Wanting Recommendation: MacBook Pro vs. Mac Pro

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Level 1

132 points

Wanting Recommendation: MacBook Pro vs. Mac Pro

I'm in the market for a new Mac. I'm used to having Mac desktop models (tower) and never owned a laptop. I'm considering whether to get MacBook Pro laptop or the Mac Pro tower.

As I see it, you sacrifice top performance for mobility, but on a practical and realistic scale, will I notice a big difference on a MBP vs. MP?

The apps I use the most are
Email
Web
Dreamweaver
Photoshop
Lightroom
Toast
iTunes
Final Cut Express
Quicken
Word/Excel
etc.

Please let me know your thoughts and experience with MBP and MP.
Thanks

G4 Dual-533Mhz 768 MB RAM, Choose

Posted on Aug 8, 2007 10:54 PM

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Answer 1

Yer_Man

Level 10

166,104 points

Aug 9, 2007 12:01 AM in response to TeaMan

Well the Mac Pro is a much more powerful machine, especially if kitted out with everything

But assuming you're talking comparable amounts of RAM etc:

Email - no
Web - no
Dreamweaver - no
Photoshop - perhaps on really big rendering jobs, but in more usual jobs, unlikely
Lightroom - no
Toast - no
iTunes - no
Final Cut Express - see the comment on Photoshop above
Quicken - no
Word/Excel - no
etc. - probably not

Regards

TD

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Answer 2

TeaMan Author

Level 1

132 points

Aug 9, 2007 12:24 AM in response to Yer_Man

Terence...not sure why you think Toast couldn't benefit from MacPro power. Crunching video codecs can be very compute intensive.

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Answer 3

Aug 9, 2007 1:30 AM in response to TeaMan

TeaMan,

Yes, rendering and encoding is going to be significantly faster with the Mac Pro. That's not the question.

Rather, the question should be how much you, personally, depend on that speed.

With the advent of the Intel portables, we have to re-think the old paradigms that dictate a tower for any real work. The Macbook Pro is very powerful, even if not as powerful as the Mac Pro. For most uses, the portability of a notebook is no longer a trade-off for the ability to get things done quickly.

Now, the only valid reason to go with a tower, and consequently be tied down to a "station," is when raw horsepower is crucial for the success of a given application (not as in software, but rather usage). If rendering and encoding video is mostly what you do, then the Mac Pro would be preferable.

If, instead, these tasks are only a fraction of what you do, then the Macbook Pro might be the way to go.

I can tell you that "going portable" is a complete change of life- and work-style, and it has very attractive benefits.

Scott

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Answer 4

Aug 9, 2007 5:05 AM in response to TeaMan

Here's my take on noticing a difference between a new MacPro and a MacBook Pro

Email - No noticeable difference
Web - No noticeable difference
Dreamweaver - some difference, partly cpu, party faster drives
Photoshop - A very noticeable difference
Lightroom - I don't use it so I don't know (Aperture is faster on a MP)
Toast - I don't use it so I don't know
iTunes - No noticeable difference
Final Cut Express - I don't use it so I don't know
Quicken - No noticeable difference
Word/Excel - some difference, partly cpu, party faster drives

Bottom line is that the MacPro has a faster CPU, faster GPU and faster FSB. Along with faster drives that can be raided together to make a screaming fast machine.

I use photoshop and dreamweaver on my MacPro and MacBook Pro and I do notice a difference particularly with photoshop. if you're working with large files in photoshop (say over a 100mb) then MP is the definite route you want to go.

If mobility and a strong computer is what you're looking for then obviously the MBP is the answer.

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Answer 5

Aug 9, 2007 9:12 AM in response to TeaMan

Well… having both I can tell you there's a huge difference between them and anyone who has experience with both would tell you any different. That said, there's a lot to be gained by being portable.

What I would consider first is what you hope to gain by being portable as without anything tangible here you'd be better off with an MP else even a new iMac. Sure portability can open doors for you that don't even realise although you should have a fair idea already.

Second, what your workflow like and are you going to use an external display with your MBP? The reason for this is that even if there wasn't a performance difference you'd be more productive with a 23/24" display over the MBP's 15"/17" display. So are you going to say go for a 17" high-res display?

The third is ergonomics. I personally find that using a laptop on a desk is painful. Both for my hands on the keyboard and more so with my neck/shoulders in having to be looking down at the display. I have to go with an external keyboard, mouse and laptop stand to get around it.

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Answer 6

TeaMan Author

Level 1

132 points

Aug 9, 2007 11:49 PM in response to infinite vortex

Yes I should have specified more about my usage model.
I am a serious photographer with DSLR and shoot a lot of photos as a hobby. I use LightRoom from Adobe and PS2 (currently).

I do have a 22" LCD currently which I plan to use if I get a MBP. I would also possibly put 4GB RAM (3rd party, not expensive Apple RAM) and opt for the 7200 RPM drive on the 2.4Ghz 15" MBP. I would connect the MBP up to the 22" LCD and add a wireless keyboard and trackball for good ergonomic comfort while doing serious work. For casual work I'd lounge in easy chair or outside on the deck or in the bedroom or at the kitchen table, etc. I would keep my G4 with it's 3-4 h/d's and use it for disk file serving.

This would be in contrast to getting a MP 2.66 Ghz with 3-4Ghz RAM. My G4 I would sell but transfer over the drives first, to the MP.

I realize the MP has more brute force but I like the idea of portabity, showing family/friends photos, editing photos in LR and PS, surfing web, email, etc. Sometimes in the past I have done video editing too, using Final Cut Express, but not very often. I used to record and edit and encode and burn recorded MPEG2/4 video of TV shows but I recently got a Mac Mini Core Duo 1.83Ghz and it's my record/edit machine now. I have EyeTV and it does a great job with HD record/edit. It's not blazing fast but set it going at night and day (while I'm at work) and it crunches through stuff.

Sounds like MBP would give more freedom but MP could do jobs more quickly if requiring serious CPU, which most apps I use don't (email, web, IM, Quicken, etc).

For those of you with both MP and MBP, for what and when do you use the MP?

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Answer 7

Aug 10, 2007 4:01 AM in response to TeaMan

By the sounds of it, you will be absolutely fine with the macbookpro.

I use a macpro at work, 2.66, 4 gig RAM and the only thing i notice that is quicker is the rendering, or dvd menu creation and burning using DVD studio Pro. Editing in Final Cut seems the same.

I reckon you will be fine with the macbook pro, with 4gig RAM. I use it for intensive video editing and DVD creation, and its by far the fastest laptop you can get for the task. I use an external 23 with it at home, and then get the macpro round only when i am doing the export, but we are talking about hefty 90 minute edits, wth a ton of effects etc and several layers of video.

The macbook pro is very very quick..........and the portability trade off is much worth the power. I would suggest splashing out on a Photoshop CS3 upgrade - this will run a **** of a lot quicker because its now universal, and will run native to the processor, CS2 will run in rosetta mode, which is fine if ou have plenty of RAM, but not ideal.

And be aware that if you order an internal 7200rpm drive, Apple will not replace the machine for a new one if it goes tits up - they will repair it, but the don't exchange built to order machines.

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Answer 8

TeaMan Author

Level 1

132 points

Aug 10, 2007 7:53 AM in response to MrKrinkle

+MrKrinkle said...+
+And be aware that if you order an internal 7200rpm drive, Apple will not replace the machine for a new one if it goes tits up - they will repair it, but the don't exchange built to order machines.+

I say...
Wow I had not known that. Is that true if you have AppleCare too? Is that true for anything but the stock machine...i.e. add more memory?
Would you say the 7200 is worth it for $150 premium?

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Answer 9

Aug 10, 2007 8:12 AM in response to TeaMan

I had the same debate -- I'm a graphic designer who works both at home and at clients' offices. I do lots of digital photography, and my heavy-use software suite is Photoshop, Illustrator, and Fireworks, with a dash of Dreamweaver, Flash, etc.

I went with the MacBook Pro and I've been very happy having a machine that I can use as a desktop (I hook it up to a 24" external monitor, keyboard, and trackball) or toss in a bag and use on the road or at clients' offices.

I do wish I had the sheer image-crunching power of a Mac Pro sometimes, since my first-revision MBP is limited to 2GB of RAM and can really drag on large files. But the newer MBP's are really nice.

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Answer 10

Aug 10, 2007 8:33 AM in response to TeaMan

For those of you with both MP and MBP, for what and when do you use the MP?

I use my MP whenever I can. It's simply a far bigger pleasure to use than my MBP. It's just not even close.

Although I must mention that I'm probably in a unique situation where I do need a laptop, I don't need one for day to day work. Rather I use it to take to clients for various reasons such as showing work (as opposed to doing work). To be honest, my MBP get mostly used in front of the TV while messing about respond to Discussions posts amongst other things. For this I actually could have bought a MacBook but it's weight is practically the same as the 15" MBP and given I'm more comfortable with it I went that way.

Ultimately though, one should consider their focus. If 90% of your computing time is going to at a desk then I'd go with the Mac Pro and a cheap laptop like a MacBook else even a 2nd hand PowerBook G4. otherwise, if you feel a large proportion of your usage will on the move (even it that's to the kitchen) then the MBP will probably be a better way to go.

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Answer 11

Aug 11, 2007 5:34 AM in response to TeaMan

Well, a 7200 rpm drive will certainly give you a little more speed - and if you are going to be editing large audio or video files directly on your machine (ie not from the source file on an external drive), i would say its a very good idea to get the speed upgrade, and $150 is a fair price. Bear in mind about the returns policy though....

...and that editing and saving large video projects to your system drive isn't exactly recommended, I'm sure most people don't have too many problems. Personally, I would always use an external firewire drive for source files.

Applecare will fix it if it goes wrong, but on a stock machine, you can return it before 14 days for any reason.

If you swap out the ram yourself, keep your original sticks just to be on the safe side.

Ned is right, the Mac Pro can be a much more powerful machine, with double (or even quadruple) the processor cores. If most of your time is spent editing big chunks of video, very large photos and graphics or very complicated audio, you will notice the difference. You can put up to 16GB or ram in, and the ram itself is quicker and error correcting, which makes a difference. They are more expandable, and you can put some really serious graphics cars in should you need to for 3D work and gaming, or if you want to use many different monitors.

On the down side, they take up a lot of room (too big in my opinion), and are a lot noiser than the MBP laptop.

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Answer 12

Aug 11, 2007 8:01 AM in response to MrKrinkle

And be aware that if you order an internal 7200rpm drive, Apple will not replace the machine for a new one if it goes tits up - they will repair it, but the don't exchange built to order machines.

I've seen this a couple of times and it's very misleading - and not a point of worry.

Apple does not automatically REPLACE any machine that goes "tits up." The repair policy is that same for ALL machines, and in extreme cases there might be a replacement - regardless of configuration (as purchased).

ALL machines that arrive DOA are replaced. Read the policy.

The ONLY difference is during the initial 14 days of ownership. An "off-the-shelf" machine can be exchanged or refunded.

Try finding a better policy elsewhere.

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