Is the 13inch MBP for $1199 practical for graphic design?

Hi,
I'm wondering if someone can please advise... my wife wants to get into graphic design, and I would like to get her a laptop for a gift... I use a macbook pro 2.53 but that's not in my budget...
would the macbook pro for $1200 (13inch 2.26 2gb 160hd) be better than the macbook for 999?
do you think those specs are sufficient for running PS, Ilustrator etc..?
I'm looking for something she can use to learn graphic design on and actually do work... is 13in screen practical?
Thanks

Hi chaimdan,
Photoshop is actually more dependent on the CPU /RAM/HD than on the Graphic processor, so the absence of the dedicated GPU won't hurt her with the base model MBP compared to your own. It will be a little slower with Photoshop than your own because of the ten percent or so difference in CPU speed, but not much.
I'd be inclined to bump it up to 4 Gig of RAM though (i installed Corsair "MacRAM" in my own which was much cheaper than ordering the computer with the 4 Gig configuration). I found a substantial improvement with various graphics related apps after upgrading.
To connect to a large monitor you will need an adaptor - either "MiniDisplay Port to DVI" or MiniDisplay Port to VGA", depending on the monitor . Almost all current flat screen monitors will support DVI, which is the way to go if you can.
Personally I'd get the MBP rather than the MB because of the FW port. While USB is Ok for backing up, to avoid filling up her internal drive too much (Photoshop likes plenty of room to move for optimum performance) she is going to need to think about getting an external drive for storing images, or even for use as a "scratch drive" when using Photoshop, before too long. FW800 is vastly better for this sort of purpose.
Cheers
Rod

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