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    MBP or MB?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by xdominic89x, Mar 9, 2008.

  1. xdominic89x

    xdominic89x Notebook Consultant

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    The uses for my laptop will be:
    Photoshop work, school stuff (information tech. major) and maybe videos and such

    Is it really worth that much more for the MBP?
     
    xdominic89x, Mar 9, 2008
    #1
  2. trueintentions

    trueintentions Notebook Evangelist

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    For your needs, a Macbook would be fine. However, with the MBP, you mightreally appreciate the back lit keyboard, the larger screen, when working with photoshop, and especially seeing as you are studying for information technology.

    Do you have an extra screen to use it with? When you mean "videos", do you mean you'll be editing videos or just watching videos? If you are actually working with videos, I think a MBP would be more suitable. :)
     
    trueintentions, Mar 9, 2008
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  3. xdominic89x

    xdominic89x Notebook Consultant

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    Both viewing and editing.

    This seems viable, thanks.

    Hm, now to whether to dish out the extra for Penryn or not :p
     
    xdominic89x, Mar 9, 2008
    #3
  4. gengerald

    gengerald Technofile Extraordinaire

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    The Penryns are a nice improvement, for most that need the speed over cache. The MBP will be nicer for gaming and will help on the editing side if you need, while it is mainly CPU for rendering. Like True, the Pro additions are great. If you are a IT major, you will probably be installing other OS's and parallels or boot camp will do it, plus Vmachine within will be useful.
     
    gengerald, Mar 9, 2008
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  5. r0k

    r0k Notebook Evangelist

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    Another area they differ is weight. There is only .4 pounds difference but the MBP has a heavier power brick as well. More weight might mean you don't take the computer with you as much. Of course, if all you care about is weight, go for the MBA which has much less than either machine features but is only 3 pounds. I have the Macbook and I'm happy with it. I don't edit video (very often) and I don't play games.
     
    r0k, Mar 9, 2008
    #5
  6. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    The MacBook Pro has a larger screen and resolution, so you may want to consider that since that is useful in Photoshop. But the MacBook will handle those tasks fine as well; depends on whether you want the extra benefits of the MBP or not :).
     
    Sam, Mar 9, 2008
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  7. thecommish16

    thecommish16 Notebook Evangelist

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    Id go MBPRO to be sure.
     
    thecommish16, Mar 10, 2008
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  8. ItsDaKronic

    ItsDaKronic Notebook Consultant

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    If you do alot of photoshop and video editing then go for the PRO. The MBP now comes with a standard 256mb graphics card which is perfect for you I think.
     
    ItsDaKronic, Mar 10, 2008
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  9. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    Well, for Photoshop, the graphics card won't make a difference, as Photoshop is CPU and RAM intensive, not graphics :).
     
    Sam, Mar 10, 2008
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  10. ItsDaKronic

    ItsDaKronic Notebook Consultant

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    I forgot to mention the screen size for photoshop and video editing.
     
    ItsDaKronic, Mar 10, 2008
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  11. dbam987

    dbam987 wicked-poster

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    I'm in the information technology arena like you and went with the MacBook Pro for pretty much the reasons specified above:

    1. Great for running virtual machines
    2. Screen size does come in very handy when working with IDE's
    3. Its thin
    4. The screen is amazing

    For photo and video editing, it's all about the CPU. As stated above, the graphics card is not used when encoding video's or rendering photo's.
     
    dbam987, Mar 11, 2008
    #11
  12. Jokkon

    Jokkon Notebook Evangelist

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    how about getting the macbook and use that extra bit of cash that you save to get a nice external monitor?
     
    Jokkon, Mar 12, 2008
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  13. bmwrob

    bmwrob Notebook Virtuoso

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    That's a pretty good idea, Jokkon, if room is available and the Photoshop work will normally be done where the external monitor would be kept. If this isn't feasible, the larger screen of the MBP certainly would make detailed editing much easier and, IMO, result in better work.
     
    bmwrob, Mar 12, 2008
    #13
  14. hoolyproductions

    hoolyproductions Notebook Evangelist

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    I have a MBP and my main 'pro' use is Aperture and Photoshop.

    For photo-editing on the move, I would defo go for the MBP. I have a 24" external monitor but still do quite a lot of the editing just on my MBP screen - either because I am travelling or I want to process my pics while I am lying on the sofa ;)

    The external monitor is wonderful for detailed work but for the ability to also do 'stand alone' editing pretty much anywhere, I would go with the MBP.

    Having said that the MB is clearly a very capable machine for what you want to do, and you could spend the extra money or 4Gb RAM, external monitor etc, so it would just come down to what you want...
     
    hoolyproductions, Mar 12, 2008
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  15. soccerjoe05

    soccerjoe05 Notebook Guru

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    soccerjoe05, Mar 12, 2008
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  16. Nirvana

    Nirvana Notebook Prophet

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    F430 or Enzo?
     
    Nirvana, Mar 12, 2008
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  17. xdominic89x

    xdominic89x Notebook Consultant

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    Hm, should I wait for the next upgrade or would now be a good time to buy it?

    Refurbished via apple.com runs ~ 1600 with shipping for mbp, I think it's the last model though. Good deal?
     
    xdominic89x, Mar 12, 2008
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  18. Sam

    Sam Notebook Virtuoso

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    If you don't need it yet, then I'd say wait until June-ish...or get it when you need it. If you need it pretty soon, or want it pretty soon, might as well get it now :).

    There are better deals out there, I think on Amazon right now. Normally, yes, that'd be a good deal.
     
    Sam, Mar 12, 2008
    #18