Yeah, I saw that, pinning my hopes on it. I don't need the firepower of a Mac Pro. I don't think.
i was about to start a new thread about the new mac pro. i'm not sure if i need that power either. considering i just want to be able to run photoshop and a couple other things, do i need the mac pro or would i actually be able to stick it out with just a decent mac mini? i feel like the pro is more worthwhile because it won't become obsolete as quick as the mini would be.
also, even though the mac monitor is now only $900 for me (student discount), i'm probably gonna choose the dell monitor because it has more connectivity, an extra inch, and is still cheaper.
This is what I've observed:
Raw conversion takes horsepower.
I'm shooting more frames, all in Raw.
Every new camera has more megapixels than the last.
I'm doing more edits in 16-bit mode.
I currently use a PowerBook G4. Every dimension of digital processing, like those above, is now more demanding than when I first bought the laptop. Cumulatively, we're processing more and larger images than ever. Going by the CPU, RAM and VM swap file usage stats, two gigabytes of RAM and one hard drive on a single-processor PowerBook are now a real bottleneck. By the same token, I'd consider the low RAM ceiling and single slow 2.5" laptop drive in the Mac mini to be a joke and not much improvement over what I have now. It's pretty clear that my next computer should be a Mac Pro, to churn through those Raw previews, zooms, and batch conversions, and with 4GB or more RAM to handle 6+ megapixel files that are sometimes edited in 16 bits with a pile of layers (another RAM eater). In addition, I need to run other programs alongside Photoshop, so it's good to have one to three more CPU cores and an extra gigabyte or so of RAM to throw at the non-Photoshop processes so that Photoshop can still have a core and a few GB all to itself. And at least one more hard drive in the Pro case to act as the Photoshop scratch disk.
If you just work on a few images occasionally, the lower-end machines might work out. But anyone who edits large high-megapixel raw shoots and does batch raw conversions should really be going for the big guns.
i just want to be able to run photoshop and a couple other things ... i feel like the pro is more worthwhile because it won't become obsolete as quick as the mini would be.
PS is not a trivial app. Even more important than obsolescence, my comment above applies.
If you just work on a few images occasionally, the lower-end machines might work out. But anyone who edits large high-megapixel raw shoots and does batch raw conversions should really be going for the big guns.
“To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.”
― Edward Weston
Had to post to say something in reply to the power comments.
I have the super powerful Apple wait for it Ibook 12" with an extra 1 gig of RAM, last night I processed 30 RAW images from my rebel xt/350D using photoshop/bridge and had no noticable slowdown and created TIFFs at about 1 per 2 seconds.
Now I know some people are doing 500 RAW images at a time etc etc but for a serious yet none proffesional user almost any current MAC is powerful enough.
I will be replacing my home PC in three months and for what I need cant really see past the mac mini plus more RAM and a large external HD and a couple of other bits.
Trapped in my bedroom taking pictures...did i say bedroom? i meant studio!
my dell 24" widescreen monitor has arrived. from the time i signed for it with the ups guy to the time it was working perfectly with my computer was less than five minutes, it was so simple. it works perfectly with my ferrari 4000 laptop and is absolutely ridiculously huge! the images just flow off the screen, stunning!
i ordered my mac pro last night, hopefully it will get here soon!
Comments
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
i was about to start a new thread about the new mac pro. i'm not sure if i need that power either. considering i just want to be able to run photoshop and a couple other things, do i need the mac pro or would i actually be able to stick it out with just a decent mac mini? i feel like the pro is more worthwhile because it won't become obsolete as quick as the mini would be.
also, even though the mac monitor is now only $900 for me (student discount), i'm probably gonna choose the dell monitor because it has more connectivity, an extra inch, and is still cheaper.
Raw conversion takes horsepower.
I'm shooting more frames, all in Raw.
Every new camera has more megapixels than the last.
I'm doing more edits in 16-bit mode.
I currently use a PowerBook G4. Every dimension of digital processing, like those above, is now more demanding than when I first bought the laptop. Cumulatively, we're processing more and larger images than ever. Going by the CPU, RAM and VM swap file usage stats, two gigabytes of RAM and one hard drive on a single-processor PowerBook are now a real bottleneck. By the same token, I'd consider the low RAM ceiling and single slow 2.5" laptop drive in the Mac mini to be a joke and not much improvement over what I have now. It's pretty clear that my next computer should be a Mac Pro, to churn through those Raw previews, zooms, and batch conversions, and with 4GB or more RAM to handle 6+ megapixel files that are sometimes edited in 16 bits with a pile of layers (another RAM eater). In addition, I need to run other programs alongside Photoshop, so it's good to have one to three more CPU cores and an extra gigabyte or so of RAM to throw at the non-Photoshop processes so that Photoshop can still have a core and a few GB all to itself. And at least one more hard drive in the Pro case to act as the Photoshop scratch disk.
If you just work on a few images occasionally, the lower-end machines might work out. But anyone who edits large high-megapixel raw shoots and does batch raw conversions should really be going for the big guns.
with color calibration tests and comments on garmut.
Check it out:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/629-1/24-inches-the-dell-2407wfp-vs-the-samsung-244t.html
― Edward Weston
I have the super powerful Apple wait for it Ibook 12" with an extra 1 gig of RAM, last night I processed 30 RAW images from my rebel xt/350D using photoshop/bridge and had no noticable slowdown and created TIFFs at about 1 per 2 seconds.
Now I know some people are doing 500 RAW images at a time etc etc but for a serious yet none proffesional user almost any current MAC is powerful enough.
I will be replacing my home PC in three months and for what I need cant really see past the mac mini plus more RAM and a large external HD and a couple of other bits.
My www. place is www.belperphoto.co.uk
My smugmug galleries at http://stuarthill.smugmug.com
i ordered my mac pro last night, hopefully it will get here soon!