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Advice: trading 13" MBP (2009) for an iMac 27" i5 (2009)

D

Dwee8le

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 1, 2010
37
0
Amsterdam, Holland
Hello,

I would like to ask all of you for some advice. I have been using Apple laptops ever since the G4 iBooks and during the summer of 2009 I bought the wonderful MacBook Pro 13" (2,26GHz model). I paid E 1145,- for it (those are Euros by the way :p).
During the last year my work and private use of computers has changed a lot and I actually don't need a laptop anymore. I have an iPad and that is (much to my surprise as well!) more then I need "on the road".

I found this shop in Holland (that’s where I live!) that has a trade-in program and they are willing to give me almost 50% discount on an iMac 27" i5 2.66 (Quad Core) from 2009. It is new; so not a demo-model or second hand and it will come with 12 months of service. Actually, they are giving me E 800,- for my laptop and the iMac is E 1649,-.

As I stated before: I would like to have a desktop and I thought about saving up for a new 2010 model of the 27" iMac (maybe i5 or i7), but those things start at E 1999,- in Holland. The older iMac will cost me E 849,- (together with the trade-in of my MacBook Pro).

Do you think a) that paying 849,- for a new iMac 27" i5 is a good deal and b)are or were there any problems with the iMac i5 2.66GHz from last year that I need to be aware off? Are the problems with the yellow screens and the rattling of the HDs in this model? Any help or insight or user experience is greatly appreciated!
 
My 2009 27" iMac i5 did NOT have the yellow stint problem, nor does it have a loud hard disk. However, I had it twice in a row in Apple Care because apparently the Airport card was not properly connected to the main board. It's fixed now and the machine is quietly doing its service ever since.

Apple fixed the yellow stint problems in that series with a firmware upgrade. But if I remember this correctly, this firmware upgrade is NOT distributed through Software Update - you have to download it from the Apple website manually.

That all being said, the 2009 27" iMac i5 is an awesome machine and one of the best Macs I've ever had. If you can have it for the price that you mentioned and if they really sell it as a new machine for you, then cannot do anything wrong. You should even be able to get Apple Care for it - it's always a good idea to have the three years of warranty, just to be on the safe side.
 
Dwee8le said:
Do you think a) that paying 849,- for a new iMac 27" i5 is a good deal
Click to expand...
You're not paying 849 for a new iMac. You're paying 849 AND losing a perfectly good and fairly new Macbook. Thats a big loss and the result will be getting a computer that basically does the exact same thing your doing now.

If you actually NEED the power of an i5 then do what you need to do. But if not then just buy a 27" monitor (which costs significantly less than 849) and dock your laptop. Thats what I do because my iPad became my house computer and my MBP became my dual-monitor "desktop".
 
@ Winni: thank you for your input. So the yellow taint was not hardware related? That's great! Well, under the circumstances...

@Urkel: I understand what you are saying and that's why I want to sleep on it for a few days. I was just very happy that I can still get E 800,- for my used 1,5 years old laptop and -at this moment at least- I feel very strong about my "back to desktop" move and with this trade-in + E 849,- I get a bigger/better machine.
I figured that the Quad Core/iMac 27" will stay the top line of the iMac series and those are usually E1899,- to E1999,- here; a price I cannot easily afford. that's why I think this is a good deal and a good time to make the switch from laptop to desktop.
 
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