Setup recommendation wanted from designers

[Europe calling]

Hi,

I do freelance design work from home as well on location (where i work on any mac that is available). My home system (G4 450 Mhz DP) is in serious need of replacement and i'm thinking of replacing it with a MBP.

I was thinking of getting the 15" MBP plus an extra 22' non-apple screen or so, for use at home. I mostly work with Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash and Dreamweaver, lots of fonts open.

My questions:
Are there designers out there, happily satisfied working on a 15" MBP, or should i really go for a 17"? Can you easily work with multiple windows open, with several applications running at the same time?

What secondary 22" monitor would you recommend? I don't need a rock-bottom low-end model but I have no money left for an Eizo once i buy the MBP. What could be a good choice, considering I do need some color accuracy?

Thanks.

 

[Pim]

Just the screen of my 15" MBP is enough for only the designing in photoshop and flash, but when I'm using dreamweaver to webdesign, an extra screen really comes in handy. I'm thinking of buying one too, but really don't know anything about good screens...

 

[earthsick]

I use a 24" dell widescreen LCD...These use the same pannels as the Apple displays and comes with several features the Apple displays do not have such as a slew of inputs and USB/flash card ports on the side. Through a little issue with Dell costomer service I actually ended up with two of these and connected the second one to a surround sound system and a cable box and now use it as a HDTV. Great display, good buy.

 

[Architect4122]

Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, AutoCAD, SketchUp, and other modeling/rendering apps are what I use on a daily basis.

I have the 15" MBP (and a 15" XP laptop I used for a long time). The 17" screen really does seem "that much" more space to work with. However, at the same time, its no fun to carry around.

Typical interaction when I see a friend (uses same apps) with a new 17" laptop (Apple or not):

me: "oh! nice computer, how do you like it?"
them: "the screen is really nice (17")........"
me: "thats awesome"
them: "yeah....its just too big to carry though....I think the 15" would have been a better idea."


In the end: 15" is perfect for what you need on the comp side...external monitor? There's plenty on this forum, trust me, it took me 3 weeks of intense reading!

 

[nateDEEZY]

Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, AutoCAD, SketchUp, and other modeling/rendering apps are what I use on a daily basis.

I have the 15" MBP (and a 15" XP laptop I used for a long time). The 17" screen really does seem "that much" more space to work with. However, at the same time, its no fun to carry around.

Typical interaction when I see a friend (uses same apps) with a new 17" laptop (Apple or not):

me: "oh! nice computer, how do you like it?"
them: "the screen is really nice (17")........"
me: "thats awesome"
them: "yeah....its just too big to carry though....I think the 15" would have been a better idea."


In the end: 15" is perfect for what you need on the comp side...external monitor? There's plenty on this forum, trust me, it took me 3 weeks of intense reading!

The pricing difference between a 2.4 15" and a hi-res 17" is enough to make me go with the 2.4 mbp and put the money saved on not getting a hi-res 17" into a nice external monitor.

 

[tardinha]

Get the Hi Res 17"

I don't know why everyone complains about the 17" size.

I carry mine to work every day (and there's about 30 mins of walking between two train rides each way) and hardly notice it over my shoulder.

And having the Hi Res screen means I have the same desktop space that I would have using an exteral 23" or 24" screen. For the last seven years, I have been desiging on a 21" CRT, at a resolution of 1920x1440, so the 1920x1200 MBP isn't too much of a step down. However, this weekend I'll be ordering a 30" ACD

By the way, I carry it around in a Vertical Brain Cell with the Absolute Strap.

 

[vicious7]

Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, Storyboard Pro and FCP are the apps I usually have up. And I have a measly 2.2 SR - although with 4GB RAM - and it works fine.

The 15" screen works fine for examining your work when on location but it would save you time and your eyes if you had an external display for when you get back to your home office. My preference is Dell's 24-30" Ultrasharps. They offer good value for the money and use the same panels as the ACDs.

 

[agentphish]

i still use my powerbook 1.5ghz w/ 2gb of ram and 128 video ram. I have had it for 3 years and have used it and traveled w/ it EVERY day.

It still does anything I need it to do w/o any problems. You will be plenty happy w/ any new macbook pro.

As for external monitors, I hear great things about the Dells, Apples of course, and Samsungs. Strangely enough at my office i have a cheaper optiquest by viewsonic that puts out a DAMN good picture. I thought about getting one of those for home, but my wife would kill me seing as we alredy have 2 LCD's.