[dmlpbg4]

Anyone have any color accuracy issues hooking an external display to a MB? (i.e. does the x3100 integrated graphic chip provide any color issues that could show up on an external display?)

Would use for photoshop / lightroom.

[OreoCookie]

There can't be any difference, the color accuracy solely depends on your monitor's color profile and not on the graphics chip.

There are two exceptional points (but neither MacBook nor MacBook Pro are any different), both are not relevant here:
(1) There are specialized graphics cards and monitors that go beyond 8 bit-per color accuracy. They are expensive and if you had one, you'd know. Plus, AFAIK there are only desktops which can do that.
(2) If you still have a monitor with VGA-input, then the quality of the RAMDAC (the DA converter) influences the quality of the image you get (mostly important for stark contrasts). This is a non-issue if you have a monitor with digital DVI-in. This has nothing to do with the GPU used in your computer, though.

[OreoCookie]

You wrote (in the other thread) that you use a 20" Eizo, would that still be a CRT or is it an LCD? If it is a CRT, you should definitely replace it.

[dmlpbg4]

Thank you for your post - sincerely.

It is a LCD, less than a year old. Uses DVI. I suppose I had some worry with the MB that the miniDVI to DVI cable that it requires could affect color or picture quality. It appears not. And my concern originated from an Ars Technica article -- but there the reviewer was using a VGA connection, which, as I understand, was likely the root of the problem.

Thanks again.

[OreoCookie]

Oh, nice. Eizo displays are the best, not the cheapest, but very, very good.
You won't have any problems with that then, digital connections are immune to this problem (either the connection works or it doesn't).

Is your screen calibrated?

[dmlpbg4]

Yes, Eizo displays are spectacular. My thought was to spend the money there, rather than the "best" computer -- as you only need so much horsepower for photoediting, which is my only "power" use of the computer.

Yes, calibrated with Spyder2, hooked up to a Powerbook G4 1.67.

Now, as you may have noticed on my other posts, it is just a question of whether a MB will suit my needs, or if I need to dish out the extra $$ for the MBP b/c of (1) the graphic card and (2) the screen (for the limited editing I sometimes, infrequently, do on the actual laptop screen).

I'll probably give up and stick with my powerbook. At some point indecision wins.

[OreoCookie]

Why would you want to do that? Either machine is a lot, lot faster than your current PowerBook. Get one of the two and be done with it. If money isn't even that much of an argument, why are you still thinking about it?