Jules_E

I can't decide whether to go for:*MBP 13" 2.6ghz intel dual core*@ £1,250 orMBP 15" 2.4ghz intel i5 dual core with 7,200rpm hard drive as an extra (the MBP 13" only comes with the 5,400rpm drive) @ £1,620?*I really like the portability of the 13", not so much for travel as just having something easy to manage for surfing the net on the sofa etc.* The 15" actually feels a lot heavier than the 13", even though it isn't that much bigger in its dimensions.* Also the 13" is a a fair bit cheaper.*The one thing that holds me back from the 13" is the fact that the 15" has the benefit of the new i5 chip which acts like a quad core, has a boost facility that will take it beyond the 13" 2.66 processor, a better graphics card and the option of a 7,200rpm hard drive (I can't believe this isn't standard, let alone option in the 13").*The laptop will get used for web stuff, but also for photo editing (replacing my 4yr old iMac G5) using photoshop elements and*aperture 3 plus some basic editing of camcorder recordings of the kids.*For that kind of thing, do you think the 13" will do?* I don't need the fastest machine in the world, as it's not being used for work, but I don't want it to be frustratingly slow.*Screen size is not an issue, as I have a decent 24" monitor that I will use for photo editing.*Any thoughts welcomed.

JackClark

Although you certainly won't be disappointed with the 13" - it will be a revelation coming from a G5 - for a few hundred quid I'd go for the 15" you'll appreciate the better graphics chip and screen resolution if nothing else.

Ant

You need one with return key

ChefDude

i have a 13" 2.53Ghz with 4gigs of ram and the 250gb 5400 drive.

it's pretty speedy and, if you're not working, then it's brilliant. shut the lid to sleep and when you need it it's awake as soon as you open the lid - most importantly on the wireless lan too.

Jules_E

Do you use photoshop or similar and, if so, do you find that the 13" is quick enough for that? Also, has the slower HD ever been an issue? For movies, I already download direct to a fast external drive, so hope the HD speed won't matter.

One other thing is that I hope to stream TV recordings on the computer (via EyeTV) to my TV. Presumably the HD and graffics card on the 13" will do this without probs.

Ant, I'll make sure apple doesn't cheat me out of a return key.

ChefDude

i watch full screen video on mine without issue. i don't play FPS games though, so i haven't tested the raw polygon power.

I have photoshop CS4, aperture 3 and lightroom 2.5 installed. For a laptop, i am more than happy with the speed filters take to run. obviously not as quick as my 3ghz quad core mac, but i got this machine to collate and edit shots whilst on a boat and i think it will be more than up to the task.

Jules_E

Many thanks for the info on this. I think you've convinced me that the 13" should do for me.

ChefDude

just to add, this laptop is bloody quick, but i'd still take it over a faster laptop as it's the single slickest laptop i've ever owned (and that includes 2 £2k+ vaios). as a photgrapher, the union of OSX and hardware just make a mockery of any other kit.

Ant

I thought my vaio stopped working at the weekend I was so close to talking the wife to let me have a MacBook then in my wisdom did a check disk and all is fine

Jules_E

I have had a bit of a change of heart on this and think I will go for the 15" macbook pro after all for the faster processor and better graphics card.

However, this has again got me wondering whether to go for the base 5400rpm drive or 7200rpm and I'm really struggling to make up my mind.

The £120 price difference for the faster drive doesn't bother me too much, but some people say the faster drive uses a fair bit more power and generates more heat and noise. Others say that's rubish and that the 7200 doesn't suffer from these drawbacks (or that they are negligible), but does make things much faster.

As previously mentioned, the macbook will be my main machine and will be used for photoshop elements and aperture. I will occasionally edit videos of the kids, but don't mind if the slower drive makes that a bit slower.

Others again say they would go for the slower drive and buy a solid states drive when prices come down.

If I am decided on the 15" do you think I should spec the 7200 drive? Is anyone running a 7200 drive on a new macbook?

Thanks

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Just for reference I have series I Macbook Pro and I updgraded the disk myself from a 5400 to a 7200 - it made a very noticeable difference in performance - I do photo and video work on the machine. iPhoto was noticeably faster and I have around 8,000 photos in it.

Video work was also faster.

I did not notice any serious degradation in heat or battery performance.


I will be speccing a new Pro over the next few days and will certainly be getting the 7200 disk upgrade.

Jules_E

Thanks for the reply mate. It's very reassuring to hear your first hand experience.

I don't have as many photos as you have in my iPhoto library (approx 3000), but the thumbnails take ages to resolve at the moment.

Have you thought about getting aperture 3? The earlier editions didn't really grab me (not that I looked into them particularly), but the latest version seems really quite sophisticated. I used a film SLR for many years before taking the leap to my DSLR and still have the old film mindset of trying to get the shot right in the camera, rather than rely on photoshop. That means I usually only want to make minimal changes on the computer, to adjusting lighting and sharpness and it looks like aperture will handle all of that stuff really well.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Regarding iPhoto I have just followed Jack's advice and 'rebuilt' the iPhoto library. Not as onerous as it sounds as it is but it does make things run along better than before.

Even with 8,000 photos I didn't have too much trouble getting the thumbnails to load up even before the rebuild.