Checking out Macs

[avram]

Learned today that the Apple Store in Soho is open till 8 PM weeknights. I went down to check out machines in person, and it turned out one of the sample machines was the configuration I’m thinking of using: 12" PowerBook hooked up to a 20" external monitor. I confirmed that the setup I’m planning would, in fact, work; that you can get the laptop to ignore its built-in screen and just use the external monitor at full resolution.

I also found a different 12" PowerBook with the full 1.25 gigs of RAM and Photoshop CS2 installed, and fiddled around with a big ol’ document (9x6 inches at 300 dpi) to see how it performed. Pretty well. I should go back and try the same thing with a web browser and some more apps going in the background, since that’s what I’ve usually got going on. And I should check how much heat it kicks out.

I think I’ll also get a 4x5 Intuos graphics tablet, instead of just buying a new Graphire like I’d been planning. The TouchStrip looks like it’ll be handy for varying brush size; that’s one of the things I get annoyed at having to break workflow to do in Photoshop.

Oh, and a hard drive. I’ll need a new, larger external hard drive for backups. Damn, this is adding up to real money.

Comments

[autopope.livejournal.com]

The 15" AlBook is a lot better designed than the 15" TiBook -- and rather less fragile (the screen hinges are recessed, for starters).

The reason I'd go for the 15" AlBook if I was in your shoes is that you can order it with 128Mb of Video RAM rather than the stock 64Mb. The 12" AlBook uses a NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5200 with 64Mb of VRAM; the larger models use the ATI Mobility Radeon 9700, which gets you stuff like programmable pixel and vertex shading for lighting -- and with 128Mb of VRAM, you get dual-link DVI and the capability to drive an external 30" monitor.

I know you're not looking at a 30" monitor now, but you kept your last Powerbook for four years, so it's a fair bet that you might want the capability in future (if, say, you stumble across a second-hand 30" monitor going cheap in a year or two).

I guess it depends where the trade-off point between portability and graphics performance lies for you -- but as I infer you're looking for a photoshop engine, I think going for a better video chipset and a machine that can take more VRAM (and 2Gb of DRAM rather than 1.25Gb) would have to be worth thinking about.

[avram]

The VRAM argument is a good one, dammit. Now I’m uncertain again.

A 30" monitor would require moving to a larger apartment. Could happen in the next few years, but probably won’t.

[macabee.livejournal.com]

I have to concur with autopope. The 15" is all in all a better way to go if you're using it for creative work. What good is a more portable laptop if it isn't really usable while away from the external monitor. Heck, I am never happy on 1024x768...