Thread

Okay I recently got a new job and while I’m currently on an XP machine, I’m going to be able to get a Mac in the coming months. However, I can’t seem to decide if a Macbook Pro or a Mac Pro (or even an iMac?) would be the best choice.

The portability would be nice, especially since I commute to work with my wife, and if she has to go home while I’m in the middle of something it would be nice to just pick up and go home, then finish up at home.

But on the other side, I’m tempted by the raw power of the Mac Pro, but do I need it all?

I want to be able to do everything locally, so I’ll be running apache/PHP5/mysql along with multiple web browsers, some sort of editor (either an IDE or textmate/cssedit), possibly parallels so I can test in IE.

Anyone have some suggestions?

I have a MacBook Pro. One of the first ones and I love it. It has plenty processing power for pretty much anything that is web related.
I am not a big PhotoShop freak, so I only have my older CS version, which runs under emulation, but even that is quick enough for my needs.
For coding I use Coda or SubEthaEdit. They are really nice software and definitely must haves if you are going to be working on web pages.

Back when I used to play games I used to dream about Mac Pros (or whatever they were called then) with fast graphics cards… but those days are over. The MacBook Pro can handle everything that I throw at it. Every now and then I even start up UT2004 and have a couple frag rounds.

I think you need to decide what is more important to you. Raw processing power (altough I think for web related work a Mac Pro is definitely an overkill) or portability. I love the idea of carrying my laptop anywhere I go, so I chose the MBP. So here is my vote for it. 😊

Either way you go, make sure that you have enough RAM. 2GBs is the minimum I would get.

Good luck!

Web development, in most cases, doesn’t really require much from your machine. Even if you are spending most of your time doing UI and front end designs in Photoshop even the lowest spec’d mac you have mentioned would be enough. The machines these days are capable of providing enough grunt.

2GB of ram is pretty standard - but if you do go Imac make sure you bump up the ram to at least 2GB.
The more ram the more programs you can have open without the machine taking a hit. In saying that I find the memory management system in OSx far superior to XP/Vista so having a whole slew of programs open rarely slows thing down.

For web dev work, unless you’re looking at any form of video/animation/rendering, I would say that the Mac Pro would be overkill. Even if you had a one of video jo the MBP or Imac would have more than enough power to see you through.

I guess it comes down to the portability requirements. I don’t like working from a laptop - even if I plug in keyboard/monitors etc - so I have the MBP when I’m on the road and seeing clients and have the Mac Pro at home where I do most of my work (I am studying Animation and I do need 4 core/8gb of ram for that work 😊

I’d probably go the MBP (wait for the next version - possibly rumored to be coming out tomorrow - if not they aren’t far off). You’ll have the flexibility to plug in monitor and keyboard if you want to work at home and then you have everything in one compact (and beautiful) enclosure for the road.

Don’t forget Mamp Pro (http://www.mamp.info/en/mamp-pro/) for you local dev setup.

Portable all the way.  I use a Macbook for everything, and I love it.  At home, I hook it up to a 24” monitor and have two screens and a full setup. But for the many times I need to bring it with me - just can’t beat it.

Anyone have experience with the high res screen on the 17”? Is it worth the extra $?

They bought me 2 20” Dell screens at work, so I’ll be able to hook those up (or at least one with the mbp). Of course, I’m spoiled by my 30” at home. Surprisingly, I always thought 2 would be better than 1 really big, but I find more usable space on the 30” than I do on the 2 20"er’s.

Don’t forget Mamp Pro (http://www.mamp.info/en/mamp-pro/) for you local dev setup.

I’ve always just set everything up on my own… what’s the big advantage of Mamp?

Michael, in regards to the high res, make sure you go to the Apple store and look.  The Matte vs Glossy screens are a huge area of debate - each with their really super fans.  Don’t listen to anyone but yourself on this, you’re the one that has to look at the thing day in and day out.  Go compare them side by side at the store, if at all possible. =)

If I were you I would go with a Macbook Pro and grab a cheap 22” screen for the home. If you do any professional print design then make sure you get an 8 Bit screen like a Dell 24” HC or Apple 23”.

Don’t forget MAMP Pro for easy server configuration.

I have an iMac 24” (which I love!) but I am not that portable. I do want a Macbook Air by the end of the year as I will be travelling and taking my work with me.

PS. Make sure you have a minimum of 2Gb but I would get 4Gb personally as RAM is cheap these days (Don’t buy from Apple!) and you can run Windows via VMWare for cross browser checking.

I didn’t mention, I do have a mac now, just have XP at work at the moment. I’ve had Mac’s for… well, forever 😊

Had laptops forever, now I have a PowerMac G5 w/ 30” display…  but I keep longing for portability again, I’m just afraid of not having the power I need.

I have the MacBook-Pro 17’ High Res. Gives one quit a bit more screen real estate for the money. The down side is everything is smaller so it’s harder to judge what others will see. 9pt type looks like 7pt, etc. My original plan was to hook a Cinema in as a second monitor but have found I really don’t need that second monitor. I may still get a Cinema but it will be a luxury rather than a requirement.

Be forewarned though, the 17” is big and heavy. Not something I’d want to lug around like a student. But, I found the 15” just too small and would definitely required a second monitor. I loaded up Photoshop (and others) on a 17 and 15 side-by-side in the Apple store before I chose.

As far as gloss vs matt, I agree with LJ, you have to see, compare, and judge for yourself. The gloss look rich and inviting. My first 17” was gloss. It was stolen and I replaced with a matt.

As far as ooomph, unless you’re doing large Photoshop (big posters) print projects or film, etc., the MacBook-Pros have plenty of power in my estimation.

In my book?  Two systems, instead of spending the money on the Macbook Pro.  Get a Macbook, purchase 4 gigs of ram from Crucial.com, and spend the other 1/2 of the money you saved on a 20” iMac 😊  Travel with the Macbook when you need to, and large, crisp screen on the iMac when you need it too.  Oh and pick up a 500gig or 1T Time Capsule as you then have an Airport Extreme base station, and off system backup of both your Macbook and iMac in the event either of them lose a hard drive (or you delete a file 😉  That bundle will probably cost you less then the 17” Macbook Pro on its own.  If you are a student, make sure to take advantage of the Education discounts you will save at least a few hundred on the whole set up.

Just my thoughts 😊

[Edit] Think of this setup from another standpoint.  If either one of them, for whatever reason, has a problem, you still have a working system.  This of course is great to continue your work with while the other is being repaired, upgraded, etc.  Nothing sucks more then being without a computer at the worst possible moment, like right before a deadline 😉

At my day job, I have a dual core2 duo with 2 gigs of ram and a 20” monitor. For all my freelance work, I work off my trusty 17 in. g4 1.67 powerbook with 2 gigs of ram. Honestly, it still has plenty of power to do what it needs to do.  Up until a few months ago, my main machine was a dual 1 ghz g4 with 2 gigs. It could handle just about everything – except video rendering which was WAY too slow.

My brother just gave me a rehabbed macbook and I’m going to try working on it some. I haven’t worked on a screen that small before, so it should be interesting.

I used to have a two system setup…laptop and a desktop/cinema. The two problems I ran into were the laptop was too small for serious Photoshop work (you could have menus or image open, not really both) and keeping them in sync. I was always missing something I needed. That part is probably solvable but took too much diligence. I’m much happier with the one system. But, as you point out Nevin, if that system goes down, I’m screwed for a certain period of time.

Apple just bumped up the Macbook Pro. Tasty!

Portable all the way.  I use a Macbook for everything, and I love it.  At home, I hook it up to a 24” monitor and have two screens and a full setup. But for the many times I need to bring it with me - just can’t beat it.

This sound like a simple cool setup.