Help me build the perfect Macbook Pro for web design!

I am a beginning web design student, and I'm planning to purchase a new MacBook Pro in the coming weeks. I need to be able to effectively run a few of the CS6 programs, including Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Which configuration should I have---I really don't want to spend more than $2000.00. Should I beef up on RAM and skimp on the processor?
Or, would I be better off getting an iMac? While losing portability and processor speed, the screen real estate would be incredible.

If it were up to me, I would choose the latter;
2.3GHz i7 Quad Core
With 8GB DDR3
Simple really, for the program you'll be using, you'll benefit from the power of the quad core. On a day to day usage however, you might feel that the 2.9GHz is faster. That may very well be true for apps that don't call for quad processing.
But for what you'll be using it for however, that quad core is your best bet.

Similar Messages

What is the best macbook pro for video editing dslr footage?

what is the best macbook pro for video editing dslr footage?

It is the GPU that is important. All the CPU's will be fast enough. If you can affords it, the 15" with the NVIDIA GPU is the best.
Ciao.

What is the best Macbook Pro for 3Ds Max?

I've been searching the ideal laptop for my job. My software is Autodesk 3DS Max. I know it's for Windows but my friends use the same software and they're using Macbook Pro bootcamp as well but it crashed every now & then. I need a laptop that is light weight, has a video card and a screen that is perfect for graphics. Reviews on the Macbook Pro Retina are quite positive but I read about the ghost screen, lags etc. :-/

The 13 inch wont do you much good in terms of Graphic rendering and transcoding for the following apps, AutoCAD, FCS, Premiere CS5. The 15" however has a dedicated GPU and also an integrated GPU, if I were you I would go for the high-end 15" Macbook Pro. Just look at the specs.....
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro?mco=MTM3NjU5Mz U

What is the best MacBook Pro for me? (Budget = 1500$)

Hello guys, I am looking forward for buying a new MacBook Pro. But I don't know which one. I want a 13 inch model that can run very good. In 2010 I bought a MacBook White and I should probably say that it was worth every penny I spent. I loved it so much but this year the trackpad would not move, lagging is an issue but it still works fine now. I want to buy a new MacBook Pro that is good.
I will use it for the following :
- Microsoft Word / google docs
- Photoshop
- Game programming
- Gaming (League of Legends, Football Manager 2014/15/16/17)
- Programming
- Researching ( EXTREMELY IMPORTANT)
- Homework
- And personal use (Facebook, and surfing the web)
My budget is 1500$, okease answer as fast as you can!!

givemethemac,
if you still have your white MacBook, then it seems like fixing its trackpad and installing more RAM and/or replacing its hard disk with a SSD would cost significantly less than $1500. It sounds as though if the trackpad were fixed and the lagging were resolved, that you would still be happy to use it.

Buying a new Macbook Pro for sound design - is the 2.7GHz upgrade worth it?

Hi everyone,
I'm in my final year of sound design and I will be using Logic, Max MSP, Traktor, Ableton, Maschine, softsynths, some hardware and large sfx libraries. I will be using this computer as a source of income for the next three years and I'm finding it very difficult making decisions for the upgrade with purchase. I've decided not to go with the retina display as I'm going to be buying a separate monitor/s anyway. I will be getting the 15-inch Macbook Pro.
Is the upgrade from 2.6 - 2.7GHz worth it? I've decided against SSD at this point as I think I need the capacity more than anything. I could upgrade to SSD in the future if necessary. But I can't decide between the 750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200 rpm or the 1TB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm - should I forgo the 250gig for the 7200 rpm speed? Any advice welcome thanks!

It depends on whether your productivity is limited by CPU bandwidth. If it is, then you should easily recoup the cost of the upgrade over the life of the machine. If not, you won't.

What specs would make the perfect MacBook Air for college?

I've decided I'm going to get a MacBook Air for college, but I want to make sure it's the best possible for my four years as an undergraduate so I don't have to get a new one over this time period.
For the processor: how much of a speed difference will there be between the i5 and i7? I'm thinking the i7 will be a better choice, but I really don't know what the difference will be.
For RAM: 4gb should be plenty for four years, right? Right now I have a late 2008 aluminum MacBook with only 2gb of RAM and only recently did I notice it to start getting slow.
Storage: My biggest concern. Will 256gb last me four years? I will be bringing an external hard drive, but I plan on only really using that for Time Machine backups and storage for photos. Should I make the jump to 512gb?
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
-Nick

JasonFear wrote:
The $100 upgrade from 4GB to 8GB (personally) I think is a total no brainer. RAM is one of those things that you can never have enough of and whatever decision you make at time of purchase is the one you're stuck with for the life of the machine. I can't tell you how many times I've had a user with the 2GB model from the previous generation complain of sluggish performance over a lack of available RAM. If it was hundreds of dollars I could see but it's not, especially when you factor in the cost of the machine. Over the course of three years the RAM upgrade translates into $2.78/month and you'd be "future proofing" yourself.
As with previous generations, Apple only lets you upgrade from 256GB to 512GB if you buy the higher end model. Which means you're looking at $1999 for the 13" model with 512GB (4GB of RAM) and $1899 for the 11" model (4GB of RAM). Absolutely not worth it, unless you absolutely have to have 300-400GB of data available locally.
I came into the conversation to clear up wrong information. If there's one thing I've learned in my time posting, more points doesn't mean good information. The OP, who's new, had a question about buying decisions and was given bad information. You've never corrected someone when they wrong? Doubt it...
Regrettably, because this an open discussion forum, we're all free to respond to whoever and whenever. It's very possible that the OP may not know the technical differences between the various CPUs and thus would base his purchasing decision on your false information. Imagine his surprise when he's told that his i7 CPU is a dual core and not a quad core.
Seeing you've asked (so eloquently I might add), I'm happy to provide information on the CPUs.
The i5 in the 13" MacBook Air is an i5-3337U, the i7 is an i7-3667U. Both machines when benchmarked against one another in a PassMark CPU test scored as followed:
i5 - 2,652
i7 - 2,841
A difference of 189 points. You're a numbers guy, Kappy. So if real estate property #1 is worth $2,652,000 and real estate property #2 is worth 2,841,000 how much more is that property worth? It's sure not 25%.
My apologies to the OP for the divergent of your topic, but I think it's important when a frequent poster who's opinion is highly regarded but (other) members on here to be corrected when bad information is provided. I know I would expect the same correction if I recommended something incorrectly.

MacBook Pro for Web Develop/Photographer

I'm a student and I am travel photographer and web developer.I'm looking at buying a 13" Macbook Pro w/o Retina, however, I'm having trouble figuring out what configuration I need. Unfortunately, I know more about the web than I do about the inner workings of a computer. So I would love some suggestions on what to get for the processor and RAM storage.
The MacBook is going to act as my travel work laptop and it will go with me everywhere, cross country and overseas. It will be a place to offload my photos to Lightroom and do basic checking and editing. Video editing is going to occur very often. I'm also going to be using it as one of the main place for coding and designing websites
I would be running the following programs on it:
Adobe Lightroom
Adobe Fireworks(Or a similar program)
Adobe Photoshop (Or a similar program)
Adobe Premiere Pro (Or a similar program)
MAMP
Itunes
Multiple Browser
Text Editor
It would also be nice to have the option to add space if I would need to.
So what is the best set up for what I need? Should I get an I5 or I7 processor? What amount of memory should I get? What type of hard drive would be the best?
And is there anything else you suggest for me to get?
Also, would refurbished be a good option?
And don't just say get this. Please give me a reason as to why.
Thanks so much.

I'd be curious to know what "issues" you think there are with the Retina MBPs. But at any rate, if you want the non-retina model I'd suggest you upgrade it to 8GB of RAM (more RAM is always better) and at least the 256 GB SSD. I also agree with Andy on using external HDDs for additional storage.
I am in a similar situation as you. I will be buying a new MBP later this year to replace my early-2011 15" MBP. I'm going to with the top model of 13" MBPr and will have additional external HDDs for backup and file storage. I don't do web development but I am an amateur photographer.
I can't stress this enough: do not forget the external HDDs for backups. Having current Time Machine backups will be critical in case of an emergency. Having an SSD in the MBP will dramatically reduce the possiblity of losing data but having backups is still important.

Building the ultimate Mac Pro for Lightroom

I am looking at upgrading my current Mac Pro or buying a new Mac Pro with the specific goal of making Lightroom faster.
My problem is that I use a PhaseOne P45+ back and rendering each file at 100% takes approximately 12 seconds. I could do a blanket 1:1 render but then my catalogue would be huge.
Here's my question; which part of my Mac Pro is most involved with the rendering?
Processors
RAM
Graphics card
Hard disk
I currently have a first generation Mac Pro and was thinking of either doing the following upgrade:
Increase ram from 7GB to 16GB.
Create a RAID 0 hard disk from 2 of the Intel X25M solid state drives (new G2 models) and have the catalogue and cache on that drive (obviously it will be backed up frequently)
Replace my graphics card with a Radeon 4870.
If I bought a new Mac Pro then I would still carryout the above modification but I would have the benefit of 8 cores instead of 4 and the RAM is faster. However, I am reluctant to spend the additional capital if the increase in performance is minimal.
My second question therefore is; does Lightroom 2.4 take full advantage of a new Mac Pro's 8 cores?
Thanks!

A single OWC Mercury Extreme Pro RE SSD will pretty much max out a SATA2 port so any caddy that puts two of those SSDs on one port becomes pointless.
There are two extra unused SATA ports on the motherboard that could be used with the Trans Intl. DX4 Mounting Station. This is probably your best option for maximizing as many of your internal SATA ports for storage HDs as possible.
I don't know if its true for the 2009 and later Mac Pros, but in the 2008 and earlier ones the limiting factor for RAID bandwidth was the Enterprise Southbridge Interface which was limited to 1 GB/s.
http://developer.apple.com/legacy/mac/library/documentation/HardwareDrivers/Conc eptual/MacPro0704/Articles/arch.html
Message was edited by: Martin Pace

Need help/advice on choosing a Macbook Pro for music editing !!

Hi all
so ive just started TAFE/college doing sound production and i can't decide if i should get the high end 13" 2.7GHz i7 MBP or the low end 15" 2.0GHz i7. both refurbished. or if i need one at all?
my current pc is abit old and i would like a new computer to run either logic or cubase depending what i end up with (pc/mac) so i can do music edits and mixing (maybe with visuals) for TAFE and possibly for my future career, i also plan to do home recordings when i can get the equipment. Nothing too fancy just basic home recordings. I can afford the 15" but wuld i be better off getting ther 13" and saving the money to buy the recording equipment i.e interface, cond mic.
any thoughts??
thanks !

Hi,
No, you indicated both MBP's had i7 chips and the 13" has a faster clock speed, so lightly better performance would be expected from that. Logic of course is Mac only so if you decided to stay with the PC you'd have to go with Cubase. Or better still use the DAW that your college recommends.
Most outboard Audio Interfaces are currently either USB or Firewire. Thunderbolt interfaces will appear over time and this should bring performance improvements. I suspect PC's will offer Thunderbolt eventually too. With the home based setup you described in the original post I'm not sure why you would need more than a couple of USB ports and you would also get a Firewire 800 port with a Mac.
Bottom line is if your existing PC can cope and is compatible with the college recommendation use it, if not, upgrade your PC and use the savings to buy the other bits you need. Or buy the 13"MBP.
While I don't want to get into the discussion about whether Macs are easier to use or just different to use, I work with both platforms doing music in UK schools and I find kids pick up the basics of computer music more quickly on a Mac. Just an observation.
Good luck with your music studies whatever you deside to do.
Alastair.

Got macbook pro for christmas. Having trouble staying conected to internet. I have Hughsnet for internet. Do I need to ????Help

Help! I received a Macbook Pro for Christmas and can not stay contect to my internet....
My provider is Hughsnet. Is something not set right?? I can conect but after open a couple of windows/tabs it degrades my
internet conection. I have a call into Apple Tech for tomorrow but was wondering if anyone else is having a problem like this.
Thanks

Use the trackpad to scroll, thats what it was designed for. The scroll bars automatically disappear when not being used and will appear if you scroll up or down using the trackpad.
This is a user-to-user forum and most people will post on here if they have problems. You very rarely get people posting to say there update went smooth. The fact is the vast majority of Mountain Lion users will not be experiencing any major problems with the OS, or maybe with apps which are not compatible, but thats hardly Apple's fault if developers don't update their apps.

Does the newest macbook pro with retina display have an ethernet connection port?

I am looking at getting a computer for college and am trying to decide between the newest version of the macbook pro and the one with the cd/dvd drive in it and the way i get internet connection in my dorm room is going to be by an ethernet cable so i am trying to cover everything. Thanks for all of the help!

does the newest macbook pro with retina display have an ethernet connection port?
No.
-> http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs-retina/
But you can get a Thunderbolt to Ethernet connector.
-> http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD463ZM/A/thunderbolt-to-gigabit-ethernet-adap ter?aid=www-k2-macbook%C2%A0pro+retina+-…

Best macbook pro for gopro editing

hi. i am new to the editing world and would like to get a macbook pro, i would use it for homevideo editing from a gopro, holding music and possibly watching the odd movie on it.
i have no clue on what sort of macbook pro id need but id like a retina display? what are the pros and cons of retina? and i would also like the macbook pro to not be slow or lag or crash while im edititng.
so if someone out there could write back with exact specifications to what they think would be the best macbook pro for me that would be great.
thanks
Ross

The best one is the model without the word "Book" in it...
You don't say what you want to edit, but in general, editing is a horsepower game so you'll want a lot of RAM, a fast system disk/SSD and the fastest processors and video board available. Don't expect to do much on the battery because all those resources (plus your external media drives) will severely limit your battery life.
You may also want an external monitor and plan on either USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt external drives for media and scratch storage. The bigger, the better.
Hope this helps

Thinking of changing my current Macbook Pro for recently released?

My current Macbook Pro is the 15" bought in 2008 just when the glossy screen computers came out. Its a good unit with 4 gigs RAM, 2.4 mhz processor etc.
However, I just bought an iMac 27" i5. Its very powerful and is now the centre of my computing universe. Oddly, since I got the iMac I use my portable as a portable more than ever. I was thinking though that really since the iMac is so powerful probably all I'd need is the 13.3" new Macbook Pro. It would be lighter and more portable but I'm not sure it would give me any performance enhancements over what I currently have.
I'm just curious what others thoughts are on the new 13.3" Macbook Pro. The only advantage I can with it over my current Macbook Pro is the graphics processor looks like its more powerful. The battery life is also amazing. On my current Macbook Pro I'm lucky to get 3 hours. This machine is rated at 10 hours.
Considering I've got a powerful iMac i5, does it make sense just to get the 13.3" Macbook Pro or spring for the 15.4. I don't think I need two powerful computers considering I use the iMac as the centre. Plus, I realize now that the apps I use all this power is wasted on.
I could probably sell my current Macbook Pro for $1000 as it has a tiny dent from a fall, buy the new Macbook Pro for $1200 plus and have something that is a little more portable with great battery life and I suspect maybe somewhat faster. My current computer is of course a matte screen and I don't think you can beat that but I think this combo I'm thinking of might be a better fit.
I just want people's thoughts views especially around also that the 13.3" Macbook Pro is a core duo 2 and I think this processor is pretty well near the end of its life. I saw Steve Jobs say though that the performance boost from the new Macbook Pro would have been minimal with an i5 but a lot with the new graphics cards.
Thoughts would be very much appreciated.

If your budget is unlimited, look at both the retina and non-retina and make a decision based on your preferences. If funds are tight, explore the options in the refurbished section. Unless you are dealing with courses that demand specific performance parameters, any one of these options will suffice.
Ciao.

Help Please. I am setting up my macbook pro for a second user but office didn't transfer over. Is there a way to have additional users on the same comp have office available without having to re-install it for each user?

Help Please. I am setting up my macbook pro for a second user but office didn't transfer over. Is there a way to have additional users on the same comp have office available without having to re-install it for each user?

mpr130 wrote:
Help Please. I am setting up my macbook pro for a second user but office didn't transfer over. Is there a way to have additional users on the same comp have office available without having to re-install it for each user?
How did you attemp to transfer Office?
OS X Lion: Set up a guest account

I've installed windows 7 with the help of bootcamp on my macbook pro 2011. Please help me how to install mac drivers for windows7 64 bit???

I've installed windows 7 with the help of bootcamp on my macbook pro 2011.
Please help me how to install mac drivers for windows7 64 bit???

You either download drivers from within Boot Camp Assistant and save to USB FAT disk, or you insert and use 10.6.x OS X DVD when in Windows and install and run the SETUP from there.
General Help:
Boot Camp 4.0, OS X Lion: Frequently asked question
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4818
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.7.pdf
create a Windows support software (drivers) CD or USB storage media
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4407
Installation Guide Instructions for all features and settings.
Boot Camp 4.0 FAQ Get answers to commonly asked Boot Camp questions.
Windows 7 FAQ Answers to commonly asked Windows 7 questions.
- support articles and tips, how to.
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Macs that work with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846
Step 4: Install the Boot Camp Drivers for Windows
After installing Windows, install Mac-specific drivers and other software for Windows using your Mac OS X installation disc. The Mac OS X disc installs drivers to support Mac components, including AirPort,built-in iSight camera, the Apple Remote, the trackpad on a portable Mac, and thefunction keys on an Apple keyboard.
The Mac OS X disc also installs the Boot Camp control panel for Windows and theApple Boot Camp system tray item.
To install the Boot Camp drivers:
1 Eject the Windows installation disc.
2 Insert the Mac OS X disc. If the installer doesn’t start automatically, browse the disc using Windows Explorerand double-click the setup.exe file in the Boot Camp directory.
3 Follow the onscreen instructions.
If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
Windows that appear only briefly during the installation don’t require your input.
If nothing appears to be happening, there may be a hidden window that you mustrespond to. Check the taskbar and look behind open windows.
Important: Do not click the Cancel button in any of the installer dialogs.
4 After your computer restarts, follow the instructions in the Found New Hardware Wizard to update your software drivers (Windows XP only).
5 Follow the instructions for any other wizards that appear.
6 Check for updated Boot Camp drivers by using Apple Software Update or going to www.apple.com/support/bootcamp.
If You Have Problems Installing the Device Drivers
If it appears that the Boot Camp drivers weren’t successfully installed, try repairing them.
To repair Boot Camp drivers:
1 Start up your computer in Windows.
2 Insert your Mac OS X installation disc.
3 If the installer doesn’t start automatically, browse the disc using Windows Explorerand double-click the setup.exe file in the Boot Camp directory.
4 Click Repair and follow the onscreen instructions.
If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
If you need to reinstall specific drivers, you can install one driver at a time. For example,if your built-in iSight camera isn’t working, you can reinstall just the iSight driver.
Individual drivers are in the Drivers folder on the Mac OS X installation disc.

Help me build the perfect Macbook Pro for web design!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for