[mak_attack]

Hi,

I am a long time Windows user and have decided to switch to Apple as I am using them more and more for my course and work.

The programs i am most likely to run on a regular basis are Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Final Cut, Maya, Toast, Music stuff, Macromedia stuff and various other multimedia design based software.

I do get an education discount and have been looking at the new powerbooks that came out today.

I would like to spend a decent/fair amount in order to get a good return of investment.

I am new to macs for homeuse. I would like the system to run at good performance levels for the mentioned software that i am most likely to use. I would like system to last for a considerable period of time.

i have also looked at the powermacs and imacs.

the portable idea seems to be appealing as i dont have to be bound to one place to do my work

will the system be good for needs or not?

thanks in advance for any help given

[cpac]

you will always pay more for a portable, while at the same time, sacraficing performance.

A Powerbook will certainly run all those programs you mentioned. It will not, however, be nearly as fast as a desktop (whether iMac or PowerMac).

The question you have to answer for yourself is whether having a portable computer is worth it to you.

[Superchicken]

Can't speak to Maya, a would probably be noticeably faster with that. That said, a new 15 inch PowerBook stocked with a gig of RAM at least (if you're doing high end anything get a lot of RAM) and you're good to go.

That said, you always have a trade off with performance with getting a laptop. If you want to do a huge video project it might be better to get a PowerMac with larger and faster hard drives, more RAM, and have all the nice options that come with it. Though for the price of a highest end PowerMac you could get a low end 1.8Ghz G5 and a 12 inch PowerBook haha...

[Visnaut]

I myself use my Powerbook as my main machine for largely the same work as you, mak_attack.

I wholeheartedly agree with the above sentiment of a minimum of 1GB of RAM, especially if you use any more than one of those apps at the same time. Buy more if you can afford it.

Also, if you plan on doing serious video work, I would strongly suggest you get a fast firewire hard drive, and work off of there. Laptop drives, even at their fastest, cannot beat the performance of a nice full-size HD with a beefy cache. Plus you'll have the added benefit that the app/OS is on one drive, and the data on the other, things will to be much smoother that way.

Also, as you already know, a lot of those apps have palettes out the wazoo, so screen real-estate is important. If you plan to work away from home a lot of the time, consider the 17". If not, you can always purchase a smaller PB but just hook up your existing monitor and go dual-screen. I usually keep palettes on one screen, and my work on the other. If you foresee yourself doing this, consider also upgrading the video card to 128MB VRAM.

All in all, if you purchase a reasonably fast PB, and the aformentioned accessories (more RAM, external HD) I'm quite sure you'll be happy with the performance and longevity of it.

[awcopus]

Originally posted by mak_attack:
I would like to spend a decent/fair amount in order to get a good return of investment.

I am new to macs for homeuse. I would like the system to run at good performance levels for the mentioned software that i am most likely to use. I would like system to last for a considerable period of time.

Portable computing is all about convenience. Period. The apps you want to use love memory, I/O bandwidth, and multiprocessor muscle that are lacking in any portable.

If you want a system that's going to enable you to experience great performance in the apps you mentioned, and to do so for a few years, then this is a horrible waste of money for you. Get a dual 2 or 2.5 powermac, load it up with at least 4GB RAM, upgrade to the X800XT graphics card, a Sonnet 4+4 SATA card, and load up a couple of SATA HDs. You will be thrilled with your experience of Final Cut Pro, Maya et al. for years to come.

For FCP and Maya and other apps of this type, you will want a scratch disc, where you will put the assets you work with, NOT your boot disc. Yes, the new Powerbooks have 5400 rpm drives, but in truth, video editing with serious assets at full resolution is impossible at that speed, and though Firewire externals are an option, there aren't optimal.

You can always add an iBook or PowerBook to your computing experience later. For now, it just doesn't seem to make much sense for you to be working in those apps on a computer that's not as fast as the last PowerMac G4 Apple ever made, the dual 1.42 G4.

Go with a G5 duallie desktop.

[tictactoe]

I think this picture speaks for itself:




I'm running Safari, Mail, iChat, iTunes, Photoshop CS, iCal, and Windows XP in Virtual PC.

Specs on my 12" PB, 1.33ghz, 1.25gb ram .