Tia Jones Retoucher wrote:
I have mac book pro and I do all my work on it it works pretty well. I would like a desktop, but that's only if I'm making a significant amount of money to invest in a home office. My macbook:

Macbook Pro 2012 15 in
2.6 Gz Intel Core i7
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 1024 MB

Excellent computer! Its 3 years old and still just works almost as well as it did when I first bought it. When I first got I was able to run the Creative Suite and Autodesk Maya at the same time with no problem. It even handles video rendering pretty well. So running Capture One, Lightroom, Bridge and Photoshop CC on it is no trouble at all. I don't plan to worry about investing in a new laptop until this one just gives out.

I would put more priority and to getting a good laptop first. Then also get a powerful desktop. Both are great to have.
There are pros and cons to both. A good powerful laptop may be a little expensive especially if its Apple. But it is a great investment. Also, if you are starting out in a field (possibly freelance) I would think it would be ideal to have a portable workspace over an office. But ultimately its up to you what works best.

<strong>Laptop: </strong>
Pros:
Allows mobility if you travel or move around lot during the day, but you still want to freelance. It allows you to work in different spaces, so won't have to be stuck at a desk the whole day. It's also great for working with clients if they want to see your workflow (say when your meeting with them at a coffee shop). You have your work on your laptop right there for them to see. Lastly, it appears many companies are beginning to put more priority in design powerful yet somewhat affordable laptop. You can even plug your laptop screen to another larger monitor if needed.

Cons:
You may still be limited when it comes to power of the laptop, especially if its a MAC considering macs do not allow alot of customization as far as upgrade its parts for power and speed. Also, if you have a laptop it easier to drop/get stolen lol. Smaller screen

<strong>Desktop</strong>
Pros: Typically much powerful and more capable of being upgraded to higher power and speeds especially if PC. Great to have in a professional work space. Normally larger storage availability and memory. Possibly a larger screen. When you are at a desk your are less likely to get distracted (especially if moving the computer around is not an option) lol.

Cons: Not portable . You can't take it anywhere with you or even move to work in a more comfortable spot other than your desk.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!
-Tia

I must say Tia, I have the same laptop as you but when I received it I immediately replaced the 4gb of ram with 16gb and the 750gb hard drive with a 480gb solid state drive. The laptop's DVD drive was replaced with the 750gb hard drive that came in it. The SSD has the operating system and applications on it. So upgrading it very doable even with limited computer skills. It's not my primary post compute, I have a desktop for that but it's mainly used for tethering and limited post when away from my desktop. If your interested in increasing the performance of your Mac Book Pro, look at Other World Computing's website. It's very informative.

E Thompson Photography wrote:

I must say Tia, I have the same laptop as you but when I received it I immediately replaced the 4gb of ram with 16gb and the 750gb hard drive with a 480gb solid state drive. The laptop's DVD drive was replaced with the 750gb hard drive that came in it. The SSD has the operating system and applications on it. So upgrading it very doable even with limited computer skills. It's not my primary post compute, I have a desktop for that but it's mainly used for tethering and limited post when away from my desktop. If your interested in increasing the performance of your Mac Book Pro, look at Other World Computing's website. It's very informative.

Thank you! I will check that out.