Graphics User Looking to switch to mac

Ok I did a search on forum and couldn't find it and also look on mac store. If this exist please just post the thread to redirect me.

I am a graphic designer and I a longtime PC user. I am looking to make the switch and since I have a 22" LCD monitor, the macbook is very appealing to me because when at home i can just hook it up to that and also have a very nice portable laptop.

As far as which macbook model to get is where I am having problems I know the entry level aluminum one is the P7350 @2ghz and the high end one is P8600 @ 2.4ghz. Either way I will be most likely upgrading the ram to 4gb but which processor should i go with? I get mixed reviews from apple friends some say I will definitely notice the cpu difference while some say it is only marginal in real world use. MY most intense program will be illustrator/photoshop / multi-tasking.


Any input would be greatly appreciated thanks.

 

its difficult to say. how extreme is your photoshopping/multitasking? i'm inclined to say that you won't notice a big difference but that really hinges on how hard you push your computer.

 

Multitasking would be like Illustrator/Photoshop/2 Web Browser windows + tabs/Multi-IM client/Itunes/ running

As far as CPU Intense just editing/creating illustrator/photoshop files. Although most of my graphic work is either for web or if its for print its not like massive 100mb files for the most part.

 

I ll suggest you to get 2.4 macbook,but from ebay,where you can find th 2.4 model for the price of 2.0

 

Xirurg I been looking on ebay and can't seem to find the 2.4ghz/250gb version for 1200-1300 anywhere.

 

let me try...I bought my 2.4 for ~1000$ with cashback btw

EDIT: WoW,cashback is 14% ATM

 

Finding a brand new macbook aluminum 2.4ghz/250gb hdd for that price with valid warranty i would myself i think

 

Or you can go with a Macbook Pro 2.66Ghz.. which is the one that I use for photoediting and other stuff and still very portable, Im a airplane pilot and Im always out of home and is very light (since I had a 17" Dell Inspiron which is like a dinosaur LOL)

 

This is off topic a little bit, but it just came across my mine. ACtually, my macbook monitor totally blows my normal 22" samsung monitor away. I noticed this especially when I were sorting my pictures. Unless I will have an extraordinary LCD monitor in the future, otherwise, I will stick with my macbook screen when doing the graphic works. So, I think a macbook with bigger screen is even a better idea, I think they called it a macbook pro

 

ejsella - I currently have a 14.1" HPDV2000T and love its small portability but if im doing graphics its either at home on my monitor or hooked up to my large monitor at work. So if im on the go traveling I really dont need that extra weight/bulkiness and would prefer not to have it, although the extra inputs and true dedicated gpu card would be nice but I can't justify the price because I dont really play games and if i do they are all currently games that my crappy NVIDIA go 7200 can handle.

 

Im not made of money

 

no offense m8,but how bad should your 22 monitor be to be blown-out by macbook's screen?

 

Xirurg I was able to find the higher end macbooks for around 1450-1500 with 200 cashback, yet to find one that would bring it down to 1000.

 

I guess I was lucky also,the "choice" is very small ATM since there are only few sellers.

 

>.< My Samsung 2233 just not good, maybe it is just my case. For example, I have a brown crumpler winston fleece, it has a deep brown color with a lighter brown edge. On my Samsung, I couldn't even tell the difference in these two color; on the other hand, when I look at it in macbook, the two brown colors were clearly distinctive. I didn't notice the difference untill I move the picture to macbook screen. The Samsung 2233BW has several options for user to choose, Options like internet browsing, text, gaming, and dynamic contrast,etc. I tried all of them, not one gave me a better result. But if I just normally use the 22" for surfing and writing stuff, it is totally fine.

 

i'll go out on a limb and suggest the 2.0 macbook. i dont think the processor is going to hold you back as much as ram in terms of multitasking. get the 2.0 aluminum book, get 4gb of ram from newegg and upgrade your hard drive to a 7200rpm one. that should provide you with plenty of speed for your purposes.

 

Sorry, yea, my post was kindda off topic too

 

Agree. no much difference in the 2.0 and 2.4 version besides the illuminated keyboard I went with a 2.0 one, and constantly keeping track of the memory usage, and it seems it does use up memory fast, so add more ram is definitely good.

 

I <3 my MacBook 2.4GHZ

Even though im not a pro-MacBook user, I still used CS2 that I have and iLife etc...

Everything FLIES,the extra 400MHz make a difference!
So does the extra GB's
Pricewise... sure when you think about it lasting at least 2-3 years and from there on still being super strong (Thanks to Snow Leopard that will enable true dual core support and open CL for graphics )

 

Well I dont play games neither, so basically I'm very overpower, but in terms of future I dont want to be stuck 3years because I choose a little bit more powerfull laptop. So keep that in mind, you have an external screen and thats good, but better grphic cards will help you in a couple of years when you need it.

 

the difference between a 2.4 and a 2.0 is so small that you really aren't going to notice the difference. as far as future proofing goes 3 years from now the difference between a 2.4 and a 2.0 will be even more insignificant than it is today.

as far as graphics cards go,

The programs your using are not gfx intensive and the integrated nvidia graphics will work just fine for your needs. Yes i know it seems odd that graphics programs wouldn't really use the graphics card but believe me it's true, i speak from experience.

You will more than likely want to purchase 4gb ram after market, and a 320GB 7200RPM laptop hard drive is running about $100 last time i checked. these are both easy upgrades even on a mac.

given your situation, you shouldn't feel like you have to get a macbook pro because honestly, unless you are creating 3-d content (autocad, cgi, zbrush, maya, blender, 3ds max) or playing recent games.. you don't need a dedicated card.

 

No you would want a 500GB 7200RPM running for $100
4GB for sure (6GB if you can afford 4GB DDR3 + 2GB DDR3 Ram Modules)

With Snow Leopard we will have Grand Central for TRUE Dual Core and Open CL for GPU tasks, so everything will be getting more powerful once that comes out and with each update after that...

 

Humm would you please explain better the Snow Leopard thing??... I understand a little but not completely.

 

Just thought I'd share my experience as I was in a similar position and bought a Macbook Pro.

I've used PC's for the past ten years and before that I used Macs. The MBP looked like a great machine so I thought I'd switch and use it as a desk top replacement for my PC, and hook it up to my 24" monitor.

The good stuff:

The MBP is built better than any other laptop out there. I know there's a whole thread here saying there are other laptops that are more damage proof, but build wise my personal opinion is that the MBP is in a class of it's own.

The machine is fast. You'll notice the difference in speed immediately as you won't need to run system hogging firewall software, and OS X is a lot faster than Vista.

Battery life is incredible - I was getting 5 hours of battery life.

The bad stuff:

You have to buy an adapter to use your monitor with the Mac.

The adapter gets in the way of other cables as it's clunky, and all the ports are jammed next to each other so connecting cables is clumsy. If you're using it as a desktop replacement with an external monitor and keyboard this will get on your nerves and leave your desktop looking like an explosion in a spaghetti factory.

USB modems aren't supported by Mac OS X (I was told this by Apple themselves), so I had to buy a new modem.

It gets very hot, and you can't turn off the Mac screen when using an external display when running the MBP on batteries.

No card readers...this is a pain, and although you can buy USB card readers you're unlikely to have a spare socket as there's only 2 available.

The really bad stuff:

Mouse acceleration can't be switched off.

This last thing was why I returned my MBP. If you haven't used a Mac for some time I would advise trying one out as the mouse action is radically different to using a PC, and if you're creating graphics (which I was), then I found using a mouse with the MBP impossible. I tried 5 different mice and baout 25 different drivers and cludges but nothing fixed it.

If you get a chance to test it with Illustrator then even better...try drawing a circle with the mouse. It's virtually impossible.

I would definitely advise a test run if you live near an Apple store.

 

Snow Leopard will be the next OS X

Right now its Leipard...

In Snow Leopard Apple will have new features and advancements called "Grand Central" and "Open CL" among thousands of other, most are invisible system tweaks and are for performance...

Grand Central will allow our Macs to use our 2 Processors way more efficiently (Many programs can still only use 1 core) (Only on Dual Core Macs obviously)

Open CL will allow our macs to use a new GPU standard that can help us play more games and also use our GPU to make calculations (for programs or games) that usually a processor can do (GPU's are wicked powerful, we just need to learn how to tap into its power asides for graphic rending like games and decoding video)


http://www.apple.com/macosx/snowleopard/




Your Welcome,

 

So you're using a pc again? Can you just use a pc mouse and change the right click settings or whatever? the card reader thing kind of sucks and like you mentioned lot of little annoying things that dont really thing heavily about. Lot of money for little ports ugh.

Maybe i should consider an imac

 

you should know what you're getting when you're buying the mbp and unfortunately a wide array of ports isn't one of them. i will however add that:

-my macbook pro (and basically everyone's around here) does NOT get really hot. ever. it idles at about 45 C on the integrated chip and around 50 C on the 9600gt.

-the video adapter issue sucks but it doesn't get in the way.... it's SMALLER than either a dvi, vga, or an hdmi slot so it actually makes more room for your other cables

-no macbook has ever had a card reader

-mouse acceleration is personal preference. frankly, i have no trouble at all going between my vista media center and my macbook pro. it doesn't take long to get used to.

 

It's not the right click issue, as I was using a PC mouse anyway, for me I found the action of the mouse completely unusable for accurate graphic work, which if you're using Illustrator you'll probably be doing too.

It's something called 'mouse acceleration'. Apparently Vista has it too, but unlike Vista Leopard doesn't let you switch it off. This causes your mouse to travel further when you're using it quickly, or shorter distances when you move it slowly.

You're probably wondering why this would cause a problem, so try the circle test. When you draw a circle you naturally slow down at the end of the circle to ensure the two points meet. Do this with the MBP mouse and as you slow down the distance you travel on screen shortens and you end up with a spiral. Another test is to try and write your name. You'll naturally change speed with the mouse when drawing freehand, and the movements on screen change as a result.

Basically I would have to change the whole way I work just to accommodate this issue, which is just ridiculous as I should be able to switch it off.

I'm sure most Mac users are either used to this action, or maybe they don't do detailed work with a mouse. It wasn't so bad when I used my graphics tablet but I've been drawing with a mouse for nearly 20 years and I don't want to stop just because of a Mac OS quirk.

I also noticed my wrist aching after using it for a day or two, which has never happened with the PC, so my experience with it was that it caused more of a strain on my wrist, and I'm not going to increase my risk of getting RSI just for a pretty box.

I tried a few iMacs in a store yesterday, all with Apple mice, and all had the same irritating action.

Really? Maybe you should check this forum - I've seen quote a few posts from owners concerned about this. My mac was going way over 60 before I became concerned and switched on the SMC fan control.

It does get in the way. The adapter cable is about 4cm long, and so you end up with a clunky connection a couple of centimetres from your connections. As a piece of design it's a complete cludge. Yes the socket itself is SMALLER, but it just relocates the connection onto your desk instead of internally.

That's a shame, I use the card reader in my PC at least once a day to transfer files or photos.

It's not a personal preference, as you're not given the option to have a preference.

It also depends what sort of work you're doing. Personally I'm not prepared to completely change the way I work just because Apple have removed the option to switch this ridiculous effect off. You used to be able to do this, so why remove this option? Going by the amount of requests from users I've seen, third party cludges and drivers trying to fix the issue I'm not the only person to have found it an irritation.

Anyway, back to the OP's question - this is just my personal experience. Maybe I'm too fussy or stuck in my ways. As I said before I would advise trying one out with a mouse first. You never know you might actually prefer it.

 

Jejeje thanks, I read a little bit about Snow Leopard, but didn't understand the Grand Central and other stuff. So...basically I'll wait for it to upgrade my OS X Leopard

 

maybe you should check the number of people that are quite happy with the temps of their macbooks... it far outnumbers the people who have issues. be sure to know that people who dont have problems dont report their lack of issues.

in your opinion it gets in the way. i dont think it does. i would rather have the clunky dvi adapter a few inches away from my notebook than right up next to it.

..............so then why did you ever get a macbook? did you not know it never has had (and never will have) a card reader?

enjoy your pc laptops. its not apple's prerogative to please everyone.

EDIT: as i re-read your post it struck me that you were very unwilling to change how you work. most people - myself included - who made the switch to mac after years of PC use are open-minded and willing to try new things and new ways of accomplishing similar tasks. personally i couldnt be happier and i now work much faster in osx than in windows... sadly, i dont think you're in that category and your jaded experience is certainly in the minority.

 

I'm sure they are, I was responding to your statement:

"my macbook pro (and basically everyone's around here) does NOT get really hot. ever."

and simply adding my own experience of using the machine - that it became extremely hot, and that this has also been reported by other users.

You appear to be categorically stating that this doesn't happen, which isn't the case.

It gets in the way. If it plugged straight into the MBP then it wouldn't. As it is it dangles over your USB cables, so that when you plug in or unplug a cable you have to squeeze it under the adapter. That's not my 'opinion', that's what actually happens. I should imagine trying to insert a USB drive when the adapter is plugged in would be a major manoeuvre.

Not having a card reader wasn't a deal breaker for me. As I pointed out the MBP is a great machine and there were lots of plus points that made the lack of a card reader less of an issue. The reason I sent it back was, for me, the inaccuracy and inflexibility of the OS in regard to mouse acceleration.

I had noticed.

I've been using PC's for the last ten years, Macs too on occasion, and used Macs for 7 years before that. I am very happy to change from one OS to another, it's not a problem for me and I can adapt quickly.

I was happy to move to Leopard, and in fact overall I loved it. I'm not a fan of Vista, and I hate having to run security software on a PC. Leopard was a breath of fresh air, and it was blissful not having to run Norton or McAfee in the background. These were the main reasons for switching to a Mac AGAIN.

What I (personally) cannot accept though is an unusable mouse. As a digital artist/illustrator/designer I like to use the mouse to draw with, as well as a graphics tablet, and the MBP mouse support was appalling.

Contrary to your statement there have been a lot of people switching from the Mac because of this issue and a quick search will reveal plenty of articles, forum and blog posts complaining about it.

My recommendation to the OP is that they should try a mouse with a MB first before committing their hard earned cash. As I've said before they might like it, but personally I'd recommend they check it out first because I hated it.

 

Think of it as this:

Single Stop, Single Line Train Station... one in one out (Current, most of the time)

GRAND CENTRAL *station* 2 Lines, 2 in, 2 out, DUAL (Snow Leopard)


Basically instead of having a program using your DUAL CORE processor, most programs only use ONE of the TWO CORES, so once Snow Leopard comes out we will be able to have programs that can use BOTH CORES

No this isnt going to be DOUBLE SPEED instantly, but it will greatly increase programs that use alot of power or need to run multiple tasks at once like video editing, music encoding/decoding, video decoding/encoding whatnot etc...

Programs should load faster, react faster, run more programs etc...



Its really simple, yet complex when you think about it too hard...

 

guess its different for everyone.. your very use to how a mouse should work for your artistry... I guess I'm the opposite.. I love how the mouse works for its great precision and ease of use.. I cant stand using it in Windows anymore after getting used to OSX.... I will say some tablets and mouseses I have used in OSX did run really badly and were hard to use until i found the proper drivers, many couldn't plug and play without them... but most I've used on OSX machines run fantastic with no fixes.

 

Are you using the new MBP with a non Apple mouse?

I tried about 5 different mice and about 25 different drivers and 'fixes' and in most cases there was no difference, and at best the problem was replaced by something else, such as a jittery pointer.

I hope I'm not coming across as a Mac hater..I actually think that overall the MBP is the best laptop out there...it's just that the mouse acceleration effect makes it too inaccurate for my use.

Just got my refund through, and I have to say Apple have been fantastic. Their support and customer care is in a whole different league to companies like Dell.

I'm very disappointed to have had to return it. I'll be keeping my eye out for Snow Leopard though, and if they re-introduce the option to switch off mouse acceleration then I'll definitely be switching back.

Unfortunately though at the moment PC's provide a better environment for my work.