Macbook/Pro/Air and processors

[ptarmigan]

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I'm looking for a small lightweight and portable mac laptop. I'm struggling to 'overly' justify spending anything to be honest but it would be a useful thing to have and the iPad just doesn't cut it as I want to be able to run PSCS5/Lightroom. Additionally it'll be internet and email and MS Office and maybe Dreamweaver - but not all at the same time!

 

So my question, anyone using any of the above software especially on the lower processor models like the Macbook and in particular the new 11" and 13" Macbook Air? Will 4gb RAM be enough?

 

I own a Mac Pro 2.66 which will eventually have 12gig of ram.

[andybarton]

4 gig of RAM should be sufficient for what you would want to do "on the road"

[stunsworth]

Ian, I can't see why it would be a problem. I run most of those on a three year old MacBook, and a two year old iMac, both with 4 gig of memory.

 

It's not going to be as fast as your Mac Pro, but I'd expect it to be perfectly acceptable.

[Nicoleica]

I think you'll probably be OK on 4Gb of ram. I have both an iMac and a MacBook, each with 4Gb or RAM and I have no problems running any software that I have on either machine. This includes running Aperture and 2 Parallels sessions at the same time.

[Walt Calahan]

Always good to max out the RAM in a laptop.

[ptarmigan]

Great. I've been eyeing the 13" Macbook Pro for ages but this new 11" Macbook Air looks great but at a max processor speed of either 1.6GHz I was a little concerned it might not be fast enough.

 

Thanks for the comments.

[Uyen4570]

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Hi. I just got the 11" mac book air and have run PS CS5 on it without any issues! I did upgrade ot to the max RAM and memory. It's a great little computer for traveling!

[ptarmigan]

Hi. I just got the 11" mac book air and have run PS CS5 on it without any issues! I did upgrade ot to the max RAM and memory. It's a great little computer for traveling!

 

Which processor are you running?

[wahnamhong]

Have not used the new Mac Air myself but the FT recently called it 'the best computing experience around'.

 

I am using a 2.66 ghz Macbook Pro myself but am reasonably sure my next purchase will be a 13 inch Air.

[coup de foudre]

i have the original (i.e., slowest. only 2 gig RAM) MacBook Air and have used it for the past few years on the road... i have used Capture One to process the RAWs and then CS3 to tweak.

 

yesterday, i processed one from the M9 on it... it's a bit slow and my machine got in a huff (too hot), but it worked fine.

 

with 4 gig RAM, faster processor, and flash drive, you should have no problem at all doing what you want to do.

 

just be aware, though, that working on images on the Air really taxes the battery compared to doing emails and the like.

[Guest malland]

ptarmigan, for a week now I've been using the new MacBook Air ( (13-inch, 2.13 GHz processor, 4 GD RAM, 256 GB flash storage, 2 USB ports, SD card port), on which I run Aperture to process pictures. There is no comparison to the older MacBook Air, which was so slow that running Aperture was simply painful. The flash drive is really very fast: amazing how fast programs start up.

 

I've calibrated the new computer using an Eye-One Display 2 and am happy with the results. The series linked in my signature below was all processed on this new MacBook Air. I'm happy enough with this machine that I intend to use it for all my photo processing, since I travel frequently and extensively and find the care and of feeding and synchronization of two computers to be a pain. Previously I used the older MacBook Air while traveling, rarely processing photos on it, and the 17-inch, high-resolution MacBook Pro at home — I'll stop using the latter.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Paris au rythme de Basquiat (WIP)

[ptarmigan]

ptarmigan, for a week now I've been using the new MacBook Air ( (13-inch, 2.13 GHz processor, 4 GD RAM, 256 GB flash storage, 2 USB ports, SD card port), on which I run Aperture to process pictures. There is no comparison to the older MacBook Air, which was so slow that running Aperture was simply painful. The flash drive is really very fast: amazing how fast programs start up.

 

I've calibrated the new computer using an Eye-One Display 2 and am happy with the results. The series linked in my signature below was all processed on this new MacBook Air. I'm happy enough with this machine that I intend to use it for all my photo processing, since I travel frequently and extensively and find the care and of feeding and synchronization of two computers to be a pain. Previously I used the older MacBook Air while traveling, rarely processing photos on it, and the 17-inch, high-resolution MacBook Pro at home — I'll stop using the latter.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Paris au rythme de Basquiat (WIP)

 

Very useful, thanks. I have Aperture nut stopped using it in favour of LR3. I doubt LR3 would pose any issues either. What about PS, have you used that at all on the new 'Air'?

[Guest malland]

Ian, so far I've only used PS3 on the new MacBook Air, because that was the PS version that was on the old MacBook Air from which I "migrated". It runs fine. In any case, I suppose that in general Aperture is more challenging that PS for the machine. I tried LR but find that, still, Aperture is better at highlight recovery — also I prefer its user interface.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Paris au rythme de Basquiat (WIP)

[rob_w]

Mitch, love this WIP.

 

IMHO it is your best series yet.

 

I encourage anyone following this thread to stop and have a look. (Nothing to do with the new MB Air, which does look exciting for photographers must be said.)

[Guest malland]

Robert, thanks for the kind words.

 

The concept of this series came to me after seeing the new film by Tamra Davies, Basquiat, Radiant Child, and the large Basquiat retrospective at the Musée de l'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris — neither of these should be missed if you have the opprtunity to visit Paris.

 

If I may digress from the subject of this thread, in shooting Paris au rythme de Basquiat, I was interested in mixing in one series not just color and B&W, high-contrast and normal contrast; but also in using a wider range within the color pictures, in terms of accentuated color versus more natural color; not to speak of the extension of themes such as art, photography, race, light, order and calm versus movement and chaos, consumerism, semiotics, and, of course Basquiat, and Paris itself. To me all these elements and themes are appropriate to the "rhythm of Basquiat" in the light of Basquiat's work, which has, as the exhibition catalogue states, a "relentless mixing of mediums and messages, of styles and tropes".

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Paris au rythme de Basquiat (WIP)

[wparsonsgisnet]

Ian, in May I bot a new MBP for all my processing.

 

I selected i7 chip, 4gb ram, the 5400rpm drive, and matte screen. The apple guy suggested the 4gb ram because of the extra $400 to get 8gb, and he recommended I do the upgrade myself. I have just done so, using chips from Crucial, at a cost of $160.

 

I chose the matte screen based on the consensus from other posts on this subject.

 

I looked hard at the 17in MBP but opted for the slightly smaller size and the SD slot on the 15in model.

 

This thing is a dream. I am using C1, PSCS5, ImagePrint, Silver FX Pro, Neat Image, and miss FocusMagic (those turkeys -- no Mac OS version, geez)

 

Now, all I need is an Eizo 243 to go with it (where's Obama's next stimulus????)

 

I was considering a refurb computer and would have saved about $500, but buying a new one permitted me to purchase the $99 one-to-one training. In May I switched video editors and needed the training. I go to school once a week, now.

[ptarmigan]

Bill

 

Sounds great but I don't want/need a screen that big. Here the cost is around £1500 for your spec though I doubt I'd be able to get the extra ram that cheaply. The matt screen is a big attraction but in the end I have a Mac Pro plus Eizo CG243W and that will be used for 95% of what I want to do. I want something really light and portable. Thanks for he info though.

[Guest malland]

Ian, in May I bot a new MBP for all my processing.

 

I selected i7 chip, 4gb ram, the 5400rpm drive, and matte screen. The apple guy suggested the 4gb ram because of the extra $400 to get 8gb, and he recommended I do the upgrade myself. I have just done so, using chips from Crucial, at a cost of $160.

 

I chose the matte screen based on the consensus from other posts on this subject.

 

I looked hard at the 17in MBP but opted for the slightly smaller size and the SD slot on the 15in model...

Bill, if I didn't travel so much I would be using my 17-inch MBP with matte screen, or would replace that with a newer version of the machine; but for anyone with really frequent travel the new high-end 13-inch MacBook Air is really compelling, and the 260GB flash drive is so much faster than a hard disk that one must try it to believe it. Before buying it, I did not think that I would use it only while traveling but not that it would replace my 17-inch MBP, but now my preference is to use it exclusively and avoid the various issues of switching back-and forth between two computers.

 

I know it's a radical solution, but it's working for me and is something I din't expect.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Paris au rythme de Basquiat (WIP)