Color Gradient on External Display using a Macbook

Question

I noticed that a gradient created in Photoshop on my 13" Macbook looks too sharp(not a gradual blend) and I can see some "banding" between the colors. There is nothing wrong with the laptop but my question is would the gradient look more professional on an external apple cinema display hooked up to my Macbook? Or is the fact that I don't have a dedicated video card in my Macbook mean that the gradient would likely appear poorly on my Cinema Display as well?

Answer 1

First:
The lack of a discrete video card on the MacBook has absolutely NO impact on gradients in Photoshop. In fact, except for rendering some of the filters in that application, a discrete graphics card has no benefit in Photoshop.
Secondly:
How familiar are you with Photoshop? The overwhelmingly likely cause of your problem is that the gradient is done incorrectly. (For example, if you try to apply a gradient to a low-resolution image, you'll get banding. Make sure your image resolution is 300ppi.) I use Photoshop on my MacBook all the time with a variety of gradients and I've never had this problem. I also have a 23" Cinema Display that I use with the MacBook -- gradients appear exactly the same on both displays.