I am considering replacing my desktop with a laptop. I will keep my desktop monitor and plan on at least 3GB of memory, but need help with the processor. Also, due to all my other software, I need to keep it Windows based.
The selection of processors makes my head spin. I have looked at Tom's hardware guide, but it doesn't seem to have the latest processors.
The newest MBP uses the Penryn, yes. But, it is very fast running with stock 2 GB of Ram. I run multiple apps, including PS CS3, Firefox, & PhotoMechanic among others, without any noticeable slowdown in processing.
The AMD cpu's are okay. I have two laptops that use the AMD Turion X2 cpu's. They are better suited to a bargain laptop. They can get the job done. However, If you looking for a serious desktop replacement then you may want to stick with the Intel Core2Duo, specifically the T9xxx series.
What is your price range? Thats the starting point.
I would say if you comfortable with Windows stick with a non-mac machine. There is no point in spending the extra money to run an OS within another OS just to use your current software. First off you can spend about $500 less on an ASUS laptop than a mac book pro with less power...
Consider nothing less than a Core 2 Duo. Quads will be good for multi-tasking, but don't make them a priority (that is, if they are out on laptops yet).
What is your budget? A MacBook Pro would do a great job...if you have $2-3k to throw around. It might be the "fastest ever," but any laptop you look at for $2700 is going to be well beyond what you probably need. So if you want to spend another $1,000 for a machine that processes tasks faster by a margin of a few tenths of a second, by all means, go for the luxury of a MBP. But if you are just looking for a "good" machine, I would remove the MPB from that list.
But let's go back for a second, what is your budget?
FYI, any of the intel T8***, T9***, P8***, or P9*** will be the newest (Penryn) Core 2 Duo processors. Also, I agree with everyone else here, stick with an Intel Core2. Since you say you need to go with Windows, I'd say that you probably wouldn't see a huge speed advantage from going with a MacBook Pro, most of the Mac advantage is in the OS. Some Windows laptops also have nearly equal build quality to Macs and can be quite a bit cheaper, like Lenovo Thinkpads, and Dell XPS and Latitude.
I wish software companies would allow you to change license and reissue the same software
for MAC. If that would happen I believer there would be a mass exodus to Mac. No one wants to add another $1K-2K just for software. So we all keep re-upping to PCs.
I would make my decision (as a photographer) based on the screen first and hardware second. You're not going to get proper colors with 95% of laptop screens on the market. That said...go with a Macbook Pro. They have a 300nits brightness (bare minimum for working on the go in different lighting conditions) and have an LED backlight which provides for a wider color gamut than traditional CCFLs. The rest of the hardware matches up too. Use bootcamp to install WinXP or Vista next to OSX and you're good to go. If I had to consider other brands I would look at Dell XPS M1330, but it's really a distance 2nd. It's sad really, there just isn't that much choice for what we do.
