MacBook Pro for graphic & website design?

[idahopamela]

Hi- I'm replacing my (5 year old) G4 tower, and was thinking of getting the 17" Macbook Pro 2.44/ 2 GB/160 GB/ hi res. I'm a graphic/ website designer and mostly run Adobe CS2 (Illustrator, GoLive and Photoshop). I noticed on the Apple site that they're offering killer deals on CS3 with any computer purchase through 9/16. The price difference is good enough that it's worth doing even if I have to pay for Leopard in October (I think). Does anyone have any advice about timing? Also, is this laptop going to be powerful enough- especially if I use it for video editing, or should I be buying a tower again? I'm sort of nervous about making the move to a laptop for my primary work computer, but it would be sooooooo convenient. Any advice for a laptop newbie would be welcome. Thanks!

 

[Bern]

I'm using a MBP 15" for design and graphics. I have it plugged into an external display and it runs effortlessly. Adobe CS3 is smooth and you'll enjoy using it. You'll have no issues using a MBP for your kind of work.

 

[hsotnicaM]

I'm using my srmbp for graphics/web stuff.(adobe, dreamweaver, flash, etc) I used to use a dual 867 G4. I've only turned my G4 on twice in one month since I received the laptop. Don't know what I'm going to do with the G4 now. Seems like a waste of 1 tb hdd space. I guess I could use it as a server or backup of some sort.

 

[xtopher]

I use my MBP for flash, illustrator, photoshop, dreamweaver, maya, final cut studio (not all at the same time of course) and it works perfectly

 

[altmac]

I use my MBP for flash, illustrator, photoshop, dreamweaver, maya, final cut studio (not all at the same time of course) and it works perfectly

what graphic card shall I get with MBP if I purchase for these purposes?
shall I go for the 128? 256?
Any suggestions?

 

[killerrobot]

Get the 256 and you'll have no problems running anything design wise.

 

[xtopher]

thats what im runnin, works fine...

 

[giganten]

I run photoshop, illustrator, indesign and the other programs in the CS3 package. It works fine on my SR 15" MBP 2.2ghz 128mb on the graphic card and 2gb memory.

 

[bluetooth]

The only difference is going to be the obvious screen size, but if you have a monitor at home (from your old tower) you can easily hook that up. I used a friend's MBP for a weekend on a design project when my tower was in the shop for an upgrade and I found going from a 22" to a 17" size monitor a little hard to get used to at first.

I am still planning on investing in a MBP, they are fantastic.

 

[tsd]

Yeah, I'd say a MBP will be great; just max out the stuff that can't be upgraged, like processor, screen size and video card. I'd go for the video card that has the most RAM.