Apple Laptop Question - DPChallenge Forums

08/09/2005 02:17:31 PM · #1

I'm seriously thinking about buying an Apple Powerbook for on-the-road Photoshopping (Would buy CS2 with it).

Looking at the prices, there is a HUGE price difference between the low- end 12" ($1499) and the high-end 17" ($2699). However, processor speed is not so different: 1.50 GHZ vs. 1.67 GHZ.

The question: For those of you who use them, are these powerbooks POWERFUL ENOUGH to seriously run Photoshop without huge speed lags? I'm not familiar enough with Mac products to know how these GHZ ratings compare to the Intel world.

08/09/2005 02:19:12 PM · #2

yes no problems at all with speed in photoshop, they are fast and quiet, I have the 12inch and have no complaints at all.

kjennings

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

08/09/2005 02:19:43 PM · #3

IMO mac's are cool but not worth the money unless you can easily afford it. I got a Dell 600m (only a 14.1 in' SXGA screen but its big enough) with 1gb of ram and an 80 gig HD with 8x cd/dvd+-r burner and the works for about 1500, plus is came with a free dell mini dj (5gig mp3 player) and I love it so far.

08/09/2005 02:21:12 PM · #4

when I am on the road and use my laptop for graphics work its just as good as my desktop. Working in layers with three other programs open is no problem.

Message edited by author 2005-08-09 14:22:10.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/09/2005 02:21:48 PM · #5

The price difference is mainly in the larger screen, more RAM, bigger HD, and SuperDrive (burns DVDs), and maybe more ports. To run PS effectively, you will almost certainly have to add RAM no matter what machine you buy, so figure that into the price as well, but any of the them will run it.

You might consider something in the middle, with a 14" or 15" screen instead, as a compromise. A 12" screen is pretty small for editing photos.

rlinn3

Nikon D100

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/09/2005 02:21:52 PM · #6

I see no differnece in speed from my 12" powerbook to my iMac. I work on Dells and COmpaqs at some of the papers I work with and I see no real speed difference between any of them. I boughtt he 12" because of the price difference and it works fine for me. Good Luck.

Riponlady

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

08/09/2005 02:23:55 PM · #7

We use an iBookg4 and I use it at home for Photoshop in preference to our other computers even at home. the only problem I find is that the screen etc on the mac is so good I have to check my entries on another machine to make sure lesser mortals are also getting a reasonable image.
P

saloonstudios

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L USM

08/09/2005 02:38:59 PM · #8

ive got a 1.25 ghz 15" powerbook and i've added an extra 1gb of RAM to make it 1.5 GB. photoshop runs excellent while i have several other things open. in general i think PS on a mac lags a little bit behind PS running on a PC, but with the way macs are laid out for speed and comfort in the OS, i dont think you'll really notice

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/09/2005 02:49:47 PM · #9

Originally posted by saloonstudios:

... in general i think PS on a mac lags a little bit behind PS running on a PC ...

I think historically real-world testing has shown the opposite. You should be able to find test results (and reviews) at cNet.com.

Message edited by author 2005-08-09 14:50:20.

Konador

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

08/09/2005 02:52:53 PM · #10

I wouldn't be able to cope with photoshop only having 1 mouse button.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/09/2005 03:00:34 PM · #11

Originally posted by Konador:

I wouldn't be able to cope with photoshop only having 1 mouse button.

Laptops use a trackpad instead of a mouse anyway.
Apple has a new two-button mouse (with a built-in trackball) but (surprise!) it's a little pricey.

Message edited by author 2005-08-09 15:01:13.

08/09/2005 03:01:20 PM · #12

I appreciate all the replies so far.

Here's my situation: I currently use PC (home-made Athlon XP 2800 with 1.5G RAM). I own Photoshop CS Standard (full suite), which I paid the "education" price for. I no longer qualify for that. So if I switch to Mac, I'll have to RE-BUY Photoshop. That's a big consideration.

Now, I can get an Alienware laptop (with RAID and the whole bit) for a premium. Pricewise, if I stick with PC, I can get a MAJOR system without having to re-buy Photoshop.

So I guess the question is: Is switching to Mac worth it? The Mac users I know tell me all the pro's use it, and you guys/girls are the only pro's I currently associate with. How true is this statement? Or are Mac/PC neck-and-neck regarding performance?

Message edited by author 2005-08-09 15:02:11.

petrakka

08/09/2005 03:05:40 PM · #13

well I've got a desktop pc and I hardly use it since I got a 12" powerbook. In general I've found macs easier and more user friendly, intuitive.

That is a decent price to pay for a switch, but is it a switch you would make eventually? Either one you'll run photoshop fine on.

08/09/2005 03:05:54 PM · #14

of course I would say make the switch since I love macs, BUT if you are only gonna use photoshop and dont really need a mac for any other kind of mac files. Since you already own photoshop you really dont need to make the switch. Your gonna spend alot of money on buying another computer than photoshop all over again. If its just photoshop you are using then stay where you are you already own it. Its not a big or huge difference in the two. They are both the same program and run the same on a newer mac or a newer pc. There is not a huge noticible difference in running them on both from experience.

08/09/2005 03:08:36 PM · #15

lol just read what I wrote kind of repeated what I said, but anyway like what was metioned before its up to you, macs seem to run more friendlier and I am kind of more use to them.

Message edited by author 2005-08-09 15:09:03.

08/09/2005 03:20:07 PM · #16

So it doesn't sound like Macs inherently run PS faster? If not, it would probaby be more cost-efficient to stick with PC.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/09/2005 03:21:01 PM · #17

You should check with Adobe to see if they will let you purchase an upgrade on the Mac platform. If not, it's probably not worth switching platforms if you have to spend that much re-purchasing software you already own.

Now, if you want to do any of the other built-in things, like multi-track music recording, video editing, or DVD authoring, then get a Mac.

You can always get Virtual PC (also sometimes packaged with Microsoft Office) and just run all your PC programs on your Mac -- it's almost as fast as on a PC, and sometimes more reliable.

When people compare prices between Macs and PCs, it's somewhat an (excuse please!) an apples and oranges comparison. Per MB or MHz Macs may cost more, but you spend far fewer hours hassling with configuration problems and networking, and it comes with gobs of free software which actually works and lets you get real jobs done.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

08/09/2005 03:26:04 PM · #18

I suppose none of you folks has ever experienced running the Unsharp Mask filter of a 5MB TIFF file on a 40MHz machine? Used to be running a Photoshop filter was time to take a coffee break--these new machines are all so fast that it's almost irrelevant. So one machine is even 50% faster: to do an operation in 10 seconds instead of 15 is only important if you work in an animation studio processessing hundreds of images a day.

You could get a Mac plus Virtual PC and run your old Photoshop (PC version) in emulation and notice not that much difference except on really large images.

sylandrix

Nikon D50

08/09/2005 03:40:33 PM · #19

Originally posted by Konador:

I wouldn't be able to cope with photoshop only having 1 mouse button.

I just plug in a regular USB mouse with two buttons into my powerbook whenever I am using it for extensive clicking tasks. Much more comfortable than the trackpad. Its not the one button that makes using ps hard, its the trackpad that I find more cumbersome when trying to edit images :)

DanSig

08/09/2005 03:46:34 PM · #20

I have the 12" 867MHz Powerbook with 768MB RAM and it works great with photoshop CS, I also have a dual 2GHz G5 with 5.5GB RAM and there isn't much noticable speed difference between them in regular photoshop work, but putting complex filters on large images (30Mb+) does show some speed difference, but nothing that matters.

for on the road work I highly reccomend the 12" powerbook, the 15" and 17" are way too big and heavy to carry around, it's like carrying an extra 400mm L f2.8 IS. the 12" is the biggest portable computer available, if it´s bigger then it´s not so portable anymore :)

joebok

Fujifilm X100F

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

08/09/2005 03:51:14 PM · #21

Originally posted by aboutimage:

...
So I guess the question is: Is switching to Mac worth it? The Mac users I know tell me all the pro's use it, and you guys/girls are the only pro's I currently associate with. How true is this statement? Or are Mac/PC neck-and-neck regarding performance?

I am a long-time Windows user. A year ago I wanted a new laptop, but my old was was perfectly fine. But I wanted one anyway, so I decided to get a mac - a 15" powerbook. Well - I love it! It was and still is a lot of fun to play with something new.

Photoshop-wise, I honestly don't notice a difference. I guess I don't really push the system too hard, I've never had any perfornace issues with photoshop - how hard can editing a flat image be?

For video editing, however, I noticed a big difference - my PC could not handle it. Very buggy, crashes all the time. Not a single problem on the Mac. (Use Adobe Premere on PC, Final Cut on Mac.)

For everything else - it's just a little bit different. If you are bored with Windows, like I was, OS X is a lot of fun. If you max out the RAM on whatever machine you buy, I doubt you'll be unhappy.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/09/2005 04:25:33 PM · #22

OK, I've done about 100 searches of various types/brands, and I keep coming back to Apple. Yes, I'll have to purchase Photoshop again, but all the research I've done (including your comments) have me seriously looking at Mac.

The one I have in mind is the 15 inch. Kind of a tradeoff between screen-size and portability.

severin

Sony DSC-R1

08/09/2005 04:36:50 PM · #23

The Gimp is a linux based photoshop that is free to everyone. Has all the same capabilities as photoshop.

scalvert

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

08/09/2005 04:39:31 PM · #24

You won't be disappointed. The 15.2" screen is a comfortable size for PS work without sacrificing portability. Note that you can get the exact same model for $1699 if you're willing to get a refurb (refurbished Macs have the same 1yr warranty as new). You can also get one with a SuperDrive (which I strongly recommend) for $1799. Make sure you have at least 1Gb of RAM for best performance (order additional RAM from a reputable 3rd party like OWComputing.com).