Joe Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 My current Dell laptop, which is my travel laptop, has been on its last legs for some time - slow, constant beeping when powering up... Have to switch on and off about 20 times before it fires up. I have the opportunity to buy a cheapish Macbook pro 2009 - 2.52 Ghz Intel core 2 duo. NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 256 MB. El Capitan version 10.11.6 If i maxed out the Ram and installed and SSD drive, would Lightroom run okay on it? Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 That is my MacBook Pro and I am planning to replace it with a brand new one because it seems so weary. I have no trouble using Lightroom once the program opens but I've learned to go make a cup of tea while it is starting. Doesn't sound as bad as your Dell and I don't know enough about computers to know if the SSD drive would affect it. I haven't noticed any slowness while working on an image but when I want to go to Color Efex Pro that is a slow transition. I was going to get a new one last year but the money for it has gone for a dental implant so 2020 is going to be the year I take the step and expect to have to get the Adobe subscription so a lot for me to deal with. I think the delay has been lucky for me because they are coming out with a 16 inch version that sounds rather fabulous. Not leaping right away until I see how people like it over time. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 My advice would be forget it unless you are being given it as a gift and even then I would think a lot before investing money in RAM on such an old machine. Macs are great but they don’t last forever. My wife’s 2009 MBP has recently been retired as things started to go and it was running really slowly. It was well looked after in its day. It used to belong to my son and it has had a good life but it’s time has come. The latest versions of Lightroom are very demanding. If you are going to buy a secondhand MBP then I would suggest you get something a lot more modern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Maybe I should have mentioned that I am using the old standalone Lightroom upgraded as far as it will go. I bought my MacBook Pro new and it seemed expensive at the time but since it has lasted more than 10 years I cannot complain. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 I had a MacBook Pro, new, about 9-10 years ago. I bought it to travel with, but mainly to download my images to, delete duds, read mail, etc. I did develop about 100 images on it in Photoshop while on the east coast before I ever used LR. They looked great on the MacBook, but when I transferred them to my iMac after getting home, they were way too contrasty for my taste. I had to do them all over and that really fried me. No detail in the shadows although the shadows appeared fine before transferring to the iMac. I never could quite figure out why they looked so different on the two machines, (probably user error) but I sold the laptop a year after getting it. Too expensive a machine to mainly be temporary storage if I wasn’t happy with developing images on it. I got an iPad for everything else. I do see nice images on Alamy from laptop users, so it was probably my fault. Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 I'm only on 13" MacBooks now, a Pro and an Air. I use Adobe CC, LR Classic and 2020 PS. Except for the terrible WiFi at my new apartment building, I've adjusted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 Mid-2012 MacBook Pros have been recommended on this forum fairly recently for being fairly plentiful secondhand, affordable and good performers for LR/PS etc. 2009 might be just that bit too old to be worth spending time or money on. If it was very cheap then it might be a way of seeing how you get on with Macs. Have a look here to see how these might differ from the one that you have been offered: https://everymac.com/systems/apple/macbook_pro/index-macbookpro.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 I'm guessing that you might be using a Perpetual version of Lightroom but if not then you might need to check the minimum specs for CC on a Mac here: https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/photoshop/system-requirements.html They say 10.13 minimum. Because I don't use CC myself I don't know if you can stick with an earlier version that will run on 10.11 or whether everything just stops working until you get a new laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 Thanks to everyone who has given advice. Much appreciated. Something more modern then. My creaking and groaning Dell laptop is my only computer. The local tech here thinks the beeping is the motherboard... not worth repairing. My budget for a new computer is around 1000 Euros. Is there a laptop - or desktop, i have a decent monitor - in that price range that will run Lightroom CC and Photoshop comfortably? Laptop is preferable as need a laptop for News uploads when i visit the UK. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 (edited) You can get a brand new Mac Mini for around £799 (Note Not Euros) here. Allan Sorry just noted you want a laptop to travel with. ITMA Edited December 31, 2019 by Allan Bell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYCat Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 One tip for working on a laptop is that you have to be aware of the tilt of the screen. Betty, I think that may have been your problem since images can show as much brighter or darker than they really are. I have a black and white gradient at the top of my Lightroom. Can't remember how I got it but it is instead of my name. Hope I can find it again when I (sigh) have to get the subscription. I don't always remember to check it but it is very useful in making sure I am seeing all the tones. Paulette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted December 31, 2019 Author Share Posted December 31, 2019 19 minutes ago, Allan Bell said: You can get a brand new Mac Mini for around £799 (Note Not Euros) here. Allan Sorry just noted you want a laptop to travel with. ITMA Thanks, Allan and Paulette. Desktop is an option, Alan. I could limp on with my laptop for travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MizBrown Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 If you have a better monitor, there are any number of laptops that are under $1K US and some under $600 US that would probably work with some additional memory and surgery to install a M.2 SSD card or or SATA SSD. My Dell laptop's display is not good enough for serious editing, but was available here when I considered that if things go worse here in 2018 and I decided to move on, I'd have something that would fit in my backpack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted December 31, 2019 Share Posted December 31, 2019 (edited) On 31/12/2019 at 11:04, Joe said: Thanks to everyone who has given advice. Much appreciated. Something more modern then. My creaking and groaning Dell laptop is my only computer. The local tech here thinks the beeping is the motherboard... not worth repairing. My budget for a new computer is around 1000 Euros. Is there a laptop - or desktop, i have a decent monitor - in that price range that will run Lightroom CC and Photoshop comfortably? Laptop is preferable as need a laptop for News uploads when i visit the UK. Joe 13" Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Intel Core i5, upgraded to include 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD and currently running High Sierra does the job for me running both LR and PS CC on subscription. I use external monitor when at home and for most serious editing. There are folks selling upgraded secondhand MacBooks with upgraded specs and warranty on eBay which are within your budget, for example. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-3-Core-i7-2-9Ghz-16GB-512GB-SSD-Mid-2012-6-M-Warranty/183187885768 Mid 2012 Models are good for this as they are the last MacBooks that are easy to upgrade the RAM and HDD. But - don't forget if you swap from Dell (Windows) to Mac (OSX) there maybe hidden costs. e.g. new adapter to connect your monitor, and your Windows S/W won't run on Mac OS without setting up dual boot (a pain), or running a Windows Virtual machine (can use free VM software but Parallels is best), or getting Mac versions of the s/w you need. LR/PS CC licence allows download of both Mac and Windows OS versions. I should perhaps add that I only suggest taking this route if you want to swap to a Mac laptop but can't afford a new one. Mark Edited January 1, 2020 by M.Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 On 31/12/2019 at 05:49, NYCat said: One tip for working on a laptop is that you have to be aware of the tilt of the screen. Betty, I think that may have been your problem since images can show as much brighter or darker than they really are. I have a black and white gradient at the top of my Lightroom. Can't remember how I got it but it is instead of my name. Hope I can find it again when I (sigh) have to get the subscription. I don't always remember to check it but it is very useful in making sure I am seeing all the tones. Paulette Could have been the problem, Paulette. Too late, now! When I had to rework all those images, I was pretty mad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted January 2, 2020 Author Share Posted January 2, 2020 On 31/12/2019 at 20:44, M.Chapman said: 13" Mid 2012 MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Intel Core i5, upgraded to include 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD and currently running High Sierra does the job for me running both LR and PS CC on subscription. I use external monitor when at home and for most serious editing. There are folks selling upgraded secondhand MacBooks with upgraded specs and warranty on eBay which are within your budget, for example. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-3-Core-i7-2-9Ghz-16GB-512GB-SSD-Mid-2012-6-M-Warranty/183187885768 Mid 2012 Models are good for this as they are the last MacBooks that are easy to upgrade the RAM and HDD. But - don't forget if you swap from Dell (Windows) to Mac (OSX) there maybe hidden costs. e.g. new adapter to connect your monitor, and your Windows S/W won't run on Mac OS without setting up dual boot (a pain), or running a Windows Virtual machine (can use free VM software but Parallels is best), or getting Mac versions of the s/w you need. LR/PS CC licence allows download of both Mac and Windows OS versions. I should perhaps add that I only suggest taking this route if you want to swap to a Mac laptop but can't afford a new one. Mark Thanks for the advice and link, Mark. I've seen few used MacBook Pros advertized here on Gran Canaria, but they tend to be expensive with basic spec. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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