New Mac

[cory1848]

I will be in the market for a new mac this summer, (after Leopard arrives) I do graphic design work and need to upgrade my current system (867 Dual MMD) I love my current machine and its a workhorse but as apps evolve my current mac will lag behind. I need mobility and since I can only afford one, was looking at the Mac Book Pro. Does anyone or can anyone tell me if using the Mac book pro as a desktop is a good idea? Have the monitors and keyboards to run off of it, would network it with my 867 for external hard drive space, would just want the speed of the mac book pro along with being able to take it with me. My main work involves Adobe CS2 suite with 2D work, and also music editing as well. I dont do a lot of video or 3D work. Is the Mac Book Pro over kill for this? Would the regular MacBook surfice? I am budgeting $3k for the machine and upgrades. My current machine has lasted 5 years flawlessly and would be expecting to get the same out of a new machine. Any tips appreciated.
Thanks
Cory

 

[nixgeek]

The MacBook Pro should be good enough to handle all those tasks, IMO. The dedicated video should have enough memory to handle any rendering for graphics (Aperture, for instance) as will the larger screen.

 

[eric2006]

I would get the MacBook Pro over the MacBook because it has more screen space, it will be good for digital arts work, and you'll be set for future apps that use more resources. Make sure you're budgeting for universal software as well as hardware, and get at least 2 GB of RAM for good performance. Invest in a gigabit network to use the MDD as network storage - it's like having a FW400 device hooked up to your computer.