Which 15" Mac Book Pro

David Magahy · #1 06-28-2007, 03:58 AM

The main difference that interests me is the extra VRAM on the 2.4 Model. Is this useful to a photographer who doesn't do 3D or gaming. I've external drives for extra capacity, the extra CPU speed is marginal so what will the extra VRAM really give me for the extra dollars involved? Anybody know the answer? I'd like to hook up a 24" EIZO sometime in the near future and run dual link for client viewing and probably extended desktop for my use.

Jerry Skrocki · #2 06-28-2007, 11:36 AM

I would go with the most vram that is offered since it can't be upgraded at a later time. Video ram is important for applications such as Apple Aperture which directly accesses the video card's image processing core. Vram plays a big part in fast screen re-drawing, re-sizing and dual monitor support.

David_Buzzard · #3 06-28-2007, 04:53 PM

Appartently, both Aperture and CS3 draw on processing power from the video card, so having the largest one possible is going to definately help you out there. If you're just doing normal computer stuff like Word and e-mail, it's probably not that critical.

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ChristianLandry · #4 06-28-2007, 07:31 PM

My former associate just bought the 17 inches this week. He received the latest model (4G.ram/7600rpm hard drive/high resolution screen). We debated about the high resolution screen but in the end I have to admit that it all adds up. We haven't made measurements yet but so far it is at least as fast as our Quad ( 6.5 G. ram) !! So even if Photoshop doesn't care about it, I think that in the long run it's not an expensive bet to go for the higher end card (120$)and the real-estate gain is significant. Last week Real World Speed Tests for Performance Minded Mac Users answered all these questions for us anyway

David Magahy · #5 06-29-2007, 12:24 AM

Thanks guys, your consensus plus the Real World tests have helped me make up my mind and go for the 2.4

David Magahy · #6 08-09-2007, 01:40 AM

Just a quick bit of feedback. I got my MBP last week, bumped the RAM up to 4Gb. I connected it to a friends Dell 30 incher (I believe the 30" cinema display wearing a different coat). I get billions and millions of pixels or something like 2500 x 1700 (I didn't take that much notice for the exact numbers). Looked great. I did a camera calibration test using the ACR script from Tom Fors. It takes on average 60 minutes to run on my G5 iMac (2.1Ghz model) and 17 minutes on the new MBP. Seems like a realworld time saver to me.