netbook vs notebook vs pc

Discussion in 'The Digital Darkroom' started by gary, Jun 19, 2009.

  1. gary

    gary Member

    this will be a long one so bear with me, with all the recent netbook/notebook thread, i figured it was a good time to put this out for opinions
    my current pc, a custom built, is getting a little old,(5-6 yrears), 2gb ram, windows xp, while i'd dearly like more ram, 4-6 or more, i can't do that without a massive upgrade, meaning a new board, and that forces me into vista, somewhere i'm not happy to go.
    camera upgrade from the 5d, even if i do a mark 2, requires a software upgrade, as cs3 does not support the mark 2, although i do 90% of my work in lightroom 2 and maybe future lightroom upgrades would allow the abandonement of ps
    a mark2 or future full frame is going to force me into larger and more expensive udma cards, so i may have to go the 1 - 2 cards and a storage device route
    1. netbook, not much more expensive than a straight storage device, e-mail, etc, cons, small screen, no editing, although how likely am i to do any editing while on vacation/bluegrass fest, etc
    2, a true laptop, now here is where the decision tree really gets crowded
    for $1000 i can do a macbook, 13 screen, 2gb, but for 2000 i can jump up to macbook pro, 15 screen, 4gb ram, etc
    given the well known problems with pc, crashes, virus prone, popups get through a lot, etc, would the smaller macbook be a way to start my migration over to apple?? i would be able to run lightroom as a basic review, weed out the obvious nonkeepers, etc, i could burn the keepers to dvd as dng in the field, etc, and resume final editing at home on the pc
    i learned windows many years ago in my prior career, since it was all on the company dime, i stayed with it for home use. i don't think i would make that decision now
    if i do go mac laptop, that will postpone by 1-2 years my camera upgrade as i would follow the laptop with an eventual move to apple desktop
    for those who would ask why not a top of the line apple laptop and let that be both systems, i'm currently using a 32 inch westinghouse flat screen tv as my monitor, works just fine, plenty resolution, colors are fine and i can calibrate monthly as usual, if i go mac desk, i'm going to end up having to consider a pretty expensive cinema monitor, 30" currently retails around 1800$, i do like a big screen, plus a lot of my software would need replacing, such as my color spyder calibrator as it's for windows
    the bigger laptop cancels out all the size/weight advantages of the netbook for travel
    also keep in mind that i'm pretty much a techno goofus, i can turn it on, i can follow a kelby book in editing, but i have not the time or desire to learn real IT stuff, that's why i just pay phanfare instead of trying to learn how to make my own website, i just need to web gallery with a little commentary and captions
    as an aside, i don't do any gaming at all, so no extra $ need to go into that function, it's photos, websurfing and the occasional text document, and that's it
    i'm eagerly awaiting the thoughts of one and all, and thanks for getting this far, i felt that this is such a fork in the road decision that it deserved all the info i could provide for getting informed opinions
     
  2. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    If you want to hard core photo editing, I would go with the Macbook Pro. ; Yes you can do it from the Macbook on the 32" monitor, but the Macbook's graphics card is going to have a little hard time trying to keep up. ; It'll work, but it won't be as efficient as the new 15" and 17" Pros with the at least 256mb video memory.

    The mini-dvi adapters make it easier to add an external adapter for the laptops or even a second monitor for an iMac.

    You don't need an Apple Cinema Display, or what is basically a 24" iMac without a computer now. ; And your Spyder should have Mac software for it. ; I have and use the Spyder2.

    Will Adobe let you switch over to Lightroom for Mac w/o a penalty?
     
  3. gary

    gary Member

    good question, i'll have to call adobe for the answer

    so i'd stick with the current tv as monitor?

    so this now becomes my new home system? with the added ability to travel if weight constraints are not an issue, and never an issue when traveling by 5th wheel camper

    roger may be on to something here
     
  4. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    What input are you using? ; VGA, DVI, HDMI, MiniDVI?
     
  5. Scottwdw

    Scottwdw Member

    I'm a very happy Apple owner so you know where I'm coming from. ; I use an older Apple Powerbook laptop and will be upgrading to a new MacBook Pro next year. ; It's a 15 inch version which I really love. ; My daughter has a 13" MacBook and, though the screen is wonderful, it's a bit too small for my tastes. ; The 17 inch ones are just too darn big unless I was full pro, I would never concider it.

    I hope to someday get an Apple Cinema display so I can do the duel screen photo editing. ; Otherwise, if you have an HDTV, look into using that but not sure if you could do photo editing using it. ; Roger?
     
  6. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    Most HDTVs can be used as computer monitors. ; Depending on the size and model will tell how they can be connected.
     
  7. Scottwdw

    Scottwdw Member

    I have a small 20" Visio HDTV which has an HDMI port. ; Can the old Powerbook push HD at it via some kind of DVI to HDMI adaptor?
     
  8. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    Does it have a DVI port on the Powerbook or did they switch to the display port by then?
     
  9. gary

    gary Member

    my westinghouse hd tv is a dvi connector, it's just fine with the pc, so i could use the 15 mac pro for travel editing and the tv for home base
    and some good news, lightroom, optical color calibrator and my wacom tablet are all useable on the mac, no licenses to buy
    i'd lose imagineomics noiseware,they only do windows releases, but if i skipped getting cs4 the funds could buy the whole nik bundle for mac, so i'd get a probably equal noise reduction software, plus some really cool nik products in the bundle
     
  10. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    Double check the DVI connector with the mini-display port adapter here:

    http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB570 ... MzE4NDUzMg

    (Tried looking for it at B&H, but no go....)

    something about the 2.66ghz new macbook pros is that they come with two graphics cards installed. ; One is higher end, the other is more energy efficient, so you can use one for home use and another for on-the-road.
     
  11. PolynesianMedic

    PolynesianMedic Global Moderator Staff Member

    Hey Gary, I am not sure if you saw this or not, but the new version of the Mac Book Pro that just came out, is now available in a 13" size, with prices down as low as $1100 now. ; Just thought I would throw that out there and make an already difficult decision even more so. ; I personally am going to just go for it, and wait till I can spend the cash on the Mac Book Pro. ; I may also still get a netbook for travel, but if I go the 13" route, then I will probably not even do that.
     
  12. gary

    gary Member

    it's starting to look more and more like i'll go the mac pro 15 route as a dual mode system, my concern is how are the usb hubs these days, there were some problems a few years ago, that's why in my home pc, i have some case cut out and a bunch more usb ports, the mac only has 2 and i need 3 if i want my external hd, wacom tablet and color spyder all plugged in at once
     
  13. Paul

    Paul Member

    Another vote for Apple here, but I'm biased. ; Gary, seems like you need to decide how much of a hurry you are to get a new new camera. ; If you can hold of for awhile (maybe ; 5D MkIII or 6D ?) it would seem like the 15" Macbook Pro would serve you well. ; I agree with 17" being too much to carry and even a 15" is a bit much after awhile, but I think it has the horses to the photo software you have.

    The Adobe Lightroom disc has both Mac and PC versions on it and Adobe allows two simultaneous installs, so one could be on a Mac and one on a PC or a Mac Desktop/Laptop combo. ; This is nice since it allows for a desktop and laptop combo. ; Libraries can be combined (laptop to Desktop e.g.) ;

    For Photoshop, does Adobe give you a break if you switch from PC to Mac or vice versa and keep the same PS version?

    Another point to keep in mind is that Apple will be releasing Snow Leopard (thier next OS) next Fall I believe, if you wait until then it will be free, although they are only charging $30 for the upgrade.
     
  14. gary

    gary Member

    i'm not in much hurry to upgrade the camera, but the pc might not hold out that long, i've had 3 sudden shutdowns with 2 startups in safe mode in the last month, and the fan sounds a little louder these days
    plus i use webroot and i feel like it's working overtime lately in the war against spyware and trojans
    so i might have to do this by pixelmania
    photoshop doesn't seem to be any kind of break for the switch, but i can live without it for awhile, and who knows, i get better versed in lightroom and ps may just become a distant memory, or wait for cs5 and buy a used unregisterable cs4
    and i may still get a hyperdrive for dual backups, the cf cards and the drive, until i do the computer upgrade
     
  15. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    Gary, I'm running a d-link powered usb hub with no problems. ; I think you have to go the powered route to avoid any problems.

    Also, I would get a firewire external drive to use with Time Machine :) ; (I use Iomega's that matches with a mini. ; It has a FW400 port and USB 2.0 to act like a hub as well.) ;

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5 ... /KBID/2466
     
  16. Scottwdw

    Scottwdw Member

    Its got a DVI port, Roger. ; The Visio has an HDMI, Component and PC (VGA) ports. ; I need to pull out the manual and check at AVS forums for compatibility.
     
  17. gary

    gary Member

    so i think it's the mac pro 15, now given the use of the 32 hdtv as monitor at home, do i go 256 graphics or jump up to 512, remember not a gamer so is the additional $ needed
    stay with 4gb ram or put up the $589 and go to 8gb,, again the external factor is that this needs to be my photo computer for 5-6 years, as that seems to be about my rebuild cycle, allowing photo gear purchases and body upgrades to proceed along the timeline
    these 2 choices jump me up from $2000 to closer to 3000

    and as an aside, the netbook went out of choice when i realized that the tsa yo's will make me pull it out and turn it on at the chokepoint anyway, so if i've got to deal with that it might as well be the real equipment
     
  18. Roger

    Roger Member Staff Member

    http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/2 ... /KBID/2466

    You could also look at a regular DVI to HDMI converter cable.

    1) You probably don't need the 512 but I would go for the higher end 256 card.
    2) Think about upgrading RAM in the future. ; Or look at Crucial and see if they have the memory for it yet. ; Apple RAM is very expensive, and because they are popular enough, prices have been coming down. ; My work iMac has 2gb; when I got it last year it was $150 to upgrade to 4gb. ; it's now $55, and I'm doing that right now.
    3) I haven't had to turn on my laptop ever. ; Plus the TSA has the new "don't have to remove laptop" carrying cases as an option.
     
  19. Scottwdw

    Scottwdw Member

    Gary, listen to Roger, upgrade RAM later. ; You'll save lots of money and still get quality memory.

    Roger, I have the DVI to VGA already. ; Came with the Powerbook so I'll try that first and see how it looks. Though I'll probably try the DVI to HDMI and see if it's better.
     
  20. gary

    gary Member

    well thanks for everyone's input, i'm pretty decided it'll be the macpro 15, i'm going to do the 512 graphics card as factory installed it isn't a whole lot more than the 256, 2.8 ghz,intel duo core, 4gb ram, upgradeable to 8, 500gb hard drive, the smaller hard drive version costs more , i guess because it comes with parallel desktop 4.0 software, whatever that is, ;
     

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