Buying a MAC

[graceful585]

Hi,

I'm presently a PC user and seriously looking at MacBook Pro 15". I'll be using this machine for photo editing, downloading digital photos and I'm presently using PaintShop ProX but will be also using PS here in the near future. I'm not as knowledgable as I'd like to be on RAM, Memory etc and just wanted someones opinion on this MacBoo below...is there enough RAM/Memory etc for what I want to do or should I get more?

Thank you in advance for your help!!

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Detailed Description [return to top]

15-inch MacBook Pro

2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed
2GB (two SO-DIMMs) of PC2-5300 (667MHz) DDR2 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB
800MHz frontside bus
Expansion


One FireWire 400 port at up to 400 Mbps
One FireWire 800 port at up to 800 Mbps
Two 480-Mbps USB 2.0 ports
ExpressCard/34 slot
Security


Kensington cable lock slot
Battery and power
60-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery (with integrated charge indicator LEDs) providing up to 6 hours of battery life1
85W MagSafe Power Adapter with cable management system
MagSafe power adapter port
Communications


Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification); IEEE 802.11a/b/g Wi-Fi Certified2
Built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
Audio


Combined optical digital input/audio line in (minijack)
Combined optical digital output/headphone out (minijack)
Built-in stereo speakers
Internal omnidirectional microphone (located under left speaker grille)
Display


15.4-inch (diagonal) TFT display with support for millions of colors
Supported resolutions: 1440 by 900 (native), 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, 1024 by 640, and 800 by 500 at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 at 4:3 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768, 800 by 600, and 640 by 480 at 4:3 aspect ratio stretched; 720 by 480 at 3:2 aspect ratio; 720 by 480 at 3:2 aspect ratio stretched
Video and graphics support


NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor with dual-link DVI support, 128MB of GDDR3 SDRAM
Dual display and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on an external display, both at millions of colors
DVI output port
VGA output using included DVI to VGA adapter
Built-in iSight camera
Storage


120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard drive
8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW)
Maximum write: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R; 4x DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD-R; 10x CD-RW
Maximum read: 8x DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-ROM; 6x DVD-ROM (double layer DVD-9), DVD-R DL (double layer), DVD+R DL (double layer), DVD-RW, DVD+RW; 24x CD
Input


Built-in full-size keyboard with 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys, including 12 function keys, 4 arrow keys (inverted "T" arrangement), and embedded numeric keypad
Backlit keyboard with ambient light sensors for automatic adjustment of keyboard illumination and screen brightness
Solid-state scrolling trackpad for precise cursor control; supports two-finger scrolling, tap, double-tap, and drag capabilities
Apple Remote
Electrical and environmental requirements


Meets ENERGY STAR requirements
Line voltage: 100V to 240V AC
Frequency: 50Hz to 60Hz
DC input: 18.5 Vdc, 4.6A maximum.
Operating temperature: 50° to 95° F (10° to 35° C)
Storage temperature: -13° to 113° F (-24° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 0% to 90% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet
Maximum storage altitude: 15,000 feet
Maximum shipping altitude: 35,000 feet
Size and weight


Height: 1.0 inch (2.59 cm)
Width: 14.1 inches (35.7 cm)
Depth: 9.6 inches (24.3 cm)
Weight: 5.4 pounds (2.45 kg) with battery and optical drive installed
Software


Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger (includes Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode Developer Tools)
iLife '06 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand), Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, iWork '06 (30-day trial), Comic Life, FileMaker Pro Trial, Aperture Trial, OmniOutliner
Photo Booth, Front Row


Requirements

In the box

MacBook Pro
85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
Lithium-polymer battery
Apple Remote
DVI to VGA adapter
Install/restore DVDs
Printed and electronic documentation
Processor and memory

[graceful585]

Well, I just purchased a MacBook Pro 17" for $2654...brand new...what a deal, I'm so excited. I wasn't planning on buying one today but hubby took me into Fry's Electronics and they had a deal on one that was previously opened. I'm using it right now and so far so good...I'm officially a MAC user.

My 16 year old son uses a Mac for school so he's showing me all the hot keys and all the in's and outs.

Thank you!

[carylwithay]

I switched years ago. You will be amazed how how much less crashing you have to deal with. Macs work much better with Photoshop than PCs. Everything seems to move more smoothly. There are many mac user groups around that are very helpful and full of knowledgeable people. Look up one in your area on the internet and go to one of their meeting.
Caryl

[cyrus_nk]

Hi,

What do you think...i look forward on buying an iMac 2.0GHz, 1G RAM, 250GB hard disk, ATI radeon HD 2400XT and 20" monitor.

Now i have an Athlon 2.0Ghz, 512RAM, 120 hard disk, ATI x1300, Iiyama 21" CRT monitor.

Do you think it's good for Photoshop? It will work much much better then the PC i have?
I use a Nikon D80 and i deal with pictures from 2MB above.

Thank you.

[karenmickleson]

Hi, Graceful.

You will love your Mac, and yes, that one will do fine. A tip, though: I have the 15" Powerbook G4 (the earlier model), and have used an external HD to store all photos and music since I got it, just to not clog the HD with all kinds of huge media files. I always buy the initial 2 year service contract, and they were able to walk me through the procedures for locating the photo & music libraries on the external HD. It's been a good strategy overall.

I'm going to replace this one with the same one you're considering soon as they come out with Leopard already installed. I talked it over with a service tech, and he said it would be fine for similar purposes to yours. He said the only folk who need ther 2.4 GHz model are people who do lots of video, media work, etc.

Have fun. You'll be in heaven!

Karen

[marxz]

Just to ad to this, seriously consider the amount of memory your going to add to it.

2GB is a good start for giving Photoshop the resources that it needs but you may find you want to upgrade to 4 GB before you decide to replace it.
You'll probably get at least an extra year of use out of it by doubling the ram.

Consider instead of 2x1GB ram sticks you'll probably find that it's cheaper,in the long run, to order 4GB RAM up front or ask your retailer way they would price for 3rd party ram (not so cheap now as Apple seem to have twigged on to what people do and no longer have the single stick option where you'd order a single memory stick then get the shop to install a 3rd party compatible stick in to the empty slot at a much lower price).

Aside from that, and regardless of Mac or not when working with a laptop I would STRONGLY recommend -

1: get 2 external drives ASAP, one for storing your main image working library and image archive and the second larger for backup of both the image library/archive and for general backing up of your machine (partition it and use one partition for OSX 10.5's Time Machine function and the second partition for the image library archive).

2: Eventually get an external monitor, 20" at least. Real estate is king and Desktop real estate doubly so. Having a 20 or 23" (or even 30") external monitor along side your 17" internal screen you can work on the images in the larger screen and push all your palates and tool bars off on to the smaller monitor to give you a clearer work space.

[goodlistener]

You will love the Mac. But, be careful of one thing. A laptop screen has less resolution and less color than a desktop screen. Using a desktop screen connected to the laptop does not avoid the issue, because the graphcs card in the laptop is matched to the (non)capability of the screen. Photogs do well with 20 inch iMacs.

[poundstone]

I have had 3 toshiba laptops in the past. I made the investment and bought a 15 inch MacBook Pro. I increased the memory to 2GB which I bought for Crucial Memory by Micron direct. It cost $58 plus shipping for two, one GB cards, which is an excellent price. I bought the extended warranty on ebay for half the cost. I like the small 15 inch as it is easy to pack around. I use Photoshop CS3 and other burning programs like Toast. I also bought an external Viewsonic 20 inch monitor, have a mac wireless keyboard and a top end wireless mouse. I love my Mac and wouldn't go back. I have considered in buying a Mac 20-23 in desk top to keep in the home. I transfer my info to a usb 2 portable hard drive. Every month I burn my photos on dvd disks and log them. I have not had any problems so far. The only thing I would down the road, is consider upgrading to a new model if it meets my needs. You can not go wrong with any mac you buy.

[offtheradar]

A laptop screen has less resolution and less color than a desktop screen.

For photo editing/viewing I prefer the "glossy" to the anti-glare screens. The difference in viewing laptops in the two configurations is night and day.

I'm hoping for a 17in MacBook Pro with the HD glossy screen for christmas. It's ok if Santa is a little late.. I won't complain.

[softix]

interested to buy one Mac soon. laptop as my first choice before change PC to Apple desktop. Spec focus on graphic and speed (working at graphic field).