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ubbman · Oct 11, 2006, 02:26 AM

Hi,
I've currently got a 12" PowerBook G4 and a P4 3.0 ghz shuttle desktop. I'd really like to switch to just one computers, but had a few questions first.
Obviously the speed difference between these two is huge. For example, I can open a Mozilla browser on my PC, load up 35 tabs, and not notice any slowdown--if I did this on my PowerBook with 512 RAM, it'd slow to a crawl. I'd really like to use high-end programs like Aperture and Photoshop. While Photoshop runs alright on my current Powerbook, it is not a very smooth experience, even when I hook it up to my 20" lcd.
So my main quesiton is, would a 15" MacBook Pro with a gig of RAM run programs such as Aperture, Photoshop as smoothly as my PC runs similiar programs? To go back to the Mozilla example would I be able to do things like open several tabs under Safari or Mozilla and not experience slowdown? I'm just trying to get a feel for how fast these things really are.

thanks,

Bob

mark.s · Oct 11, 2006, 08:50 AM

Hi,

The MBP with a Core Duo is just so much faster than any G4 Powerbook.

I was in a similar situation to you - I had a 1.8 SP G5 and an Athlon 64 4000+ Shuttle (SN25P). I replaced both of these with a 15" MBP. I'm really happy with the performance, but of course YMMV.

One thing to consider - the more memory the better, especially when it comes to running applications under Rosetta. I went for 2GB on mine, and am glad I did. My wife has a white MacBook 2.0Ghz with 1GB of RAM and the performance difference on non-universal applications is very noticable - Rosetta seems to like a lot of memory.

Sooner or later Photoshop will be Universal and this won't be an issue, but at this point in time you might find the non-UB performance a little disappointing, especially if you have just 1GB of RAM.

Oh, I'm guessing that the reason for the slowdown on your PB probably has a lot to do with you only having 512MB in there - Mac OS X loves RAM.

Hope this helps.

Mark

glhart · Oct 11, 2006, 11:55 AM

I have a PB 1.67 with 2 gigs of RAM, and it runs Photoshop very well. Haven't tried Aperture. Don't get a MBP until Photoshop is universal -- it will run slow and consume huge amounts of RAM (under Rosetta). By then, there should be some upgrades to the MBP and maybe (by some miracle) it will run almost as cool as the PB.

Frugle · Oct 11, 2006, 12:04 PM

Comparing the powerbook, (expecially a 12") to a macbook pro, is almost impossible.

there are so many factors that went into the macbook that make it insanely faster than any powerbook, expecially the jump from DDR 2700, to DDR2 667. The harddrives are faster, the processors are dual core, which gives me a huge imporvment..

take for example, this is all that I have open right now, and I do not notice any speed difference, I believe I could open 3-4times this much before I notice it start to bogg down.
www.draddy.org/mbp/open.jpg

Any core duo PC or Mac will be much much faster than your 3GHz shuttle.

About waiting for PS3, I would dissagree. I have not had a single issue running PS under rosetta...yes maybe if it is your profession, you need it to be as fast as possible, maybe then wait, but if your an average hobbiest like myself, the difference in speed is definantly made up by switching from a 1.33 G4, to a 2.16coreduo. I would say PS runs faster for me..

ubbman · Oct 11, 2006, 01:49 PM

Thanks for the responses. By the time I scrap the money together to get one of these things, PS3 will probably be out so that's not really a concern.
I've thought about upgrading the RAM on my 12" but also thought that the $150 or so that it would cost me would be wasted if I'm going to upgrade the whole machine soon.
Just another couple quick questions if anyone has the time:
Is there a big difference between the 2.0 and the 2.16?
And how well do these machines run XP?
thanks again.

Bob

MattJeff · Oct 11, 2006, 04:59 PM

if you are refering to the MBP speed jump i say get the 2.16 not for the .16 but twice the Vid Card, check it out.

Frugle · Oct 12, 2006, 02:04 AM

Originally Posted by MattJeff

if you are refering to the MBP speed jump i say get the 2.16 not for the .16 but twice the Vid Card, check it out.

yeah, thats why I got the 2.16, the 100 gig drive, and the 256MB X1600.

analogika · Oct 12, 2006, 02:18 AM

You can get the MacBook and run Photoshop in Windows within Parallels until the Universal version comes out early next year.

Perfect interim solution, and very very fast.

ubbman · Oct 12, 2006, 02:56 AM

sounds good. now all I need is the $2500 for the actual notebook. which forum do I post in for that?

seriously though, thanks everyone.

bob

skwid · Oct 12, 2006, 07:08 AM

Hey there. I just got my MBP 15" a week ago. I opted for 2 Gig of RAM, 2.16Ghz, and the 7200RPM 100G hard drive. I have had many apples in the past and let me tell you this is by far the fastest MAC Ever. It seems to hang right up there or pull past my dual CPU G5. Anyway It's a Great computer and I have had ZERO trouble out of it. Everything works and it works fast.

osiris · Oct 12, 2006, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by skwid

Hey there. I just got my MBP 15" a week ago. I opted for 2 Gig of RAM, 2.16Ghz, and the 7200RPM 100G hard drive. I have had many apples in the past and let me tell you this is by far the fastest MAC Ever. It seems to hang right up there or pull past my dual CPU G5. Anyway It's a Great computer and I have had ZERO trouble out of it. Everything works and it works fast.

Good luck! Your specs are my specs, and I may purchase on Monday. It's nice to hear about the the power compared to a G5. And I know the G5s are killer machines to begin with.

MattJeff · Oct 12, 2006, 08:37 PM

ive forced myself to wait for santarosa

SierraDragon · Oct 16, 2006, 06:24 PM

Originally Posted by ubbman

...By the time I scrap the money together to get one of these things, PS3 will probably be out...

You really should wait and repost this question after the money is scrapped together because the world of personal computer hardware/software will change a lot before Adobe's CS3 comes out April 2007.

-Allen Wicks