Optimal Mac Specs

jdryan3 · February 7, 2007

OK, I asked the other day about PC specs, now let's go for the Mac. I did read the recent thread re: MacBook v MacBook Pro, but what would be the optimal specs without going crazy?

Most Macs seem to be in the 1Gb to 2 GB RAM range but CS2 is a RAM pig. So should I go for 3 GB? Except for the Mac Pro, how do you handle a separate scratch disk - is an external drive OK? As I mentioned before, I currently use a PC w/a partioned drive for my scratch. It sucks.:giggle

Speaking of the Mac Pro, wow what beast (& beautiful). But dual quad core & 16 GB RAM seems a wee bit much

. I do realize that the Mac utilizes RAM somewhat better than a PC. But PS CS3 w/ACR is my concern. I do strictly PS CS2 (eventualy CS3) work, no vector, but my PSDs get up to over 100MB sometimes.

I originally was considering the 15" MacBook Pro because I do do some traveling and worked w/ a 15" G4 in the past. 17" seemed too heavy. But if that limits me, forget it. I am not opposed to the 20" iMac, since I can plug in my 24" FPW. The Mac Pro seems the most flexible (RAM & disks), but way overkill even for the base model.

BTW, in PCs I was looking at $1600 to get a good system. I would be willing to go 20% more for Mac, but it appears that doesn't seem enough.

Comments & Feedback appreciated.

DavidTO · February 7, 2007

The biggest hit you take with a MBP and the iMac is RAM. To get 3GB, they use a very expensive 2GB card, which is hard to justify, IMO.

The MacPro is great, but I understand that it's above your budget. 4GB, is what you should get, I would think, and don't get the RAM from Apple, get the 1GB stock, and get the rest from a place like crucial.com.

Having said all that, the MBP and iMac with 2GB RAM should be fine. That 24" iMac is sweetness...

rosselliot · February 7, 2007

I just got my macbook pro, it is 2.33 GHz and has 2 GB RAM. have had NO problems. I use gimp and photoshop elements, they are speedy and reder photos FAST. 2 GB should be GREAT for you! I'd get the 17" if you plan on doing anything with photos - the screen is AMAZING. also, get the glossy screen, there's SUCH a difference. I have the 160 GB hard drive too, and I think I'll get an external one too. at least get the 160, but don't go up to 200 GB the speed of that hard drive is much slower, and the write speed will take longer!

um....if you have ANY questions about macs, feel free to PM me! btw, if you're used to the windows OS, I completely understand, I was a WIZ on windows, but when I switched, I was really worried, but now I'm a pro at the mac OS! it's SO easy and won't take you long at all to understand!

- RE

jdryan3 · February 7, 2007

DavidTO wrote:

The biggest hit you take with a MBP and the iMac is RAM. To get 3GB, they use a very expensive 2GB card, which is hard to justify, IMO.

The MacPro is great, but I understand that it's above your budget. 4GB, is what you should get, I would think, and don't get the RAM from Apple, get the 1GB stock, and get the rest from a place like crucial.com.

Having said all that, the MBP and iMac with 2GB RAM should be fine. That 24" iMac is sweetness...

Thanks David. So 4GB RAM is what I should do. Confirmed what I thought. Check that off. But what about the separate physical scratch disk?

Stustaff · February 7, 2007

rosselliot wrote:

I just got my macbook pro, it is 2.33 GHz and has 2 GB RAM. have had NO problems. I use gimp and photoshop elements, they are speedy and reder photos FAST. 2 GB should be GREAT for you! I'd get the 17" if you plan on doing anything with photos - the screen is AMAZING. also, get the glossy screen, there's SUCH a difference. I have the 160 GB hard drive too, and I think I'll get an external one too. at least get the 160, but don't go up to 200 GB the speed of that hard drive is much slower, and the write speed will take longer!

um....if you have ANY questions about macs, feel free to PM me! btw, if you're used to the windows OS, I completely understand, I was a WIZ on windows, but when I switched, I was really worried, but now I'm a pro at the mac OS! it's SO easy and won't take you long at all to understand!

- RE

Agree 90% but that 10% is important! Do not get a glossy screen! It looks nice and is great for looking at pics and movies, but sucks for photo editing!
You do not see things as they actually are with a glossy screen! Blacks especially look much 'blacker' so what looks a lovely shiny black on your glossy screen look a very dark grey almost black on everyone elses.

Avoid glossy for photo work IMO

DavidTO · February 7, 2007

jdryan3 wrote:

Thanks David. So 4GB RAM is what I should do. Confirmed what I thought. Check that off. But what about the separate physical scratch disk?

Well, if you're getting 4GB RAM, that means you're getting a MacPro....and in that case, just buy an off the shelf drive and put it in one of the drive bays for your scratch disk. And while you're at it, get another for constant back-up.

jdryan3 · February 7, 2007

DavidTO wrote:

Well, if you're getting 4GB RAM, that means you're getting a MacPro....and in that case, just buy an off the shelf drive and put it in one of the drive bays for your scratch disk. And while you're at it, get another for constant back-up.

What about the iMac and an external scratch disk? Seems like a bit of a waste...

And is the scratch disk a relatively moot point on a laptop w/3 GB RAM?

Thanks again.

DavidTO · February 7, 2007

I think an external scratch disk in that case would be a good idea.

A laptop is about portability, IMO, and less about speed.

jdryan3 · February 7, 2007

Thanks for all the feedback. One last question: On the MacBook Pro, can I assign a profile to the laptop screen and another one to an external monitor? Or can there be only one profile across both displays?

colourbox · February 7, 2007

jdryan3 wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback. One last question: On the MacBook Pro, can I assign a profile to the laptop screen and another one to an external monitor? Or can there be only one profile across both displays?

Yes, Macs recognize and let you set a separate profile for each display you connect. My Eye-One calibrator can calibrate my laptop and CRT separately using my PowerBook.

As for your scratch disk, make it fast, since it's trying to be keep up with your much faster RAM. FireWire 800 if you buy the iMac with that port, or else FireWire 400, with USB 2 as the least desirable choice. Internal would be ideal if it was a Mac Pro.

rosselliot · February 7, 2007

Stustaff wrote:

Agree 90% but that 10% is important! Do not get a glossy screen! It looks nice and is great for looking at pics and movies, but sucks for photo editing!
You do not see things as they actually are with a glossy screen! Blacks especially look much 'blacker' so what looks a lovely shiny black on your glossy screen look a very dark grey almost black on everyone elses.

Avoid glossy for photo work IMO

I think the glossy screen is a better example of what a print may look like. I mean, look, colourbox, it's like the difference between a glossy and matte photo. on the glossy screen, it looks darker, because you're looking RIGHT AT THE PIXELS, not through some matte piece of plastic! get the glossy - love it.

- RE

jdryan3 · February 8, 2007

rosselliot wrote:

I think the glossy screen is a better example of what a print may look like. I mean, look, colourbox, it's like the difference between a glossy and matte photo. on the glossy screen, it looks darker, because you're looking RIGHT AT THE PIXELS, not through some matte piece of plastic! get the glossy - love it.

- RE

Ross - I appreciate your passion, and am not worried about glare given my setup. However I mainly print pearl finish and matte/fine art. Very little glossy

HiSPL · February 9, 2007

So, can a Mac mini keep up? I mean could it be your #1 machine for PP and archiving? Or would I pull my hair out trying to use something that is not up to the task?

Right now I'm using a Powerbook 12" 867. It has been a very cool laptop and I love it, but it is not the thing for PP.

BTW, what kind of monitor resolution can you get from a mini? Will it push a big widescreen?

TIA,
Tim

colourbox · February 9, 2007

The issues with the Mac Mini are that it's a low-end laptop in a desktop case, and it needs an update.

The mini uses a 2.5-inch, smaller capacity (60-120GB), slower hard drive designed for a laptop rather than the 3.5-inch, full-capacity (120-500GB), full-speed desktop drives used in the iMac and Mac Pro.

It is the last Mac to use the Core Duo processor. All other desktop and laptop models have moved on to the Core 2 Duo or better.

You can take care of the hard drive issue by attaching a fast, 3.5-inch external, like the ones that stack perfectly with the mini case, but you can't do anything about the CPU. It also has a low 2GB maximum RAM ceiling.

It will do the job, and it will feel faster than your PowerBook if you are running Intel-optimized Mac software, but in the role of #1 photo machine it's going to feel out of date a whole lot sooner than any other Mac.

HiSPL · February 9, 2007

That's what I was afraid of....

I already have a FW drive enclosure that I use. I just didn't know the real difference between the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo. It's been a few years since I laid hands on any Mac other than my trusty P-book.

Unfortunately, A new desktop is not in the cards anytime soon...:flush

rosselliot · February 10, 2007

jdryan3 wrote:

Ross - I appreciate your passion, and am not worried about glare given my setup. However I mainly print pearl finish and matte/fine art. Very little glossy

you'll still love the glossy....:D

good luck! can't wait till mac makes one more person extremely HAPPY!

- RE