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.
January 17th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Answer, you cannot open .mdb files on os x, visual studio doesn’t work on mac, 3ds max doesn’t work on mac. If they all worked, I certainly wouldnt run windows because generally I hate it but I’m forced to as I use the things.
January 17th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
Why on earth would anyone want to run windows on a Mac? Windows was spawned by satan.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
I recently bought an intel based iMac, upgraded to 2 GB RAM. Running windows XP to with parallels. Its working great, all the progs for intel run perfect, if you instal CS(2) and macromedia on windows it works perfect…intel. Guess we’ll have to wait for the adobe and macromedia universals, but they are going to be nice
January 16th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Yeah, I have the same problem, not with the mac pro itself but with the cinema display, it get very hot indeed. I don’t need to switch the central heating on anymore! :P Don’t worry about the heat, it will be fine, they’ve been made well enough to cope. Wow, just realise you made a site that I keep coming back to.
January 16th, 2007 at 5:01 am
Chris - you are right. After a while using my MacBook Pro now, I’m adapting and loving it. Indeed it is a very fast laptop. The only issue I have is the heat problem when using the power outlet.
January 16th, 2007 at 1:31 am
I love the website, it’s great!! Your Macbook Pro doesn’t suck at all. As everyone says, the software needs to catch up. I recently got a Mac Pro Quad Core 3ghz with 4gb ram they even fun slow on that. Played with PS CS3, it works great! OS X is awsome, nothing can touch it! (Look at the ripple effect on dashboard, wow!) You tried using either bootcamp or paralells desktop to load windows on there? I loaded it onto Paralells and it loads up in a window in less than 5 seconds. Mac’s are top! Enjoy the macbook!!!
January 10th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Photoshop CS3 is running fast on MacBook Pro now. I can’t wait to see the next version of Dreamweaver and Illustrator.
January 10th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Firstly, loving your website. It’s a real good inspiration.
Secondly, a main focus of Adobe seems to be compatibility with Intel based Macs:
‘For the first time ever, Adobe is delivering a widely available Photoshop CS3 beta to enable customers to more easily transition to the latest hardware platforms, particularly Apple’s new Intel based systems.’ - Clicky
Hopefully, you’ll find this upgrade to CS3 good and worthwhile.
Keep up the good work!
January 10th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
i got the same problems on a mac pro in the agency…adobe says it will be fixed with cs3 and osx 10.5 leopard
just wait i think it will be all good.
:-)
January 8th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
I have the Mac Book Pro and just switched from a PC about two months ago. Some programs do run slower on the mac book pros.I called Adobe and asked. They didn’t explain why it ran slower, but simply said it did and that it runs faster on the older versions of macs…go figure. Anyways, PC’s have got Macs beat on their gaming! Supposedly PC’s are incomparibly better for games than Macs. However, Macs are incomparibly better in music, film. To tell you the truth I haven’t heard which is better for graphic design