06-20-2008, 12:50 PM

hey there-

considering purchase of a new 17" MacBook Pro, but i do LOTS of Photoshop work and have 2 questions:

1. will she support 2 (TWO) external monitors? will she run a couple 23" apple displays, or just one?

2. sounds like they come with and NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor, and the new iMacs have and NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GS. what's the difference, and is it significant?

06-20-2008, 01:37 PM

i do a lot of photoshop work (photographer) and routinely work on 50-150mb files. i'm looking to replace my old tower and dual-monitor setup with a laptop and large external monitor.

i'm trying to decide between buying the LAST of the Powerbook line (17" high-def with 1.67 processor + 2GB RAM) and the NEWEST Macbook Pro (17" hi-res with 2.5 processor + 2GB RAM) for use as my MAIN computer.

the upside to the Powerbook would be that I could get it for $1000 and add a freakin' 30-inch display (external monitor definitely needed) and still not be into it for what the the Macbook Pro costs ($2850).

does anybody have a link to a side-by-side performance comparison of these two computers? i know the PowerBook is already 'outdated,' but you must keep in mind that my current machine is a G4 dual 500mhz with (2) 19" Lacie electronblue monitors....

06-20-2008, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by blankenship

i know the PowerBook is already 'outdated,' but you must keep in mind that my current machine is a G4 dual 500mhz with (2) 19" Lacie electronblue monitors....

"Outdated" isn't the best choice of wording... "dated", yes.
For what you need, the PowerBook would do you just fine.
Of course a newer computer is always going to "perform better" when you look at benchmarks and other useless data like that.
The PowerBook will definitely be a marked improvement over your current setup. PPC machines are still very formidable machines and can certainly hold their own with today's computing needs.

So don't listen to the naysayers who will undoubtedly bring up such moot points like:
+ The MBP can run Windows/BootCamp/Parallels/some other method for running Windows
+ Apple is going to scrap the G4 processor support with it's next OS
+ Forget such "obsolete" (read: non-Intel Macs) computers... you can still find an older MBP that costs less
+ You're not going to be able to find software

Get the PowerBook.

06-21-2008, 12:11 PM

so you're saying the eventual OS 10.6 or whatever is definitely NOT going to run on the PowerBook?

would it definitely make sense, then, get the oldest of the 17" MacBook Pros instead? (but didn't they have overheating problems or something?)

*HOW do you think the 1.67Ghz Powerbook (w/ 2GB DDR2 RAM) would compare speed-wise to what i'm used to (the dual-500mhz tower w/ 1GB SDRAM)?
huge difference, or no?
how would each compare in speed to the MacBook Pro 2.16Hhz Intel?