Aperture on MacBook, MacBook Pro, or stick with G4 PowerBook for now?

Question

Hello there,
My question may have been asked and answered already, but I can't find it so I'll ask anyway.
I am currently running a 1.67GHz PowerBook with 2 GBs RAM, 120GB hard drive and - while at home - a 20" Apple Cinema Display.
I really want to use Aperture as my sole import, export and management tool for raw files, however photography is my hobby and in my working environment the only way I can get time out to take photographs is if I can provide feedback - images - to people around me to make it worth their while covering for me while I snap away.
That was a long sentence!
The problem I have is that on my PowerBook Aperture runs at an infuriatingly slow pace compared to Adobe products. This is not a problem when I am at home, but as I mentioned, at work I need instant results. Can anyone who has used Aperture "in the field" on both a PowerBook and a MacBook/MacBook Pro comment on how much faster images render etc? Import and export are fine, but I want to be able to make changes and move on to the next image without having to sit and wait for completion of the last one.
So can anyone tell me whether making the jump to a MacBook/Pro would make enough of a difference over the PowerBook to be worth the outlay right now, or am I better to just sit tight and wait for the next MacBook Pro edition. In the meantime using Lightroom, or else missing some fantastic photo opportunities while at work?
I am running on a clean OSX install with a library of nearly 8,000 images around 2,000 of which are various forms of raw. I am currently using a Nikon D200 with raw file sizes of >15MB.
I have Aperture running on its own, no other apps are open.
I am only shooting raw, so score the JPEG suggestion from your lists!
Only advice from people who have actually USED the products mentioned please. Plus I am not slating Aperture, or in any way deriding Apple products, just asking for sound advice.
12" 1.33GHz PB G4/15" 1.67GHz PB G4/Dual 2.0GHz PowerMacG5   Mac OS X (10.4.6)  

Answer 1

The MacBook Pro weighs only 6 ounces
more than a MacBook, and is thinner; hardly a "boat
anchor."
I am using a 12" Powerbook because it is the smallest laptop they sell. The 15" MBP is not a weight or thickness issue. The thing is just to dang big in the other two dimensions to transport and use in the field. You can't use it on a airplane seat in coach. It won't fit in a normal laptop bag. It's too big. The 13" MB is too big too, but is much closer to what I'm looking for. Maybe I'm really looking for a subnotebook VAIO that runs OSX...
Also, the extra screen real estate makes it
a much more functional Aperture box.
I have a quad g5 with multiple monitors as my primary Aperture machine. I want a machine for the field.
If you really
want a powerful laptop with a quality small screen my
guess is we will see one by this fall.
From your mouth to Steve's ears.. Perhaps the real problem is that Aperture is relying on the GPU so extensively that a machine with a blazing fast dual core CPU can't run it due to graphics limitations. Remember, this is NOT a high framerate 3d game, it's photo workflow software...
--tom
Quad G5   Mac OS X (10.4.6)