Why buy a MBP?

[spencecb]

Any reasonable amount of Photoshop use will bring the conclusion that it runs pretty slow in Rosetta.
http://www.macspeedzone.com/html/hardware/machine/performance_in_the_raw/06/1_23.shtml

Don't take this the wrong way, but when every review and performance test (and every person other than you) shows that the MBP and Intel iMac is way slower (on the order of 40%-50%) using Photoshop, forgive me for being skeptical when you say that your MBP "runs circles" around your iMac G5. Of course, if you posted video clips substantiating your claim, that'd be one thing. But as it is, the OP would be greatly disappointed if he bought an MBP on your suggestion expecting it to "run circles" around an iMac G5 using Photoshop.

I have no idea how to makea video clip of this. Is there a way to use iSight in order to do this?

If it is complicated, it is not worth my time. Believe me or not, it's your choice. But I have run the test several times, and my MBP always finishes the radial blur before the iMac has even reached 50% completion.

 

[ckeck]

I don't know what peoples problems with Rosetta are...my MBP is running all my non-universal programs as fast or faster than my old PB 1.67.

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

I don't know what peoples problems with Rosetta are...my MBP is running all my non-universal programs as fast or faster than my old PB 1.67.

I'm not sure that's possible.

There supposed to run at.. half speed, I think.

 

[blackstone]

If you are going to Law School, I wouldn't by a MBP just yet unless you plan to dual boot with Windows. Examsoft software used by law schools for their exams is a Windows only program.

Examsoft alone is not a great reason for law students to avoid Macs, for two reasons:

(1) Exams only happen twice a year, and you have to use your main laptop to take notes every single day, in every single class. Unless it is cost-prohibitive to have two laptops, then I think that your main priority should be what works well in day-to-day use, not what will meet the requirements of one program that you only use a couple of days out of the year.

(2) The requirements to run Examsoft are not exactly hard to meet: a 450 Mhz PIII with 128 Mb of RAM. So it's pretty easy to buy a cheap used laptop and use it on exams, or just use an old laptop if you have one handy, or borrow one from a non-law student friend -- meaning that it is unlikely to be cost-prohibitive to have an Examsoft-only laptop on hand.

 

[eXan]

I'm not sure that's possible.

There supposed to run at.. half speed, I think.

Half speed of compariably-clocked G5

to blackstone: yes you're right

 

[spencecb]

I'm not sure that's possible.

There supposed to run at.. half speed, I think.

See, these are the comments that just need to go away. Wherever that rumor was started, the person that said it obviously had no clue what they were talking about.

Now, if you are talking about when you are running programs through Rosetta like, say, Office, with huge (I'm talking over 100 pages) of text and graphs and clips and pictures, then yes, the MBP is going get a little confused. But for every day use, it screams, even when using Rosetta.

 

[1dterbeest]

i did a photoshop 7.0 benchmark
test on my 800mhz imac and my
macbook pro. The macbook pro
in a heavy processor taxing
application, performed the task
four times faster than my iMac.
Four times faster under emulation.

Don't worry. Unless you are
handling huge print applications,
the emulation wont be a problem.

 

[derajfast]

i just got my macbook pro.....and it is A LOT faster running photoshop under rosetta then my powerbook g4 was running photoshop natively

only difference is it takes a little bit longer to load.... thats it

 

[eXan]

i just got my macbook pro.....and it is A LOT faster running photoshop under rosetta then my powerbook g4 was running photoshop natively

only difference is it takes a little bit longer to load.... thats it

What about your iMac?

 

[ultra kyu]

so i ended up with...

Thanks for all the replies! So since I do some resource demanding work within Adobe CS2 (i almost always have 3 of the programs - illustrator, indesign, and golive opened at once), I decided to side with the majority and buy a PC notebook for now. Here's what I ended up with and for the price, i have to think it's a steal:

Dell (no stone throwing) e1505
1.83ghz core duo
15.4" XGA display
1GB (2x512) DDR2 RAM at 533MHz
100GB SATA HD at 5400rpm
8X DVD/CD burner
IntelPro Wireless Mini Card
256MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1400
9-cell lithium battery plus an extra 6-cell battery
free dell 720 printer

comes with media center, but my university gives me XP professional for free. Plus i probably want to reformat the HD anyway.

Final Price: $1079 shipped