iMac or Macbook Pro.

Hey guys.

I'm kinda stuck in this decision. I've decided that I'm either getting:

http://store.apple.com/uk-edu/configure/MB950B/A?mco=MTMzNzUxOTA

or

http://store.apple.com/uk-edu/configure/MB990B/A?mco=MTEzOTQ4ODI

I already have a Laptop, it's kinda good. Not great, but very usable.
I'm thinking of either replacing my laptop completely, and selling my old one..
or getting a Desktop and using my Laptop whenever I need to.

The most movement I'll be doing is moving from room to room, from desk to sofa - But I think I can stay at a desk and use my Desktop for the majority of the time and use my Laptop in bed or whatever.

I'm still not sure though.. I'd like to hear from some other people. Is the Desktop significantly better than the Laptop?
Keep in mind that I can use a laptop when I need, but its windows.

Thanks, -DreadAlert.-

 

I prefer to think of an iMac as a laptop built into back of the case of an LCD monitor. In a sense, I think you are just comparing two different form factors, a monitor and a laptop, that basically contain pretty much the same internal components.

I suggest that the word Desktop may be causing some confusion, because if you were looking at a tower case PC (or a Mac Pro?) then you would often expect these computers to have be more powerful than a laptop of equivalent cost.

 

^considering the fact that iMac has desktop CPU and HDD?

 

where will you be placing this computer at?

if its at your bedroom. the imac is a tad big.

for notebook:
-the other advantage of having a notebook is that you can fold it flat, so that it doesn't have any visual impact on the space of the room.
-another significant advantage of notebook is that once you replace them with a newer model, you don't have to shelve it or throw it away, you can store it easily and get it up back to service quite quickly.

for imac:
-the biggest advantage of the imac compared to a macbook is that it uses IPS screen; which has better quality, colour reproduction, and much better viewing angle stability.
-the imac probably has better ergonomics than a notebook.

i use notebook (MBP17 - 99.9% stationary) for my bedroom

and the rest in my study room (1 gaming, 1 server, 1 travel notebook)

 

Well there's a giant increase in RAM, Processor and HDD in the iMac.

It IS going in my bedroom, but a desk can fit, so a computer can follow.

The only thing holding me back, is the fact that it's not a Laptop. Even though I already have a laptop, admittedly not a very good one, I'll spend most time at my desk..

Still not sure.

 

If your needs are modest, then I'd go with a Macbook Pro.

The biggest thing going for the iMac is the 27" monitor. But you'll miss the portability.

With a Macbook Pro, you can always attach a bigger monitor. It isn't so cheap to scale down from an iMac however. This is probably the most flexible solution for a problem that can only be solved through repeated iterations.

 

It depends on how you will use it and for what will you use it. If you love going outdoors and doing tasks outside i would say go for the macbook. But if you're a home buddy then go for the imac

 

Follows link, ooh there are new iMacs. (How I did forget that!) No, your are correct, those are not the same spec.

<mutters darkly to self don't post without following the link>

 

My needs aren't particularly demanding.

A game or two - Instant Messaging - Lots of Music - Internet Surfing.
So.. I guess I'll be getting the Macbook Pro then.

 

I've never thought of an iMac as portable and probably never will but I have a friend who travels a lot in his line of work, staying in various cities up to a couple of weeks at a time and (I'm sure some here would laugh about it - I know I did at first) he takes his 20" iMac with him everywhere.

Where most people travel with notebooks, this guy's traveling with a 20" iMac. Sets it up in his hotel rooms, wherever he happens to be. He's been doing it for a couple of years and loves it. What makes it easy I guess is the fact that the iMac is a pretty durable, well constructed machine and being an AIO, there's not much to unplugging it and taking it places. He even uses its original box to pack it in.

Anyhow, back OT. I think since you have a notebook that's working fine, I'd get an iMac (better, bigger screen, generally much better specs than the MBP - especially now with the i5 and i7 options).

If you didn't have the notebook, or were thinking of fully transitioning to OSX and possibly getting rid of your current notebook, then it'd be a totally different matter. In that case, I’d go the MBP route for sure.

 

The only reason I'd dump my current Notebook is if i was getting another notebook..

Very tempting to get the iMac. Those specs are great for pretty much the same price as the MBP.

Now I'm back in the middle again.

Maybe I can deal with an iMac and a less good laptop, and maybe get a MBP after a few more years.

 

Going off of what you said, OP, the only reason I'd get an MBP is if I had a huge itch to upgrade my current notebook.

You said you spend most of your time at your desk. Based on that comment alone, I would think that it may be more worth your while to get a machine that would be more a pleasure to use in the environment in which you'll use it most -- and that would be a 27" iMac (in my opinion) on your desk. In fact, I went without a laptop at all for a long, long time because I had a home-built Vista machine and a decent external monitor, and between that and always being around university machines from which I could access my home computer via terminal services / remote desktop, I had no need for a notebook. A flash drive was all I "needed" for data portability for quite awhile.

Hell, I have to have a notebook for medical school, but even I'm lusting a little over that 27" lovely. And I'm the farthest thing from a fanboy in the world. I miss running Windows 7 natively, though I do enjoy my MBP for the most part.

 

Extra consideration: the 9400m will drive a 24" monitor. I personally have a station set up that has external speakers, USB hub, external drives, and an acer H243H monitor. With this config I have no issues running WoW for extended periods of time. While I have access to several other PCs at home with vastly superior specs, I use my macbook exclusively for all my daily activities, including what gaming I *DO* do. It saves me from having to have duplicate files/folders/programs, and I get all the benefits of both a desktop AND notebook.

Your mileage may vary.

--proud owner of the ultra rare limited edition performance 13" aluminum macbook NON pro

[and remember kids, save yourself $100 and order 4 gig from your local internet computer supply store. Paying outrageous markup for generic parts from apple when you can buy superior products for less is just. . . well. . . bad judgement ]

 

Well, I don't particularly have an itch to replace this Notebook.
Oh, and I can't afford the 27 Inch. Only the 21.5 Inch.
I can get it for around £800 because my brother's at University.
So.. i guess I'm in a better position than you were with just your memory stick.

I'm starting to consider the iMac over the Macbook Pro more and more.

 

try to go for the ati 4670...

 

Nah.. Can't afford that.

 

Now what you *REALLY* need to do is get both the 27" iMac and a MBP. Then plug in the MBP to the back of the iMac and have a dual-screen set-up that would rock the house! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

 

Eh... I wish.

 

Anyone else got any advice?

 

(Angel) Save the money until you really need to replace the current laptop.
(Devil) Look at that shiny computer, you really want that computer now.

 

>.<

Very tempting. With my brothers discount I can get the base 21.5 inch for £834.

I'm hoping to get it now. My current laptop will do for now.

 

very straightforward:

buy the macbook pro.
buy a 22" monitor.

done.

now you can link up your laptop to the monitor, and you also get the portability. the screen is the #1 advantage of the imac over the macbook pro.

 

Definitely agree.

 

Hi,

I'm in very much the same situation. I have two older PC laptops, but seeing these new iMac and having some friends flashing their MBPs, I'm beginning to consider going to the fruity side.

I'm sharing my thoughts here to maybe help you make up your mind.

Right now my setup is this:
20" Dell monitor
Laptop with:
2Ghz Core 2 Duo
nVidia 8600m GT 512 mb DDR2 RAM
2 Gb DDR2 RAM
14" display (which I don't use)
(this laptop only holds battery for 30min in "almost idle" mode, and the other on I have needs to be plugged in to start up at all)

I'm thinking I would sell this laptop, buy an Asus Eee PC for my traveling needs (when I'm at my university etc) with the money earned, and then get an iMac for my home office. I spend most of my computer-time in from of the big monitor anyway.

To get around the problem of having to sync files between the platforms I use dropbox, so that is really not a problem for me.

That's what I'm thinking, but I have in no way made up my mind!

 

Well yeah sure, but then more than twice the hard-drive space and twice the ram and a far better processor. Add those to the macbook pro and it costs more than the difference between the two.
The portability is kinda already sorted by my still quite able notebook.
I think I can deal with this set-up until I can afford a better Notebook to go with my better Desktop.

Either way, move from Windows to Apple.

Also to Jakobben, if I were you I think I'd do the following:

- Sell the worse of the two laptops. Keep the other for whenever you need portability.

- Buy an iMac, because you spend most time in front of a monitor. I think this way you'll get the most out of whatever you buy.

If I've missed anything out of consideration, let me know.

 

you don't need the extra memory. you probably don't need the extra hard drive space. you don't need the faster processor.

if you *do* need more memory (you don't), you can get 4GB of memory for $50-60 from newegg.com (and sell the stuff that comes in your notebook stock for $35-40)

you could also theoretically buy a new hard drive from newegg and do a similar thing for a marginal cost upgrade.

having a single fully capable machine is awesome. you are getting the 9400m gpu either way. you need a 13" mbp + external monitor, for the win.

edit:

of course, if your heart is set, then it is set. but you could totally sell off your current laptop and swing this new setup for pretty cheap. buy a refurb macbook pro 13" too for extra money savings.

 

Yes, will definetly sell my oldest laptop, though I don't think I can get very much for it. Over 4 years old, and it wasn't very fast when I bought it. What it had was portability but without the battery that's kinda gone. Still maybe I should start by selling that and then see what I can get.

If I were to by one of the computers on topic here, I'd go for something with a good gpu. I do some gaming on occation, use photoshop a lot, and some 3d max work. So probably either the best of the 21" iMacs or the best of the 15" mbp's with 9600m gt. That one gets quite expensive however.

 

I'm thinking of upgrading the MBP to 320gb HDD and 4gb, and getting a 22" monitor.. That way I know I'd never run out of space like I almost have with my current 160gb. And It'd be faster than I needed, which is always good. Plus the monitor, and it's all good.

If I replace the parts myself, is the warrantee still intact? - Also, I kinda see how to do it and stuff, but I don't like messing around with the insides and I'll have to re-install the OS and all this stuff. I might just get the upgrades from Apple and let them do the work as I'm very inexperienced.
Even from apple, using the university discount it still costs less than the original price.

Then, with the money from selling my old laptop, I'll buy a Monitor.

If I buy a seperate monitor, can I do that dual-screen monitor thing?

 

The main question really should be either portability or stationary. Whichever one you choose should be the deciding factor.

 

Well if I buy the Laptop (with upgrades) and get a monitor, I can have both.

Also, does it have to be a Monitor? Or can I hook it up to a TV?

 

If you also buy the mini-display to VGA adaptor you can hook it up to your tv if it has VGA input. Most newer LCDs have this.

 

go for for the Imac, cos u already had a notebook. The only thing Macbook offer in this contest is portability, you have the old notebook for that right ?

 

Use the new iMac 27" display as a separate display. lol

 

how do you justify the purchase of a mbp if you already have an able notebook?
save up a little more and get the 27'' imac. the extra money is worth it for the display.

 

You can always connect your Apple Laptop to your iMac display as well and use it as a separate display.

 

Advantages of the iMac:
- Twice as much RAM.
- Better processor.
- Bigger screen.
- Bigger Hard Drive.

I'll upgrade the RAM and the Hard Drive. With the University discount, all those upgrades still cost less than the original price.

I'll then sell my old laptop to buy a new monitor/mouse/keyboard.

Then I can use it as a Desktop whenever I'm at my desk and a Laptop when I'm not. - All with the same good laptop.

 

-Drools- 27" Glass Glossy screen... =X

 

i'm with masterchef341 on this one ...
my instinct would be to always go for a laptop (if that's the only machine i'll have) and get it hooked to an external monitor - the monitor doesn't even have to be top of the line and have great colour accuracy; perhaps something in the region of 200-300$. Despite for the larger part using my MBP whilst its on a desk, there is always the weekend footy match that i'm watching while i'm in the living room and i just want to dibble around with the computer as well, or the lazy day when i want to not get out of bed for anything, but wouldn't mind having my laptop ... and dibble around ...
a desktop would deprive you of these - you have to figure out whether you'ld rue not having a laptop for its portability if you buy an imac...
the one thing that the imac has going for it though is that beautiful IPS screen ... it really is wonderful, but I personally wouldn't make the imac my ONLY computer....
you have to decide whether you'ld want to sell off your existing laptop; if you intend to sell it off then you might be better off with an MBP, however, if the laptop is functioning great, and you intend on keeping it, then the imac becomes a delicious proposition.
good luck with the decision.

 

Well, my laptop isn't functioning great.. I've had lots of problems with it in the past. The OS messed up, the disk drive doesn't work, the screen has broken before, the fan has been replaced. Lots of mess-ups. But since I replaced the fan it's been fine. Works better than ever now - The Disk drive still won't work though.

The only reason I would sell it would be if I got a new LAPTOP.

The thing I'm planning to do is upgrade the MBP to the iMac's standards. New monitor, more RAM, more HDD space. But the advantage of that is having pretty much an iMac and a Macbook Pro. I can unhook it from the monitor, but it's still as good as the iMac despite the screen which isn't a big deal when I'm in class, haha.

 

There's times I'd rather be on my iMac (like now) and there's times when I'd rather be on one of my laptops. I like having the flexibility of both, but I much prefer the iMac.

 

I got a 24" iMac and love it but I got to see the new 27" after a friend of mine bought one today. And I have to say I really like the new iMacs.

Mine is almost silent. You can hear the fans but they're barely audible. The new iMac is completely silent. I think having the whole back now in aluminum it acts like a massive heat sink so the fans are just either off or running super slow. The back feels a little warm but nothing concerning at all.

The screen is great, even compared to other IPS panels. Viewing angles, colour reproduction and saturation are all top notch. The SD slot looks kinda strange but that's only because I'm so used to my iMac.

I have to say, I really like the new mouse. I heard people complain about it already but I don't know. I used it for about an hour (not gaming) and it felt really good. It's heavy but it's super slick on the bottom that it glides so easily. The right and left click differentiated much better and was very consistent compared to my Mighty Mouse. In fact I tried to right click by having my finger just off center and it picked it up beautifully every single time. Scrolling is now kinetic (like the iPhone) and it works very well. The scrolling area is huge, just about the whole top half of the mouse can be used for scrolling. The multi-touch gestures are cool but I found them awkward. I just couldn't get my fingers to bend easily.

Anyhow, to the OP; if you can make do with your notebook just get the new iMac. I think you'll be quite happy.

Using the new iMac today made me wish I had waited before I got mine.

 

Well if I do get an iMac, it's going to be the 21.5 inch because the 27 is just too expensive.

 

Go for a macbook and just stop thinking about it!!!

I use my desktop but I can live with my laptop, I'm sure of it! =D

I had given it some thought until I decided to undervolt my processor since it gets so friggen hot in my apartment when I leave the computer on.

Totally off topic, but dayum... 1.05V makes a HUGE difference. 100% Prime stable =D

 

If you get an iMac, Congrats and GoodBye
if you get a UMBP, congrats and hello welcome to notebookreview

 

Rofl =X bit harsh eh? =P

 

iMac all the way, i find after using thinkpads for a while, Macbook pro just doesn't seem to be all that nice, once you stop staring at the design and start actually using it.