07-31-2008, 07:50 AM

Hi, i currently have a macbook core 2 duo, but i will soon need to be using graphic extensive programmes such as AutoCAD, Microstation, Photoshop and Illustrator. Will my macbook be able to cope, or will it be better to upgrade to a macbook pro with the best configuration options of the best graphics card avaibable, highest ram and quickest hard drive?

i have also heard that these programmes run much better on windows (microstation is windows only at the mo i believe) so i was thinking of installing bootcamp to run these programmes, and using mac os for my dad to day (email, internet itunes etc..) how well does boot camp run, will these programmes run well, or will it simply be better off buying a high powered windows based laptop? thank you very much, you guys could save me thousands!!

07-31-2008, 08:04 AM

and also if i should buy a macbook pro, should i wait until the end of septmeber, where i have heard some 'rumours' that apple should be releasing a new generation of macbooks! thanks!!

07-31-2008, 09:20 AM

If theres no rush I would say wait at this point. The current Macbook Pro is a great machine, I bought one about a month ago for college and I love it. But why not wait and see what apple comes out with next if its only a few months away!

07-31-2008, 10:24 AM

A macbook pro would suit you better for sure. If you need it now buy it now. The current machines are great and fully capable of anything you throw at it.

08-01-2008, 07:41 AM

i have the luxurury (i think) to wait until end of sept to see if they are goign to release a new model. my main quesiton is, would it be better jsut to buy a high powered windows laptop or will a highpowered macbook pro (with xp instantlled via boot camp), i.e. which one will perform better? macbooks are very sexy however..

08-01-2008, 04:41 PM

I have a mac book 2.2 ghz I bought a few months ago and it works great. I use all the graphic softwares such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Premiere and have no problems. I can use both photoshop and illustrator at the same time and get no lag. I'm running this with only 2gb ram. I will be adding 4gb ram total soon. I'm sure I can run more programs then without no lag. So for me the 13" is perfect for traveling and also using it for home. Good luck...

08-01-2008, 05:12 PM

Photoshop is all processor-intensive. I am a professional photographer, and found no reason to purchase the MBP. I am able to haul through LightRoom and Photoshop at the same speed an Intel Duo Core 2 desktop would with a dedicated graphics card. As the previous poster said, I love the 13" size versus the 15" as well.

08-02-2008, 01:07 PM

hi thanks for the info, but what about autocad, vector works, microstation - all cad programs . How will it cope with those? I will be using these more than adobe. Cheers

08-02-2008, 06:01 PM

Hello,

I read these posts with interest, and whilst I couldn't answer your questions fully, I would like to add my penny's worth.

1) Photoshop is also Ram intensive, the more photographs you have open at the same time, the more ram you will take up.

2) I have witnessed Windows running in Boot camp on a black Mac book and it seemed to fly, now, whether or not Boot camp fully utilizes the machines graphics capabilities whilst in Windows, I cannot say, but I have heard that people play WOW and other programs through boot camp on Windows and they run great. So I am assuming that windows on Boot camp should be fine for you.

3) I would Google for your programs and add ' on mac book' to see what comes up. If someone else is running those programs on a mac, whether in windows or OS X (I know you said one of them is native to Windows) I'm sure something will come up.

Do you have Leopard installed? Do you have a spare copy of Windows XP? if you do, why not install windows and try out the native app you mentioned, and if you can get free trials of the others for Mac, try them out.

Re Photoshop on a 13" screen, Mario, I think the Mac book 13" screen looks good, but for professional photography? How do your colours come out? and also, do you hook up to an external monitor for editing? I'd imagine that screen size driving me nuts when working on images.

Ps. I have the MacBook Pro, and love it. I wish I had a Macbook too so I could tell you straight which is better for your needs, but I'd imagine the bigger screen size would be handy when doing CAD work? Have you considered the 17" simply for portable screen size? I know it might be over kill, but mamma, your programs would sure fly! Ooh, especially on the HD model!

08-02-2008, 10:52 PM

Well from the looks of it NVidia has been having some serious issues with the 8600 GT M, which is in the Macbook Pro. Mine has been fine, but after hearing all this news, I would probably have waited for the next lineup of MBP's. I'm not to worried i have applecare, but its still a nuisance if the graphics card did fail.

08-04-2008, 06:19 AM

Hey, thanks for the info. If i get the pro i will def get the 17" so i have a large enough screen to do my drawing, especailly since they are widescreen so you dont get a lot of vertical space; and as i already have a macbook i can use that as my portable laptop so to speak.

i dont have leopard i ahev the one before it which is tiger i think, but i believe i can get a bootcamp beta and i might try adn do that if i have enough HD space, im prety sure i have an illegal copy of XP somewhere!!

what is this problems with the graphics card? my main resason for upgrading was for the better graphics card as my macbook one is poor (64mb shared)! i will be waiting i think until the new set of MBP comes out, which is due sometime in sepmtebr right?

Whether i chose the glossy or the matte screen i dont know, i have to go to the store and check them out, but i know they saw glossy is better for colours i think i prefer the matte. Does anyone know how the macbook compares in terms of glossy or matte or inbetween?

cheers guys

08-04-2008, 10:18 AM

and if im going to blow all my money on the 17" i would def also get the HD version considering the graphics work, and as i am a student applecare for me is a must and is at a very reasonable cost! does anyone know exactly how much discount i would get (higher education - university, or as the americains say 'college'!) i heard it was about 8% - but that does sound a little bit too good?

08-04-2008, 03:38 PM

Well apparently quite a few people have experienced graphics card failures after so many heat cycles with the MBP's Nvidia 8600M GT. I have played a few games and its been fine but like I said mines fairly new so who knows. I doubt it will be a problem, it seems to only be a few cases, but none the less it would definitely be a factor if I was deciding to buy or wait for the next model.

Zach

08-06-2008, 10:22 AM

what is a heat cylce? i have heard problems that the MBP does overheat? what causes this, and does this apply to all situations?

im a little bit stuck as to which HD to get. I want to get the fastest one - 7200rpm, but that comes with the smaller HD of 200gig, the next option would be 250gig at 5200rpm. however i feel the faster speed is more worthwhile, espcially needing a quick machine in total! how much effect does this actaully have? i remeber when 40gig used to be enough! i;m not goign to be using this laptop for my music and video so that will save a lot of space!

08-06-2008, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by cd158810

what is a heat cylce? i have heard problems that the MBP does overheat? what causes this, and does this apply to all situations?

im a little bit stuck as to which HD to get. I want to get the fastest one - 7200rpm, but that comes with the smaller HD of 200gig, the next option would be 250gig at 5200rpm. however i feel the faster speed is more worthwhile, espcially needing a quick machine in total! how much effect does this actaully have? i remeber when 40gig used to be enough! i;m not goign to be using this laptop for my music and video so that will save a lot of space!

Just so you know 7200 doesn't always means that the drive is faster. I would do some research over at Tomshardware to see which is best for you.

Samsung is the only one so far that has a 500GB HDD that will fit in a notebook.

If you want something fast in the 320GB range look at the
Momentus 7200.3 Laptop Hard Drives by Seagate Model # ST9320421AS

Western Digital Scorpio Black WD3200BEKT 320GB 7200 RPM has pretty good reviews at newegg.

The seagate model is new and newegg is taking forever to update their products list. >_<" Grrrr!!

Hope that helps somewhat.