graphic card q from student

[Ramsav24]

I figure that everyone here would have the best answer because you're all focused on the field.

I'm a new graphic design student. I'm planning on getting the new MacBook Pro once it arrives and I'm wondering if there is any reason I should be worried about the graphic card that comes with it, or will it be sufficient for the next few years?

Thanks!

 

[fluidedge]

what applications will you be running?

Adobe CS3 (CS4 if you must) will run as cool as a fool in a swimming pool on any modern card

More intensive 3D apps or after effects type things might struggle a bit

 

[macworkerbee]

Well, we don't know the exact specs that apple will be offering in the new laptops but I would say that it is a safe bet that as a new graphic design student you should be fine with the MBP for a few years. If you do happen to get a project where you need to work with beefier apps like video and 3d modeling apps then you can just use one of your school's desktops (if it has an up to date computer lab for that sort of thing). Other than that you should be confident that it will work well with Adobe CS3 and CS4.

 

[kgarner]

We won't know specifically how it runs on various cards until it releases, but CS4 is supposed to use the GPU more extensively than past editions. That said, currently the ATi cards seem to fair better on GPU accelerated apps at the moment, but if NVidia releases better drivers that could be a moot point.

 

[Ramsav24]

I'm not sure what exactly I'll be running- right now, it's a lot of CS3 as we learn different programs.

 

[lucidmedia]

things will be much clearer tomorrow... but it goes without saying that you want the best graphics card available... with CS4 and Flash Player 10 becoming more reliant on the graphics card, you are seeing a trend that will only continue...

As a designer/developer my work takes me from CS3 to AE to programming graphics-intensive real-time visualizations. The current macbook pro is a workhorse and I find its portability and convenience often keeps me off my Mac Pro...

 

[snickelfritz]

I wouldn't worry too much about the GPU.
You can always just go down to the Apple Store and try it for yourself if you have any doubts.

Just make sure you have as much RAM installed as possible.
4GB is not overkill, and the impact it has on performance in CS3 is impossible to overstate.

 

[AlexisV]

Unless you're playing games, any old graphics card from the last few years will be able to handle 2D tasks like Adobe CS 3 in its sleep.

The new 3D features in CS4 will be happy with anything from the last 2 or 3 years too.