Macbook Pro 15.4 or New Desktop (Custom built)?

I just have one more question before I pull the trigger. Originally, I was looking to buy a new computer whether it was a laptop or a desktop. At first, my eyes were on a Vaio Z (P8700, 4 gigs, etc.....), Macbook Pro...etc...

The reason that got me to change to desktop is its performance numbers on paper. I already have a laptop so the new computer can either be desktop or laptop. In all seriousness, how much of a "day-to-day" performance boost will I notice by going with the desktop? (a noticeable enough performance to make me say..."wow it was really worth it to go with a desktop"? Day to day activities include opening many many windows including browsers, word/powerpoint, msn, movies, etc. Some more demanding applications will include photoshop/lightroom and some games.

By talking to a lot of people on forums, they keep on saying that for day to day operations, I won't notice any difference (I want the most smoothest experience, opening/alternating windows...which I am not getting with my laptop at the moment). Even for these small day to day applications, will I notice a difference in this desktop against one of the latest laptops? Honestly, gaming is important but not the deciding factor here.

I was also thinking of getting a premium laptop and then buying a Samsung HD240 as an external monitor but people said it will put great stress on my laptop (overheating issues...)

Thank you.

 

well for raw speed and power a $700 desktop will flatten any of the mbps.
build a low cost i7 with an ati 5000 video card and well ...... forget ANY laptop catching it for day to day apps or games.

 

I agree with crazycanuk...even a fairly modest desktop will be snappier than most laptops just because of the CPU and RAM advantages typically seen in most desktops.

I just got a new desktop at work this week (being the senior guy I even get to custom config it ) Anyway...I went with an HP Pavillion Elite 9250 series desktop:Core i7-820, 8GB ram, 500GB HDD, Geforce GTX260 (1.8GB), and Win7 Pro x64. It absolutely flies for multitasking, the quad core CPU w/ hyperthreading is barely ever stressed. Even gaming in COD:MW2 @ 1920x1080 with everything turned up I haven't seen more than 40% CPU usage and I've never seen more than 3.5GB of RAM engaged. My typical day consists of having AutoCAD 2010 running with multiple drawings open, Outlook 2007 running, RocketDock, 2-3 IE windows open, and Word and/or Excel open at any given time on dual monitors. No slowdowns at all. This destop only cost about $1200 (minus the monitors). Obviously you could do it for less if you DIY build it, but my work paid

 

A modern laptop like the macbook pro will dominate tasks like having windows open from your web browser, word processor, chat client, and playing movies.

Photoshop and Lightroom will also run great on a modern laptop, but the limitation there may be screen resolution and quality. The macbook pro screen is nice, but not as nice as a decent standalone monitor.

For games, a decent desktop will trash almost any laptop.

 

Personally I don't *have* to make a choice, since I can buy anything I want. Indeed, I'm now in the process of getting rid of the psyche of 'because I can, I will' and striving to make my home office look more like an office and less like some command bunker.

However it seems to be that the best balance for a do-everythinger is a decent desktop and an ultraportable, rather than a mainstream notebook.

For most people, mobility is more important than utility when on the move and power is more important than compactness for most people looking to actually use a GPU.

Besides, if you consider that a laptop on a desk on some sort of cooling stand + a monitor takes up actually twice as much desktop real estate than a floorstanding desktop, it seems rather silly to hobble yourself with a single 15-inch-class notebook these days - unless you really need a do-everythinger actually on the move, especially in the case of a compromised machine like the Macbook Pro with no good docking features.

I'm not a fan of netbooks, never had one, never will have one - mainly because I'm not interested in re-buying a lower-quality version of an ultraportable of the level of performance I had 3 ~ 6 years ago - but for many I suppose it'll do the job just fine, and some decent-looking machines seem to be cropping up now even if your budget isn't that high.

There is the issue of having your stuff on both machines, but if you *don't* go OS X, that is pretty easily handled by widely available tools.

 

It sounds like you need an SSD.

 

What kind of laptop do you have now?

I ask because a lot of the recommendation depends on the specs of what you already have. If your current machine only has 1GB of RAM, or older Intel integrated graphics, or a Pentium M processor, or a 4-year-old hard drive, a new laptop will be a considerable speed boost, and should provide a great computing experience.

Not a fan of the Vaio-Z line myself. Pretty laptops, but I've had some experiences dealing with Sony (at least, when a system breaks) when helping others. There are other companies I'd choose first, including a MacBook Pro, a Dell Latitude E6500, or a Lenovo ThinkPad T500 or W500.

If your laptop is more recent, you might wish to max the RAM (e.g., 2GB->4GB) and up to a 7200rpm hard drive, or you may indeed wish to look at a desktop with an Athlon X4, Core i5, or Core i7 processor, and a basic dedicated graphics card, which should do a great job. But it really would help for us to know what you're starting out with in more detail.

 

Right now I have the DV# with..

AMD Turion X2 Ultra 64
4 gigs ddr2
320gig 5400rpm
ATI HD3200

 

decent laptop, keep it for mobility and build a good desktop would be my advice