MacBook

[cgsigns_jamie]

just curious as to why you wouldnt suggest using the most expensove computer that Mac makes for "heavy lifting" in photoshop???

The MacBook is their entry level notebook. Not designed for "professional" use. It's actually Apple's least expensive notebook.

I'd highly recommend the MacPro for any Pjotoshop work. I use one everyday. I've had lots of REALLY nice pc workstations including, Dell Precisions, custom built computers, and even an SGI.

I prefer the Mac operating system and enjoy the ease of use that comes with Apple products. They just work!
That's one main advantage of having one company develop the hardware and the software.

Sure it's not as customizable and you don't have as much control. But at the end of the day it's a tool, not a toy, I just want it to work every time without a bunch of headaches. For me the extra cost is well worth it.

 

[Brands Imaging]

The MacBook is their entry level notebook. Not designed for "professional" use. It's actually Apple's least expensive notebook.

I'd highly recommend the MacPro for any Pjotoshop work. I use one everyday. I've had lots of REALLY nice pc workstations including, Dell Precisions, custom built computers, and even an SGI.

I prefer the Mac operating system and enjoy the ease of use that comes with Apple products. They just work!
That's one main advantage of having one company develop the hardware and the software.

Sure it's not as customizable and you don't have as much control. But at the end of the day it's a tool, not a toy, I just want it to work every time without a bunch of headaches. For me the extra cost is well worth it.

The response you quoted me on was referring to a Mac Pro.
Since we are on the topic and you have one, what are the specs and what kind of work do you run with it?

I'm specifically looking to run 1gig+ PSD files in 150dpi and TONS of layers

 

[WildWestDesigns]

The real crucible for computers is a college. Where I went to school all the Macs are on a 5 year replacement schedule just because. The PC's were on a 3 year, but a majority of them failed around the 2 year mark. PC's are now on a 2 year replacement schedule. The school will eventually put Mac's in all classrooms possible in the coming years.

One thing that you have to ask yourself is what quality of PCs were they? My school was not into getting the good quality. They just weren't. Not saying that's the case for yours, but that was the case for mine. I wouldn't like Windows either if that was my exposure to them.

I have to say though, if I could, I would rather run everything off of Linux, but Win 7 has come a long way. It really has.

 

[Move In Media]

Win 7 has come a long way. It really has.

Agree, but the question is, what took is so damn long?

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Agree, but the question is, what took is so damn long?

Beats me.

 

[cgsigns_jamie]

The response you quoted me on was referring to a Mac Pro.
Since we are on the topic and you have one, what are the specs and what kind of work do you run with it?

I'm specifically looking to run 1gig+ PSD files in 150dpi and TONS of layers

I have a 2010 (maybe 2009) model MacPro with dual, dual core, 2.6GHz Xeons, 32GB or RAM, a 1 GB nVida graphics card, and 10k RPM hard drives. (I bought the RAM and graphics card last year and upgraded)

I use it to do a LOT. Mostly Photoshop, Illustrator, and AfterEffects. I work with some very large PS documents. A few weeks ago I did an entire billboard at full scale and 150 dpi. The file size was 8GB. Had no problems working in CS5. Just took a few minutes to save.

Even while I'm doing all this work, the computer is also running a virtual machine with Windows 7 open. I use this for FlexiSIGN, QuickBooks, and GraphixCalc. I also have CorelDRAW but don't use it as much these days.

I also keep my email, calendar, EverNote, and a web browser open all day as well.

The computer has no issue keeping up. It runs all week without needing to be restarted or giving me any issues (I shut it down over the weekend, otherwise it runs 24/5). It's built so well I should easily be able to get another 2 years of service out of it. Much better than the 2-3 year replacement schedule of my PC workstations.

 

[omgsideburns]

I use a macbookpro when I'm working at home.. I run all my design stuff in osx, although I do have a bootcamp partition of windows7 for a game I like to play. Works great. I've got 16gb of ram, a SSD and a hybrid drive (replaced my optical drive with it).. so it's kind of pushing the specs to the max. Using windows 7 at work as of two weeks ago, and even on my same computer the imrprovement over vista is drastic.

 

[rjssigns]

"One thing that you have to ask yourself is what quality of PCs were they? My school was not into getting the good quality. They just weren't. Not saying that's the case for yours, but that was the case for mine. I wouldn't like Windows either if that was my exposure to them". Wildwest

My school did everything in their power to try and keep the PC failure rate down. Students get rather bucky when they crash.
Maybe PC's don't care for constant 16 hour days.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

My school did everything in their power to try and keep the PC failure rate down. Students get rather bucky when they crash.
Maybe PC's don't care for constant 16 hour days.

I don't get that. I leave mine on 24/7 and it's still going strong. I built this that I'm on now when 7 first came out. What 3 yrs ago and with a 24/7 routine. I don't know maybe I'm lucky, I guess anything is possible. Well, I guess 24/7 isn't totally true. I'll turn it off if I'm going to be away from it for any particular time. However, the 24/7 is true for the vast majority of time.

 

[Move In Media]

There are two main factors regarding reliability:hardware quality and maintenance. The first one is self-explanatory - research before you buy, make sure there's a good warranty, the longer the warranty the more confidence the manufacturer has in their product. As far as maintenance, the best way to make sure a work computer is bug free is to never allow access to internet, if you have a computer just for printing, use it only for that. If you do browse internet on your work machine, installing reliable anti-virus programs such as MSE, Spybot, Malwarebytes, and performing routine scans should help you. Over time win machines slow down naturally though use, therefore it is always good to perform an OS reload once a year or so. From what I understand this is a lesser issue in Win 7, but sometimes file corruption from malware is so great you need to reload it... Also, to prevent overheating, dust out the insides once in a while, making sure chunks of dust dont block the airflow... when I worked in computer repair, I've had to remove carpets of dust and cat hair from people's heat sinks...

 

[john1]

"One thing that you have to ask yourself is what quality of PCs were they? My school was not into getting the good quality. They just weren't. Not saying that's the case for yours, but that was the case for mine. I wouldn't like Windows either if that was my exposure to them". Wildwest

My school did everything in their power to try and keep the PC failure rate down. Students get rather bucky when they crash.
Maybe PC's don't care for constant 16 hour days.

Leave mine on for months at a time sometimes, No problems.

 

[signswi]

Leaving them on is better than turning off for the computer itself, no surge through the caps. Costs you a touch more vs. the vampire draw at idle.