Any Adobe CS2 + Strata 3D CX 5 users here? p or non-p?

[zern]

My 1-year-old T43 (2668-4DM Pentium M 1.86GHz, 1.5Gb RAM, 80Gb 5600rpm HD, Radeon X300, 14.1” 1400x1050) is just not coping well with Adobe CS2. I also use Strata 3D CX 5 for 3D modeling and rendering of still images.

I am trying to decide between the T60p (2007-8JM) or the T60 (2623-A12). The key differences relevant to me are: the FireGL video in the p vs the X1400(?) in the non-p; and the 2.33GHz T7600 vs the 2.0GHz T7200. I will load up with 2Gb of RAM.

Can anyone tell me from actual experience what the performance of Adobe CS2 is on these 2 processors is like? I do high-res print-based work (my first book was written AND laid-out on this Thinkpad!), as well as web stuff and presentations. I regularly have Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, and GoLive open all at once; plus Outlook and Word 2003; plus around 8 Firefox windows.

Is the FireGL worth the extra expense? Strata 3D CX, unlike 3D Studio Max or AutoCAD, is designed more for artists than engineers. It uses OpenGL for on-screen manipulation of models, but does not requires ISV certified hardware.

Is the extra 0.33Ghz going to make any noticeable difference to Adobe CS2? Will it make that much difference to the rendering times in Strata 3D CX?

If I go for the non-p, I will have about AU$1000 left to play with – maybe a 300Gb 3.5” external HD for backups, or even a 20” pivot LCD monitor to write the next book on…

BTW for those of you who don’t live in Australia, these are the only two T60 models at the top end of the T range on offer here. There is no facility to custom build a model. All I can really do is add more RAM.

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Aside: I started off with a Mac Powerbook G3. It was so badly engineered and appallingly “un-”supported that it forced me to consider a non-Apple alternative. A friend loaned me a Thinkpad (I forget which model; I think it was the one before the 600). I was blown away by its speed and robustness. I have never looked back since.

[WilsonF]

I have CS2 on my T60p 2623DDU with 2GB RAM and the Fire GL 5200. It runs fine, even editing very large files in photoshop or illustrator. In fact, except for the disk performance I don't notice much difference between the ThinkPad and my home desktop which has a RAID 5 array and and a dual-core CPU running at 3.7 Ghz.

Consequently, I don't think you'll mind the Thinkpad as long as you have plenty of RAM. You'll also find performance increases if you run CS2 apps with a spare hard drive in the Ultra-Bay instead of the DVD.

[zern]

Thanks WisonF

I ended up ordering the p with 2Gb RAM. No regrets whatsoever. The 100Gb HD is fast. The Core2Duo is a joy to use - incredible to feel a significant speed jump over the T43's pentium M.

Thanks for your feedback.