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Choosing workstation

Hi!

I'm web and motion graphics designer, my main programs are Photoshop, Cinema 4D/Maya/3ds max, After Effects, Premiere and Lightroom. I do a lot of work and I want to have universal (and better mobile) workstation - my first Mac. I can't make decision between traditional Macbook Pro (2.6 i7), retina Macbook(2.7, 8gb), or a bundle Mac Mini i7 as render station + Air 13 baseline, or even, iMac). And I have a lot stupid of questions to ask...

The biggest question for me now - heat. Sometimes at summet air temerature reaches 30-40 C degrees. I plan to render 3D and video on this machine day and night sometimes and I'm affraid - will it handle so extreme temps well?

Retina or non-retina. Is this possible to do pixel-perfect designs in Photoshop on retina at all (and in scaled mode too)? How to view mocups made for regular displays in 1:1 physical size? Will it look in 200% in Photoshop fuzzy and muddy, or it will look just like it must appear on regular screen?

Sound. Does retina sounds worse than old Macbook?)

Is there a noticeable speed difference between 2.6 and 2.7 i7?

And, ****, I want portable light machine so much - maybe Air 13 will satisfy my needs?)))

Sorry for all this newble questions, I don't now hardware really well and It's my first Mac)


Waiting for answer


Anri

Posted on Apr 18, 2013 4:31 AM

Reply
21 replies

Apr 18, 2013 7:24 AM in response to Intenditore

This is a User to User forum. Apple really doesn't precipitate on these forums. So although some members might be geniuses none are affiliated with Apple in any way.


To answer your question is very hard as other members do not have your knowledge of exactly what you are doing with your computers and whether one system would be better then the other for your needs.


Simple fact is get the fastest CPU, the most video memory and the fastest and biggest hard drive/SSD you can afford.


Whether that is a Mac or a Windows PC is up to you as all the programs you list run on both. But if you already have all them for Windows and now use them on Windows the choice would be simple, at least for me. That would be a Windows computer. You would also save some money or get a higher speced system for the same money.

Apr 18, 2013 7:36 AM in response to Intenditore

That is a problem is how you are using your Windows computer, not in Windows itself. Although I own a couple of Mac computers I also own several Windows computers and my job is all Windows based so I use one every day for 8-12 hours. I have done that for years and have no problems with Windows at all. I even run PS CS5 and Lightroom, V3 and V4, on the Windows PCs I use. Along with several CAD programs and CAD in Virtual machines.


There are literally hundreds of millions of people running Windows daily without problems. It is the Worlds Standard OS.


I certainly do not suffer from Windows. I find it stable and it does what it is supposed to do. Startup in the morning, run the program I need for work and play and shuts down or sleeps at night without one problem.

Intenditore wrote:


I thought about pc, but windows destroys me every day, I can't suffer it any longer)

Apr 18, 2013 7:43 AM in response to Intenditore

Intenditore wrote:


I thought about pc, but windows destroys me every day, I can't suffer it any longer)

And by the way my pc is very slow and weak..

Then obviously you will be happier with an Apple computer. Get the best one you can afford.


But, if your Windows PC is destroying you every day then I'd suspect a user issue, assuming there is nothing wrong with your computer. Windows computers contain the same hardware by the most part as Apple computers. They run as fast as Apple computers, and they are just as well supported. Windows, assuming you have Windows 7 or 8 and not an antiquated XP or Vista, runs as well as OSx. So until you provide more details we can not respond adequately to your statement "...but windows destroys me every day".


If your pc is "slow and weak" then determine why that is and fix it. If you do not maintain your new Apple computer it too will become "slow and week".

Apr 18, 2013 7:41 AM in response to Intenditore

from what you'll be using it for - get the base model 15 inch non Retina Macbook Pro.


once you get it - invest and extra $400 to do the following:


16GB - 1600MHz DDR3 RAM.


USB external enclosure ( put your old hard drive in her )


240GB to 256GB SSD.


those should cost you around $350 to $400.


end result - a very fast macbook pro.


don't consider the 13 Inch Macbook Pro or 13 Inch Macbook Air - while the can handle the job you'll be doing - the bottleneck will be the built in Intel HD 4000 video.

Apr 18, 2013 7:50 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Currently I have Celeron 2.2ghz computer without even weak dedicated video card and really slow hdd. I can even work in After Effects and 3ds Max/maya on this machine, but it's very slow. Espetially in Lightroom, it's a pian to use it.

Windows by itself gives me very wrong experience, it slows down computer with system processes that eats sometimes about a half of power. That's what I have on fresh system + a huge amout of stupid useless vendor's programms. I tried of it all, I don't want to deal with windows anymore. Maybe only in VM for 3ds Max or some games.

+ MacOS does not offend my sense of beauty 😉

Apr 18, 2013 7:59 AM in response to Intenditore

Intenditore wrote:


Currently I have Celeron 2.2ghz computer without even weak dedicated video card and really slow hdd. I can even work in After Effects and 3ds Max/maya on this machine, but it's very slow. Espetially in Lightroom, it's a pian to use it.


You know what - try this before you spend a couple of thousand $$$ for a new Macbook Pro.


Why not change your Celery CPU to something much faster and install a SSD in your PC? Maybe upgrade the RAM too.


To be honest, a Celeron can not handle the programs you're using.

Apr 18, 2013 8:31 AM in response to Intenditore

not trying to make you stay with a PC - just giving you options before you spend thousands.....


i'm sure if you go to a windows forum - they won't be as polite as we are and tell you have bad macbooks are.


in any event - the end choice is yours - i use both Mac and PC and I prefer the Mac over any of the PC that I own.


either way - as i said earlier - go with the base 15 inch Macbook Pro and do the RAM and SSD swap yourself.


good luck

Apr 18, 2013 8:29 AM in response to Intenditore

Intenditore wrote:


How strange, I came here to ask what Mac is up to me, and everyone tries to leave me on pc 😀

P.S. It's notebook, so I can't swap anything

I did not try to leave you on a PC. The first paragraph in my post said you will be happier with an Apple computer.


I then provided you options. For certain a Celeron processor will not perform well under your usage requirements. Celerons are the most basic of processors. That said, if you get a PC with a modern processor such as an i5 or i7 it will perform as well as an Apple computer with the same i5 or i7 processor, assuming similar memory and drive configuration.


So noone is trying to make you stay with your PC. We are only advising you and offering options.

Apr 18, 2013 10:18 AM in response to Intenditore

Actually most all Windows PC notebooks have removable, interchangeable, CPUs. It is only Apple Mac notebooks that solder the CPU to the logic, Mother, boards. So it may be possible to swap out your current CPU for one that runs faster.

But in any event the Celeron CPUs have always been the low end, slower and not including some features found in higher end systems.


Owning both system I can tell you from personal experience that a Mac will have just as many problems as a Windows PC if you insist on installing Junk software on it. Yes there is Junk software for Mac OS X.



Intenditore wrote:


How strange, I came here to ask what Mac is up to me, and everyone tries to leave me on pc 😀

P.S. It's notebook, so I can't swap anything

Apr 18, 2013 11:08 AM in response to Intenditore

Currently I have Celeron 2.2ghz computer without even weak dedicated video card and really slow hdd. I can even work in After Effects and 3ds Max/maya on this machine, but it's very slow. Espetially in Lightroom, it's a pian to use it.


It's notebook, so I can't swap anything



The work your doing requires a open powerful workstation tower where you can add more RAM and swap out the video card for a newer more powerful one and have unlimited cooling and power.


This rules out the Mac Mini (a laptop in a box basically) and any laptop from just about any vendor, except perhaps from Sager then your opening it up and cleaning the cooling fins often of dust bunnies. (and it's really hot)


Your in the same catagory as a 3D gamer because you use Maya you need powerful 3D graphics and being able to upgrade the video card annually or bi-annually, all your 2D photo work will also improve with a powerful 3D tower/workstation.


Any video processing work would benefit from having more CPU cores to break the large job up into portions and send them to each core to work in parallel.


So basically what you require is a tower with many core processors AND a way to upgrade the graphics card often to get the latest 3D performance.


Unfortuntly you not going to find what you need on a Apple. Sure the MacPro has many core cpu's which video pro's like, but the problem is there isn't many 3D video graphic card upgrade options open for the MacPro (3x the price and 2x less performance) thus this is going to severly hamper your 3D rendering upgradability (and your wallet).


Also Apple upgrades OS X annually now, then drops support for older OS X versions requiring one to upgrade hardware (and software) much more rapidly than on Windows. Windows 7 will last until 2020, so you have less software headaches with paid upgrades etc with Windows. Your machine will stay the way it is on Windows, not on OS X which is undergoing radical and constant change. 😟


See this. https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4881



Apple is moving rapidly away from the professional market for their hardware anyway, basically only wants to cater to consumers with smaller devices. (as proof of the iPhone and iPad sales successes)


http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/01/video-pros-apple-needs-to-acknowledge-the-p ro-industry-and-fast/



There is a free program called Cinebench, and what it does is it tests the CPU and Graphics performance of hardware for video pros and 3D gamers, which your a combination of both.


So you need the best CPU performance and the best GPU performance and this chart clearly shows which hardware you should buy + combined with Windows 7, a powerful machine for the next 7 years or more offline.


http://www.cbscores.com/index.php?sort=ogl&order=desc



So it's obvious you need a Win 7 tower, with many CPU cores and a powerful power supply and latest sockets on the motherboard to upgrade the newer video cards with.



You can use these charts here to find what your looking for in hardware.


http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html


http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html



Now it's just a matter of finding a PC vendor that will either have the machine pre-built, or will build to suit.


If your in the US, Tiger Direct is known to build PC's to order and have pre-built 3D gaming systems, thus they can hold your hand and provide a warranty, a physical store to bring the machine in and advice.


Also a lot of local PC repair shops could likely set you up on a sweet system with a lot of power and performance.



Windows 7 isn't bad on a DECENT monitor, it's quite lovely on my 17" MacBook Pro here (yes Mac's can run Windows), the problem is your present machine is outdated and cheap consumer PC's have cheap monitors.


So if you get a high pixel per square inch monitor, Windows will look just as lovely as OS X on it with high pixel res photo's etc.


I know a Mac sounds like the answer to your prayers, but you'll soon realize it's not for what YOU need to do on the machine. The lack of software selection is pitiful, not only that a lot of Mac users will have to run Windows for some other piece of software eventually.


A Mac isn't for everyone and I rather be honest with you than lie just to trick you into buying a Mac, since your already used to Windows.


You can certainly buy a Mac or a iPad for other uses, but for what you require a Windows 7 workstation tower is clearly the best choice.

Apr 18, 2013 12:15 PM in response to Intenditore

Unlike most of the others in this thread, I agree with your decision to move to the Mac. I do high-end graphic design (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop), photo (Aperture), video (Final Cut Pro, Motion 5), and some 3D (Carrara, Cheetah) on my 2011 MacBook Pro. It runs better than any Windows machine I ever used, and there were many. Since I switched from Windows to Mac, the one thing I've noticed most is that I spend much less time maintaining the system and more time doing productive work.


Spec out the best MacBook Pro you can afford, attach a big monitor to it (I use a Thunderbolt display, but really wish I'd gotten a Cinema Display instead; the Thunderbolt is beautiful, but I can only use it with my MacBook), and max out the memory. What makes the thing fly is the internal SSD and discrete graphics card. I also have an ExpressCard SSD that I use as the scratch disk for Photoshop and Illustrator, which makes them very fast indeed.


If you already own Windows versions of the Adobe software, you can switch to the Mac versions for only the cost of the media. It's one of the very few things Adobe will do basically for free.

Apr 18, 2013 12:16 PM in response to ds store

Many thanks for such expanded answer. I agree what you say, but there's a few moments.

I want mobile workstation. I understand it will not perform as fast as big desktop monster, of cource. But my need is not so huge and what I do is not so complicated. I did a reserch I found that Macbook Pro 2.6 will satisfy me (for first time at least). Later if I will need to I'll build Hackintosh monster, but not for now.

Now I just don't know what to expect from Pro's in aspects I asked about in first post.

But, of cource, I want something as lite as Air. By the way, it performs not bad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQcl-Zmkg34

It's a bit hard to decide so I opened this thread

Choosing workstation

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