Macbook Pro or iMAC for Photo stuff? [Archive] - Canon Digital Photography Forums

apthai86

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 12:30

The Macbook Pro and the iMac are very similar.

The only major difference between the two that I can see is the screen real estate and that the iMac uses a regular full size drive, where as the Macbook Pro use a smaller laptop drive.

The CPU and other components are all laptop components.

If you don't need the portability then the iMac is a clear choice...

Muskydave22

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 13:29

will photoshop and possibly adobe premier slow down the macbook pro? i was either thinking of going with a macbook pro for one all around computer or an iMac and a cheap pc laptor

dave

crn3371

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 14:22

The question basically boils down to "laptop or desktop?"

Muskydave22

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 17:28

there wont be a major difference in speed or amount of programs and projects i could run at the same time?? i would like the portability but i dont want to sacrifice performance for portability.

dave

Moppie

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 17:46

The question basically boils down to "laptop or desktop?"

No the question here is Laptop that is portable, or laptop that it trying to be a desktop.

there wont be a major difference in speed or amount of programs and projects i could run at the same time?? i would like the portability but i dont want to sacrifice performance for portability.

dave

I doubt you would notice much of a difference between the two.
The iMac has a slightly faster drive, somethings might load it a bit faster and the photoshop cache will be faster.
But, you could easily put a 7200rpm laptop drive into the Mac Pro.

The biggest question you should be asking is will a dual core processor be enough for the sort of work you want to do?

Kronie

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 17:47

The question basically boils down to "laptop or desktop?"

I agree. I have a 17" unibody with a 22" monitor and externals. really the best of both worlds.
The 24" imac has an IPS panel. The imac will has the same processor as the newest 17" @3.06. but a larger hard drive up to 1TB.

nphsbuckeye

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 19:20

will photoshop and possibly adobe premier slow down the macbook pro? i was either thinking of going with a macbook pro for one all around computer or an iMac and a cheap pc laptor

dave
Here are minimum requirements for PP CS4: http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/systemreqs/
For Elements 7: http://www.adobe.com/products/premiereel/systemreqs/.

Video is pretty intense on your computer; PP doesn't want to run on my old machine, so I never use it. However, I haven't needed to use it for a while...

Muskydave22

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 22:25

if im just doing photoshop and other stuff from college will the macbook pro be the best to go with? I dont know if i will be doing much video editing.

dave

scotteisenphotography

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 22:28

if you want performance, buy a Mac Pro desktop.

Moppie

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 22:30

if im just doing photoshop and other stuff from college will the macbook pro be the best to go with? I dont know if i will be doing much video editing.

dave

Not a problem.
If you can afford the MacbookPro over the iMac, then you might as well get the one that is portable.
Just go for 4GB or more of RAM, and make sure you upgrade to the latest version of OS-X when it is released in September.

But don't expect to buy a 1DsMKIII and be able to batch process several hundred files at once in a hurry :eek:

Muskydave22

10th of June 2009 (Wed), 22:52

no i wont be doing anything that serious i just have this as a hobby and i have a 40D so the file sizes arent huge. I think i am going to go with the 17" macbook pro and upgrade to the 7200rpm hard drive rather than the 5400 is that a huge jump in performance for only $45?

dave

sangosimo

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 03:47

get the 15inch with an external monitor. the 17 is not really worth it. I wouldn't worry about upgrading the harddrive because the platter densities are so high modern magnetic drives are plenty fast.

The best harddrive route to go would be SSD. When you 5400 fills up and starts to slow down start looking at ssd drives so you can upgrade. That internal drive will make a nice external back up.

Muskydave22

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 08:40

what external monitor would you recommend? and why is the 17in macbook pro not worth the extra $200 over the 15in?

dave

AberyClark

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 09:25

You can go on apple store web site and customize the Macbook pro with more memory, faster 7200 HD (only $45.00) and faster processor. I agree, the 15 inch is fine. I am thinking of same. I cannot afford a Mac pro desktop. It's an iMac or Macbook pro. I now have an ibook G4. It was the lower end when I purchased it a few years ago. It still does quite well with heavy photoshop, Lightroom, and Logic audio. But, its really getting long in the tooth (very Slooooow). So I figure if I get the latest, higherend laptop with more memory capability (my ibook maxes out at 1.25 gb) I should be good to go for a while.

Kronie

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 09:45

what external monitor would you recommend? and why is the 17in macbook pro not worth the extra $200 over the 15in?

dave

Dell 2209WA for the monitor. (that's what I have)

The $200 buys you a bigger 1900X1200 Screen, a smaller nicer looking bezel, and a third USB port. (all of those are totally worth it for me) If you do alot of traveling you may want the 15" because its slightly more portable, especially in a plane. BUT if you do alot of traveling you may want the 17" because it has a matte option. Choices, choices, choices.........

sangosimo

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 10:37

2.8 15 inch is a huge waste. Get the base 15inch and save your self the money

Tony-S

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 10:53

what external monitor would you recommend?

One that is either an IPS or PVA.

and why is the 17in macbook pro not worth the extra $200 over the 15in?

The MBP displays (and nearly all laptop displays) are TN panels (i.e., 6-bit). An IPS or PVA panel will be 8-bit. And larger.

sangosimo

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 12:02

One that is either an IPS or PVA.

The MBP displays (and nearly all laptop displays) are TN panels (i.e., 6-bit). An IPS or PVA panel will be 8-bit. And larger.

quoted for emphasis. A good tn panel is still a tn panel. So i tis better to put money to a proper monitor.

Kronie

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 13:02

2.8 15 inch is a huge waste. Get the base 15inch and save your self the money

Unless you need the 9600GT.

sangosimo

11th of June 2009 (Thu), 21:06

Unless you need the 9600GT.

you can get the 2.66 if you really want the 9600gt, but unless you are gaming, 3d modeling, or something similar the card is not that big of a deal.

Village_Idiot

12th of June 2009 (Fri), 14:25

I have a MBP and it's hooked up to a 30" monitor. I'm not a fan of AIO computers as you're stuck with the monitor you have until you purchase a new machine.

kini

12th of June 2009 (Fri), 17:54

I have a MBP and it's hooked up to a 30" monitor. I'm not a fan of AIO computers as you're stuck with the monitor you have until you purchase a new machine.

Uhhhhh so HOW is that different than your laptop? I use an external monitor as well as the 24" iMac.

You use a 17" that you are "stuck" with until you purchase a new machine.

Gene

Tony-S

12th of June 2009 (Fri), 17:56

Uhhhhh so HOW is that different than your laptop? I use an external monitor as well as the 24" iMac.

You use a 17" that you are "stuck" with until you purchase a new machine.

Gene

AOI are desktops, not laptops. That's his beef.

ChrisMc73

15th of June 2009 (Mon), 13:52

Uhhhhh so HOW is that different than your laptop? I use an external monitor as well as the 24" iMac.

You use a 17" that you are "stuck" with until you purchase a new machine.

Gene

He's also connecting to a 30" Apple Display that he's not stuck with. Booya.
I love these threads. I'm torn between the 15" and 17" MacBook Pro, and the 24" LED Monitor or the 30" Display, are they going to LED upgrade the 30" soon?

mattyb240

15th of June 2009 (Mon), 19:35

The 30" is well and truly in need of an update and rumours have been going for donkey's, but when it will happen who knows! Only the Apple god's themselves know, but always the way with Apple, you should buy the best you can afford.

Village_Idiot

16th of June 2009 (Tue), 09:12

Uhhhhh so HOW is that different than your laptop? I use an external monitor as well as the 24" iMac.

You use a 17" that you are "stuck" with until you purchase a new machine.

Gene

MBP is shut and sitting on the keyboard drawer with a 30" monitor on the top part of a desk. Do you have any idea how much desk I would have to have for an imac and a 30" display. The display is not and ACD BTW. ACDs have one input and not HDCP.

Take that acronym people!

PS. Will an imac even hook up to and external monitor? And if it does, will it even support a 2650x1600 resolution?

Tony-S

16th of June 2009 (Tue), 11:29

Will an imac even hook up to and external monitor? And if it does, will it even support a 2650x1600 resolution?

The new 9400m iMacs will with the mini DisplayPort to dual-link DisplayPort or DVI adapter.

Village_Idiot

17th of June 2009 (Wed), 09:51

The new 9400m iMacs will with the mini DisplayPort to dual-link DisplayPort or DVI adapter.

The adapter needs work. Over half the reviews on any website complain about it not working or having problems, even with the Apple ACD. I get problems on occasion too, but not as bad as some of the complaints that I've read.

Tony-S

17th of June 2009 (Wed), 12:01

There's already a third-party cable for around $15 that does the same thing.

Village_Idiot

17th of June 2009 (Wed), 14:23

There's already a third-party cable for around $15 that does the same thing.

Where? I looked.

It's a mini display to dual link DVI? The one that Apple sells for $100?

Tony-S

17th of June 2009 (Wed), 14:35

Village_Idiot

17th of June 2009 (Wed), 14:54

Here (http://estore.circuitassembly.com/products/Mini-Displayport-to-Displayport-Adapter-Cable.html) you go. Haven't used it, but it seems from the reviews that it drives 30" DisplayPort displays at native resolution.

That's not minidisplay to dual link DVI. The Apple adapter actively upscales from everything I've read as well, making it more than just a cable.

It’s compatible with Mac computers with a DVI port and Mac computers with Mini DisplayPort using the Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter.

The only input on the 30" ACD is a dual link DVI.

Underscore

19th of June 2009 (Fri), 10:06

I strongly suggest that if you go with the MB Pro, get the PC Card 34 dual SATA card from Other World Computing made for the MB Pro. It is about $300, but when you hook it up to a couple of their aluminum 1.5TB 7200 drives, you 1 gigabyte (not bits, but bytes) per second speed which is very good. This makes a decent scratch for LR's cache and PS's scratch needs.

We assume you will have a back up to a separate hard drive, therefore that is why I stated getting the dual card hooked up to a couple drives. Time Machine runs like a champ on this setup.

I have this configuration with the 17 inch early 2009 MB Pro and it certainly works well with LR and PS.

Keep in mind that it is easy to overload the memory on these laptops with more than LR and PS running simultaneously, so when you can afford it, jump to 6 or even 8 GB of RAM.

Take care,

ChrisMc73

19th of June 2009 (Fri), 19:30

Marloon

19th of June 2009 (Fri), 19:49

do yourself a favor. buy a powerful PC. i love my macbook (and i am thinking of selling it off and upgrading to the macbook pro in the future) but if you want a photo powerhouse, buy yourself a new desktop PC. i budgeted for a 24" imac. and instead, i got a pc almost equivalent to the mac pro with 2 22" displays for 2000 USD, and i got a monitor calibrator with it too!

Underscore

20th of June 2009 (Sat), 16:11

Hey certainly.

First of all, I found out most of what I know from this site:

http://macperformanceguide.com/index.html

He recommends the PC card here:

http://macperformanceguide.com/Reviews-SonnetSATAPro.html

His recommendations for external hard drives are here (I have these particular ones):

http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-RecommendedEnclosures.html

Also, he just posted an optimization scheme for Adobe LR:

http://macperformanceguide.com/Optimizing-Lightroom.html

There is a wealth of info here on this site and so I recommend you take a few hours, sit back and soak it up.

Good stuff and I hope it helps y'all out.

Can you post some links to the hardware you are mentioning here?
The PC Card and the HDDs?

neil_r

20th of June 2009 (Sat), 16:19

I have a mac pro and a 17" new model macbook pro I use CS4 and shoot RAW with a 1Ds MkIII the macbook pro has completely acceptable performance. (as did my previous(last model) macbook pro.))

You will get a bigger display with the iMac but you will not have the portability.

Psychobiker

20th of June 2009 (Sat), 16:22

I'll be picking up a 13" Macbook Pro this coming week for the precise purpose of editing (and my 5 year old Dell has broken...). It has enough clout to process photos no bother, and is portable - and Cyberdine says - whattaya want? I'm emigrating to Canada, and need to bring my 'processing rig' (currently a 10kg desktop) with, and .... that's not possible! When I'd want a larger screen, I'd just buy an ACD or Dell IPS

Mobile or not?

L