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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Making the switch to Mac
Ron Hawkes, Photographer
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Camden | ME | USA | Posted: 7:35 PM on 10.31.06 |
->> After always owning a PC I am making the switch to Mac. I am tired of the problems I have with PC's and after using a Mac for a while at the newspaper I worked at I have become a believer.
Now my question to all of you Mac users with a lot more experience than me. What do I buy?
I have a restricted budget and after looking at what is available here is my choices as I see them.
I can afford either the I-Mac 24" with 2 gig's ram or the Mac book Pro 15' wide screen w/ 2 gig's of Ram.
Either will become my primary computer, what would you do?
I shoot games almost every day, 200-to 500 photos to process and upload to my web site. Stories to write, and editing using adobe photoshop cs and photo mechanic.
Any help would be appreciated.
Ron |
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Peter Quinn, Photographer
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Fort Worth | TX | USA | Posted: 7:53 PM on 10.31.06 |
->> Ron, the first question is: How important is it to be portable? Next, since it will be your primary, monitor size is a consideration, although the MBP will drive an external monitor. If you need to process and transmit from location the choice is obvious. Any extra processing time on the MBP would be negated by the drive home to the iMac.
I have a G5 at home and a MacBook (not Pro) for travel. I had looked at the MacBookPro for it's power, but the 15" form factor was just too much for me. I was used to my Powerbook 12" and I know how to pack around it. That and I traded a lens that was collecting dust for it so....
Anyway, no matter what, max out the RAM, it will make a huge difference. On the MB it was a bit slow running CS2 but bumping to 2GB made a big difference. Processing D2X NEF's can be a bit time consuming depending on the number. I'm sure the iMac would do better than the MBP. That being said, I'm pretty happy with the MacBook. It does it's job well for me and the MBPro is faster still. |
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Kirby Yau, Photographer, Assistant
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 8:42 PM on 10.31.06 |
| ->> Hey Ron, I have a MacBook Pro (Gen 1) and the main limitation I've found is the lack of HD space. I've started with a 100gb HD, went to a 120, and I'm now at a 160 gb and only have about a gigabyte left. The Achiles heel of a laptop is a maximum size imitation of the HD (200 gb, 4200rpm)as opposed to a desktop HD with a limitation up to 750gb. If you are shooting 200 to 500 I would save room in your budget for a HD upgrade or an external. |
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Jim Colburn, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 9:18 PM on 10.31.06 |
->> "I can afford either the I-Mac 24" with 2 gig's ram or the Mac book Pro 15' wide screen w/ 2 gig's of Ram.
Either will become my primary computer, what would you do?"
Go for the MacBook Pro. At a later date you can get a larger screen for it from Apple or Dell or something-on-sale-at-CompUSA...
And if you need more HD space just get an external frewaire hard drive. Later. |
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Ron Hawkes, Photographer
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Camden | ME | USA | Posted: 9:25 PM on 10.31.06 |
->> Thanks for the input everyone.
I have a dell 20 " monitor, Will that work with the mac Pro at home?
I also use external HD's anyways, have a couple, would just need to reformat for OS. |
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Zach Honig, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 9:31 PM on 10.31.06 |
| ->> The only thing you need to consider is screen size vs. portability. Do you anticipate ever needing to transmit from an event? Want to edit from the sofa? On vacation? I’d go to the Apple Store and play around with both for a while. Bring your own pictures in if you’d like and try editing on both machines. Though the iMac has a much larger hard drive, keep in mind that the more data you have stored on one drive, the more you’ll lose if that drive fails. If you make frequent backups to external drives and DVDs then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about, but with a smaller drive it’ll be less likely to slip your mind. Finally, if you decide on the MacBook Pro, I would suggest going with the “anti-glare” screen. Yes, the glossy makes everything look nicer (brighter colors, more contrast), but if you want to see your images as others will on their monitors or in print then you should avoid the glossy screen. Your Dell monitor should work fine as well. |
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Ron Hawkes, Photographer
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Camden | ME | USA | Posted: 9:52 PM on 10.31.06 |
->> Two more questions that would help me alot to uderstand.
Both the Mac Pro and the I-Mac have the same processer a 2.16 Ghz and both would have 2 g of Ram. Would there be a diffeence in speed on these two computers? Would processing with photo shop be the same on both?
Zach, the closest Apple Store is about 250 miles away from where I live and thanks for the advise on the screen type. I was wondering about that, but thought exactly what you said.
Thanks again everyone, this has been a big help.
Ron |
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Darron R. Silva, Photographer
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Naples | FL | USA | Posted: 9:57 PM on 10.31.06 |
| ->> Either way, be sure to check out the refurbs from Apple - you can pick up the previous gen mac book pro for $1600 - a great deal, and it comes with the same 1 year warranty as a new laptop. Just add another 1GB of RAM from another dealer (Apple charges way to much for RAM) and you're good to go. |
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Darron R. Silva, Photographer
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Naples | FL | USA | Posted: 10:00 PM on 10.31.06 |
->> Check out Ric Ford's great site www.macintouch.com for mac bench marks. Below is a link to a comparison of a mac book pro vs a 20" imac - this will show you the difference in speed that is brought on by different hard drives, system bus, etc.
http://www.macintouch.com/specialreports/perfpack02/ |
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Alan Carroll, Photographer
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Sheridan | WY | United States | Posted: 9:26 AM on 11.01.06 |
->> Ron, with the newest gen MBPs having the new Core 2 Duo processors, they should both run close to the same. The only major difference is the video cards. The iMac has a bit better card (see below). If you go with the iMac, make sure to get the upgraded card (bumps video RAM to 256MB). Also, the DVD burner on the MBP is a 6x dual layer and the iMac is an 8x. At least the new MBPs have added the dual layer drive.
If you could afford another $500, the owner of Other World Computing just recommended this in his latest newsletter when talking about purchasing a new MBP:
>>As before, there is a 'top end' 15.4" pre config for $2499 'base'. The extra $500 takes you from 2.16GHz to 2.33GHx, upgrades your ATI Radeon X1600 video from 128MB to 256MB of VRAM, and doubles your memory to stock with 2.0GB installed via 1GB DD2 667MHz Modules x 2. While MacBook Pro memory is upgradeable, the processor and the video are not... so if you want the additional speed and/or VRAM - you must opt in the extra $500 up front. Honestly, as we highly recommend upgrading to 2.0GB regardless - and with consideration to the $129 you can get the extra 1GB from OWC for, basically paying $370 for about 8% more processor speed + the extra video ram [Its a good deal]. |
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Sebastian Szyszka, Photographer
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Lisle (Naperville) | IL | USA | Posted: 9:28 AM on 11.01.06 |
->> The new iMacs can drive external monitors in addition to what's built in. That being said, unless you really need the portability, the iMac will be the biggest bang for the buck considering the larger, faster hard drives and the much larger screen.
Two option that I think are necessary are additional RAM on both the computer and the video card. Stuff like Aperture makes heavy use of the video card's RAM and the OS is increasingly dependent on the video card as well. Plus, considering the inability to upgrade the system in the future* I think it's best to pour money into it right off the bat to increase its longevity.
*I know the video card uses a small form factor slot and is theoretically upgradeable, but since you can't get to said slot, and there are no aftermarket cards that are made for this new standard at this time, I don't think it's wise to be holding out for something that may or may not materialize. |
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Mike Shepherd, Photographer
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Wichita | KS | USA | Posted: 9:49 AM on 11.01.06 |
| ->> i encourage you also to check out the refurbs from the apple store. i purchased a macbook pro this summer and spent about $1700 on a $2300 machine. and it works like a charm for what i need it to do. i would get as much extra ram as you could but i wouldn't get too wrapped up in all the technobabble. if you're on a limited budget, coming up with a few extra hundred dollars to justify the "better" computer doesn't make sense ... to me, anyway. |
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Marc Browning, Photographer
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Wichita | KS | | Posted: 9:55 AM on 11.01.06 |
->> Hi Ron, I've made the switch from pc to mac back in May & I bought a mbp ( 2 gig chip, 2gig ram, 120 drive) then 1 month later I bought the mb ( 1.83 chip„1 gig ram, 80 gig drive). Now my mbp sits at home as my home comuter with a Dell 20.1" monitor & 4 firewire & 4 usb 2.0 drives up to it. This is a great setup & I don't think I'll go back to pc's again. Next year I'm looking at getting an Imac when the new chips come out for them.
Both machines are very stable & are very easy to use.
just my 2 cents. |
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Jim Colburn, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 11:58 AM on 11.01.06 |
->> "I have a dell 20 " monitor, Will that work with the mac Pro at home?"
It should de. You might need an adapter cable from Apple but that'd probably be $30-40
"I also use external HD's anyways, have a couple, would just need to reformat for OS."
As long as they are Firewire or USB that should work just fine.
For home use you can also get a normal sized leyboard and a USB mouse. |
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Kyle Edwards, Photographer
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Orinda | Ca | USA | Posted: 12:31 PM on 11.01.06 |
->> I'd go with the Macbook Pro...
Portability is very nice and it sounds like you have a good setup at home. Just us the 20 inch monitor at home and you're in business.
But... If you're going to the top of the line Macbook Pro and don't need the portability, I'd seriously look into the Mac Pro.
My 2 cents... and dreams. |
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Ron Scheffler, Photographer
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Hamilton (Toronto area) | Ontario | Canada | Posted: 1:26 AM on 11.02.06 |
->> "Both the Mac Pro and the I-Mac have the same processer a 2.16 Ghz and both would have 2 g of Ram. Would there be a diffeence in speed on these two computers? Would processing with photo shop be the same on both?"
The main difference will be the internal hard drives. The 3.5" 7200 rpm drive in the iMac will allow for somewhat faster performance than the 2.5" 5400 rpm drive of the MBP if an application like Photoshop needs to frequently write a lot to the scratch files. This can be somewhat offset by maxing out the RAM but PS always creates a scratch file for each image you open, and the more stuff you have open at once, the more likely info will need to be read/written to disk rather than residing in RAM. There are 7200 rpm drive options for the laptop, but due to their smaller platter size, the fastest area on the disk (that closest to the outside edge) will never be as fast as a 3.5" 7200 rpm drive. There is a way around this though... Get a SATA CardBus adapter for the MBP and run 3.5" drives in an external SATA enclosure. It should get the MBP close in terms of drive performance to a desktop, but not exactly an elegant solution.
The quesiton though is how much of a real world difference really exists between the iMac and MBP? While this comparion doesn't include Photoshop tests, it's pretty clear that for many tasks, there won't be a significant penalty if you opt for the MBP: http://barefeats.com/mbcd2.html |
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