save me about $300-400. I haven't ruled out 17 yet... but within 2 years I'm sure I'll buy another compter (which is why I don't want to go ALL ALL out on this one).

I know that laptops are slower than computer that are currently out there. You'll never find a laptop thats faster than a desktop or imacs for example. I've always known that.

I will for sure get 1GIG of ram.... but now I'm considering 2GIGs because I will have a lot of programs opened at once. I usually have 4-5 roughly. But there are times where I'll have 6-8 and on the internet and so I wouldn't want things to slow down on me.

Anyone else for input?

iREZ · Sep 23, 2005, 05:10 PM

cue randman with a 'the 17" is just as portable as the 15" powerbook' post...

i keed i keed randman

powerbook is definitely able to run all those programs, but if i were you...id get the ram from a 3rd party for alot less than what apple is charging. i use all the latest design software to the fullest on my machine and it still chugs along great...and the one you're gonna purchase will blow mine outta the water, hope this helps.

tooki · Sep 23, 2005, 05:26 PM

I agree with what everyone's telling you -- I'm a 15" AlBook owner myself. It's plenty fast, as long as you have a ton of RAM. I get RAM from Crucial, it's top quality and a lot cheaper than Apple's.

But one other option to consider: a 12" iBook or PowerBook plus an external screen when you're at home. The 15" is portable, but smaller is even easier.

tooki

Meijin · Sep 23, 2005, 07:51 PM

Originally Posted by Cloud

So I'm thinking of getting a Power book with these specifications:

1GB DDR333 SDRAM - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
100GB Ultra ATA drive @ 5400 rpm
8x SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
1.67GHz PowerPC G4 w/128MB VRAM dual
AirPort Extreme Card
Backlit Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
15.2-inch TFT Display

Does anyone know if the programs i will use (photoshop, illustrator, quark, flash, indesign etc) will run fast on these? I'm using a PC now....

P4 3.0 Ghz, 1 gig or RAM, 160 GB hard drive on a RAID configuration. And I'm very happy with my performance on this. I don't really have to wait for things to load, save, open and use internet etc. which is what I love about it.

I'm wondering if the Powerbook (with those specs) will run just as fast or faster than what I am using now on my PC.

1. I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more RAM. I have this model (1.67GHz; 2GB RAM; 128MB VRAM; 100GB HD; 15" display) and it shipped with 1GB. The bump to 2GB made things more liveable.
2. Your utility depends on what you're doing and how you're doing it. If you're doing general web production work (slicing, dicing, placing, etc) it's fine. If you're working with huge files, it will be a bit slow and you'll find yourself wanting for screen space. But if you can hook up to an external screen, it makes life a bit easier.
3. Same with Flash. I found Flash's panel hell to be annoying on this screen, but if your Flash work tends to be more actionscript-driven than a lot of timeline animation, you'll find it's not so bad. For the record, I used the previously mentioned config for six months on a contract earlier this year, and aside from panel hell during timeline animation, I had no real complaints with Flash on this system.
4. If you do much scripting of stuff in Photoshop/CS/etc, the computer is a dog compared to the pentium. (Sorry, it's true. But oddly enough, it can smoke a PC at batch conversion of PSDs to JPGs.)
5. I don't use Quark and I rarely am in InDesign so I can't comment. I would be sure that larger documents would slow it down.
6. Illustrator was great, aside from limited screen space, but if you use LiveTrace or LivePaint, be prepared to wait. To be fair to this config, I haven't really seen LivePaint work in a capacity that I would call "quick" on any system.

So, as you would expect: if you find yourself needing a lot of real estate in general, you're going to want to be able to hook up to a monitor. If you can work in smaller areas or you do a LOT of scripting/coding, it's unbeatable. If you spend a lot of time in Flash on the timeline, slow. If you work with huge files in Photoshop or Illustrator, slow-ish.

But, as I said, I did a six month stint with one of these as my main computer 90% of the time and it's definitely useable. (I was glad to go home to a higher-res screen at the end of the day, though.)

Do yourself a favor and get some sort of alternate input, though. That pad is not meant for any extensive input. I used the Bluetooth mouse and it was great for general-purpose use.

sxates · Sep 24, 2005, 12:24 AM

My 1.9ghz Athlon Desktop with 1.5GB of ram runs circles around my 1.5ghz 2GB 15" PB. The PB is behind the performance curve at this point, so don't expect it to compete with your desktop. It does alright for most things, but a PC notebook of similar price will be noticably faster.

But a PC notebook won't be solid aluminum

rhythmicmoose · Sep 24, 2005, 01:25 AM

The biggest slowdown will be the hard drive. If I were you, I'd consider skipping on Apple's hard drive upgrade and instead going for this: http://techrestore.com/xcart/home.php?cat=310

If performance is absolutely critical and the money is not an issue, you'll probably appreciate the difference between Apple's 5400 rpm drives and these 7200 rpm models.

Randman · Sep 24, 2005, 02:14 AM

Also, the 15s and 17s have hot swoppable batteries. Just put them to sleep and change the batteries.

And just to make Irez happy:

The 17s are portable enough.™

powerbook911 · Sep 24, 2005, 02:30 AM

This is a nice stick of Crucial memory that is available at Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145068

1 gig stick for $120, and the Crucial name.

Dakkon · Sep 24, 2005, 03:44 AM

One thing that i don’t think anyone mentioned, the mac is a much more enjoyable computer to work on.. I use to be a PC only guy my self, did photo editing/video editing.. then got a job at a shop that had mac’s for the photo editing, and decied to get a PB… and found that the mac is a much more enjoyable machine to work on, even though every mac I have ever owned have only been maybe ½ as fast as my desktop pc, I wind up spending 90% of my time on my mac..

Right now, my desktop is a dual 2.8ghz Xenon with 2 gigs of ram and serial ata raid array. While my pb, is a 15” 1.5ghz with 2 gig of ram… right now the only thing I use my desktop for is watching tv.. pci HD TV tuner card..

iREZ · Sep 24, 2005, 04:03 AM

you the (rand)man!!!!

sfgiantsfan · Sep 24, 2005, 05:17 AM

im a graphic designer and i LOVE my 15" powerbook

B Gallagher · Sep 24, 2005, 07:13 AM

replacing the hard drive yourself voids the warranty, right? is it possible to get a tech at an apple shop to replace the HD for you, and keep the Book in warranty? :O

Cloud · Sep 24, 2005, 06:40 PM

Hey guy I got a question. If I buy a better harddrive or more RAM.... how would I got about installing it myself? Can I go somewhere to get it installed? I don't want to screw up my computer like that....

I also want a 7200rpm (or faster) harddrive. The Powerbook I want runs at 5400 which is dogshit compared to my PC. Where can I get a good harddrive? Also where can I get that installed?

I use on average 6-8 programs at a time on my PC. Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, Mozilla, MSN, Winamp, Norton is always on.... a few downloading programs (ie. bit torrent or flashfxp) and that's all on a good day. I don't have all those on at once ALL the time but a lot of the smaller ones do stay on. So I'm guessing I'm going to need more RAM.

One more thing too, I work fast on my computer. I need a computer that can keep up with me. If I save something... open large files, tab between windows, drag and drop, cut and paste I need a computer that can handle that. I'm all about shortcuts and I don't like waiting. I always figure that if a computer can work as fast as a human there's no need for me to get one any faster.

iluvmymactoo · Sep 24, 2005, 06:51 PM

The speed difference between a 5400 and 7200 rpm laptop hdd will be negligible. You'd be better off to max the ram as much as possible rather than be concerned with screwing around with hdd.

I run all the apps you mention, including Macromedia and Painter IX, and my 12" Powerbook plugged into a 17" external monitor does very well.