My MacBook Pro Sucks
September 10th, 2006 Filed in: Reviews, Mac Jump to commentsI recently bought a new MacBook Pro (my first Apple computer). Yes, I am one of the switchers. I have been a PC user for a while until Apple introduced Intel-based Mac notebook. I was tempted by the MacBook Pro and brought a 15.4-inch display, 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo, with 2GB of RAM (upgraded from 1GB). After couple hours of fun playing around with the Mac OS X, I installed Adobe CS2 and did couple test runs. I was so disappointed on its performance. It even runs slower than my old PC laptop (1.5GHz Centrino with 1GB RAM). That is impossible since the new MacBook has 2.16GHz CPU with 2GB of RAM. I thought it could be my Adobe software issue. So I went to install Macromedia Studio 8 to see how it perform. Same result - slow.
I got frustrated and did a quick search on Google. I found this review from MacWorld. Apparently, neither Adobe CS2 nor Macromedia Studio 8 supports Intel-based Macs (running on Rosetta) yet. Fortunately, Adobe has announced that they will fix this issue to support Intel-based Mac computers in the next versions. So, if you are planning to get a MacBook Pro as your work computer, you’ll be better off waiting until Adobe release the next version of Creative Suite.
Note: Universal application like Safari, iLife and Mail are running fine and smoothy on my MacBook.
Update
June 6, 2007
I’m now using Adobe CS3 on my MacBook and they run very nice. However, I still have problem with the heat issues (extremely hot when charging). I heard the second generation released in Oct 2006 is faster than my first generation and the heat issue is resolved.
April 7th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
I am running a quad-xeon Mac Pro at work. I can’t wait for all of the adobe products to switch over to intel. I am running the universal binary of After Effects 7 and haven’t had a single problem… very fast. The intel version will be even faster. I haven’t had any problems with photoshop either even though it’s a little slow to start up.
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:02 pm
My Macbook Pro is slow with the Adobe and Studio 8 as well. It’s because the whole Intel thing messes with everything. Hopefully CS3 will be able to use the Intel chip to it’s fullest without lagging and crashing the programs.
March 30th, 2007 at 2:12 am
Im still on my Powerbook 1.5 GHz, as Ive been waiting for those updates from Adobe. The day im sure they work faster than in this powerbook I will walk in to the Apple store and get myself a new MacBook Pro.
My friend have MacBook Pro Intel and 2gb memory and my Powerbook 1.5ghz and 1.25gb still beats it with Adobe CS2 using.
March 29th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
I used to have a Mac but nothing worked right. Programs crashed without reason and the whole thing was damn slow. Thank God for XP and now Vista.
March 29th, 2007 at 11:16 am
heard about bootcamp? don’t want to miss windows on mac again.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:38 am
Adobe really seems to be the biggest problem here. Overall the new MacBook Pro I just bought is awesome, but when I use Adobe products i want to pull my hair out (i do have some hair left). So I’m looking forward to CS3.
March 13th, 2007 at 10:51 am
And on a side note to comment #76, openoffice.org opens mdb MS Access Files natively (And it’s Universal too). I’ve dumped MS Office 2004 on my mac and Microsoft is not to eager about releasing the latest Intel/Universal version for at least a year to come.
March 13th, 2007 at 10:46 am
I bought a MacBook Pro 17″ beast 3 days ago and am running CS3 Beta… It is so much better than my PC. I have never used a Mac in my entire life and today (3 days after switching) I’m sitting here at work on my new Mac working away like nothing has changed. I spent the weekend familiarizing myself with the OS and getting used to the addition of the “clover” key in my PhotoShop shortcuts. Im not saying that I’m a Mac guru but I’m definitely confident enough to carry on working… With a big smile might I add. Its been a whole day and My Mac has yet to give me a single problem… Damn I love this machine. PS: Nic, nice work on the icons mate. Bought your mini icon set a week or 2 ago, will post some screens on your site to show how i used them. Should make you proud. I sure am.
Paul out…
March 11th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Man what..!! ive not herd so much garbage in all my life. i just bought a mac book pro and bought student edition of photoshop (for only 112 pounds :) www.education-store.com ) anyways as i was saying ive switched over and it works a really well on mine. have u installed all the upgrades ?
mike out
March 10th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I’ve been very disappointed by it as well. All of our computers are Macs, so it’s been a frustrating exercise, as to buy a G5 now is a wasted exercise, but until CS3 comes out, so is buying an Intel iMac/Macbook Pro.